A look at the new Sony Reader line-up

There are typically two lines of thought when it comes to selling your product to the masses. The first is to make it more affordable than your competitors while offering similar services. The second is to make it a better product than you competitors. It’s obvious which way of thinking Sony was going for in its Sony Reader refresh, but can they accomplish it?

When we first posted about the Reader refresh three weeks ago, we were hoping for a few things. First, that the new Readers would be competitively prices in relation to the Kindle and Nook. Second, that with this new upgrade in touch interface they would find a way around the murky, cloudy resistive touch screen found in their PRS-600 and PRS-900 models. Well, one for two ain’t bad.

Gone is the cloudy touchscreen. It’s been replaced with an E-Ink Pearl display that looks clear and full of contrast. The touchscreens as well have gone optical for detecting jabby little fingers. It’s something we’re excited to hear, but we’ll wait on platitudes until we see it in action — specifically direct sunlight action. The Readers have also gone slimmer and lighter, as is the trend, while increasing page turn speed significantly. What hasn’t been slimmed is the price. Instead of keeping the recently close-out prices of the Touch and Pocket Editions, the prices have been bumped up significantly (the Daily retains its previous price).

The base Sony Reader, the PRS-350 Pocket Edition, now starts at $179. Now there’s a lot that has been improved with the Reader, but it still has no WiFi or 3G connection. What it does give you is a 5-inch touchscreen, 2GBs of memory and an SD card slot for additional storage. Will that be enough for people to buy the PRS-350 over the cheaper Kindle and Nook WiFi versions or the slightly more expensive 3G connected Kindle and Nook versions? With the popularity of Amazon’s and Barnes & Noble’s eReaders, that’s going to be a tough sell.

The refreshed Sony Touch Edition Reader, PRS-650, is now priced at $229. Weighing in at .4 pounds (which makes it nearly $36 per ounce), the Touch Edition features the new upgrades along with 2GB of storage, SD card and MemoryStick Pro (let it die Sony. Let it die) slots. Finally, the Sony Daily Edition Reader, PRS-950, keeps the same price, screen size and connection options while conforming to the upgrades. Coming out in November, it will be the highest priced eReader available in most stores. Eek?

Source: Engadget

The new Archos tablet line-up (image from Engadget)

Archos, Archos, Archos. There are a lot of people out there that want to like you. However, in the last year they’ve been giving cringingly little in return. Hopefully, after the disappointments of the Archos 9 PC Tablet and Archos 7 Home Tablet, your new tablet line-up can reciprocate some of the love.

Ok, so the good news is that Archos has finally dropped the resistive screen on their larger models in favor of the more responsive, less aggravating, just plain mo’ better capacitive touch screen. The other news is that they’ll be shipping this new batch of tablets with Android 2.2. This new “shock and awe” group forgoes the single digits and expands into the double and even triple digit model numbers! Exciting, no?

Let’s start with the new big boy — the Archos 101. This 10.1-inch capacitive touch screened fella hopes to erase the words “Archos 9 PC Tablet” from the popular memory. It features a 1GHz processor, can play 720p video, has a front-facing VGA webcam, kickstand, USB, HDMI, is half an inch thick and weighs under a pound. While we don’t know yet what type of internal storage or mountable drives are possible with the 101, it will be shipping in mid-October for a very un-Archos-like price of $300.

Next up is the Archos 7 Home Tablet upgrade — the Archos 70 (see what they did there?). This takes that latest Archos release, which was disappointing, and attempts to fix it. Gone is the clunky resistive screen in favor of a capacitive screen. Included is an accelerometer, which the A7HT lacked for some unknown reasoning. It even goes the extra mile to include a front-facing VGA webcam, USB and mini-HDMI ports. While not as cheap as the A7HT, the $275 price isn’t bad considering what it is. Release is supposed to happen in mid-October.

The Archos 5 Internet Tablet has definitely been Archos’s most popular tablet model. Now the Archos 43 looks to usurp the King of Portable (non-Apple) Media with it’s 1GHz ARM Cortex A8 processor and rear-facing 720p video camera. Sadly, no capacitive touch on this model, but for $199 we’ll be interested to see what storage is associated with a $200 price tag. Release will again be in mid-October.

The Archos 32 fills in the small-screened PMP portion of the group with a 3.2-inch screen, 8GB of internal storage, 720p recordable camera on the back composite port all for $149.99. Finally, if you really want to squint, the Archos 28 will give you a 2.8-inch 320 x 240 resolution screen with 4GB of storage and 800MHz ARM Cortex A8 processor. It will cost $99.99 and both the Archos 32 and 28 will be hitting shelves at the end of September.

So how can (will) Archos mess this all up? First, no Android Market support. All tablets come with Archos AppsLib and there are no preloaded Google apps. Second, what storage ability will the Archos 101, 70 and 43 have? Typically that’s where the major price differences happen in Archos products. Will we see a $149.99 Archos 32 with 4GB of storage and a 16GB model for $229.99? We’ll find out shortly. Archos has a long way to go before climbing back into bed with most of us. Maybe this is their way of telling us that they were listening the whole time, want to start over and take it slow.

Source: Engadget

The Hannspree Android 2.2 tablet with Tegra 2

Here’s a preview of one of the (sure to be) many tablets that will be on display at this year’s IFA show. The Hannspress tablet does have quite a few things going for it though. To start, it offers a 10.1-inch capacitive multitouch screen with a resolution of 1024 x 600. Second, it’s running Android 2.2 from the get-go. Finally, and perhaps the most interesting, it will use a 1GHz Tegra 2 processor all for the iPad-beating starting cost of €399.

The Hannspree tablet doesn’t stop there. Other fleshed out specs include a 16GB SSD, SD card slot, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, mini-USB 2.0 port, mini HDMI, a 3500mAh battery rated for 8 house of video playback, and access to the official Android Market. It measures 10.24 x 6.73 x 0.55 inches and weighs about 1.75 lbs. Internal goodies comprise of a Chrome browser, calendar, email, media players, YouTube, social media and other pre-loaded applications.

Hannspree will be shipping their tablet in November, but we’ll probably see some hands-on video demonstrations within a few days.

Source: ZDNet (Germany)

Shogo now available for pre-order in Japan

Remember the Shogo tablet? If not, allow us to refresh your memory. The Shogo is a 10.1-inch 1024 x 600 resolution capacitive multitouch tablet running a Freescale iMX-37 processor with 4GB of SSD storage, 256MB of RAM, and the usual assortment of connection options (WiFi, Bluetooth, 3G). What sets the Shogo apart from the rest is that it’s designed to be a 100% open-source tablet. It runs Linux, supports Flash and HTML5, and can even be loaded with Android.

The Shogo was previously only available for bulk orders from Realease (who crafted the kitchen-centric QOOQ tablet), but now Redstar is selling the tablet at the consumer level in Japan starting today. Those living in the Land of the Rising Sun who wish to order it can for 56,800 yen (roughly $670 U.S.) from Redstar.

Source: Akihabara News

Is greed, for lack of a better term, still good?

Look no further than this story if you need proof of Apple’s possessive nature. SurfaceInk, who showed a 12.1-inch Ubuntu-running tablet prototype in June, has been dumped by Apple presumable over the fact that they can make a decent looking tablet. The founder of SurfaceInk, Eric Bauswell, confirmed yesterday that Apple had decided to split with the Californian design firm over “Apple’s growing awareness of our turnkey capabilities.” The firm had worked with Apple in the past on multiple design projects.

SurfaceInk originally developed their prototype tablet to meet clients needs who were interested in the tablet format. The result, which was five years in development, was created as a testing platform and shown off in this video by Charbax of ARMDevices.net.

So why would Apple dump a long-standing business relationship over a piece of hardware? According to Bauswell, they viewed SurfaceInk’s capabilities as a competitive threat. That seems to be a stretch, not Apple seeing everyone as being a competitor, but that this prototype and the rumored 7-inch and 8.9-inch models in development could pose a threat to the iPad. However, this is Apple’s modus operandi: move into a new niche category, claim it as your own, and consider everyone else — even if their project has been in development longer than yours — as a threat. Some would call that frugal business sense while others, a bully pulpit.

Whatever the case, you can’t deny Apple performs clandestine business moves against friend of foe. It places what would normally be considered borderline conspiracy theories like that of Mike Cane in a whole new light. If Apple is willing to sever a business relationship over a tablet by a design firm, wouldn’t they be calculated enough to interrupt another major electronic manufacturer’s entry into the tablet market? That may not be the focus of Apple’s music-centric September 1st media event, but it certainly could be “one more thing…” away from taking the spot light off Samsung’s new Galaxy tablet — potentially with a new iPad announcement.

Apple hasn’t protected themselves in this case though. Their move may have opened up the door for another, larger competitor to swoop in and begin a new relationship with SurfaceInk — who now looks like the little mouse that scared the large Apple elephant.

Source: New York Times

Once again Chippy is here with the goods on the SmartDevices SmartQ T7 Android tablet. It comes with Android 2.1, 3G connection and an ARM11 processor and will be shipping at the end of the month. Check out the 15 minutes video for an indepth look at the device.

The 3G version (minus Bluetooth) costs $289 from HotMid.com and the WiFi/Bluetooth version costs $235.

Source: CarryPad

Render of the Toshiba Smart Pad (image from Notebook Italia)

And that’s a very good thing. Some new pictures have been released through Notebook Italia of the Toshiba Smart Pad — Toshiba’s second attempt at making a good slate tablet. Last year’s gotta-get-a-tablet-on-the-market rush produced the sub-par, underpowered and generally ignored JournE Touch. Thankfully, it appears that Toshiba has learned a lot about the tablet market and is making a tablet… well, like everyone else’s.

The Smart Pad sports the familiar stylings of just about every other tablet render we’ve seen so far. Black glass front surrounded by familiar chrome bezel, capped with rounded edges. It’s certainly another in the line of “see one, seen them all” tablets. But as every after-school special and Nickelodeon kids cartoon tells us: it’s not what’s on the outside that counts; it’s what’s inside that matters. So far we don’t know much about the insides except that it can run either Windows 7 or Android OS (which means someone is indecisive) and that it has HDMI, USB ports and SD card slot. The educated guess is that the Smart Pad will go with Android as they already have the familiar screen buttons and, well, everyone else is doing it. We should find out more at this year’s IFA in September.

It seems that the new directions of the JournE Touch failure has reigned Toshiba in on outside thinking. This tablet may just be a “me too,” but hopefully one that is well-executed and priced competitively. Toshiba says we’ll be seeing them in October.

Source: Notebook Italia via Engadget

Has the LG UX10 Windows 7 tablet been shelved?

LG showed off their tablet pride and joy in June with the Windows 7-running UX10 tablet. Then in July the WSJ reported that they would be making an Android version as well. Now LG is back in the news again due to another interview with the WSJ where LG VP of Marketing, Chang Ma, states that “our tablet will be better than the iPad.”

The statement itself isn’t very shocking. After all, the iPad isn’t a terribly great piece of tablet tech. Certainly it does what it sets out to do well, but has lots of shortcomings that, when added up, equal a well-executed yet lazy product. Evidently LG has honed in on one of the main areas where the iPad has failed: productivity.

“It’s going to be surprisingly productive,” Ma continued. He continued to state that the tablet would focus on writing, video editing and other professional features.

That sounds like good news, if not only for LG but for the tablet market in general. The iPad has set the bar, rather low, at creating a mass-market MID tablet — not a full tablet PC. While the WSJ says that the tablet in question will be the Android version, launched under the Optimus name, we’re left wondering what happened to the UX10. Was it potentially shelved in favor of a non-Microsoft OS similarly to the HP Slate?

Source: WSJ

The Notion Ink Adam is coming - for realsies

It is a day we thought may never come. Notion Ink has finally confirmed prices and a time line on their anticipated Adam tablet after Slashgear broke the news yesterday. It’s something we’ve been waiting for, frankly, for a long damn time, or since writing our first story about the Notion Ink Adam in December of last year. Since them we’ve had a little love and hate relationship with the tablet, especially after we broke the news of a delayed Thanksgiving release only to basically be to called liars by Notion Ink.

It’s a date that now appears to be entirely accurate as confirmed by the FCC approval date stated by Notion Ink’s CEO Rohan Shravan (we accept apologies in the form of Adam test tablets if Rohan is reading).

But enough of that and on to the big news — the Notion Ink Adam’s pricing. Slashgear reports that the base Adam price will begin at $399 for the WiFi-only LCD version of the tablet and $449 for the 3G LCD version. The version we’re really excited about, which includes the Pixel Qi screen, will start at $449 for the WiFi version and $498 for the 3G version. That’s much better than the previous price range we had heard which had the prices creeping into the $800’s.

So it still boils down to when exactly will the Adam hit the market? Looks like the best-case scenario is a November release and worst-case has it falling in late January of 2011. This is all dependent on the FCC approval process which could stretch from two weeks to twelve depending on just how much fun they’re having playing with it. The U.S. will get dibs followed by an Indian release two weeks after.

Notion Ink is also rumored to be working on their NVIDIA Tegra 3-using, Android Gingerbread-running followup — naturally called the Eve. Let’s focus on getting an Adam in our hands before we start this entire ordeal all over again, shall we?

Source: Slashgear and Notion Ink

Rumors abound on the Sony Reader refresh

Sony, who has lately been bringing up the rear in the great eReader race, is rumored to be working on a refresh of their Sony Reader lineup. According to a source, Sony Insider is saying that the PRS-350 and PRS-650 models will be coming to the market soon. These models will replace their -50 counterparts and expand touchscreen input down to the 5-inch variety.

In addition to the Pocket Edition and Touch Edition refreshes, Sony will be more compact and lighter with a thickness (if that’s even the right word for it at this point) of 10mm. You can expect faster page turns, improved contrast and for them to be “attractively priced.” We’d wager that means that the WiFi-less PRS-350 would be priced around $129 with the WiFi connected (and possibly 3G included) PRS-650 undercutting the Kindle by a few bucks at $179. Those aren’t terribly good prices (and complete speculation on our part) but Sony never has priced their items comparative to the market. They usually rely on their brand name and worldwide popularity to pull them through the rough patches. Maybe they’ll surprise us with a $99 PRS-350 and a $149 PRS-650. Stranger things have happened.

Also rumored with the new Readers is an increase in storage capacity (from 512MB to 2GB, around the same battery life (which was already good at two weeks), USB 2.0 and that same great format support currently found in the eReader lineup. Our main concern is that the murky resistive touchscreen cover doesn’t survive past the PRS-600 model. That’s been our main qualm with the Sony Touch Edition Reader ever since the last refresh.

Source: Sony Insider