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[Corey]

Free today in the Amazon Android app market, normally $7.99.
Ultimate Guitar Tabs and Tools
Has very good reviews too.

I got it today, even though I have not rocked out on a guitar in ages.
I hope to get back into it one day, may pick up a Gibson SG the kind that Angus Young plays for AC DC.
Gibson makes an Angus Young special edition SG, but Angus does not play that one.

Had a new back then 1973 Les Paul Deluxe, sold it years ago when the first kid came along.

 

[elmo_4_vt]

I just got a Toshiba Thrive, 10.1" tablet for $299 with a coupon from Group on. Pretty slick unit w/ front/rear cameras ,16 gigs, gps, and Bluetooth. Should serve me well as the family web surfer and mobile media/picture/movie player. It has Android 3.1

 

[haven]

The Huawei Mediapad is a good-looking new 7 inch tablet. It's got the latest Android 3.2 operating system, a 1280x800 IPS color touchscreen (the first 7 inch tablet with this screen resolution), and GPS chip on board. The MediaPad has an HSPA+ modem for data service that's a little faster than the usual 3G speed.

T-Mobile calls this tablet the Springboard, and will begin selling it on Nov. 16.

T-Mobile's purchase agreement is a departure from the way cell phone carriers have priced tablets in the past. Your up-front cost is $180 ($230 minus a $50 mail in rebate). Then T-Mobile will add $10 a month to your bill for 20 months, at which time the full $430 price of the tablet will be paid off. The $50 rebate is the only subsidy on the purchase price.

Here's the T-Mobile page http://mobile-broadband.t-mobile.com/tablets/springboard

Even with this new pricing arrangement, the MediaPad is worth a look. At this time, T-Mobile is the only source for the MediaPad in USA. Some specifications:
Huawei MediaPad $429
available Nov 16 from T-Mobile
7 inch, 1280x800 IPS color touchscreen
Qualcomm 1.2 GHz dual core processor
1 GB RAM and 8 GB flash memory built in
Android 3.2
Micro HDMI, Micro SD and Micro USB slots
Assisted GPS chip
HSPA+ 14.4 Mbps data service from T-Mobile
cameras 5.0 MP rear, 1.3 MP front
dimensions 7.5 x 4.9 x 0.4 inches
weight 13.8 oz

Update: There are rumors of the MediaPad coming to market via regular retail channels without the HSPA+ modem, and priced considerably lower than $430.

 

[Pokey]

I just was looking at the blurb on the Asus Transformer Prime which is purportedly supposed to be released in December. Short n sweet is:
http://www.androidauthority.com/asus-transformer-prime-hands-on-pictures-31956/
Display: 10.1″ Super IPS+, 1280×800, 10 touch points, Gorilla Glass
Android 3.2, upgradable to Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwhich)
NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor (SoC)
1GB of LP DDR2 memory
32GB to 64GB of storage + Asus WebStorage
WIFI B/G/N, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
8MP f2.4 camera in the back, 1.2MP front camera
3.5mm audio in+out connector, micro-HMDI, microsD reader
GPS, Gyroscope, Compass, G-sensor
25WH Li-Polymer battery (rated 12hrs by ASUS, 18 hours with the optional dock which includes a 22Wh battery)
263×180.8×8.3mm, 586g

Optional keyboard/dock
40-pin connector
multi-touch trackpad
22Wh battery
SD Card reader
USB 2.0 port (1)


I hate the ipad and all tablets due to on screen keyboard.......so coupled with a clip in board- smallish/sleek- and if this nvidia chip is all its cracked up to be---might be a gamechanger as comparitive "ultra-slim" laptops start in the $2k range while this one can be had for $650-750ish.

 

[haven]

As Pokey points out above, the next generation of Android tablets is about to descend from the heavens. Asus, Acer, Lenovo and HTC have all announced 10 inch tablets based on the nvidia Tegra 3 four core processor. The typical screen resolution is 1280x800. Dual core tablets are roughly 50 percent faster than single core designs when running Android benchmarks. The four core processor should be about 25 percent faster than the dual core models at the same clock speed. Because the Tegra 3 design has the ability to shut down processors when not needed, the four core models are expected to use up battery power at about the same rate as the dual core models.

Asus looks to be first out of the gate, with shipments expected in mid-December. Asus will ship with Android 3.2, with an upgrade to Android 4 when it's available. Other companies are waiting to make announcements at the CES show in early January, where Android 4 will have a major presence.

Prices for quad core tablets will start around $450. That means dual core tablets will have to come down in price if they want to attract buyers.

 

[haven]

The first reviews of the Asus Transformer Prime tablet have appeared. Conclusion: The best large Android tablet yet, sure to be made better by the arrival of Android 4.0 next year.

Some links to reviews of the Transformer Prime:
http://www.theverge.com/2011/12/1/2601558/asus-eee-pad-transformer-prime-review
http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/01/asus-eee-pad-transformer-prime-review/
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5163/asus-eee-pad-transformer-prime-nvidia-tegra-3-review

 

[Corey]

I may have to pick up one of these Asus units with my bonus

 

[LR Max]

I went and looked at Android Tablets this weekend (was stuck at Best Buy getting in on the Verizon $0.01 phones, Samsung Stratosphere!!!) and the Toshiba was probably the best out of all of them. However I'm hearing bad things about the Toshiba build qualities so that isn't cool.

The lenovo was also good and Asus was good as well. All seemed to be refined and user friendly. Remember with the first android devices you had to tap twice with your finger to make it go? Not anymore! Very quick, looks like a lot of apps available.

A tablet is in my future since I travel a lot. The full size HDMI port was very appealing to me as connecting with hotel TV's is easy.

 

[haven]

For the next 10 days or so, the Android Market sponsored by Google is offering a number of popular apps and games for 10 cents each. The titles this morning include Great Little War Game, Sketchbook Mobile, Paper Camera, Sound Hound, Asphalt 6, Fieldrunners HD, Swiftkey, Minecraft, Endomondo Sports Tracker Pro, Color and Draw for Kids.

Here's the Android Market page
https://market.android.com/details?id=apps_timed_promotion&feature=banner

 

[haven]

Android 4.0 due in February

After a false start last Fall, Android 4.0 will have its coming out party at the CES show next week. Android 4.0 is also called Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS). I expect to see ICS on all sorts of tablets and phones at CES. From the announcements of ICS upgrades for existing tablets, I expect ICS to be widely available in February. This will be the end of life for Android 3.0.

ICS fits on devices with as little as 512MB of storage. But 1 GB is preferred. Some tablet makers that have created a custom interface on top of ICS (Samsung, for example) say that ICS plus their custom interface won't leave enough free space in 512MB for applications to run. I expect solutions from programming enthusiasts (read: hackers) will address this problem.

 

[haven]

Here's a good example of what the standard Android tablet will look like in Spring 2012:

Acer Iconia Tab A200
1.2 GHz nVidia Tegra 2 dual core processor
1 GB RAM, 16 GB flash memory
1280x800 pixels, 10.1 inch color touchscreen
WiFi only, no 3G or 4G option
Android 4.0.x
price $349

Several manufacturers will produce machines with faster quad core processors, but I think people will find that the apps available don't take advantage of 4 cores very efficiently. The result will be that most people won't see much benefit to the more expensive quad core designs. This will change in time as the price of the quad core chips comes down and app developers learn how to take advantage of the new technology.

 

[haven]

Lenovo is offering the IdeaPad A1 tablet for $167 while supplies last (white or pink models only, black costs $199). This is the lowest price I've seen for a new Android tablet from a mainstream manufacturer.

The A1 has a GPS chip, making it a reasonable choice if you're thinking about a tablet for navigation in your vehicle. Other features missing from low price tablets like the Kindle Fire, but found in the A1, include cameras front and rear, Bluetooth, and access to Android Market applications.

The problem with the A1 is that it has only 512MB of RAM. Android 4.0 will fit, but Lenovo has no plans to release a version for the A1.

Update: Never mind. The offer is sold out. The web site price is back up to $199, which is still a good deal for a tablet with GPS.

 

[haven]

Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7

Even though we can't buy the Galaxy Tab 7.7 in USA today, the tablet is coming soon. Several of the usual suspects have purchased review units from European sources. Conclusion: The Galaxy Tab 7.7 is the best Android tablet yet, of any size.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/07/samsung-galaxy-tab-7-7-review-international-edition

http://www.netbooknews.com/44424/samsung-galaxy-tab-7-7-review-the-new-ipad-killer

One feature the 7.7 shares with the Samsung Galaxy Note 5.0 tablet is a GPS chip that receives signals from both USA and Russian GPS satellites. The result is faster and more accurate positioning.

The Samsung tablets still run Android 3.x. I think I'd hold off my purchase until Samsung releases Android 4.0, which should be any day now.

 

[ThomD]

Hmm. 7.7 Galaxy. Tempting.

BTW, the new weather app 1 Weather is most excellent.

 

[haven]

Barnes and Noble just introduced a less expensive version of the Nook Tablet. The new model has 8GB of storage, like the Kindle Fire has, and is priced at $195. The 16GB Nook stays at $249. The price of the original Nook Color has been lowered to $169.

All 3 models of the Nook have an IPS color LCD screen that is generally considered to be easier to read and more colorful than the screen used in the Kindle Fire. The Nook models also have a slot for a 32GB Micro SD flash memory card, allowing you to take more books and movies with you. The Fire has no memory expansion slot.

The Nook Tablet models have 1GB of RAM for program execution, while the Fire has 512MB. This extra memory may become an advantage as the hacker community works to find ways to load Android 4.0 onto these less expensive tablet.