The latest rumor circling the fabled 7-inch Nexus tablet claims that ASUS will soon be ramping up production of the tablet and will ship roughly 600,000 units of the device in June in time for a July release. According to the report, the Nexus tablet is expected to sell between two and two and a half million units between July and the end of the year.
Originally, the Google Nexus tablet was expected to launch in May, but the tablet launch was postponed to make changes to the design and find way to reduce hardware costs even further.
While there have been plenty of Nexus tablet leaks over the past months, Google has never officially acknowledged that they are working with ASUS on developing a tablet. Our assumption is that Google will keep things under wraps as best they can before officially unveiling the device during Google I/O in late June.
We may not know exactly what Google has planned for its budget friendly Nexus tablet, but we’re sure that it will force Samsung, Sony, Asus, Acer, Motorla and other OEMs to produce basic tablets which will directly compete with the likes of the Amazon Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet.
How many of you already own an Android powered tablet? How much would you be willing to pay for a decently spec’d 7-inch Nexus tablet?
“At $199, you can just about buy a tablet at a 7-Eleven,” said Jen-Hsun Huang, NVIDIA CEO, when he was discussing the future of tablets powered by his company’s quad-core Tegra 3 processor. We have been discussing rumors of a $199 “Nexus tablet” for months and now it appears that could become a reality soon.
At NVIDIA’s annual meeting of stockholders the company revealed their new Kai platform, which will enable quad-core tablets running Android 4.x Ice Cream Sandwich to be developed and brought out to market at the $199 price point.
ASUS previously announced their $249 MeMo 370T tablet at CES, which included a quad-core Tegra 3 processor, but that device never came to market. Rumors suggested that Google was collaborating with ASUS to lower the price to $199 and sell it in their Play Store, but we are still waiting on official confirmation.
Now that the Wall St. Journal is reporting that up to five OEM partners will sell devices through the new Google Play Store, it looks likely we will see the ASUS 7-inch tablet finally go on sale. We don’t know exactly when it will hit stores, but Google’s annual developer conference is scheduled to begin on June 27th and that is when most are expecting some kind of announcement.
Some of the details and specs could change, but it’s highly likely we will be able to purchase a $199 tablet with Android 4.x and a quad-core processor in the coming months. I tend to gravitate towards the larger 10-inch tablets, but this 7-inch, $199 tablet should be the best deal available when it arrives.
Anyone still saving up for this?
The ASUS MeMo 370T that never went on sale looks similar to NVIDIA's Kai platform.
According to recent reports out of Android Next and Tablet Community, the Galaxy Note 10.1 is about to get some pretty significant spec bumps before its released later this year. Android Next reports that the Note 10.1 may have ditched the expected dual-core Exynos processor for the quad-core Exynos with Mali 604 GPU found in the Galaxy S III.
If true, the bump to a quad-core Exynos quickly makes the Note 10.1 one of the best tablets available on the market when its released later this year. The quad-core Exynos processor delivers exceptional performance, and should keep the Note 10.1 blazingly fast in both generic and heavy use situations. It has previously been reported that Samsung delayed the Note 10.1 to include the quad-core Exynos chip, but Samsung has denied those claims. We obviously hope Samsung is putting the quad-core Exynos chip into the Note 10.1.
When Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Note 10.1 at Mobile World Congress in February, many were taken aback by the fact that the tablet didn’t include a slot for the signature S-Pen found in the Note series. Tablet Community reports that Samsung has gone back to the drawing board to include an S-Pen slot, and has managed to actually make the tablet thinner at the same time. In order to fit the newly-granted slot, Samsung had to slim down the S-Pen a bit. To account for those who want a thicker pen, Samsung will be selling a casing for the S-Pen that adds some heft to the accessory.
Again, these are just rumors at this point, though ones we hope will become reality once the tablet hits retail outlets. We’ll hopefully learn more about the final design of the Note 10.1 soon, as we draw ever nearer to an expected launch date.
ASUS has taken the high-end Android tablet market by storm. There’s already two Transformer tablets on the market, and another premium device is coming soon. That makes four Transformers in total, all varying in specs and price. So where does the ASUS Transformer Pad TF300 fit in? Let’s find out.
1. Internal hardware
The ASUS Transformer Pad TF300 is no slouch when it comes to internal hardware. With very few exceptions, the ASUS Pad 300 features top-of-the-line hardware in every category:
1.2GHz (in Balanced Mode) NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor
1GB of DDR3 RAM
16 or 32 GB of internal storage with microSD expansion
10-inch IPS 1280×800 display with 350 nits of brightness
8MP F2.2 rear camera
Front-facing camera
Bluetooth 3.0
22Wh battery
7.11/10.35/0.38″ at 1.39lbs.
Of course these are just paper specs, but they just so happen to be some of the best out there. And if you read the performance section of this review, you’ll see that they do translate well into real-world use.
2. Build quality and design
Coming in three different colors, Royal Blue (available initially), Torch Red and Iceberg White (both available in early June), the ASUS Transformer Pad 300 will appeal to a wide range of audiences.
From the front, it doesn’t stray too far from the classic black slate design we’ve all come to know and love. But I don’t see that as a bad thing.
On the back, you’ll find textured ribbing that circles the device, along with an 8MP camera and a lone speaker port.
As for what lies around the rest of the device, there’s a front-facing camera and ambient light sensor on the front, a power button on the top left (when held in landscape), a volume rocker, HDMI port and microSD card slot on the left, headphone jack on the right, and ASUS’ proprietary connector on the bottom.
The build quality of the ASUS Transformer Pad 300 is just alright. There’s very little, if any, give to the device. It feels relatively solid in your hands, and is well weighted. The buttons all feel stable, giving only a gentle click when pushed. The rear camera is flush with the back of the tablet.
Still, at the end of the day, it’s just a big plastic slab. And with polycarbonate-, aluminum- and glass-bodied gadgets coming out left and right, it’s hard not to think of the build quality and design of the Transformer Pad 300 as pretty average.
3. Display
The display on the ASUS Transformer Pad 300 was somewhat of a sore spot for me. It’s certainly not terrible, but it’s not great.
The Transformer Prime TF201 has an IPS+ display. One of the ways ASUS has cut the cost on the TF300 is by dropping the “+.” Is the extra plus worth $100? Not really. But compared to a Super AMOLED display, or SLCD, the display on the ASUS Pad 300 didn’t look as vibrant as I would have liked. At full brightness, it was usable in all conditions, but again, it could have been better.
It’s not the worst display on the market, but don’t expect to be knocked back when you power the ASUS Transformer Pad 300 on for the first time.
4. Software
The software is one of the best things about the ASUS Transformer Pad 300. It comes with a very bare bones build of Android 4.0.3, Ice Cream Sandwich, with some useful additions from ASUS.
Along with the NVIDIA Tegra Zone app, you’ll find a couple other apps for media and file management (like ASUS Cloud storage). That’s really about it. They’re hardly a nuisance, and well worth the trade off for getting Android 4 right out of the box.
As for other ASUS customizations, there several custom ASUS widgets, which I actually found quite handy (especially the battery and weather widgets), and a custom menu in the default settings screen.
I can’t stress enough here how much I love that ASUS has left Ice Cream Sandwich alone for the most part. Not applying ten different layers of animations and skins keeps the Transformer Pad 300 feeling snappy, and I imagine it will help ASUS hasten updates to the device in the future.
5. Performance
As you can imagine with a Tegra 3 and 1GB of DDR3, the ASUS Transformer Pad 300 was as fast as you could possibly need a tablet to be. It will run any app you can find in the Google Play Store with ease. There was practically no lag when launching apps, and browsing the web (using both the default browser and Chrome) was smooth as butter.
Gaming was also great on the Transformer Pad 300. The touch screen was adequately responsive and made for an all-around great gaming experience. Games that normally struggle and choke out on my Nexus S were a totally different experience on the tablet. My favorite game to play around with while using the Transformer Pad 300 was Draw Something. Paired with a capacitive stylus, it was was super fun.
To get an idea how this real-world performance plays out in benchmark form, check out the numbers below. On the left you’ll find the numbers for the Transformer Pad 300, and on the right you’ll find the numbers for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7.
CFBench Native – 19247 / 12927
CFBench Java – 5762 / 3126
CFBench Overall – 11156 / 7046
Smartbench 2012 Productivity – 3340 / 3057
Samrtbench 2012 Gaming Index – 2275 / 1625
Antutu total – 9373 / 6416
Antutu Floating Point CPU – 2363 / 1518
Antutu 3D Graphics – 1175 / 1230
GL Benchmark 2.1.4 – Egypt Offscreen – 62 / 48
GL Benchmark 2.1.4 – Pro Offscreen – 81 / 67
Quadrant – 3722 / 3480
Browesermark – 112870 / 78971
Sunspider 0.9.1 (lower is better) – 1784.2 / 1978.9
Moonbat on Chrome (With web worker set to 1) – 1757.6 / NA
Moonbat on Chrome (With web worker set to 4) – 3155.4 / NA
6. Cameras
The cameras on the ASUS Transformer Pad 300 are really pretty “meh.” Meaning they aren’t great, but they aren’t terrible.
In good lighting, like outdoors or in a lightbox, the 8MP rear camera was fantastic. Both photos and videos were very impressive. In low lighting conditions, however, the camera struggled to focus at times and failed to pick up details. The same can be said about the front-facing camera.
Because of this, the Transformer Pad 300′s cameras get a general rating of average. They perform much like you’d expect a tablet’s cameras to perform. They get the job done, but they could be much better. Here’s some sample images from both cameras, along with two sample videos in good and bad lighting from the rear camera.
7. Battery
According to ASUS, the battery on the Transformer Pad 300 will last around 8 and a half to 10 hours when put through moderate to heavy use. I found this to be fairly accurate. Checking emails, Facebooking, Twittering, gaming and watching videos gave me a good solid day’s worth of battery life. And that’s without the keyboard dock (more on that in a bit).
Realistically, the battery should last you at least an entire work day if you put it under normal use. Keep the display as low as you can tolerate it, put off watching movies until later, and keep gaming to a minimum, and I’m sure it would last even longer.
Factor in ASUS’ built-in power management profiles and the added battery life you can get out of the keyboard dock, and you have a tablet that can go the distance when needed.
8. Keyboard dock
If you’re considering a Transformer series tablet, chances are you’re considering a keyboard dock. That’s what ASUS is known for, and for good reason, too.
The keyboard dock that works with the Transformer TF300 is totally new. So unfortunately, it won’t work with older Transformers. But that’s about the only bad thing I can say about the dock.
Not only does it provide several extra hours of battery life (a good five or more), it boasts a ton of useful features that will turn you into a productivity powerhouse. If you need to transfer files, you can use the built-in USB port or SD card slot on the side of the keyboard.
For tapping out emails or other long-winded blocks of text, the keyboard works surprisingly well. The keys don’t feel too mushy, and the trackpad is fairly accurate with nice and clicky buttons that offer a satisfying amount of feedback when pressed.
There’s also a slew of custom buttons on the keyboard dock that are specifically made to control the Transformer Pad 300. If you didn’t want to, you’d never really have to use the touchscreen once the Transformer Pad is in its dock.
For an extra $150, the keyboard dock for the ASUS Transformer Pad 300 is well worth it.
9. Connectivity
Thanks to the Bluetooth 3.0 chip and HDMI port found on the Transformer Pad 300, it doesn’t get a bad rating when it comes to connectivity. But not having access to 3G or 4G networks takes it down a notch.
In this day and age, a tablet like the ASUS Transformer Pad 300 deserves some sort of connectivity options outside of WiFi. For an extra $50, I can imagine most people would love the ability to put in a sim card and use the Transformer Pad 300 on the road. And who knows, maybe some day, a carrier will pick it up and that will happen. But for now, if you want to connect to the Internet with the Transformer Pad 300, you’ll have to rely on WiFi.
10. Price
The price of the ASUS Transformer Pad 300 is another area where the tablet shines. For $379 dollars, you can buy the Transformer Pad with 16GB of internal storage, no strings attached. For an extra $20, you can double the storage to 32GB. Combined with the $149 keyboard dock, you can have a fully functioning laptop, Android tablet hybrid with a NVIDIA Tegra 3, 1GB of DDR3 and Ice Cream Sandwich for $550.
Compared to something like a MacBook Air or an Ultrabook, that’s almost half the price. Of course there’s going to be some major performance differences, but if you don’t need a top-of-the-line laptop and want something ultra portable to carry around, the price of the Transformer Pad 300 and the keyboard dock combined makes the combo well worth checking out.
ASUS TF3008 / 10
ASUS has proved several times over now that there is definitely a market for high-end Android tablets. With the exception of a slate or two out of Samsung, ASUS rules this sector of the market. As such, I had high hopes for the ASUS Transformer Pad TF300.
It’s incredibly similar to its sibling the Transformer Prime, with only a minor downgrade here or there. Fortunately, the price of the Transformer Pad 300 is set to reflect those changes. At $379 for the 16GB model and $400 for the 32GB model, the ASUS Transformer Pad 300 offers a premium tablet experience for less money than extremely similar tablets on the market. It looks like ASUS has another winner on their hands.
You can buy the Royal Blue ASUS Transformer Pad 300 starting this Monday online and in stores by the week of April 30. Look for the red and white Transformer Pad 300s to launch this summer.
According to Netbook News, Samsung has stopped production of the upcoming Galaxy Tab 2 (10.1) tablet to beef up the innards of the device. Previously set for an early-May release with a dual-core processor, Samsung apparently wanted the Tab 2 to better compete with upcoming quad-core tablets. The rumor cites their source a Korean Samsung insider.
If the rumor proves true, the Tab 2 10.1 could be the first tablet to feature Samsung’s quad-core Exynos chipset, hopefully the 32nm Exynos 4412 chip which also features a quad-core GPU. Unfortunately, the inclusion of a quad-core chip would likely impact the pricing of the 10″ slate, which was initially reported to be around $400 for a 16GB storage model. The move could also push back the early-May release date for the Tab 2, unless Samsung is somehow able to ramp up production quickly.
We certainly like the idea of a quad-core Galaxy Tab making its way to the US in the next few months, and will be watching the developments closely. Of course, today’s report is just a rumor, and production of the less-beefy Tab 2 could still be in full force.
What do you think? Do you want to see a quad-core 10″ Galaxy Tab? Would that entice you to buy a Galaxy Tab over the upcoming Google/ASUS tablet or Transformer Prime?
If you want to own the best 10-inch Android tablet available, but don’t want to spend $499 on the Transformer Prime, then you might want to check out its younger brother the Transformer Pad 300.
ASUS’s new Transformer Pad TF300 is almost identical to the Transformer Prime TF201, but is loses the IPS+ display for a regular IPS display, and it’s slightly thicker. We knew the cheaper device was coming soon and today the blue 32 GB model appeared on Amazon for $399. Another 16 GB model is said to be coming at $379, but it is not currently listed for pre-order yet.
Those who pre-order the Transformer Pad 300 now should see it early next week, around April 22nd.
I have owned the original Transformer Prime since last year, and I still use it daily as my preferred Android tablet. The IPS+ display is incredibly bright and suitable for outdoor reading, but I don’t use my tablet much outdoors so I wouldn’t mind getting the regular IPS display and saving $100.
Looking out over the next couple months, the Transformer Pad 300 looks to be the best deal on a premium 10-inch Android tablet. The only device out there that might eclipse the Transformer Pad in performance is the rumored Samsung Galaxy Tab 11.6, but we don’t know when it will arrive (and there is no way it will be priced as low as $399.)
Also coming soon from ASUS is the upgraded Transformer Prime Infinity TF700T, which features a higher resolution 1920 × 1200 display. That will be the highest resolution display of any ASUS tablet, but it will likely debut at a higher price around $499.
ASUS Transformer Prime owners who have experienced GPS issues with their tablet have been to hell and back. After several botched attempts at trying to fix weak signal issues with software updates, ASUS has moved forward with an alternative correction method. A week ago, word got out that ASUS was working on some sort of antenna dongle for the Transformer Prime. The dongle was said to be “very minimalistic,” and “flush fit with the bottom of the unit.” Today, we learned that is not quite the case.
Land of Droid has managed to score some pictures of the GPS dongle for the ASUS Transformer Prime that show just how “minimalistic” the dongle really is. Used with the Transformer Prime’s 40 pin connector, the GPS dongle is a bar shaped attachment that’s nearly as long as the Prime in landscape mode, and looks to be maybe an inch or two thick. It looks huge. And because of how it attaches to the Prime, it can’t be used with the keyboard dock or while it’s charging. The pictures of the GPS dongle found below are said to be of an engineering build, but won’t change much from the final product.
There’s two ways to look at the GPS dongle for the Transformer Prime. It’s great that ASUS is committed to their customers. They’ve worked long and hard to come up with a solution to the Prime’s GPS woes, and they plan on giving it out for free. On the other hand, it feels like the situation may have spun out of control.
ASUS made a poor decision in build materials and design which ended up affecting the performance of the final product. Instead of offering extended warranties and ridiculously huge GPS attachments, ASUS could have stopped production and recalled the Prime until things were straightened out.
Then again, plenty of Prime owners couldn’t be happier with their purchase, so maybe ASUS did the right thing in keeping the tablet on shelves. What do you think? Has ASUS handled the Transformer Prime’s GPS problems well, or is the GPS dongle the straw that broke the camel’s back? Let us know what you think in the comments.
The Galaxy Tab 2 series is coming to the U.S. as early as April 22nd. Samsung has two variants of the Galaxy Tab 2, a 7.0″ and 10.1″ model that are billed as lower-priced follow ups to the original Galaxy Tab and Tab 10.1 tablets.
Both Tab 2 variants will sport Android 4.0, a 1GHz dual-core processor (unknown which variant), and 1GB of RAM. You’ll find a 3 megapixel rear and VGA front-facing camera on each tablet as well.
The Galaxy Tab 2 7.0″ will go on sale starting April 22nd, and come with a low $250 price point for 8GB of storage, with an SD card slot that boosts the storage capacity up by 32GB. The Tab 2 10″ bumps the storage up to 16GB, and will land May 8th for $400.
While not the beefy specs we’ve come to expect from the Tab series, the Tab 2 line is geared at stealing customers away from the ereader market by providing a more feature-rich experience for around the same price. The tablets will have full access to the Android Market, giving them access to many more applications than the Kindle Fire or Nook Color tablets for a similar price.
Anyone out there planning on picking up the Tab 2, or have you got your eyes on a beefier tablet?
Samsung Unveils New Galaxy Tab 2, Galaxy Players for U.S. Market
Highlights for Galaxy Tab 2 Include Integrated Universal RemoteIce Cream SandwichTM and Expandable Storage; Galaxy Player Devices Deliver a Full Android TM Experience without monthly Service contracts
RIDGEFIELD PARK, N.J., April 11, 2012 – Samsung Electronics America Inc., a market leader and award-winning innovator in consumer electronics, today unveils the latest additions to the popular Samsung Galaxy line of handheld and portable devices. The two new Galaxy Tab 2TM products and two new Galaxy Players TMcontinue to showcase Samsung’s commitment to providing users with choice, flexibility and connectivity to the full Samsung ecosystem of products, apps and services.
Galaxy Tab 2 – Powerful, Smart, Easy to Use
The Galaxy Tab 2 Series, available in both 10.1” and 7.0” screen sizes, are powerful dual-core tablets running the latest version of Android – Ice Cream Sandwich. The devices feature an integrated IR blaster for universal remote capabilities, as well as an easily accessible memory card slot for convenient loading of multimedia files in a range of supported file formats.
The new tablets offer endless content access in a sleek design that can maximize the home entertainment experience. The Smart Remote App and built-in IR Blaster turns the Tab 2 into a universal smart remote, helping users easily find their favorite shows. Users can choose from more than 450,000 apps, access favorite movies and TV shows from Google Play or Media Hub, and surf millions of web pages with Adobe® Flash™ support.
In addition, the Galaxy Tab 2 products are fully Google certified for complete access to Google Play (formerly Android Marketplace) and competitively priced at $399.99 and $249.99, respectively – so consumers no longer need to compromise when selecting a tablet.
“These new Galaxy Tab 2 and Galaxy Player devices deliver what consumers have come to expect from all Samsung products – exceptional design, impressive connectivity options and a selection of choices for each type of person and user scenario,” said Tim Baxter, President, Samsung Electronics America. “A one size fits all solution is just not sufficient.”
Galaxy Players put Android in the Hand – without Service Contracts
With the two new Galaxy Players, available in 4.2 inch WVGA screen or 3.6 inch HVGA screen variants, gaming, videos and music are more fun than ever.
Easily connect to Wi-Fi hotspots anywhere to get instant access to the latest content. Users also can play their own video and music in a variety of formats, connect to other devices using USB 2.0 or Bluetooth 3.0 connectivity, or simply load the device via a micro SD card. Because the device runs on Android™ 2.3, Gingerbread, a world of apps is a touch away.
Plus, dual-stereo speakers (on the Galaxy Player 4.2) deliver an incredible music, video or gaming experience – anywhere.
The new Galaxy Tab 2 and Galaxy Players will be available for purchase at a variety of retailers including Best Buy, Amazon, Tiger Direct and others. The Galaxy Player 3.6 is available now for $149.99 exclusively at Best Buy and soon at other retailers. The Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 will be available for preorder today at $249.99, and for purchase on April 22. The Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 and Galaxy Player 4.2 will both be available for pre-order on May 4 and for purchase on May 13, at $399.99 and $199.99 respectively.
ASUS certainly isn’t going to be challenging Samsung anytime soon for the “ridiculous number of tablets crown,” but with the Transformer Prime TF700T, the 370T (Nexus tablet?) and of course the Transformer Pad 300 pictured above, they aren’t exactly slouches either.
Those first two are certainly grabbing a few more headlines as the TF700T is basically a Transformer Prime with a 1920×1200 display – and while that may not be resolutionary (yeah I just threw up a little) – it’s definitely a welcome upgrade to an already fantastic piece of hardware. Then of course you have the 370T, which fortunately or unfortunately may have been co-opted by Google to do duty as the first true Nexus tablet.
The Transformer Pad 300 still deserves a look as well though, as it offers virtually all of the features of the Transformer Prime with just a slightly diminished screen (IPS rather than IPS+) and a thicker frame being the two concessions. Your reward for accepting those compromises is a fairly significant savings with the 16GB version of the Transformer Pad 300 ringing up for just $379 and just $20 more for 32GB (according to a J&R representative that spoke to the Verge). The same representative claimed that they should have them in stock “in about a week.” Internationally, the 32GB Transformer Pad 300 also appeared on the French Tablette Store for €499.
As you probably surmised from the picture and the Transformer name, the keyboard dock is alive and well for the Transformer Pad 300 and should be setting you back an additional $149.
Anyone looking to save a little coin and go with the Transformer Pad 300 when it launches or do you have your heart set on either the full HD or more pocketable additions to the ASUS tablet family?
Though Toshiba largely swung and missed with the Thrive line of tablets, they’re going all in on a new line of tablets in the Excite line. Toshiba apparently listened to consumer feedback from the Thrive, and has traded in the bulky, port-heavy body for an extremely thin chassis. The Excite will come in three different variants, with a 7.7″ device with the same AMOLED display we loved in the Galaxy Tab 7.7, a 10″ model with 1280 x 800 resolution, and a whopping 13″, 1600 x 900 model.
Those who long for the full-functionality found in the original Thrive tablets will be happy to know that the 10″ and 13″ variants both sport a full-sized SD card slot, though the USB and HDMI ports were trashed in favor of thinness. All three models will pack the Tegra 3 SoC chipset, which is good news for those of you who use tablets for mobile gaming.
While the Excite tablets are crazy thin (and, incredibly good-looking), the price points are not.
Excite 7.7″ – June 10th Release Date
16GB model – $500
32GB model – $580
Excite 10″ – May 6th Release Date
16GB model – $450
32GB model – $530
64GB model – $650
Excite 13″ – June 10th Release Date
32GB model – $650
64GB model – $750
Though we certainly expect tablet computers to be fairly expensive, I have a hard time seeing Toshiba selling many of these tablets at the currently named price points. And while many of us think we would love a 13″ tablet, once you get above a 10″ device, the portability aspect goes out the window.
Still, the Thrive tablets are some of the best-looking Android tablets to be unveiled, and the form factor could move units. The continued release of tablets puts pressure on Google to urge developers to step up the development game for Android tablet applications. Until we start to see applications that don’t look like blown-up phone applications, I have a hard time seeing Android tablets take off outside of the core Android crowd.
Who out there wants one of these bad boys? Would you use a 13″ tablet? Sound off in the comments.
TOSHIBA SET TO EXCITE THE TABLET MARKET WITH NEW 10-, 13- AND 7.7-INCH TABLETS
Toshiba Introduces Three New Android-powered Tablets, Giving Consumers More Choice
IRVINE, Calif. – Apr. 10, 2012 – Toshiba’s Digital Products Division (DPD), a division of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., today announced the expansion of its Excite™ family of Android™-powered tablets with three new display sizes – 13.3-inch, 10.1-inch and 7.7-inch. The new Excite tablets boast thin-and-light designs, brilliant displays, quad-core performance as well as a full range of essential ports and smart features.
“One size does not fit all, so we are carefully considering how and where people are using tablets and designing form factors to best suit various needs,” said Carl Pinto, vice president of product development, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Digital Products Division. “With amazingly thin and light designs, our new Excite family of tablets continues to incorporate what consumers have come to love about Toshiba tablets: essential ports for a more complete tablet computing experience plus durability that ensures they can go the distance.”
Powered to Perform, Built to Last and Designed to Excite
The three new tablets – Excite 10, Excite 13 and Excite 7.7 – feature elegant and sturdy aluminum shells and scratch-resistant Corning® Gorilla® Glass displays, making them not only stylish, but also durable. Powered by Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich, which builds on the things people love most about Android – the tablets offer a simplified UI, easy multitasking, customizable home screens, resizable widgets and a full suite of familiar Google™ mobile services applications – as well as powerful new ways of communicating and sharing.
From scrolling and swiping the web, to the fast action of the latest games, the Excite tablets’ all-new NVIDIA® Tegra™ 3 processorsi deliver amazing multitasking, web, gaming and video. This innovative mobile processor features the world’s only 4-PLUS-1™ mobile quad-core CPU, providing users outstanding performance for even the most demanding applications. Apps run faster, games are played at console-quality, HD video is smoother, plus it features a unique 5th battery-saver core to handle everyday apps – extending battery lifeii.
Each tablet is equipped with a 5-megapixel camera on the back, along with a 2-megapixel front-facing shooter for convenient photography, video capture and chat. The tablets also include stereo speakers with exclusive sound enhancements by Toshiba and SRS® Labs, as well as Wi-Fi® and Bluetooth® connectivity.
Excite 10: Smart, Speedy, Durable
An all-around tablet designed for home and away, the Excite 10 tablet delivers an exceptional visual experience, featuring a bright, high definition 10.1-inch diagonal AutoBrite™ LED Backlit display with 1280×800 resolution and 10-finger multi-touch support, making it an ideal choice for web browsing, reading, games and apps. Measuring just 0.35 inches thin and weighing just 1.32 poundsiii, the Excite 10 tablet is extremely portable and delivers up to 10 hours of battery lifeiv and seven days of stand-by.
Delivering more performance than previous generation tablets, the Excite 10 tablet is powered by a quad-core NVIDIA® Tegra™ 3 processorv with GeForce graphicsvi and 1GB of RAMvii, opening up new possibilities for everyday multi-purpose use and next generation mobile games. Built to do more than the average tablet, users can enjoy easy syncing and sharing between all of their favorite devices, with a selection of built-in ports, including Micro USB, Micro HDMI® and a full-size SD card slot.
Excite 13: More Screen for More of Everything
Delivering more screen real estate than any other tablet on the market, the Excite 13 tablet offers a big, bright, higher resolution display, while delivering more room for everything else – from sharing photos and web browsing to playing games and watching movies with a group. Ideally suited for the home, from growing families to empty nesters, the Excite 13 tablet is only 0.4 inches thin and weighs 2.2 poundsviii, so it is still easy to carry.
With a 13.3-inch diagonal AutoBrite™ LED Backlit display with 10-finger touch support, the tablet boasts a cinematic 16:9 aspect ratio and 1600×900 native resolution, perfect for watching HD movies and videos. A four-speaker sound system with exclusive sound enhancements by Toshiba and SRS Labs delivers amazing audio and an included tablet stand makes it easy to prop up on a table, kitchen countertop or coffee table to share videos with friends and family.
Not only great for movies, the Excite 13 tablet can power through the latest games and multitask with ease. Powered by the quad-core NVIDIA Tegra™ 3 mobile processorix with GeForce graphicsx and 1GB of memoryxi, the large display tablet offers smooth, console-quality gaming plus the performance for high definition entertainment. Extremely power efficient, the Excite 13 tablet is targeted to deliver up to 13 hours of battery lifexii and seven days of stand-by. The Excite 13 tablet includes Micro USB, Micro HDMI® ports and a full-size SD card slot for syncing and sharing content.
Excite 7.7: A Brilliant AMOLED Display
Toshiba’s first tablet to feature an AMOLED display, the Excite 7.7 tablet is ideal for consumers on the go and is perfect for the mobile gamer and movie lover alike. The tablet’s brilliant 7.7-inch diagonal display brings games, movies, books and photos to life like never before with rich colors, deep contrast and amazing sharpness. Extremely thin at just 0.3 inches and light at only 13.4 ounces, Excite 7.7 fits easily into a bag or jacket.
Exceptionally powerful and able to tackle the latest games and HD content, the Excite 7.7 tablet is powered by a quad-core NVIDIA® Tegra™ 3 processor with GeForce graphicsxiii and 1GB of memoryxiv. The tablet includes a Micro USB port and a Micro SD card slot for syncing and sharing content.
The Convenience of Android and Exclusive Toshiba Apps
The new Excite tablets include a full suite of familiar Google™ Mobile Service applications, including Google Play™, YouTube™, Gmail™ and Google Maps™. Additionally, the tablets come pre-loaded with a useful mix of Toshiba software and third-party applications, including TOSHIBA Book Place, which offers more than 3 million e-books, the TOSHIBA Media Player that supports content sharing, TOSHIBA File Manager, as well as Netflix™ and Zinio™, the ultimate app for magazine lovers and more.
Pricing and Availability
The Excite 10 tablet will be available for purchase on May 6, 2012 for $449.99 MSRPxv for the 16GB model, $529.99 MSRPxvi for the 32GB model and $649.99 MSRPxvii for the 64GB model.
The Excite 7.7 tablet will be available for purchase on June 10, 2012 for $499.99 MSRPxviii for the 16GB model and $579.99 MSRPxix for the 32GB model.
The Excite 13 tablet will be available for purchase on June 10, 2012 for $649.99 MSRPxx for the 32GB model and $749.99 MSRPxxi for the 64GB model.
These tablets will be available at major retailers, e-tailers and direct from Toshiba at ToshibaDirect.com.
Image Gallery: http://bit.ly/excitetablets.
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starting this Monday online and in stores by the week of April 30. Look for the red and white Transformer Pad 300s to launch this summer.
on the Transformer Prime, then you might want to check out its younger brother the Transformer Pad 300.
. Another 16 GB model is said to be coming at $379, but it is not currently listed for pre-order yet.
