nexus7
Latest
The Daily Roundup for 07.19.2013
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
New Nexus 7 leak points to Android 4.3, dual cameras and wireless charging (update: on sale July 31st)
A few days back, a lovely tipster sent us in some shots that strongly suggest a shiny new Nexus 7 will be hitting shelves next week for $269. Granted, that's for the 32GB model, but it still represents a $20 premium over the current version. What we haven't known until now, though, has been what exactly that extra $20 will get you. A new leak, that photo above of a product info tag, suggests that there are actually quite a few extras baked in this time around. According to the pic, there's a quad-core 1.5GHz CPU with the still-unannounced Android 4.3 as the OS. The 7-inch screen size remains, though it's unclear if there's a resolution bump to accompany it. Also on board are a pair of cameras: 1.2MP up front and 5MP around back. The two more unexpected tidbits are the addition of Slim Port support for playing 1080p video on your TV, as well as wireless charging, because the less cables you need, the happier you're bound to be. We're sure all will be revealed next week at Google's big event. Update: Yet another tipster has reached out to us to share that the next iteration of the Nexus 7 will officially go on sale in Staples on July 31st. As you can see in the memo after the break the tablets are expected to arrive in stores as early as the 24th, but they'll be kept under lock and key until the last day of the month. This doesn't preclude Google from selling the devices through the Play store earlier, though, but that would mean taking the plunge without trying it out first.
The Daily Roundup for 07.17.2013
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
New Nexus 7 coming to retail outlets next week, according to documents (update: pricing and pics)
It appears that the rumored sequel to the Nexus 7 is close at hand, according to internal documents sent to us by an anonymous tipster. Apparently, the new device will be sold in stores alongside the current iteration (at first, at least, though we can't be certain if this will only be until existing stock runs out). The docs indicate that stores will receive the tablet as early as the 20th, though we wouldn't be surprised if we didn't see it until the 24th or later, given Google's product event on that date. This particular model being discussed is the 32GB version, but we're not certain if it will be available in 16GB as well or if it's just not going to be offered at this specific outlet. We'll update you as we learn more about it, but it's pretty clear that next week's announcement will be rather significant. Update: According to a shot of an inventory screen sent in by our tipster, the retail price for the 32GB model is set at $269.99. Update 2: A tipster sent in photos of the alleged device to Android Central. While we can't know for sure that this is the exact same tablet that we expect to see next week -- it could simply be a prototype, for instance -- it at least looks quite feasible. There's a pair of pictures after the break.
ASUS sells 3 million tablets in 2013 Q1, rakes in $202 million profit
The PC market may be shrinking, but ASUS' plan to avoid being swept away by its rivals seems to be working. The Nexus 7 maker's latest financials reveal it made $3.5 billion in revenue, coining a quarterly profit of $202 million in the process -- up 5.8 percent compared to both the previous quarter and the same quarter in 2012. While ASUS did see sales drops in its Notebook and PC Component divisions, these were offset by sales of 3 million tablets in the first three months of the year. The company is also making gains in America, which now accounts for 23 percent of ASUS' business -- up from 17 percent at the start of last year. While these current results are the company's seventh consecutive earnings increase, ASUS is predicting sales will remain flat in the next quarter -- perhaps affirming the rumor that we won't see that rumored Nexus 7 replacement until Q3.
Engadget's tablet buyer's guide: spring 2013 edition
Much like bears, tablet designers are coming out of hibernation: there have been a handful of noteworthy models reaching the wild after a few months of silence. Most of these are the Windows 8- and RT-based tablets that didn't quite make the cut for the holidays, and we're launching our 2013 spring tablet buyer's guide with a dedicated Windows section to accommodate a distinct and rapidly filling category. Just be careful before you commit to a purchase, wherever your allegiances lie: Mobile World Congress brought us tablets that haven't quite shipped yet, like the FonePad and Galaxy Note 8.0. (We've included a heads-up in those situations where waiting a few weeks, or months, may be wisest.) As chaotic as spring can be, our guide might just provide some kind of stability if you're shopping for your next slate.
Cox TV Connect for Android launches, brings live TV streaming to 'select' tablets
We're still waiting to see Cox's next generation cable TV-to-mobile streaming app, but right now it's released a version of its existing Cox TV Connect app for Android. Available on iPads since the end of 2011 and on iPhone / iPod touch since the end of last year, it's finally made the trek to a "select" group of Android tablets, consisting of the Nexus 7 and Samsung Galaxy 2 / Galaxy Note slates. A support document also mentions Amazon's Kindle Fire family, however the app isn't in its store as of this posting. For those not familiar, it's a free app for subscribers that lets them watch a selection of live TV channels while connected to their home wireless network, and view listings anywhere. We'll be interested to see if the list of compatible (Android 4.0+) hardware grows quickly, or if users will need to wait for a port of the new app which adds personalization features tied into Cox's Trio DVR platform. Update: Cox has posted a press release for the new app which also confirms Kindle Fire support, while many readers in comments are saying it works on their (unlisted) devices. The press release is after the break, in the meantime if you have Cox service and an Android device not on this list, you can hit the source link and give it a shot.
The Daily Roundup for 04.11.2013
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Editor's Letter: The social smartphone
In each issue of Distro, editor-in-chief Tim Stevens publishes a wrap-up of the week in news. There's a good chance 2011's HTC Status, with its portrait QWERTY layout and dedicated Facebook button, never found its way into your social network. That last attempt at the mythical Facebook phone failed to garner much praise, but if social networks gave up so easily, well, we'd all still be using MySpace. HTC and Facebook are at it again, this week launching the $99 First, exclusively on AT&T in the US. Yes, it's a name every commenter could love (or hate). Yes, it's a name every commenter could love (or hate), a title cheekily reminiscent of the HTC One. This, though, is a rather different device, aiming more toward the mid-range and relying on some serious social integration to make it stand out. It's the first phone running the Facebook Home interface, which will be available on many devices starting on April 12th. It delivers a far more comprehensive Facebook experience than the previous apps have managed, and intriguingly Zuckerberg himself said that Home is "the next version of Facebook." The end of the web? Stay tuned.
Google and ASUS to release second-generation Nexus 7 tablet in July, says Reuters
Google's next generation of Nexus 7 tablets from ASUS will be Qualcomm-powered and arrive this July, according to Reuters. If its sources are to be believed, Mountain View is aiming to ship eight million units by the end of the year, showing it has a lot of confidence in the upcoming model. Other leaked info claims a higher screen resolution, a thinner bezel and an unspecified Qualcomm CPU instead of the current model's NVIDIA Tegra 3, possibly to save power. There's no info on pricing or other specs and Google's not speaking at this point, of course -- but if it proves accurate, hopefully the two companies have learned their lesson from the current model's runaway success and will ramp production accordingly.
Google Play starts offering devices in India, starting with the Nexus 7
Google Play Books recently launched for India; it's only fitting that locals get some hardware to read with. Accordingly, Google just opened device sales for India through Google Play, beginning with the Nexus 7. The initial offering is decidedly modest and includes just the 16GB WiFi version of the reference tablet, which costs 15,999 rupees ($294) and should deliver by April 5th. While that doesn't provide the selection that we know in some countries -- and the Nexus 7 definitely isn't one of the cheaper tablets Indians will have seen -- it's an important step toward creating a truly complete Google Play ecosystem in an influential country. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Nexus 7 dock reaches the Google Play Store: also, unicorns are real (update: regions)
The official Nexus 7 dock has been one of the more elusive beasts in the accessory world, especially for anyone who wanted it from an official source. Google just brought that months-long pursuit to a close -- the dock is now sitting in the Google Play Store. So long as you have $30 to spend and can endure up to one or two weeks of waiting, you too can give your Nexus 7 an ASUS-designed home with both micro-USB and audio line out. Just don't try to overcompensate by buying docks en masse; Google caps the order limit at two. Update: If you're wondering just where the dock is available, worry not. Google has just confirmed that the dock is selling in Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, the UK and the US.
How would you change the Nexus 7?
Google's Nexus 7 has a rather colorful life story. It started out as the ASUS MeMO ME370T, until a sharp-eyed Google executive decided that it was ripe for a Mountain View makeover. When Andy Rubin and friends were done, it had Android 4.1, whip-smart internals and, best of all, it cost under $200. As such, it's perfect, right? Well, that's what we want to know. We've been toting these units around since last summer, and that means it's high time we asked you what you loved, hated, and more importantly -- what would you change?
ASUS FonePad official: 7-inch tablet with phone functionality, priced at $249 (hands-on)
We already knew ASUS was prepping a product called the FonePad, a 7-inch tablet with built-in phone functionality (yes, just like the new Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0). Well, ASUS just formally unveiled it here at Mobile World Congress, which means we've got a few more details to share than we did previously. First off, the speculation about its specs was all true: this does indeed have an Intel processor -- a 1.2GHz Atom Z2420, to be exact -- along with 1GB of RAM, a PowerVR SGX540 GPU, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and an HSPA+ radio. What's more, the 4,270mAh battery is said to get up to nine hours of runtime, which would put this in the same league as other Atom tablets we've tested recently. In terms of hardware features, the FonePad has a smooth metal back (available in gray and gold), making it drastically different in appearance from the similarly sized Nexus 7. 'Round back you'll find a panel where all the usual antennae are, and hidden underneath are both the micro-SIM slot and the microSD reader. That microSD slot, by the way, supports 32GB cards, which should come in handy considering this has just 16GB of built-in storage. Additionally, the tablet has a 1.2-megapixel front camera, attached to a 7-inch, 1,280 x 800 IPS display. The FonePad will be available in Europe for £179 / €219. Here at MWC, ASUS also confirmed a US dollar price of $249, though we had heard rumblings it wouldn't actually be sold there. It arrives in March, but the specific on-sale date hasn't been revealed yet. We're hoping to test one ourselves soon enough, but until then, stay tuned for the usual round of hands-on shots. Update: Our hands-on photos and video are in! Enjoy!
Pwnie Express launches the Pwn Pad, takes hackproofing on the road
Pwnie Express-made security tools like the Power Pwn have mostly been stationary creatures that aren't much help when checking for network vulnerabilities on the move. There's now a more mobile version, though, in the Pwn Pad. The kit combines a Nexus 7 with USB-based Bluetooth, Ethernet and WiFi to gauge the security of a network beyond what Google's tablet can manage on its own. Ubuntu Linux is available in the Pwn Pad's software loadout, but part of the appeal comes from running a suite of tools in Android that aren't always available on the platform, such as Kismet. The $795 price will seem steep to those who bought the plain Nexus 7 at a quarter of the price, although it might end up being a discount for security gurus who want to leave bulkier tools -- even their laptops -- at home.
The Daily Roundup for 02.22.2013
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Android 4.2.2 update reportedly arriving on Galaxy Nexus phones, Nexus tablets
After a few sightings early in January we hadn't heard much about a new version of Android 4.2, but posters on Reddit and Android Police say 4.2.2 is starting to pop up on several flavors of Nexus hardware. First spotted on a r/Android poster's GSM Galaxy Nexus and later on Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 tablets (as shown above), there are no changes listed other than "performance and stability," however there's hope that this includes promised fixes for Bluetooth A2DP issues. We haven't seen any new software on our devices and there's no official word yet, let us know in the comments if you're seeing anything new on your mobile device. [Image credit: Marco Duran]
Nexus 7 WiFi + 3G model goes on sale in Japan February 9th
Google's Nexus 7 tablet will soon be freed from the tyranny of WiFi range in Japan, as the 32GB WiFi + 3G model (supporting W-CDMA and HSPA+ networks) is finally launching there this Saturday, aka February 9th. Nothing's changed from the WiFi-only version apart from the additional micro-SIM slot, of course, and although there's no confirmed pricing, it's expected to cost 29,800 yen (around $318, a little more than in the US) when it pops up online. Given the rate at which new Nexus devices disappear from the Play store, those eager for one from the first batch should think about clearing their diaries, and adding "click refresh" to their weekend to-do list, a thousand times over.
Engadget's tablet buyer's guide: winter 2013 edition
As we begin 2013, we're stuck in a kind of tablet limbo. Most companies rushed to get devices out for the fall, while the models we saw at CES 2013 aren't yet shipping. As such, it's a mostly familiar deck, with Apple, Google and Microsoft once again striving for the top spot. That said, there are new entries from Amazon and ASUS, and many of us who didn't score some sweet loot this holiday season have a slate-sized pile of cash to spend. If you're in that situation, continue on for our first tablet guide of 2013. Note: If you're looking for tablets with an Atom or Core i5 CPU, you'll find those in our forthcoming laptop buyer's guide, since they have the same guts as notebooks (or netbooks, in some cases). For the purposes of this tablet guide, we define tablets as slate-type devices with low-power ARM processors.
CyanogenMod 10.1 Milestone 1 hits Nexus and Samsung devices
Despite all the nightly builds of CyanogenMod 10.1, there hasn't been much of anything definitive to hang our hats on. There's at last some sense of reliability now that Milestone 1 versions have hit the servers. Most Nexus devices, as well as swaths of Samsung's Galaxy S and Galaxy Tab 2 ranges, can get the unofficial Android 4.2 build for themselves. The M1 code is deemed "mostly stable" and good enough for daily use, although that's relative -- it's not yet to the level of a fully stable build, let alone factory firmware. If you only needed fewer risks than before, though, the downloads and details await at the source links. [Thanks, Rashid]
