Brooke Crothers posts - Nanotech - The Circuits Blog- Page 7

Google, Asus to hook up on 7-inch Android tablet, says report

Yet another report is claiming an imminent 7-inch Google tablet. And add Asus to the mix as that company will make and co-brand the device.

Google and Asus will unveil a 7-inch co-branded tablet PC as early as May, said DigiTimes in a report dated March 9.

NPD DisplaySearch analyst Richard Shim told CNET last month that the tablet will have a 1280x800 resolution 7-inch display and production is slated for April. The initial production run is between 1.5 million to 2 million units, Shim said.

And another report earlier this month said at least one model will retail … Read more

iPad's display is cutting edge--and a challenge for manufacturers

The new iPad's display is so avant-garde that Apple could have trouble keeping up with demand if it exceeds recent iPad 2 levels, according to a display analyst.

Cutting-edge tech: It's gratuitous at this point to say that the new iPad's 2,048x1,536 display is by any measure amazing--boasting a resolution typically found on large 24-inch class desktop displays.

Exactly how this is achieved is explained in a NPD DisplaySearch discussion about how Super High Aperture technology--by increasing aperture ratio--allows Apple to squeeze four times the number of pixels into the new display compared to the … Read more

Apple to keep tablet lead over Android in 2012, say analysts

Apple will hold onto a big chunk of the tablet market in 2012, according to a report from IHS-iSuppli and a research note from Deutsche Bank today.

Apple will take back a bit of market share lost to Android in the fourth quarter, while maintaining more than the 60 percent of the market in 2012, according to iSuppli.

iSuppli's key points for iPad in 2012--Rhoda Alexander, analyst:

2012 market share: 61 percent, up from 57 percent in the fourth quarter, down one percentage point from the 62 percent share in 2011. 2012 total tablet shipments: on track to reach … Read more

New iPad: Why quad-core graphics?

Apple has just elevated the graphics chip to superstar status. Why focus on the graphics?

Apple announced today at the iPad event in San Francisco that the new iPad has a quad-core graphics processing unit (GPU). (So much for the central processing unit, or CPU, which typically garners all of the attention.)

So far, chip review site Anandtech offers the best educated guess about the graphics engine. Anandtech cites graphics chip technology from Imagination (PowerVR SGX543MP4) and CPU tech from ARM (Cortex A9).

"Our guess? Dual-core Cortex A9 [CPU] plus a PowerVR SGX543MP4 [GPU], an upgrade over the 543MP2 … Read more

As ultrabook makers seek stronger sales, some opt for low cost

Ultrabook suppliers are still dealing with pesky market and profitability issues, according to a CNET source and two reports. And some will turn to low-cost designs as a result.

"The ultrabook adoption during the holiday season was ugly," an industry source, who speaks to ultrabook suppliers, told CNET. That source was speaking about sales for one particular ultrabook vendor.

The market for all ultrabook suppliers, however, is still challenging. "You've got a down market on the eve of a new operating system (Windows 8) at a price point that's fairly robust (high)," said the … Read more

iPad HD will surpass laptops on key features

With the iPad HD, it will become crystal clear why Apple's tablet is the fastest growing "PC" segment.

The iPad HD, aka iPad 3, is expected to have:

Eye-popping 2048x1536 display (versus the iPad 2's 1024x768) 4G via Verizon's LTE Faster graphics silicon, among other chip enhancements

And all in roughly the same extremely portable package of the iPad 2.

Let's see. Neither the newest MacBook Air nor new Intel ultraportable laptops can boast that kind of display resolution and none offer a standard model with built-in broadband--and certainly not the LTE variety of … Read more

Small Apple tablet chatter gets louder from suppliers

Don't believe Apple will release a small tablet? Maybe not. But that hasn't stopped a constant trickle of reports citing Asia-based suppliers who are reportedly gearing up to make parts for the device in the third quarter of this year.

AU Optronics and LG Display will supply the 7.85-inch screen for the Apple device, according to Taipei-based Economic Daily News--that report was cited in the Macotakara blog in a post dated March 6.

Other suppliers listed in the original Chinese-language article include: Radiant Opto-Electronics and Forhouse, which will supply the backlight module; Renesas Electronics, which will make … Read more

Weak Android, Windows competition keeps iPad on top, says analyst

Apple's new iPad will only face "benign" competition from Windows and Android products, a Deutsche Bank analyst said today in a research note.

In a preface to the note titled "Top 10 Reasons for Apple's rally other than the upcoming iPad announcement"--referring to Apple's rising stock price--analyst Chris Whitmore cited continued Apple tablet dominance "due to relatively benign competition from [Android] tablets and our concerns of a slow ramp of Windows tablets later this year."

Deutsche Bank rates Apple a "Buy" with a price target of $600.

The … Read more

Windows 8 on ARM: No legacy, no legs?

Would you buy a Windows tablet that doesn't run older Windows applications?

That's the question that keeps dogging me when I see Microsoft demonstrating tablets based on ARM processors from Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, and Nvidia. Tablets with those processors will not run so-called Intel "x86" legacy software (though they will run a full version of Office 15).

Microsoft's Steven Sinofsky wrote about this on February 9. "If you need to run existing x86/64 (Intel-based) software, then you will be best served with Windows 8 on x86/64."

And he reiterated this at … Read more

BlackBerry PlayBook bestseller at major Canadian retailer

Have consumers forsaken the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet? Not at one large Canadian retailer.

In a tweet on Friday, RIM linked to a Future Shop tweet that cited the PlayBook as the bestselling tablet this week. Future Shop is a major Canadian reseller.

That may have something to do with the price, of course. The 16GB PlayBook is selling for $199 in Canada, as it is in the U.S. at retailers like Best Buy.

Like Future Shop, Best Buy is also selling the 32GB model for $249.99 and the 64GB model for $299.99.

The low price isn't … Read more