Tablets

Android phones to top 1B by year's end, Eric Schmidt says

One billion people will be using Android smartphones within the next six to nine months, Google Chairman Eric Schmidt predicted today, noting the operating system continues gaining traction across the globe.

Schmidt, speaking during the AllThingsD mobile conference in New York, also said there will be nearly 2 billion Android phones within a year or two. Currently, there are more than 750 million Android phones in use across 320 carriers and 160 countries, Schmidt said, and there are 1.5 million sales or activations of Android every day.

"Android is by far the primary vehicle by which people are … Read more

Windows RT demand is weaker than hoped, Dell exec says

Microsoft had grand ambitions for its Windows RT operating system, but more signs are pointing to trouble.

A Dell executive today said demand for the company's first Windows RT device, the XPS 10, has been weaker than hoped, largely because consumers still don't really know what the operating system is or what it can do.

"Demand is not where I would like it to be at this point in time," Neil Hand, head of Dell's tablet and high-end PC business, told CNET. "The amount of market information about it is not good enough, and … Read more

Get a $70 Walmart gift card when you buy a Nook HD+

I realize it's not Tuesday, but this tablet deal won't wait.

For a limited time, and while supplies last, Walmart is offering a $70 e-gift card when you buy a Barnes & Noble Nook HD+ tablet. The 16GB and 32GB models sell for $269 and $299, respectively.

If you frequently shop at Walmart for things like groceries (meaning you'd spend $70 there anyway), then this effectively works out to $199 or $229.

Contrast that with an earlier Nook HD+ deal, which awarded you a free Nook Simple Touch. That one came from B&N proper, and … Read more

Galaxy S4 Group Play makes sharing easier (hands-on)

Sharing is a big part of Samsung's products (just think of all those ads in recent months, like the one with a woman giving her husband a secret video). Now the Korean electronics giant is taking that a step further with the Galaxy S4's improved Group Play.

Galaxy S3 users will recognize this as the feature that lets them share documents and photos with others in close range. I recently got some hands-on time with Group Play on the S4 and found some nice updates to the program. In particular, future S4 owners can share music and games … Read more

Edit, filter, and share photos with YoCam

There is a new entry in the crowded iOS photo-editing app field. Dubbed YoCam, this universal app costs 99 cents and provides a great degree of control, though there are a few drawbacks. Let's have a look.

Launch YoCam and you'll be given the option of snapping a shot with the app or loading a photo from your library. Once you have loaded a photo, you're given a menu of editing tools at the bottom of the screen. The second button from the left provides six editing tools that let you make fine adjustments to the brightness, … Read more

Use Android? Get Chat Heads by installing Facebook Messenger

Facebook neglected to mention at its press event last week where Facebook Home was announced, that it would also update the Android version of Facebook Messenger to bring Chat Heads to all devices that have the app installed.

Chat Heads is a feature that allows you to access an SMS or Facebook Messenger conversation from any screen on your Android device by tapping on small circles that contain a profile pic of whoever it is you're conversing with.

There aren't too many Android devices that will be getting access to Facebook Home today once it's released in … Read more

Amazon's Bezos defends heavy investments in Prime, Kindle

Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos today defended the company's stance on heavy investments in certain areas, saying it's focused on its customers, not its rivals, and that it believes its strategy is the best for the long term.

For years, Bezos has demonstrated a preference for plowing resources into initiatives to build market share but take years to generate profits. That seeming indifference to near-term profits worries Wall Street, with many expressing reservations over the years about the impact on margins. Amazon is believed to make little, if any, money on its gadgets, instead relying on customers to … Read more

Tablet sales will climb to $64B this year, ABI says

The tablet market should post strong growth this year, ABI Research said, as the traditional computing market slumps.

The tech research firm expects tablet sales to climb 28 percent this year to $64 billion. In terms of shipments, ABI projected a jump of 38 percent to 150 million in 2013.

"The convenience and mobility benefits afforded by tablet computers are showing no signs of slowing interest after record unit shipments and revenues were reported by device vendors in 2012," ABI said.

The tablet growth rate contrasts sharply with the traditional computing market, though PC shipments should still be … Read more

Gallery of America's top Androids has some surprises

Recently, the folks at Handset Detection pulled together some data to figure out the top 10 Android devices in use in the United States as of February 2013, and the results revealed a surprising diversity of smartphones (and a few tablets) that include both the hottest phones of the past six months as well as some classics that it seems we just can't bear (or afford) to put down.

I decided to dig through the top 10 American Android devices to try and figure out what makes us pick and stick with the droids we love.… Read more

Nvidia's Tegra mobile chip business hits a wall with growth

The market has pretty high hopes for Nvidia's Tegra mobile chip business, but this year is shaping up to be a disappointment.

Chief Executive Jen-Hsun Huang said that while Tegra has been growing "very quickly," the business will be "about flat" this year. That's because Nvidia pushed back the launch of its Tegra 4 chip by a quarter in order to ready its 4G LTE capabilities, he said. The company introduced Tegra 4 at the Consumer Electronics Show in January and then launched its chip that integrates LTE with its app processor,Tegra 4i, … Read more