Apple's iPad to remain top tablet till 2015: Gartner

Source: AFP

WASHINGTON - The tablet computer market is heating up with new entrants all the time, but Apple's iPad will remain the top device over the next few years, according to technology research company Gartner.

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iPad 2 on sale in S'pore in April

Sourcce: AFP

WASHINGTON: Apple said Tuesday that the iPad 2, the latest model of the hot-selling tablet computer, will go on sale in Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea in April.

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Xoom tablet debuts Feb 24

Source: AFP

US telecom titan Verizon on Thursday will begin selling Motorola Mobility's hotly awaited "Xoom" tablet computer at a price close to that of a top-of-the-line iPad.

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Xoom tablet debuts Feb. 24 with $800 price

Source: AFP

US telecom titan Verizon on Thursday will begin selling Motorola Mobility's hotly awaited "Xoom" tablet computer at a price close to that of a top-of-the-line iPad.

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Samsung Galaxy Tab gets bigger

Source: AFP

South Korean consumer electronics giant Samsung has presented a new version

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Second-generation iPad in production

Source: AFP

Apple has started production of a thinner, more powerful version of its popular iPad tablet computers, according to unnamed sources cited by the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday.

The second-generation iPad will have more memory and a front-facing camera for capabilities such as a Face Time video-conferencing feature on Apple iPhone 4 smartphones, according to the Journal.

Cupertino, California-based Apple said in its latest earnings release that it sold nearly 15 million iPads in the eight months after the tablet computers were introduced in April of last year.

The device has spawned countless new apps as well as digital versions of books, magazines and newspapers.

News Corp's Rupert Murdoch who is an enthusiastic fan of the iPad recently launched "The Daily," a digital newspaper created for the Apple device.

In the latest move in a drive to get consumers to pay for news online the 79-year-old News Corp. chairman said "New times demand new journalism" as he unveiled the hotly awaited publication in New York.

Murdoch said there will be no print version of The Daily and it will only be available on Apple's touchscreen tablet computer for at least this year.

Since the arrival of the iPad, competition in tablet computing has grown.

Google which is set to provide a strong challenge, recently showed off a Honeycomb version of its Android operating system that will debut on the upcoming Motorola Xoom tablet that won rave reviews at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January.

"Honeycomb is tailored for the new generation of tablet-sized computers," Google mobile products director Hugo Barra said while demonstrating software features at the Internet titan's headquarters in Mountain View, California.

With the free, open-source operating system which is expected to quickly be built into an array of touchscreen tablets, Google is also intent on wooing app developers.

One of the most popular Apple apps, "Tap Tap Revenge" has been released on Android as Google announced the launch of an Android Market webstore where people can get work or play applications for devices running on the mobile operating software.

Disney's most successful mobile game, "Tap Tap" has been downloaded more than 50 million times.

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Firms to buy 10 million tablets in 2011: Deloitte

SOURCE: Reuters

Companies will buy more than 10 million tablet computers this year, consultancy Deloitte said on Tuesday supporting recent research from Gartner which sees the global market for Apple's iPad, rising to 55 million devices this year from 19.5 million in 2010.

"Although some commentators view tablets as underpowered media-consumption toys suitable only for consumers... in 2011, more than 25 percent of all tablet computers will be bought by enterprises and that figure is likely to rise in 2012 and beyond," Deloitte said in its annual sector forecast.

That could open the market for Research in Motion's 7-inch PlayBook tablet, set to launch in February or March, which received positive early reviews after the company offered hands-on demos earlier this month at CES trade show.

Deloitte said healthcare and retail sectors alone could purchase some 5 million tablets this year.

The surge of tablet market, coupled with strong growth of smartphone sales means in 2011, for the first time, sales of personal computers will represent less than half of total computing device market, Deloitte said.

"2011 marks the tipping point," it said.

Deloitte forecast for smartphone sales to reach 375 million devices in 2011 and tablet market to reach 50 million. Combined sales of desktops, laptops and netbooks would be 390 million devices, it said.

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DELL's tablet computer

Dell unveils Android tablet, smartphone

SOURCE: AFP

LAS VEGAS - US computer giant Dell announced plans on Thursday to launch a new touchscreen tablet computer and a smartphone powered by Google's Android software.

Dell unveiled the new phone, the Venue, and the tablet, the Streak 7, at the annual Consumer Electronics Show, which draws tens of thousands of buyers and sellers from around the globe to Las Vegas.

Dell launched a smartphone late last year with Microsoft, using the US software giant's Windows Phone 7 mobile operating system, but it opted for Google's free Android platform for the latest device.

Dell said the new Streak 7 tablet has a seven-inch (17.8-centimetre) screen, slightly larger than the display on the first Streak the company released last year.

Dell said the Streak 7 is designed for the faster Internet speeds of US wireless carrier T-Mobile's 4G network.

"With its dual-core processor, seven-inch multi-touch screen and dual cameras, the new Dell Streak 7 tablet takes full advantage of the unrivaled power of T-Mobile's 4G network," said John Thode, vice president of Dell's Mobility Product Group.

The Streak 7, which Dell said will be available in the coming weeks, is one of dozens of touchscreen tablet computers being launched at CES as electronics manufacturers seek to match Apple's success with its iPad.

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