Google stops taking orders for 16GB Nexus 7

Demand for Google's 7-inch Nexus 7 tablet seems to have well exceeded the tech giant's expectations.

 Last week, Google posted a message to its online store saying that shipments of the 16GB model were delayed one to two weeks.

 Now, the store has stopped taking orders altogether.

 Those who want to purchase the $249 version of the tablet are told to sign up to be notified by e-mail when it is back in stock.

 The 16GB version is also sold out at GameStop, Kmart, Sam's Club, Office Depot, Staples, B&H, Best Buy in Canada and, according to The Guardian, Tesco in the UK.

 The only place to get the device online at this point may be eBay. Google unveils Nexus 7 tablet The 16GB version is also sold out at GameStop, Kmart, Sam's Club, Office Depot, Staples, B&H, Best Buy in Canada and, according to reports, Tesco in the UK.

 The only place to get the device online at this point may be eBay. Google is still accepting orders for the 8GB version however, which costs $199.

 The 7-inch, Asus-built tablet, which began shipping earlier this month, is the first to run the latest version of Android, codename Jelly Bean. It has a 1280×800 HD display (216 ppi) and a quad-core processor.

 It has received widely positive reviews from the press — our own Peter Pachal called it "the Android media tablet the Kindle Fire was supposed to be."

 Are you in the market for a Nexus 7? How are you planning on getting your hands on one?

Tuesday, July 24, 2012 | 0 comments | Read More

Value for money : Notebooks That Seem Like Tablets

Much has been made in the past week about Microsoft’s move into producing its own Windows 8–based tablets with Ultrabook-like features.

 But just two weeks prior, one of the big hits at Computex Taipei 2012—the largest information and communications trade show in Asia—seemed to show that superslim notebooks may be heading in a more tablet-like direction.

 At a press event on 4 June, when Asustek chairman Jonney Shih turned a closed ultrathin notebook computer into a tablet with only a touch on the lid, the audience applauded and cheered.

 Shih described the Asus Taichi as “the perfect fusion of notebook and tablet” with “the best balance between technologies and aesthetics.

” The Asus Taichi, a Windows 8 machine running on an Intel Core processor, is equipped with an LED backlit screen on each side of the lid.

 While the two screens provide access to the same hardware, they are completely independent and can be used simultaneously.

 The external screen supports the multitouch features you’d expect from a tablet, and with the lid closed, that’s what you get. It’s unclear how such a notebook/tablet combo would be made.

 To produce a notebook today, panel makers supply LCD modules—which incorporate backlight units—to the notebook makers, who then add the casing and hinges and connect the modules to the main body of the notebook.

 If the Taichi design becomes mainstream, module makers or makers of the panels’ backlight units (such as Coretronic Corp.) may become more involved in the notebook manufacturing process, perhaps finishing the whole notebook cover before passing it on to the notebook’s manufacturer, unnamed sources suggested to the Taiwanese publication DigiTimes.

 “The trend could be possible,” says Nick S.R. Chen, a marketing product manager at Acer. But it’s too early to say whether or when such a shift would occur.

 Brian Chen, an analyst at the Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute, part of Taiwan’s quasi-official Institute for Information Industry, agrees, saying that it’s too early to predict whether display makers would get further involved in notebook manufacturing.

 “The Taichi laptop demonstrates the company’s R&D capability.

 However, we’re still not sure about its market potential due to the lack of information of the adoption of technologies and the performance stability,” Chen says.

 “And if Taichi could be eventually manufactured, the price would be another factor.” DigiTimes reported that the Taichi’s price could be higher than US $1300.

 At Computex Taipei, Acer offered a competing hybrid concept, the new Aspire S7 notebook, with a single touch screen that folds back 180 degrees relative to the keyboard.

Friday, July 06, 2012 | 0 comments | Read More

Quick guide to Microsoft's RT and Windows 8 Pro Surface tablets

With Microsoft having unveiled its first ever own-branded tablets that are set to challenge Apple's iPad, TG-tech breaks down the key features of the new devices. The new Surface comes in Windows RT and Windows 8 Pro versions. 

The RT version runs using an ARM processor while the Pro version features a third-generation Intel Core processor - unfortunately there's as yet no word on either chips' speed. Size and dimensions As well as their processors the two different Surface versions are also very different physically, despite featuring the same 10.6in ClearType HD display.

 The RT comes in at 9.3mm thick and weighing 676g and the Pro a heftier 13.5mm and 903g. Additionally the Pro will feature more storage, coming with 64GB and 128GB storage options. The RT surface by comparison will be release in 32GB and 64GB models.

Big boy ports Another differentiating factor separating the two versions of Microsoft Surface is their connectivity, with both housing very different port options. The RT version is by far the most basic featuring microSD, USB 2.0, Micro HD Video ports. 

The Pro by comparison features microSDXC, USB 3.0 and Mini DisplayPort Video inputs. VaporMg Casing Despite their differences the two Surface versions do have some common features, one of which is the VaporMg casing. The two are reportedly made using a combinations of molded metals and "deposit particles" - though what these are exactly remains a mystery. 

The effect, Microsoft promised will be to create a "finish akin to a luxury watch", which presumably is intended to convey something more impressive than simply 'metallic'. Microsoft's promised that the new casings will be super light and strong, even when compared to Apple's fairly premier feeling new iPad.

Digital Ink Another interesting touch is the use of Digital Ink technology, with the two boasting support for a pen accessory that looks fairly similar to a stylus. Microsoft’s demo showed the tablet recognising and shutting down all other input options when the pen came close to the screen - a useful feature if using the pen to draw pictures or edit photos in Photoshop.

 Price and release date Microsoft's remained tight lipped about the two release dates, merely promising that the RT model will launch alongside Windows 8, with the Pro model following 90 days later. The same is true regarding price, with Microsoft stating: "Suggested retail pricing will be announced closer to availability and is expected to be competitive with a comparable ARM tablet or Intel Ultrabook-class PC. OEMs will have cost and feature parity on Windows 8 and Windows RT." Check back with TG-Tech closer to the time for more details regarding the two new Surface tablets.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012 | 0 comments | Read More