Apple expected to unveil new iPads, Mac in New York

NEW YORK — New iPads and Mac computers are expected Tuesday as part of an Apple event in New York.

The event is being held at an opera house in Brooklyn, suggesting Apple is pushing products focused on creativity and the arts.


As overall tablet sales decline, Apple has been promoting its high-end iPad Pro as ideal for artists, photographers and other creators. A new model is expected, as the last update came nearly 17 months ago.

There’s been speculation the new iPad Pro will adopt features found in the latest iPhones, including facial-recognition technology to unlock the device. Apple isn’t giving details about the event.

Apple may also release a new Mac, including a MacBook Air laptop, though higher-end MacBook Pro laptops just got refreshed in July.  /kga

source: technology.inquirer.net

Sharp makes 15.6-inch Windows 8.1 tablet

This 15.6-inch tablet from Japan-based Sharp promises to be a feast for the eyes.

Sharp's new RW-16G1 tablet also boasts of a laptop-grade Intel Core i5 processor, runs Microsoft's Windows 8.1 and can go up to nine hours on one charge, tech site CNET reported.

"The 2.7-pound, 0.5-inch thick Sharp RW-16G also packs 4GB of RAM, 128GB solid-state drive, a Mini DisplayPort, USB 3.0 ports, an SD card slot, and Windows 8.1 Pro," CNET's Brooke Crothers said.



Also, he said Sharp's tablet uses the IGZO display tech, which allows thinner, lower-cost displays.

The tablet will be sold starting in March, though Sharp did not immediately name a price.

Crothers said Sharp's latest offering - with a 3,200x1,800 (WQHD) display - could be the latest in a series of big tablets offered by other manufacturers.

He noted Samsung announced a 12.2-inch tablet at the Consumer Electronics Show, while Apple is reportedly working on a 13-inch class tablet. — KDM, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

Google Play now on Nook HD

Owners of Barnes & Noble's newest Nook HD tablet will finally be able to visit Google Play to download and install apps from the site, a tech site said late Friday.

This means access to some 700,000 apps in Google Play and the Chrome web browser, according to a report on tech site Mashable.


“We always are taking customer feedback related with what they’d like to see with Nook. The desire to see an expanded app catalog fed into that for sure,” it quoted Barnes & Noble VP of Global Ebook, Jim Hilt, as saying.

But Hilt said Google Play will not replace the Nook’s curated list of apps, but its icon will be on the “Active Shelf” alongside Nook’s other content options.

Nook HD owners will also get a bonus- Google’s Gmail app, which will operate alongside instead of replacing the Nook HD’s native email app.

Adding Google Play can help differentiate the Nook HD from its chief competitor, the Amazon Kindle Fire HD, which presently does not have direct access to Google’s content library.

Mashable said Barnes & Noble refused to reveal exact sales data for its line of Android Ice Cream Sandwich-based 7- and 9-inch tablets, but noted end-2012 sales were not as good as expected.

Still, Barnes & Noble discounted reports it may quit the tablet business.

Meanwhile, Mashable said Nook HD and HD+ owners who download the update via Wi-Fi will get access to Google Play’s library of movies and music.

"Aside from Pandora and Spotify streaming options, the Nook’s downloadable music source has always been something of an after-thought. This will put Nook HD on par with Google’s own Nexus 7 tablet," it said.

On the other hand, it said Google Play’s movie library will augment instead of replace the Nook HD’s current film selection. Hill also said Barnes & Noble has “invested in large relationships with studios.”

As for the browser, Google Chrome will replace the Nook’s Web browser. – KDM, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

Apple, Amazon Trail Samsung, Asus In Tablet Growth

Tablet shipments jumped 75% year over year in the fourth quarter to a record 52.5 million units worldwide. But Apple (AAPL) and Amazon.com (AMZN) posted much slower growth than rivals Samsung and Asus.

Market research firm IDC reported Thursday that tablet shipments rose faster than its Q4 target of 56% growth.

Apple remained the top tablet vendor thanks to its iPad Mini and fourth-generation full-size iPad, but its market share slipped for the second quarter in a row. Apple's Q4 share came in at 43.6% vs. 46.4% in Q3 and 51.7% in Q4 2011.



No. 2 Samsung Electronics experienced 263% year-on-year growth, shipping nearly 8 million Google (GOOG) Android and Microsoft (MSFT) Windows 8 tablets during the quarter to grab 15.1% of the market, unchanged from Q3 but up from 7.3% a year earlier.

No. 3 Amazon lost ground, shipping 6 million Kindle Fire tablets in Q4 for 11.5% market share, compared with 15.9% a year earlier. Its year-over-year tablet shipment growth rate was 26.8%, well below the industry average.

The No. 4 vendor, Taiwan's Asus, grabbed 5.8% market share, up from 2% a year ago, shipping 3.1 million units. Asus was helped by continued strong shipments of its Google-branded Nexus 7 tablet. Its shipments rose 402% year over year.

Bookseller Barnes & Noble (BKS) was the only top five tablet vendor to post a year-over-year decline in shipments. It shipped nearly 1 million Nook tablets, down 28%.

Microsoft failed to reach the top five after shipping just shy of 900,000 units of its Windows Surface tablets, IDC says.

"New product launches from the category's top vendors, as well as new entrant Microsoft, led to a surge in consumer interest and very robust shipments totals during the holiday season," IDC analyst Tom Mainelli said in a statement. "The record-breaking quarter stands in stark contrast to the PC market, which saw shipments decline during the quarter for the first time in more than five years."

source: http://news.investors.com/technology/013113-642683-apple-lags-industry-in-tablet-growth-rate-q4-tablet-shipmentstablet-marketamazon-kindle-firemicrosoft-surfacesamsung-tablets.htm