US judge to Samsung Tablet sales

Lawyers for Apple and Samsung Electronics has arguments before an American judge on Thursday in a patent infringement suit over Samsung Galaxy tablets, and the judge is now set on a written order on Apple's request, sale of these tablets have blocked.

Apple asked Judge Lucy Koh at the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, in San Jose, to provide a temporary injunction that would keep Samsung, from the sale of the tablets, while the case is heard. You issue a final decision on this request on Thursday.

Judge Koh finally speak the hearing, which said they immediately on Apple's movement, without specifying if this decision take place, Samsung can spokesman Kim Titus will govern.

"Samsung still believes that the movements against us are unfounded, and continue to, we will... offer products on the American consumer," said Titus. "We continue our intellectual property rights to protect," he added.

Apple sues Samsung in April, citing a long list of instances in which the allegedly copied the company, Apple's hardware design, user interface and even packaging for the Google-Android-based tablets. Include the tools, the Apple tries against Samsung bans on import of the equipment.

Apple won an injunction in Australia on Thursday that 10.1 blocked the sale of Samsung Galaxy tab, while the company will continue lawsuit against Samsung. He won also a Galaxy tab 10.1 ban in Germany, and in August forced to prepare for a software update to a patent infringement Samsung a court in the Netherlands. Samsung has with several lawsuits against Apple in Europe Avenged.

Stephen Lawson includes mobile, storage, and networking technologies for the IDG News Service. Follow Stephen on Twitter at @ Sdlawsonmedia. Stephen's E-mail address is stephen_lawson@idg.com

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Kindle Who? Lenovo's $199 Tablet Up for Pre-Order

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AppId is over the quota
Lenovo

Amazon's Kindle Fire isn't the only $200 tablet in town. Lenovo's IdeaPad A1, a 7-inch Android slab, is up for pre-order, starting at $199. Lenovo expects these budget tablets to ship on October 27.

The IdeaPad A1 runs Android 2.3 and has a 1 GHz processor, 512 MB of RAM, front- and rear-facing cameras and a 1024-by-600 display. The $199 model comes with 2 GB of built-in storage, plus a microSD card slot, and $50 more will get you 16 GB of storage instead.

(MORE: Eight New Tablets and Ultrabooks You Should Know About)

Spec-wise, it's worse than Amazon's dual-core tablet. I'm guessing it won't be as smooth as the Kindle Fire, and it won't have Amazon's vast digital storefront and super-simple interface built in. But it will include access to the Android Market and Google services without any tinkering on the user's end. That alone makes Lenovo's tablet an intriguing option for bargain-hunting Android users.

Although Lenovo lists the IdeaPad A1's $199 price as a "sale," I wouldn't worry too much about that. Prices for Android tablets are going down, not up, and Lenovo would never get away with selling this tablet for its $349 list price. If the IdeaPad A1 piques your interest, but you'd rather wait until it's actually shipping, I'm sure it'll still cost $199 as the holidays draw near.

(MORE: Amazon's Kindle Fire and New Kindle E-Readers Closeup)

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India Announces $35 Tablet Computer for Rural Poor

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AppId is over the quota
Parivartan Sharma / Reuters

NEW DELHI (AP) -- India introduced a cheap tablet computer Wednesday, saying it would deliver modern technology to the countryside to help lift villagers out of poverty.

The computer, called Aakash, or "sky" in Hindi, is the latest in a series of "world's cheapest" innovations in India that include a 100,000 rupee ($2,040) compact Nano car, a 750 rupee ($15) water purifier and $2,000 open-heart surgery.

(VIDEO: India's Passion for Cricket)

Developer Datawind is selling the tablets to the government for about $45 each, and subsidies will reduce that to $35 for students and teachers. In comparison, the cheapest Apple iPad tablet costs $499, while the recently announced Kindle Fire will sell for $199.

Datawind says it can make about 100,000 units a month at the moment, not nearly enough to meet India's hope of getting its 220 million children online.

Human Resources Development Minister Kapil Sibal called the announcement a message to all children of the world.

"This is not just for us. This is for all of you who are disempowered," he said. "This is for all those who live on the fringes of society."

Despite a burgeoning tech industry and decades of robust economic growth, there are still hundreds of thousands of Indians with no electricity, let alone access to computers and information that could help farmers improve yields, business startups reach clients, or students qualify for university.

(PHOTOS: India Floods Displace 2 Million)

The launch - attended by hundreds of students, some selected to help train others across the country in the tablet's use - followed five years of efforts to design a $10 computer that could bridge the country's vast digital divide.

"People laughed, people called us lunatics," ministry official N.K. Sinha said. "They said we are taking the nation for a ride."

Although the $10 goal wasn't achieved, the Aakash has a color screen and provides word processing, Web browsing and video conferencing. The Android 2.2-based device has two USB ports and 256 megabytes of RAM. Despite hopes for a solar-powered version - important for India's energy-starved hinterlands - no such option is currently available.

Both Sibal and Datawind CEO Suneet Singh Tuli called for competition to improve the product and drive prices down further.

"The intent is to start a price war. Let it start," Tuli said, inviting others to do the job better and break technological ground - while still making a commercially viable product.

As for the $10 goal, "let's dream and go in that direction. Let's start with that target and see what happens," he said.

The students Wednesday were well-briefed on the goal of providing tablets for the poor, although most in attendance already had access to computers at home or in their schools.

(PHOTOS: American Colleges Set Up Shop in India)

"A person learns quite fast when they have a computer at home," said Shashank Kumar, 21, a computer engineering student from Jodhpur, Bihar, who was one of five people selected in his northern state to travel to villages and demonstrate the device. "In just a few years people can even become hackers."

India, after raising literacy to about 78 percent from 12 percent when British rule ended, is now focusing on higher education with a 2020 goal of 30 percent enrollment. Today, only 7 percent of Indians graduate from high school.

"To every child in India I carry this message. Aim for the sky and beyond. There is nothing holding you back," Sibal said before distributing about 650 of the tablets to the students.

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India unveils $35 tablet computer

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AppId is over the quota
5 October 2011 Last updated at 13:06 GMT Millions of students will have access to the tablets, officials hope India has launched what it says is the world's cheapest touch-screen tablet computer, priced at just $35 (£23).

Costing a fraction of Apple's iPad, the subsidised Aakash is aimed at students.

It supports web browsing and video conferencing, has a three-hour battery life and two USB ports, but questions remain over how it will perform.

Officials hope the computer will give digital access to students in small towns and villages across India, which lags behind its rivals in connectivity.

At the launch in the Indian capital, Delhi, Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal handed out 500 Aakash (meaning sky) tablets to students who will trial them.

He said the government planned to buy 100,000 of the tablets. It hopes to distribute 10 million of the devices to students over the next few years.

"The rich have access to the digital world, the poor and ordinary have been excluded. Aakash will end that digital divide," Mr Sibal said.

The Aakash has been developed by UK-based company DataWind and Indian Institute of Technology (Rajasthan).

It is due to be assembled in India, at DataWind's new production centre in the southern city of Hyderabad.

"Our goal was to break the price barrier for computing and internet access," DataWind CEO Suneet Singh Tuli said.

"We've created a product that will finally bring affordable computing and internet access to the masses."

The company says it will also offer a commercial version of the tablet, called UbiSlate. It is expected to hit the shelves later this year, retailing for about $60.

Usability questions

Mr Sibal says the device will enhance learning in India.

Experts say it does have the potential to make a huge difference to the country's education, particularly in rural areas where schools and students do not have access to libraries and up-to-date information.

Mr Sibal (right) hopes the tablet will end the 'digital divide'

But critics say it is too early to say how the Aakash will be received as most cheap tablets in the past have turned out to be painfully slow.

"The thing with cheap tablets is most of them turn out to be unusable," Rajat Agrawal of technology reviewers BGR India told Reuters news agency.

"They don't have a very good touch screen, and they are usually very slow."

Critics also point out that an earlier cheap laptop plan by the same ministry came to nothing.

In 2009, it announced plans for a laptop priced as low as $10, raising eyebrows and triggering worldwide media interest.

But there was disappointment after the "Sakshat" turned out to be a prototype of a hand-held device, with an unspecified price tag, that never materialised.

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TECHNOLOGY, Samsung Stokes 7-inch Tablet War with Galaxy Tab 7 Plus

Just two days after Amazon made waves announcing its new 7-inch tablet at a $199, Samsung wants to douse the Kindle Fire with a reloaded 7-inch Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus. It's not likely Samsung will be able to compete on price - given the beefy specs on this tab - but it will be competitive when it comes to speeds and feeds. Friday's announcement by Samsung doesn't mention price.

The Specs
For starters there's a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor running Android Honeycomb 3.2, front and rear cameras shooting 2 megapixels and 3 megapixels, respectively, and HSPA+ connectivity. Samsung is pitching the "enhanced portability" of this Galaxy Tab hard, with its thinner and lighter body, measuring 9.96mm wide and weighing in at 345g.
Other specs include 1 GB of RAM, the familiar 16GB and 32 GB storage options, 1024 x 600 resolution, HD video recording and playback up to 1080p, with the Samsung TouchWiz interface over top of it all.
Stoking the Tablet War Fires
While the timing could be a coincidence, coming just two days after the Amazon announcement, it feels like part of Samsung's notion is to revamp its 7-incher and show off all the bells and whistles that are missing in the Kindle Fire.
Samsung says the tablet will be available starting in Indonesia and Austria in late October and gradually rolled out globally including the US and Europe.

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TECHNOLOGY, A thing Amazon must questions correctly with the Kindle Tablet

If Amazon a tablet known as expected, then have this week you a nail thing really well, if it is - to be successful and that's the tablet look, feel, usability and design make solid. Why? If something more than a me-too Tablet have a hard time, the new tablet of the interface from the get-go, is not nail it. This is a major challenge for the e-commerce powerhouse whose lack of aesthetics, or well presented user interface was his Achilles heel.
With its e-commerce platform, the hooks in the sale of digital media and own Android app store, you would think, success would be a given. Well, not so fast, Amazon.
Ignite Clank
Image of the first generation Kindle with Android OS (such as the Kindle Tablet may).To start with, let's just say, I hope that design elements from the Kindle does not take a Kindle Tablet e-book reader.
Nothing about Amazon Kindle screams style e-readers. Still is the interface make it easy to do things. With the latest version of the Kindle some options seem buried under menu layers or require more clicks than you would expect. And for years, I was surprised how much Amazon removed, it has become in the text-heavy design of the Kindle menus or strong navigate of their site, making the experience when finding and managing digital content a laborious click-fest.
Interface aesthetics have always felt like an afterthought for Amazon. Comparison the fresh, Visual interface of Barnes & noble 2011 nook makes third-generation Kindle (approx. 2010) feel, flat and staid - even if one would have thought that this third generation would have been Amazon able, his attention to nuances like interface aesthetics.
Wanted: Tablet design Mojo
Also the last Amazon products that complement an own Tablet stumbled upon when it comes to interface design. Amazon's music cloud players works, but can frustrating to use, and does not have any sense of design. I have similar experiences with the current Amazon shopping and music store apps on Android. Exactly like the Android cloud players Android came both the iOS Amazon shopping - and music-store apps not the flexibility and integration bring consumers to expect thanks to Apple.
Look has never been Amazon's strong suit. Amazon has surpassed always to the behind the scenes technology. Its recommendation engine for us, is only one buy always famous nor the darling of the e-commerce sites make bought online to track its a click payment system and the ability to things it. These functions match a killer, aesthetic interface, and Amazon could have a winner.
Two versions of Kindle.Design WINS
The only exception to my Amazon interface frustrations is his Kindle applications for iOS and Android. The applications are not perfect, but they go far show that Amazon can thoughts to give, and execution, well-designed, Visual products.
The hat-trick with an Amazon Tablet not with whether Amazon will be able to offer a device that integrates the showcase and services – this is a simple bet and a matter of course in the light of its history with Kindle e-readers and reader. The real question is whether the company can produce a tablet with an interface, of course, that is visually appealing and functional on for how it will be used by consumers.
Apple, on the other hand was a master of the interfaces - it designs its software smoothly with their hardware works. And it does so with an unsurpassed attention to detail.
Sure, the iPad success on the clean, can be credited simply-to-use interface of the Tablet-iOS operating system. This legendary OS had years of incubation on the iPhone before it received his doctorate in tablets.
Android two design steps behind Apple
In contrast to Apple the Android user interface feels again still as if it is in its infancy. Perhaps it is good that Amazon has chosen its own way with your own custom interface, allegedly, to follow the Android OS. But that's a big maybe.
Color NooksAmazon, the their own design independence would exercise be a good thing - or not. Barnes & noble took an independent design path with its nook color. As a result this e reader/Tablet looks nothing like Android, but is. Barnes & noble has done a great job, the reading experience for use on the 7-inch Tablet tailoring. But nook color is not a tablet, the media and app usage, aimed, like Amazon tablet to become apparent: B &-N has some Tablet features such as Web surfing and E-mail, and it has own app store, but the choice remains limited.
We still don't know what Amazon interface looks like, and what will be - working on their Tablet PC about the fact that the apps from the Appstore Amazon will be the requirements for applications. According to reports, the Tablet have no Google market, the on board.
If with this tablet, Amazon finally can make a product that is an outstanding star with its user interface and user experience, the Tablet has legitimate potential, a threat to Apple iPad. But if not, it risked provides the interface nail still another Ho-Hum tablet in a crowded, even if a Ho Hum tablet with probably a built-in media consumption and e-book experience than most. One can hope.

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TECHNOLOGY, Samsung Galaxy tab 8.9 Tablet; pre-order Oct. 2

Samsung announced on Monday that the Samsung Galaxy tab 8.9 Android Tablet is now available for pre-order, and ship October 2.
The 16 GB tab 8.9 is priced at $469 and 32 GB tab 8.9 is priced at $569. Note: prices for Galaxy tab 10.1 tablets with similar capabilities are only about $30 over its tab, 8, 9 counterparts.
The tab 8.9 showed first from earlier in this year, together with the Galaxy-tab 10.1 at the CTIA Show in Orlando. It was originally expected to be delivered in the summer of 2011.
Samsung Galaxy 8.9 is tab TabletThe tab 8.9 only the second tablet, to send the screen size. What we have already seen is this size-T-Mobile G slate-showed that 8.9 inches could indeed be a dark horse-sweet-spot for the breakdown. It is a nice compromise between the bigger screens of tablets such as Apple's iPad 2 and the tab-10.1 and compact 7-inch models, such as Acer Iconia tab A100.
The Galaxy-tab-8, 9 may a smaller screen than the 10.1 tab, but it corresponds to the 10, 1-inch sibling in one respect: it measures only 0.34 inches deep.
In my tests I found the G Board to have pleasing proportions in the hand. It is large enough to enjoy the view and get much words on the screen, but small enough be unobtrusive. His rival, the G slate was bulky and felt the every bit his 1.39 pounds. This question should be no problem with the tab, 8.9, which weighs only 0.99 kg; This is 0.25 of a pound less than its sibling, the Galaxy-tab 10.1.
The new Tablet TouchWiz UX interface has some strong features for customization, as well as for image processing and interface tweaks bodies navigate the Android operating system 3.1 honeycomb easier than using the Commons Combs. Samsung has a whole range of services for consumers (his Media Center, music hub hub readers and social hub are all available) and the Tablet provides also features for business users, such as support for Exchange Active Sync version 14, on the device encryption, Cisco VPN, and WebEx.
In addition to the officially launch the tab 8.9, Samsung presented his plans for the Wi-Fi-Galaxy Player 4.0 and 5.0. The Galaxy player is essentially a phone-free version of the company's Galaxy Android phones, displayed players offer 4 and 5-inch, respectively, and will be for $229 and $269, or to sell.
Samsung Galaxy Player 4.0The-Player-Idee is good. These petite plastic plates are Smartphones such as Mini tablets or contract free (without phone capabilities). With one of this Galaxy player get all of the Android app and media playback goodness of a Smartphone Samsung without the monthly invoice. It is certainly a strategy that works for Apple with the iPod touch, except this player does have bigger screens than Apple's.

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TECHNOLOGY, Amazon Kindle Tablet Could Shake Up Tablet Wars: Here's How

Amazon’s unveiling of a Kindle tablet would shake up the industry and pose one of the biggest threats to the Apple iPad -- which is why the technology world has its eyes on the online retailer as it prepares for a media gathering in New York this week ahead of the holiday season.
The iPad is still expected to maintain its dominance, as it will account for nearly 75 percent of the tablets sold this year. But the Kindle tablet could start a new era that beckons a major slugfest between not just Amazon and Apple, but also with other big players like Samsung and Motorola.
Amazon has brand recognition, a bevy of existing loyal Kindle e-reader owners, and a Web-based e-commerce platform that includes one-click access to buying e-books, movies, digital music downloads, its own Android app store, and streaming media catalog. That adds up to Amazon being uniquely suited to go head-to-head with Apple in the tablet market and become a formidable competitor across the industry.
Wednesday could be the day, as Amazon has scheduled a news conference. Forrester estimates that an Amazon tablet could sell between 3 million and 5 million units by the end of the year.
While it borrows the name of the Amazon e-reader, the Kindle tablet is believed to be much more than just color upgrade to Amazon’s popular e-book reader, the Kindle. It’s expected to be a customized version of an Android-based tablet, more recognizable to an iPad or Motorola Xoom than a limited function e-book reader.
Here’s a primer on what the Amazon Kindle tablet will look like and the competition it will spark.
Tracking Down the Amazon Kindle Tablet
Rumors have circulated for months that Amazon is developing a tablet, and recently one reporter confirmed its existence and wrote of his hands-on experience working with a preproduction test unit.
TechCrunch's MG Siegler says he has seen and touched a prototype of the Amazon Kindle tablet. He says the tablet is Android at heart, but distinctively Amazon in its implementation. Amazon has taken the open source Android OS and developed its own custom skin for the OS -- creating a user interface that mimics the ubiquitous Kindle motif with its dark blue, black, and orange color scheme.
Amazon Kindle Tablet Could Shake Up Tablet Wars, And Here's HowSiegler claims the Kindle tablet unit he worked with has a 7-inch display. Multiple sources -- including Siegler -- report that Amazon will also offer a 10-inch model of the Kindle tablet, but not until after the 2011 holiday season. Siegler also confirms that Amazon will offer the Kindle tablet for $250 -- half of the entry level cost for an iPad 2, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, and Motorola Xoom. Even among its 7-inch cousins, the Kindle tablet will be competitively priced at $250.
If the $250 price tag includes membership in Amazon Prime, as rumored, that price becomes a bargain. Membership in the service is a $79 value -- effectively bringing the cost of the tablet itself to only $171, and providing additional value unique to the Kindle tablet. Amazon Prime provides free two-day shipping on eligible Amazon purchases, and has its own Netflix-like movie streaming service. For example, there are also rumors that Amazon is preparing a subscription model for e-books, similar to what Netflix offers for movies; the book subscription would also be included as part of Amazon Prime.
Amazon has already launched its own Android app store. The Amazon app store for Android integrates Android into the Amazon ecosystem, and the Kindle tablet will integrate Amazon into the Android ecosystem. The combination of the capabilities of Android and the brand recognition and respect of Amazon will make the Kindle tablet a formidable competitor.
The Competition
The Amazon Kindle tablet is entering an overwhelming sea of tablet rivals.
The 7-inch form factor is closer to the size of the Kindle e-reader, and for many it hits a sweet spot between being large enough to be useful as a tablet, yet small enough to be more portable and well-suited for one-handed use. While the Kindle tablet will be measured against the iPad 2 like every other tablet, its real competition comes from other 7-inch tablets like the Acer Iconia A100, the Lenovo A1, and the upcoming successor to the original 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab, now bumped slightly larger to the 7.7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7.
Amazon's E-book Reader, KindleComparisons to the Barnes & Noble Nook Color are also inevitable. The $249 Nook Color is an e-reader, but it is built on its own custom version of Android, and Barnes & Noble eventually embraced those Android roots to make the Nook Color a low-cost Android tablet with its own app store.
Barnes & Noble is also rumored to be launching a 10-inch version of the Nook Color before the end of 2011. It is expected to sell for $349, and will give Barnes & Noble a head start against a larger Kindle tablet for users who prefer the 10-inch tablet form factor.
Amazon's Weak Spot
For all of its potential advantages, the Amazon Kindle tablet also faces challenges.
First, just as there are those who prefer the 7-inch form factor, there are those who do not. At 7 inches, the display has significantly less real estate than a 9- or 10-inch tablet, yet it is still too big to fit comfortably in a pocket. It is possible that Amazon chose 7 inches to intentionally avoid direct iPad comparisons, or to make the device more appealing to the Kindle e-reader fan base.
Customizing Android could be brilliant, or it could end up being Amazon's Achilles heel. Customizing Android enables Amazon to create a tablet experience that is unique to Amazon -- setting it apart from the array of rival Android tablets and putting Amazon in control of updates rather than waiting around for Google. But, the burden will be on Amazon to continue to develop and maintain its custom OS, and splitting off from the Android pack could lead to app compatibility issues -- especially as Android moves to its next-generation operating system, Ice Cream Sandwich, later this year.
The other pitfall is the same one that plagues every tablet on the market: it's not an iPad. Apple dominates the tablet market with the iPad, and it is a dominant player in the smartphone area with the iPhone. The popularity of iOS is a self-perpetuating cycle. Millions of users are already invested in the Apple iOS ecosystem, and convincing them to break ranks and start over on a new platform is a daunting challenge.
That said, the future seems bright for the Amazon Kindle tablet. Amazon is a respected brand name, and it has established the Kindle as the de facto e-reader. Merging the Amazon brand, the popularity of the Kindle, the functionality of Android, and the vast media and retail distribution ecosystem of Amazon into a single device at a reasonable price point seems like a perfect storm capable of actually putting a dent in Apple's dominance of the tablet market.

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TECHNOLOGY, Apple's iPad Still Leads the Tablet Pack, Says Gartner

Market research firm Gartner estimates that Apple's iPad will have a 73.4 percent share of the tablet market by the end of 2011, down from 83 percent at the end of 2010.
The data, released by Gartner today, shows that overall tablet sales are on course to hit 63.6 million units this year, a 261.4 percent increase from 2010.
Despite Apple's drop in market share, it is expected to be the dominant force in the tablet market for several years to come, Gartner said.
"We expect Apple to maintain a market share lead throughout our forecast period by commanding more than 50 percent of the market until 2014," Carolina Milanesi, research vice president at Gartner.
"This is because Apple delivers a superior and unified user experience across its hardware, software and services. Unless competitors can respond with a similar approach, challenges to Apple's position will be minimal. Apple had the foresight to create this market and in doing that planned for it as far as component supplies such as memory and screen. This allowed Apple to bring the iPad out at a very competitive price and no compromise in experience among the different models that offer storage and connectivity options."
Apple iPad's dominance in tablet market continues
Android-based tablets, however, will only account for 11 million of the total tablet sales in 2011, with Gartner having reduced its estimate for overall sales of Android tablets by 28 percent since the last quarter. Android's market share will hit 17.3 percent by the end of the year, up from 14.3 percent last year.
However, Milanesi sees a bright future for Android. "So far, Android's appeal in the tablet market has been constrained by high prices, weak user interface and limited tablet applications" she said.
"Google will address the fragmentation of Android across smartphone and tablet form factors within the next Android release, known as 'Ice Cream Sandwich,' which we expect to see in the fourth quarter of 2011. Android can count on strong support from key OEMs, has a sizeable developer community, and its smartphones application ecosystem is second only to Apple's."
Gartner did have a warning for Windows 8-based tablets, saying that new entrants to the tablet market would find it hard to compete with Apple and Android-based devices, which have already established themselves.
"Most of Apple's competitors are struggling to meet Apple's prices without considerably sacrificing margins. Screen quality and processing power are the two hardware features that vendors cannot afford to compromise on," said Roberta Cozza, principal analyst at Gartner.
"They should consider everything else 'nice to have,' rather than essential, in order to keep bills-of-materials costs competitive with those of the iPad."
However, the tablet market will continue to grow, with overall sales at the end of 2012 expected to hit 103 million and 326 million by the end of 2015, Gartner forecast.

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