Smartphones, smart TVs, and
ultrabooks are all well and good, but for my money, the most interesting
product releases at this year's CES are the tablets. Much like last
year, with Google's first tablet-oriented Android version 3.0 Honeycomb,
one of the biggest factors surrounding many tablet releases will be the
advent of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.
Alternatively, Microsoft is
hard at work on its next OS, Windows 8, which will include many
tablet-focused enhancements, like the Metro UI.
Software isn't the only factor, though. Tablets are becoming thinner,
lighter, more powerful, and more affordable than ever. Whether it's a
new dual-screen form factor, transforming dock, or sub-$200 price tag,
tablets are poised to make significant strides in 2012. However, the
question remains: Will these new Android and Windows contenders be
enough to topple Apple's iPad 2?
This year's show features everything from 10-inch tablets aimed at
the iPad to 7-inchers aimed at Amazon's Kindle Fire. This fresh crop of
tablets will feature innovative designs using the most advanced
materials and components available today. Perhaps more importantly,
these new tablets will also be among the first to benefit from the
unified ecosystem offered by Google's latest OS—Android 4.0 Ice Cream
Sandwich.
Hopefully the massive influx of new tablets coming in 2012,
many running ICS right out of the box, will help propel Android tablets
to near-equal footing as the iPad.
While many manufacturers have been scrambling to match the quality
and features of Apple's offerings, Amazon bucked the trend and instead
released an affordable and easy-to-use tablet for the masses. The Kindle
Fire was the first sub-$200 tablet to hit the market, but it certainly
won't be the last. At upwards of $500, many tablets, up until now, have
been a niche product for well-heeled tech junkies. Expect that to change
with a host of affordable and accessible tablets coming later this
year.
Another interesting development for 2012 and beyond will be
convertible and hybrid devices. Not just docking accessories, but
full-fledged laptops that either incorporate touch interfaces and
Android software, or simply double as tablet devices.
Asus eee Pad Transformer Prime TF700
The Asus eee Pad
Transformer Prime is currently the best Android tablet on the market,
with its sleek body, Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core processor, and ability to
turn into a laptop. It runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich now, too.
What could make it better? How about a
1920-by-1080 screen? At CES, Asus announced a new version of the Prime
that will have an incredibly sharp 1080p panel. The TF700 appears to
beat the Acer Iconia Tab A700, which has similar specs in a slightly
clunkier body.
ZTE T98
Asus also announced a $249,
quad-core, 7-inch Ice Cream Sandwich tablet—so why is the ZTE T98 on
this list? We suspect ZTE's model will bring very similar specs at an
even lower price. With a basically nondescript body, the ZTE T98 brings
along quad-core, Android 4.0 power with a sharp 1280-by-800 screen.
Knowing ZTE, we're guessing this Android tablet is going to be very,
very affordable, and it might even pop up at a U.S. wireless carrier.
Pantech Element (AT&T)
Even though the Element
tablet is running the now-obsolete Android Honeycomb OS, Pantech gets
points here for making its product waterproof. The Element is a
good-looking Android tablet that will hopefully find some use outdoors,
where more paranoid tech fans are afraid to take their gadgets for fear
someone will splash something on them.
Samsung Galaxy Note (AT&T)
Where to put the "phablet?"
We decided to stick it under tablets to make a point, even though the
Samsung Galaxy Note also works as a phone. Samsung wants you to write on
this 5.3-inch phone/tablet, and they're right that the idea of taking
electronic notes and making e-drawings is really compelling. Will the
form factor—a tiny tablet, a giant phone—take off, though?
Ainovo Novo 7 Basic
How low can Ice Cream
Sandwich go? How about $99? The cheapest Android
4.0 tablet I saw at the show is on sale right now—right now!—for under
$100, and the shocker is that it doesn't suck.
This miracle of low-cost tabletry comes because the Novo 7 is using a
Chinese-made processor with the MIPS instruction set, an alternative to
the ARM chips that currently dominate the market.
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