Alternate iOS 9 keyboard hints at larger iPad
Whenever someone talks about the 12.9-inch iPad, we pull the same nervous, hopeful gaze that we do when Half-life 2: Episode Three is mentioned. Deep down, we know in our hearts that neither are very likely to happen, but no matter what, they’ll never be able to take the hope from us. Now, iOS expert and friend of the site Steve Troughton-Smith believes he’s found a nugget of proof that the iPad “Pro” exists. Oh, put your tongues in your cheek and grab a handful of salt, because we’re venturing into tangent territory, here.
Also new in iOS 9 – UIKeyboard seems to scale to a much larger heretofore unseen iPad screen size 😛 #ipadproconfirmed pic.twitter.com/Q9eN9CLCKQ
– Steve T-S (@stroughtonsmith) June 15, 2015
While digging deep into the details of iOS 9 preview, the developer has found a new larger on-screen keyboard. One that’s sufficiently big to scale beyond the 9.7-inches you’ll find on Apple’s full-size tablet, at the very least. The biggest tweak is to add a new row of symbols above the keycaps, as well as the inclusion of tab and caps lock keys on the left hand side. As 9to5Mac points out, the overall effect is to reduce the number of different screens you need to switch through for characters from three to two, since all of the symbols now fit in the second pane. Now, as we probably need to remind you, this is a tiny piece of software from a preview build and doesn’t guarantee anything — but we can’t stop you from lighting a candle in the tallest tower of your heart.
Filed under: Tablets, Software, Apple
Via: 9to5Mac
Source: Steve Troughton-Smith (Twitter)
Apple brings side-by-side multitasking to the iPad in iOS 9
Frustrated that your iPad has all that screen real estate, but you still have to use one app at a time? That won’t be a problem when iOS 9 arrives — Apple has revealed that its new mobile software will bring side-by-side app multitasking to its tablets. The feature will let you display two live apps at once, Windows 8-style, if you’re using an iPad Air 2 (which has extra memory and performance); otherwise, you can pin apps to the side of the screen to get back to them quickly. There’s a picture-in-picture mode that will let you watch a video without disrupting what you’re doing, too. This upgraded multitasking will only be available for the iPad Air, iPad mini 2 and other relatively recent Apple slates, so you’ll definitely want to ditch that old iPad 2 if you’re eager to juggle multiple programs.
Dell unveils a range of affordable PCs ahead of Windows 10
While Dell managed to surprise us with its rather handsome XPS 15 — the sibling of the thin-bezel XPS 13 laptop — at Computex, it’s also bringing us a range of both new and refresh models ahead of the Windows 10 launch. Starting off with the headliner we have the Inspiron 15 7000 series laptop (pictured above) that runs on Intel’s quad-core Core i7H chip, and it’s garnished with Waves MaxxAudio enhancement plus a “performance class” NVIDIA graphics processor with 4GB of GDDR5 memory, so you’ll get some good gaming action on it. Most importantly, the machine’s 15-inch FHD display has an optional 4K touchscreen upgrade that looks stunning, though it isn’t clear as to how long that 74WHr battery can last for. The price? All we know so far is that it’ll start from 5,999 yuan or about $970 when it launches in China on August 7th.
For those seeking more versatility, there’s the new Inspiron 15 7000 Series 2-in-1 which is pitched as an affordable hybrid laptop. It features a massive 15.6-inch IPS touchscreen, as well as up to almost nine hours of battery life, spill-resistant backlit keyboard, brushed aluminum body and MaxxAudio software. This beast will land in the US on June 23rd with a starting price of $549.99.
Moving towards the mobility side of the spectrum we have the smaller and cooler-looking Inspiron 11 3000 Series 2-in-1 — seen here in red and gold color options — that will be refreshed with Intel’s more efficient Braswell chip. It’ll arrive in the US on July 29th with a $349.99 base price, presumably coming with the same 11.6-inch 1,366 x 768 IPS touchscreen, 4GB of RAM and 500GB hard drive. Alternatively, there’s also the Inspiron 13 7000 Series 2-in-1 (pictured right) should you require more power and a built-in stylus.
Don’t worry, Dell hasn’t forgotten the all-in-one desktop market. Here you have the Inspiron 20 3000 Series and the slightly larger Inspiron 24 3000 Series, both featuring almost identical slim designs — available in either black or white — that Dell’s VP of Product Marketing, Ray Wah, reckons would make a nice piece of furniture in our homes. Depending on the region, both models will come with either AMD or Intel Braswell chips plus an optical drive, with the Inspiron 20 featuring a 19.5-inch HD+ screen and the Inspiron 24 packing a 23.8-inch FHD IPS display. If you need a touchscreen on either, it’s optional. If the larger model tickles your fancy, you can grab one from Dell’s US website on June 2nd with a starting price of $479.99. As for the smaller $329.99 version, it won’t be arriving until October.
Amazon targets UK parents with its kid-friendly Fire tablet
Over half of UK households now own a tablet, which is no surprise given how popular the devices are with children. Amazon seems to have noticed the trend and will soon be launching its Fire HD Kids Edition tablet in response. It’ll be available from June 18th, with either 8GB of storage for £119 or 16GB for £139. The slate is essentially Amazon’s cheap Fire HD 6 tablet in disguise — a colourful “kid-proof” case, which protects it from drops and knocks, is wrapped around the outside for an easy grip. It comes with 12 months of Fire for Kids Unlimited, a subscription service with educational apps, books, videos and games. The tablet also offers “screen time limits,” which lets parents control how long their child can spend consuming specific types of content. All of these software and hardware tweaks are then complimented by Amazon’s fairly generous two-year guarantee. The deal means that Amazon will happily replace your tablet should it break — no questions asked.
Amazon’s regular Fire HD 6 tablet starts at £79, so you’ll be paying a £40 premium for the kid-friendly version. On paper, it’s probably a good deal — Fire for Kids Unlimited normally costs £3.99 per month (without Prime) or roughly £48 over a 12-month period. The protective case, which can’t be bought separately at the moment (although there are plenty of third-party alternatives) and the two-year warranty are just added bonuses. Of course, this all depends on how you rate Amazon’s Kindle hardware in the first place — there’s hardly a lack of choice when it comes to cheap Android tablets at the moment.
Source: Fire HD Kids Edition
ASUS unveils pocket-sized projector that can play videos from your Android device via USB
ASUS has been extremely busy at the Computex event today. First it announced the ZenWatch 2, then a new Chromebox and just now, a pocket-sized projector that can play video from Android smartphones and tablets via a micro-USB.
Obviously, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen projectors for mobile devices that can fit in your pocket, but it is the first time we’ve seen one that is compatible with a USB cable as opposed to an HDMI, which makes it that little bit more portable as you don’t have to carry a second cable.
The unit itself features a whopping 6,000 mAh battery, which doubles as a portable battery pack, allowing you to charge any smartphone or tablet via its USB port, which is pretty useful if you’re mirroring a movie and don’t want your handset to die.
Unfortunately, there’s no solid information with regards to pricing or availability just yet, but some ASUS representatives have hinted that it may have a $200 price tag. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
Come comment on this article: ASUS unveils pocket-sized projector that can play videos from your Android device via USB
ASUS’ new Transformer Book is a Windows 10 hybrid with USB Type-C
As we approach the launch of Windows 10, we’ll be seeing more and more devices — especially portables — featuring the slim and reversible USB Type-C port. One of such is the refreshed ASUS Transformer Book aka T100HA, a 10.1-inch two-in-one that will arrive in Q3 2015 with Intel’s new Atom x5 (“Cherry Trail”) processor plus 4GB of RAM. The tablet part weighs just 580 grams and is 8.54mm thick, but still offers up to 14 hours of battery life and a rear camera. Alas, that’s all we know so far about this machine, so we’ll keep an eye on further information when it’s ready.
Diving into M: tablets get split keyboard and dynamic notification shade placement
We were all very excited by the new features and software upgrades released and announced at Google I/O 2015 this past week. Included was the release of the Android M developer preview for a short list of Nexus devices. Including the Nexus 9 tablet, which we just happen to be giving away for free this week.
As we dive into the new Android release, we’ve found a number of cool new features, including a split keyboard option for the Google keyboard on your tablet, and a three position dynamic notification shade drop down. Let’s take a look at those real quick.
Image credit: Duncan Adkins via Android Police
The split keyboard functionality is not a new thing for Android, especially on tablet sized devices, however, this is a first for Google’s keyboard. The premise is simple, it can be a little difficult to extend your thumbs all the way across the screen of a tablet, so the keyboard splits into two and pushes the buttons to the sides to make it easier to reach when two thumb typing.
The dynamic placement of the new Android M notification shade for tablets is also not a new thing, we just haven’t seen it in a while. The idea for this is also very simple, Android on your tablet will now try to drop down the notification shade as close to your finger as possible, choosing from one of three set locations. The default location is dead center, as it has been for a while now on Android tablets. From there, the shade will shift left or right depending on your finger placement.
These are not ground breaking ideas or new tools, but it is great to see Google putting effort into fine tuning the Android experience, taking advantage of, or at least taking into consideration, the larger displays found on most tablets. It will be interesting to see if any of these features also roll out to phones that have near tablet sized displays themselves, like the Nexus 6.
What do you think, will having a split keyboard or multiple locations for the notification shade make your Android use any better or easier on your Android M powered tablet?
Be sure to follow along all of our Android M coverage in our Diving into M series.
ASUS ZenPad S 8.0 has a sharp screen, slim body and plenty of RAM
Just as we heard last week, ASUS is now launching a new family of stylish Android tablets dubbed ZenPads, which will replace the MeMO Pad series. These will come in 7-inch, 8-inch and 10.1-inch flavors with cellular variants; but it’s the light yet powerful ZenPad S 8.0 that’s caught our attention so far. For one, this 6.6mm-thick, 298g-heavy metallic slate comes with a sharp 2,048 x 1,536 (324 ppi) IPS display which has a 4:3 aspect ratio, so it’s going head to head with the iPad Mini here. And with Intel’s 64-bit Atom Z3580 chip plus 4GB of RAM, you needn’t worry about its performance. Better yet, you get front-facing stereo speakers that are enhanced by DTS for some virtual surround sound action. If you’re into handwriting or drawing on tablets, you can buy the optional Z Stylus which supports up to 1,024 levels of pressure sensitivity.
Additionally, there’s a regular ZenPad 8.0 that features a similar design to the ZenPad S 8.0. While the technical details are scarce at the moment, we do know that it’ll have a range of interesting and good-looking accessories: the Zen Clutch and Zen Case for protection, the Audio Cover for adding 5.1 surround sound, and the Power Case that extends the battery life to up to 15 hours. This tablet family also includes the low-end 7.0 model with a 1,024 x 600 screen resolution, and a larger 10.1 model with an optional keyboard (likely a Bluetooth dock); but again, we’ll have to get back to you on the detailed specs as well as pricing and availability for them all.
Android app makers can experiment with Play Store listings
Those rumors of Google letting Android app developers experiment with what you see in the Play Store? Yes, they’re true. Creators can now conduct tests to see what pricing works best, or whether one icon color is more alluring than others — you’ll only view one of each while the test is ongoing. Also, app makers are getting Developer Pages (shown above) that showcase all of their apps, so you’ll have a one-stop shop for everything from your preferred brand. If all goes well, you’ll find more Android apps with prices you’re willing to pay, and you won’t have to scrounge quite so much to get every app you need.
Don’t miss out on all the latest news and updates from Google I/O 2015. Follow along at our events page.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile, Google
Google’s experimental 3D-scanning tablet goes on public sale for $512
If you’re fascinated (or baffled) by Google’s spatially aware, three-dimensionally scanning Project Tango tablet, you can now buy and try one yourself. The in-development tablet is now (still?) $512, invite-free at the Google Store. While the device is no longer a conceptual toy, it’s still expressly aimed at developers, as Google looks to them to add functionality — and ideas as to what to do with those spatial sensors built inside. Perhaps the most unusual part is that this wider retail release was dropped a mere day before Google I/O kicks off. Don’t get too aggrieved if Project Tango 2 suddenly appears.
Via: Android Police
Source: Google Store
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