HBO GO now available for Amazon Kindle Fire

HBO on Wednesday announced that its popular video streaming app HBO GO has launched for the Amazon Kindle Fire. Available immediately as a free download for Amazon's tablet in the Amazon Appstore, HBO GO allows HBO subscribers with service through certain cable providers to stream HBO content such as Game of Thrones, True Blood, The Sopranos and a variety of movies to their mobile devices. "We are thrilled to offer HBO GO to the growing community of millions of Kindle Fire owners," said Aaron Rubenson, director of the Amazon Appstore. "The HBO GO app will offer instant access to HBO's incredible lineup of shows. Kindle Fire owners already download and use apps and games frequently on their devices, and we expect that only to increase with the addition of HBO GO and all of its popular content." HBO's full press release follows below.

HBO GO® LAUNCHES ON AMAZON'S KINDLE FIRE 

More Than 1,400 HBO® Titles Available for Streaming Via HBO GO App,

Downloadable From the Amazon Appstore for Android

New York, N.Y., June 6, 2012 - HBO GO, the wildly popular streaming service from HBO, is launching on Amazon's Kindle Fire, beginning today.  Available via the Amazon Appstore for Android, HBO GO consumers will be able to instantly access more than 1,400 titles, including every episode of every season of the best HBO shows. HBO GO is available at no additional cost to HBO customers who subscribe through a participating television provider.

HBO subscribers can use the HBO GO for Kindle Fire for on-the-go viewing of current critically acclaimed and award-winning series like Game of Thrones

"We are thrilled to offer HBO GO to the growing community of millions of Kindle Fire owners," said Aaron Rubenson, Director of the Amazon Appstore. "The HBO GO app will offer instant access to HBO's incredible lineup of shows.  Kindle Fire owners already download and use apps and games frequently on their devices, and we expect that only to increase with the addition of HBO GO and all of its popular content."

The best-selling Kindle Fire is the most successful product launch ever on Amazon.com and already a major platform for content providers and app developers to reach millions of people who love entertainment, whether its books, movies, music, apps or games. Kindle Fire offers customers a fully-integrated service with instant access to over 20 million movies, TV shows, magazines, newspapers, books, songs, apps and games. And, all of your Amazon content is always backed up and stored for free in the Amazon Cloud. Kindle Fire is available for $199 at www.amazon.com/kindlefire.

Subscribers can also personalize HBO GO through a custom "Watchlist" that keeps track of bookmarked content for later viewing and the "Series Pass

Acer unveils sub-$200 quad-core Android tablet

Acer on Wednesday unveiled its latest tablet, the Iconia Tab A110, during the Computex Taipei trade show, The Verge reported. The 7-inch 1280 x 800 resolution slate is equipped with an NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM, a microSD card slot, a front-facing camera, HDMI connectivity and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The kicker, however, is its sub-$200 price tag. The A110 looks to be one of the first tablets that will be part of NVIDIA's low-priced high-power Kai strategy. Google and ASUS are also expected to unveil a similar 7-inch tablet running the next version of Android, known as Jelly Bean, at the company's annual i/O Developer Conference that is scheduled to take place in San Francisco from June 27th through June 29th. Acer's Iconia Tab A110 will be released in the third quarter this year.

16GB Blackberry Playbook appears to have been discontinued

 
If you were hoping to get your hands on the 16GB version of the Blackberry Playbook, you might be out of luck. According to an email sent from RIM to a consumer, it seems that the company will be discontinuing the 16GB Blackberry Playbook model. This means that if you wanted to get the Playbook, you will have to go for the more expensive 32GB and 64GB versions. Some have speculated that the reason behind the discontinuation is due to the recent price cuts, and this caused the 16GB Playbook to barely return any profits for RIM who were just breaking even. Then again with all the media-heavy applications and files we store on our smartphones and tablets these days, 16GB is admittedly not enough. According to the email, 16GB models will still be offered while they are still in stock so assuming this email is to be believed (RIM has yet to step forward and announce this themselves), you might want to move fast if the 16GB model Blackberry Playbook tablet is really what you're after.

Has RIM canceled the 16GB PlayBook?

 If you're an indecisive fan of the BlackBerry PlayBook, your purchasing decision might just have been made a little easier. We're hearing reports that customers have been advised only existing stocks of the 16GB variant remain, and the firm will be offering just the 32- and 64GB models going forward. The speculation is that this is down to the lower profit margins on the smallest memory version, however this is not confirmed. We've contacted RIM for the official word in the meantime, and will update accordingly.

Tactus' morphing smartphone and tablet display hands-on

Tactus Technology, a small start-up out of Fremont, CA, made a big splash at this year's Society for Information Display (SID) conference. The company, which came to Boston, MA toting a single product, showcased an early prototype of its morphing touchscreen display. The screen, which looks and acts like all other smartphone and tablet displays, has a very special and unique feature: it can dynamically create and remove tactile keys on demand. Tactus utilizes a specially designed window that sits directly on top of a display's touch sensor - which we're told can be fitted to almost any touchscreen - that has specially designed channels. A "proprietary oil" is, at the behest of the underlying operating system, forced in and out of these channels to raise the display surface and create a tactile interface for the end-user. It's a concept that, much to the delight of ardent smartphone and tablet keyboard lovers, can provide a physical input experience without sacrificing screen real estate. Have a look at our hands-on gallery then saunter past the break to see this tactile touchscreen in action and read our impressions. The buttons created by Tactus' screen have a very distinct feeling and resistance. The small plateaus that protrude from the screen almost look wet and, when pressed, require a fair amount of pressure to push all the way down to the touchscreen. Although you can push the buttons flush, it's not necessary to register input; just tapping the screen (as with all non-resistive panels) will register your choice. As you may be able to see from several of our photos, the screen does seem to add some thickness to the display panel. While the added size is irrelevant, it does seem to add a certain finish or sheen to the screen that we're not used to seeing; it almost looks like a mash-up of matte and glossy. The device we got to fondle was a 7-inch Android tablet, although - as we mentioned above and can see in the company's promotional video - the technology can be shoehorned onto a variety of display form-factors. We're not exactly sure how useful (if at all) raised keys would be on a smartphone-sized QWERTY, but it is something Tactus says is completely possible. Tactus' screen is truly impressive, but its main draw - at this early prototype stage - is its newness. Refinements will definitely have to be made before OEMs are clamoring for this window, but we, along with SID's organizers (who gave the company a "best of show" nod) agree: this is a great launchpad for a technology with a fair amount of promise.

Microsoft reportedly bars HTC from making Windows 8 tablets

HTC is reportedly being shut out of Windows RT development due to lack of experience in the tablet market, according to Bloomberg. The news doesn't bode well for the Taiwanese vendor, which on Wednesday cut its second-quarter revenue projection by 13.3%. Microsoft's decision to lock HTC out of Windows 8 development was due to concerns about the company's tablet sales, or lack thereof; the publication's sources suggest the software giant is worried that HTC may diminish and tarnish the Windows RT experience. HTC engineers were reportedly interested in building a Windows device with a customized home screen, similar to what the company does with its Sense UI on Android. Microsoft refused, however, and will instead work with other vendors that have achieved greater sales. HTC may still release a Windows device in the second round of products expected to launch next year.

RIM axes 16GB PlayBook

We hardly knew ye, 16GB BlackBerry PlayBook. The demise of the 16GB PlayBook, first reported by N4BB and later confirmed by Engadget, means that RIM is only offering the more expensive 32GB and 64GB versions of its tablet. A RIM spokesperson told Engadget that the company is still “committed to the tablet space” but simply feels that “there is more value for our customers in the higher capacity models (32 GB, 64 GB).” N4BB, however, speculates that the real reason for dumping the 16GB tablet boils down to value for RIM, since “there is barely any profit on every 16GB PlayBook sold,” especially “given the price cuts putting the PlayBook to its relative production cost.”

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Google tablet spotted in the wild?

 
We do know that there are whispers of a new Google Nexus tablet in the pipeline, where previous reports point towards a June release in addition to having NVIDIA's Tegra 3 chipset powering it, but so far we have yet to see the device in action – unlike the alleged backplate of the iPhone 5 earlier this morning. Well, all of that is set to change right now, where PhoneArena claims to have received the first images of the alleged Google tablet, where it does seem to point towards a glossy white front (can you say fingerprint magnet here) alongside a two-tone back cover, complete with Asus branding emblazoned across the back of the device.

There are a couple of cameras located as well, in addition to an earpiece which is located at the top of the device, so some might think that this has something similar to the Galaxy Note by Samsung. So far, the best guesstimates on the Google tablet's hardware specifications include a 7″ display and 1GB RAM. In all probability, do expect to see the latest version of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich running on it.

Huawei MediaPad 10 FHD also on its way to Japan, to be released in August as the Emobile GT01

The Huawei Ascend P1 isn't the only device made by the Chinese company to be on its way to Japan. It will be joined by the MediaPad 10 FHD, the tablet first shown during MWC in February. Like the Ascend P1, the MediaPad 10 FHD will be launched under another name by Emobile. GT01 is what the tablet will be called, and we're confident that it makes more sense in Japan(ese) than “MediaPad 10 FHD”. The specs seem to have remained unchanged, as is the design. So we're looking at a tablet with a 10.1-inch 1920×1200 IPS touchscreen, a quad-core Huawei processor clocked at 1.5 GHz, an 8 MP rear camera, a 1.3 MP front-facing camera, 2 GB of RAM, 16 GB of built-in storage space, microSD card support, and a 6,400 mAh battery. It will run Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The GT01 will be offered by Emobile in August. The price hasn't been announced yet.

Acer Iconia Tab A210 and A110 spotted at Computex

 Recently at Computex, the folks at Engadget came across a pair of Android tablets by Acer – the Iconia A210 and the A110 and based on their model numbers, these are presumably the successors to last year's A200 and A100 tablets. The good news is that they have been upgraded and both models will feature NVIDIA's Tegra 3 quad-core processors under their hood and will come with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich preinstalled. According to an Acer rep, these tablets are expected to go on sale in Q3 of 2012 although no word on how much it will cost or which regions it will be sold in.

As far as the specs are concerned, the A210 will sport a 10.1x1280×800 display much like its predecessor. It will also come with a USB 2.0 port and a microSD card slot which will augment the 8GB or 16GB of internal storage on board. It will also feature a 3,620mAh battery. The A110 on the other hand will feature a 7x1024×600 display and will come with 1GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage, a microSD card slot and micro HDMI and micro USB connectors. Once again no word on pricing just yet, but we will be keeping our eyes peeled so stay tuned for updates.

Apple continues to dominate tablet market, Kindle Fire demand fizzles

ABI Research on Monday revealed the results of a its latest study concerning the global tablet market, which grew a whopping 185% year-over-year. The research firm found that Apple's iPad continued to dominate the market, and after an explosive debut quarter, demand for Amazon's Kindle Fire has begun to slow. Manufacturers shipped more than 18 million tablets in the first quarter of 2012, with Apple accounting for 11.8 million devices, or nearly 65% of the market. Shipments of Amazon's Kindle Fire “fizzled” allowing Samsung to ship the most Android tablets, although it still only managed to move 1.1 million units. “A pattern similar to smartphones is also occurring in tablets," said Jeff Orr, ABI Research group director of consumer research. "Apple and Samsung have demonstrated staying power while other tablet vendors ebb and flow like the tide." The research firm found that only two manufacturers saw shipments increase in the first quarter over the same period a year earlier: Research In Motion, which saw shipments of its PlayBook tablet grow 233%, and Lenovo. ABI's press release follows below.

iPad Remains Dominant in 1Q'2012 While Kindle Fire Fizzles

NEW YORK – June 4, 2012

​ The media tablet market shipped 18.2 million devices in 1Q'2012, which represents a 185% YoY gain and a -33% sequential loss in shipments. Apple's 11.8 million iPad shipments were spurred by the launch of a third-generation lineup and price reduction on iPad 2 models, while Samsung's 1.1 million shipments returned the vendor to the number two spot after Amazon's Kindle Fire shipments fizzled entering 2012.

"A pattern similar to smartphones is also occurring in tablets," says Jeff Orr, group director, consumer research. "Apple and Samsung have demonstrated staying power while other tablet vendors ebb and flow like the tide." Only two leading branded tablet OEMs - RIM (233%) and Lenovo (107%) - bucked the downward first quarter shipment trends, while Taiwan's ASUS remained flat sequentially from 4Q'2011. Several vendors, including Dell, HP, and LG are currently retooling tablet portfolios for mid-year launches of Android 4.0 along with the much anticipated Windows 8 slates debuting later in 2012.

Apple continued to lead the market with nearly 65% of worldwide units and surpassed 67 million cumulative shipments in its first eight quarters of availability. iPad can't claim the highest mobile broadband (3G/4G) attach rate for media tablets, though Apple retains its title of shipping the most 3G-enabled tablets by outpacing the number two competitor by a factor of eight. "The majority of iPad buyers continue to be satisfied with Wi-Fi wireless coverage," adds Orr. The leading model shipments and the ongoing challenges mobile operators face in convincing iPad owners to even try the mobile broadband connectivity once are expected to continue for the foreseeable future.