NEC Japan introduces the LifeTouch L, its first Android 4.0 Tablet

Here you are NEC new Android Tablet the LifeTouch L. Announced for a July launch across Japan this B2B tablet will come by default with Android 4.0 and will be sold at around 40,000 Yen in its 16GB version and around 50,000 Yen in its 32GB version. The LifeTouch L will come with an Dual Core 1.5GHz TI OMAP 4460 CPU, 1GB of RAM, a 10.1" IPS Screen with a 1280×800 resolution, WiFi, BLuetooth 2.1+EDR, GPS, DLNA… with a size of 257x181x7.99mm, a weight of 540g a a 7,400mAh batter offering up to 13h of continues web browsing.

Microsoft and Barnes & Noble to announce tablet with Xbox Live streaming, report claims

Microsoft announced this past April that it acquired a 17% stake in a newly-formed Barnes & Noble subsidiary that will focus on Nook tablets and eReaders. What the company may not have mentioned at the time is that the new partnership might also yield a line of Microsoft-branded tablets. Microsoft sent out a last-minute invitation to a press conference late last week, and multiple subsequent reports have suggested that this event will see Microsoft unveil a new line of own-brand tablets powered by Windows RT. According to a recent report from TechCrunch, however, the Redmond-based company plans to take the wraps off a Barnes & Noble joint effort. The site's sources claim the new tablet will be an eReader-media tablet combo, and it will focus on entertainment thanks to the inclusion of Xbox Live streaming support. Microsoft's event begins at 6:30 p.m. Eastern, 3:30 p.m. Pacific, and BGR will be on hand to cover the press conference live.

NEC annonces LifeTouch L tablets for individual and business users

 If you're in the market for a couple of new tablets, NEC has recently announced two new tablets dubbed the LifeTouch L. Yup, you read it right, both tablets will be known as the LifeTouch L but the difference between them is that one will be aimed at regular consumers like you and I, while the other will be aimed at the business user. However the difference only comes in the software, with the business version sporting an additional security software suite which will aid in the prevention of loss or in the case of theft. The ones intended for regular consumers will get a software suite of its own which will help parents protect their kids from certain websites online.

As far as hardware is concerned, both tablets will feature the same hardware which is a TI OMAP4460 1.5GHz processor, a 10.1x1280×800 IPS display, a battery capable of lasting 13 hours, WiFi and storage options of 16GB or 32GB (the business version will only sport 16GB) and will run on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. No word on pricing just yet, but the tablet aimed at individual users is expected to see a release on the 5th of July.

‘Xbox Surface' 7-inch tablet said to be on tap for Microsoft event

Rumors and speculation have been flying since Microsoft announced last week that it was hosting a press conference in Los Angeles on Monday, and that might be exactly what the Redmond-based company was hoping for. Early well-sourced reports indicated that a Microsoft-branded tablet is on tap for the event, and a number of subsequent reports have said much of the same. TechCrunch later reported that we should expect a Barnes & Noble collaboration, but B&N squashed that rumor relatively quickly. Next up from the rumor mill? An “Xbox Surface” tablet with a 7-inch display, an ARM based TI processor, full HD 1080p-output and a 28-nanometer AMD graphics processor. An an interesting side note, Microsoft insider “MS Nerd” reported earlier this year that Microsoft would unveil an ARM-based “Xbox Lite” in the near future ahead of a full-fledged next-generation Xbox console, and this very well could be the device his sources were referring to.

Live from Microsoft's tablet event!

After saving things for the very last minute in an effort to keep today's news under wraps, Microsoft is finally ready to get the show under way here in Los Angeles, California. The topic of today's event is still something of a mystery, though a pair of well-sourced reports from last week suggest Microsoft is about to enter the the tablet game with its first own-brand offering. Microsoft is no stranger to hardware, though it has seen mixed results in the past; the Xbox 360 is still the best-selling console in the world seven years after its 2005 debut, but the Zune player was a mess from start to finish. Nothing is confirmed until we hear it straight from the horse's mouth, however, so hit the jump to follow BGR's live coverage of today's event, which is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. Eastern, 3:30 p.m. Pacific.

Microsoft unveils Surface tablet

Microsoft on Monday announced the Surface tablet during a press conference in Los Angeles, California. Rumors leading up to the event suggested that the Redmond-based company had an own-brand tablet in store, and a leaked spec sheet that emerged on Monday pointed to an Xbox-focused slate that would merge entertainment, gaming and high-definition output into a 7-inch tablet that would mark Microsoft's premiere entry into the market. Bits and pieces of various rumors ended up panning out, and Microsoft unveiled its first Windows RT tablet.

Developing… “Surface fulfills the dream of working anywhere,” Microsoft said of the 9.3-millimeter thick tablet, which includes a magnesium case that weighs less than 1.5 pounds and features an integrated stand to prop the device up while watching videos or typing on a Bluetooth keyboard. The face of the Surface is covered with Corning Gorilla Glas 2, and it includes a magnetic connector to hold a case in place.

The new Surface tablet ships with a number of popular Microsoft apps, including Xbox live, and it includes a native Netflix app as well. USB 2.0 and HDMI-out ports are both on board, as are rear and front-facing cameras. An Intel Ivy Bridge Core i5 processor powers the Surface along with a unique vented active cooling system.

Microsoft's Surface tablet supports both finger and stylus input, as well as 600 dpi “Digital Ink” for drawing, writing and marking up documents.

Microsoft Surface tablet hands-on

Microsoft's mystery event is finally over and considering the flurry of leaks that piled up ahead of this evening's press conference, we can't say were entirely surprised by the announcement of the company's first own-brand tablet. BGR was on hand reporting live as Microsoft took the wraps off the Surface tablet, a 9.3 millimeter-thick magnesium slate intended to set the stage for Windows 8 and Windows RT. We managed to fight our way through the crowd for a quick hands-on look, and Microsoft's new tablet shows some serious promise. Hit the jump for more and be sure to check out our hands-on photo gallery linked below. First, there's the design of the device itself. Microsoft has tried to make Surface into a Swiss Army Knife type of tablet that features both a kickstand and a snap-on keyboard. The good news is that neither of these features are terribly obtrusive as the kickstand just slides right back into the tablet and the keyboard can be either snapped off or flipped over like a book. There are two types of keyboards that Microsoft is selling with the device, called the Touch Cover and the Type Cover. The Touch Cover is a pressure-sensitive pad that can pick up on your keystrokes and is only 3 millimeters thick. The Type Cover is more of a traditional keyboard with fully embossed keys that press down and is slightly thicker at 5 millimeters. I have to admit that the Touch Cover felt somewhat alien to me at first when I was playing around with it, but that could be due to the fact that I didn't have a lot of time to play around with it - Microsoft was really herding reporters quickly through the line. The Type Cover did feel quite natural as a keyboard should, however, so at the very least, there should be one strong option for people who prefer traditional keyboards. The tablet's 10.6-inch display screen looked gorgeous, although Microsoft was being weirdly evasive when asked what the exact screen resolution was. The tablet's “VaporMg” casing is extremely solid, and the tablet feels very strong in your hands. Despite being 9.3 millimeters thick, the Windows RT version of the Surface is in no danger of bending under pressure. In terms of software, Windows RT brings some cool new capabilities to the tablet form factor, including the ability to run two apps on the same screen simultaneously. One Microsoft rep, for instance, demonstrated how to have Outlook email on one half of the screen while having sports scores on the other half. And of course, the home screen on both versions of the Surface tablet features Windows 8′s Metro UI that is significantly more intuitive, colorful and user-friendly than past editions of Windows. So what's the bottom line here? Well, Microsoft didn't let me spend nearly enough time with its Surface tablets to write a comprehensive review and since the devices are still a long way from being released, I'm going to assume that's because Microsoft is still putting a lot of finishing touches on them. But what I saw looked really intriguing, and Microsoft has at least in concept created a tablet computer that can also double as a PC. While this alone certainly won't be enough to help Microsoft compete with the mighty Apple iPad, it does breathe some much-needed life into Microsoft's mobile product line.

Image taken by Google Nexus Tablet appears in Picasa

Excited about the rumored 7" Google Nexus tablet that might be making its way to the upcoming Google I/O Conference happening later this month? As Google's developer conference is drawing near, it looks like more and more news about the company's very own tablet manufactured by Asus are leaking out. The latest leak is an image purportedly taken by the Google Nexus tablet that appeared in Google's image sharing service - Google Picasa, according to the EXIF information at least.

There's nothing special about the picture though, no image of the actual tablet has been revealed – it's only a lousy and boring image of partition ceiling and lights; I've never been fond of cameras found in tablet devices anyway. This new leak suggests that the tablet could really be on its way to the conference. Feel free to check out the image on Picasa, it's still up and available on the photo sharing service by Google, do you think it's the real deal?

More proof of a Nexus tablet launching at Google I/O this month emerges

 
You've probably heard about the rumor mill surrounding the Nexus tablet and its rumored launching at the Google I/O later this month. Well, if you've been waiting for an update, the Taiwanese publication that is DigiTimes is reporting that the said tablet will be unveiled at the Google I/O annual developer conference in San Francisco. The Google I/O will commence on the 27th of June and will end on the 29th. Sources reportedly told Digitimes that the 7-inch Nexus tablet PC will start shipping in June and is estimated to be available in the retail stores in July, with the device's total shipments expected to reach at least three million units in the second half of the year.

Furthermore, the publication added that the initial price of the device is expected to be around the 199-dollar mark. “Due to its low price, the 7-inch Nexus tablet PC only supports a Wi-Fi connection and does not feature a back-side webcam, but will equip with a front-side webcam for video conference,” DigiTimes wrote. It's important to note that we are merely citing reports from unknown sources. Until we can prove its veracity, it's best to keep our fingers crossed.