5.5-inch Samsung Galaxy Note 2 phablet coming on August 15, release date not available yet

A few days ago, we told you that Samsung sent out press invites to members of the media for a special event scheduled to take place on August 15. At the time, we wondered whether the company would announce the Galaxy Note 2, its second-generation smartphone/tablet during the presser, especially since Samsung was said a few weeks ago to unveil the new phablet on August 30 in Berlin, a day ahead of the start of the German IFA 2012 tech show.
However, an even more distant report suggested that Samsung is interested in launching the Galaxy Note 2 as fast as possible, in order to beat the sixth-generation iPhone to market.
BGR now says that Galaxy Note 2 is going to be unveiled on August 15, according to a “source close to Samsung.” The same source seems to have confirmed that the device will come with a thinner and taller 5.5-inch display, which sounds familiar since it’s a spec we’ve seen in various reports so far.
However, the source did not reveal an actual release date for the device just yet. We’re also curious about Jelly Bean-friendliness for the Galaxy Note 2, not to mention the rest of its specs and features, but we’ll just have to wait and see whether the South Korean company does indeed announce its next-gen phablet in mid-August.
We have already showed you all we think we know about the Galaxy Note 2, and we used that info to offer you a preview comparison between the Note 2 and the Galaxy S3 well ahead of the actual launch of the phablet.
Are you buying a high-end Samsung smartphone this year? Is it the Galaxy S3 or the Note 2?

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HTC Flip-Flops On Desire HD ICS Release?

This time last week, we learned that the carrier Telus had started informing its users that, despite earlier indications from HTC that it would most certainly be releasing an Ice Cream Sandwich update for the Desire HD, the manufacturer had since changed its mind on the matter, apparently dissatisfied with the operating system’s performance on the handset, and was canceling its upgrade plans.
That news sounded a bit odd, so we were happy to hear HTC respond to those claims earlier this week, indicating that everything was still on-track for the Desire HD getting ICS. We thought that was the end of this misunderstanding, but now things seem to be getting even more confusing, with HTC backing-down from its earlier statement, and releasing a new one that keeps the Desire HD’s ICS fate up-in-the-air.
In just a few days, HTC’s position has gone from that it’s “still on schedule to deliver an Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade” for the Desire HD to that it’s “currently determining the ability to support Ice Cream Sandwich on the HTC Desire HD“, and it will “provide more information when we’ve completed our analysis“.
That’s a huge shift from what we once knew of the Desire HD’s update, when it was scheduled to arrive sometime in July or August. With this change in HTC’s attitude, we’re also worried for the fate of ICS on the Thunderbolt, the Desire HD’s CDMA brother, once also scheduled for a July/August release.

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Bloomberg reports – Apple planning to release a smaller iPad soon

With all the rumors about Apple’s next plan for the iPad, one that is so hot right now is that Apple might soon be introducing the iPad mini or at least a new iPad with smaller screen size than the current 9.7-inch models. Interestingly, a new report was published by reputable news agency, Bloomberg saying that Apple is indeed planning to release a new iPad with a screen size somewhere between 7-8 inches diagonally. This report has to come right weeks after Google announced its own tablet – the Nexus 7.
Sounds interesting? Indeed, because the report came from Bloomberg. According to Bloomberg, Apple may announce the product in October. Another interesting information furnished through the report is the fact that the said iPad Mini will not have the same high-definition screen as the current iPad. If this is indeed true, then obviously Apple is gunning for the Google Nexus 7.

Actually, Apple is hitting two birds with one stone or should we one new iPad here. The iPad Mini may go up not only against Google’s Nexus 7 tablet but also against Microsoft’s Surface tablet announced also recently. Of course there’s also the Amazon Kindle Fire which like the Nexus 7 tablet is also sporting a 7-inch display. Amazon is even reported to be preparing to launch the Kindle Fire 2 very soon.
Now, here’s the thing. If Apple pushes through with the iPad Mini, it will certainly give all the other tablets coming out soon a stiff competitor. Apple after all currently holds the majority of the tablet market, thanks to its iPad product line. Apple has dominated the tablet market since the first iPad was launched.
So, it looks like the battle plan of the participants in the next wave of the tablet wars is to make the smallest, most portable and highly functional mini tablet. Which side are going to be on?
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Apple predicted to release a 7.85-inch iPad come October

If there’s one effect of Google’s recent introduction of the Nexus 7 tablet it has to be the many speculations on whether Apple will follow suit and release a mini-version of the iPad. In fact, an analyst from Pacific Crest, Andy Hargreaves has predicted that Apple will introduce a new iPad in October. Mr. Hargreaves seem so sure that he even predicted the exact measurement of this new iPad – it’s going to be 7.85-inches.
Additionally, Mr. Hargreaves also predicted that the said 7.85-inch iPad will have 8GB of NAND capacity and will be priced around $299. Still a few hundreds more expensive than Google Nexus 7. He goes on to say that he estimates Apple to sell 10 million units of the 7.85-inch iPad by the end of 2012 and 35.2 million units in 2013.

As to their basis for the prediction, the analyst said that it was based on their estimated component order volume of Apple and that this estimate is well within Apple’s production capacity. The group’s prediction has increased from their previous estimate of 65.2 million unit to be sold by Apple in FQ2013. This is attributed to the cannibalization of the bigger iPad. Meaning that for every iPad 7.85 produced, one of the bigger iPad is reduced. Hence, the reason for their estimated sales figures.
Finally, Hargreaves also suggested that Apple might also stop producing the iPad 2 with a $399 price to give way for a new iPad Mini with 16GB capacity to be sold at the same price. Additionally, he also predicted that Apple will release a new iPad with lighter battery and oxide TFT screen.


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Microsoft Sets Windows 8 Release Date; Bring On The Surface Tablets!

We’ve known for a while now that Microsoft will release Windows 8 sometime this fall, but so far the company had yet to provide a hard date for the platform’s retail launch. With just over three months to go, Microsoft has now revealed October 26 as when Windows 8 will finally arrive.

Microsoft’s announcement of its Surface tablets last month caught us all a bit by surprise. Sure, some sort of tablet news was rumored, but the quality of the products Microsoft ended up revealing, along with that very compelling keyboard cover, were really an unexpected slam dunk. Today’s revelation of the Windows 8 retail launch doesn’t mean we’ll be seeing Surface arrive at the same time, but you can bet the first of those tablets will be hot on its tail.

That’s the case for the Windows RT version of Surface, at least. Don’t forget that there’s also a more full-featured Windows 8 Pro version, with an Intel processor and specs more in-line with those of a typical laptop. Last we heard, that model could be landing another three months after the RT Surface debuts, meaning we’re looking at some time around late January or early February of next year.
Surface won’t be alone in the Windows 8 tablet market, and once the OS arrives, we’ll be seeing models from a number of additional manufacturers.

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