Gadgets and Tech in the Philippines

It seems that every month we are getting news about the next iPad challenger.  Taiwan based computer company Acer is this month's latest Apple iPad challenger.  The Acer Iconia Tab A500 is the latest tablet to be released and challenge the current bestselling iPad. The Acer Iconia Tab is powered by a dual core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor which makes it powerful enough to play more sophisticated games.  Spreadsheets and word processors shouldn't be a problem also with this kind of power under the hood. The Iconia Tab is equipped with and HD optimized graphics card also from NVIDIA , the NVIDIA GeForce GPU .  One main advantage of the Iconia Tab over the iPad 2 is that it supports Flash .  All these can be viewed on the 10.1" multi-touch screen , almost the same as the iPad 2. Running the applications on the Iconia Tab will be Google Android 3.0 Honeycomb and will be controlled by Acer's very own simplified user interface.  Hopefully, Acer will be able to delive

As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is going to be released on June 6.  Bloggers from one of the most popular gadget blogs , Crave  were very lucky to be one of the 5,000 early testers for the new Samsung Tablet. According to Crave, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 looks a lot like the iPad 2 and is very similar in terms of it's overall profile. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is actually lighter and as thin as the iPad 2.  The final version to be released next week will have a backside also similar to how the iPad 2 looks, good thing Samsung preferred this over the previous bathroom wallpaper-looking back of the Galay Tab 10.1. Related articles Samsung to Launch the Galaxy S 3 in 2012 (techie-buzz.com) Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Google I/O Edition (review): Thin, light, and spinnable (news.cnet.com) New Samsung Galaxy Tab and Galaxy S Are Coming Sooner than You Think (mashable.com)

Still hot in the rumor mill these past few days is ASUS latest foray in the tablet market, the ASUS PadFone.  Based on the latest rumors, ASUS is about to release a mobile phone , which docks into a companion tablet. If this rumor proves to be true, this will be similar to the Motorola Atrix , which also features a mobile phone which can be docked to power a netbook .  Only this time, instead of a netbook, the PadFone will power a tablet. ASUS will most probably have Android installed on the PadFone, but there are no details yet which version of Android it will be running. Stay tuned for more developments on this very exciting story in the world of tablets. Related articles Asus Padfone Fully Exposed (Images) (pocketnow.com) Asus PadFone Tablet Hides Smartphone Inside [PICS] (fakeiitian.com) Asus PadFone Images Leaked (techie-buzz.com)

A smartphone becomes a genius phone when it combines external looks with power beneath the hood and most of all usability. That's where the LG Optimus 2X comes in.  The Optimus 2X is the world's first dual core processor smartphone.  That's like putting the power of a netbook or notebook into a compact smart phone .  This will be one of the Optimus 2X's most awaited feature.  Since it is considered a smartphone, then the Optimus 2X will definitely be used for business and pleasure, and with that kind of power, it will definetely be more than capable thanks to the Nvidia Tegra 2 1Ghz dual core processor. Video playback and pictures will also be handled quite well, the LG Optimus 2X is capable of displaying full HD media up to 1080p.  On the lighter side, the LG Optimus 2X will be able to render console quality gaming.  You can view all of these on the gorgeous 4 inch WVGA screen. And if that wasn't enough, the LG Optimus 2X can take the place of your digita

Image via Wikipedia It seems all the big companies are getting into the Tablet scene.   Bloomberg has reported that three sources have confirmed Microsoft's plan to release the much awaited user interface .  There were already rumors of a Windows tablet OS since last year, but this time, it looks like it's going to be reality. Rumors have it that the preview of the Windows tablet OS will be released next week.   Related articles Windows 8 For Tablets To Debut Next Week? (crunchgear.com) Bloomberg confirms next week's Windows 8 tablet demo (winrumors.com) Windows tablet OS preview coming next week? (engadget.com)

Samsung 's next generation tablet , the Galaxy Tab 10.1 which is set to be released by June 8 this year will have the latest Android operating system , Honeycomb 3.1. Honeycomb 3.1 brings a list of enhancements and fixes to the Android operating system, most notable are the enhancements and fixes for the web browser and Gmail . Only Motorola has started releasing devices with Honeycomb 3.1 on it's Xoom tablet. The Galaxy Tab 10.1 is Samsung's latest release in the tablet market and may look to compete head to head against the Apple iPad , considering it's exactly the same size.  The Galaxy Tab will have a 1280x800 high definition screen, 1 Ghz dual core processor, front and rear cameras and stereo speakers. The Galaxy Tab 10.1 will be priced at $499 for the 16GB model and $599 for the 32GB version. Related articles Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 ships with Android 3.1 Honeycomb in the US (ubergizmo.com) Samsung's Galaxy Tab Launch Is Just "

Creative, makers of the very popular Sound Blaster sound cards for PCs and now makers of quite a number of PC peripherals has come up with an excellent sounding speaker for almost any type of device which has a music player. The Creative D200 Portable Bluetooth Wireless Speakers is, as the name suggests, both Wireless and Bluetooth enabled.  This means that if you have a Bluetooth enabled music player or device, you can pair it with the D200 and instantly listen to your music or output your sound. During my tests, I was very impressed with the audio quality of the Creative D200, despite its relatively small size, the bass was quite solid and voice quality was very clear.  I tested the D200 with a 2nd, 3rd and 4th generation iPod touch and also with a Lenovo netbook.  All sounded similar, though I had a problem connecting the Lenovo (particularly iTunes ) with the D200. But when everything was working, I realized that the D200 is worth the price.  The Creative D200 sells for

One of the most famous media formats today is the Micro SD card .  I think it's popularity will further increase with the latest release from system memory giant Kingmax.  Kingmax just announced recently that it will be releasing their very own 64 GB Micro SD card. That's a ton of data on a very tiny chip.  The next challenge will be for the device vendors like cellphone manufacturers to make their devices capable of reading the 64 GB Micro SD card.  Current line of phones are only capable of reading up to 16 GB Micro SD cards. No official release date yet for this data keeper. Related articles Kingmax MicroSD card hits 64GB mark (news.cnet.com) Kingmax debuts world's largest capacity microSD card with 64GB of storage (slashgear.com) The World's First 64GB MicroSD [Memory] (gizmodo.com)

Image via Wikipedia No, Windows Phone Mango is not Microsoft moving into the fruit business :) Windows Phone Mango is Microsoft's latest major update to its smartphone operating system Windows Phone. News has it that Windows Phone Mango will add more than 500 new features to Windows phone.  This is the largest update to the Windows Phone operating system since it was first released last November, 2010 One of the major updates included in Windows Phone Mango is the multitasking capability.  This was a feature that was lacking in the initial release and which disappointed a lot of would-be users last year. Windows Phone Mango also bring unified mailboxes, which isn't new if you've been using other platforms like the iOS .  Microsoft however, added the capability of choosing which emails you wanted to be put together, this is a welcome feature for users who would like to separate personal emails from the work or business related email accounts. No specific release

Dell has decided to remove its high end Adamo line of laptops and replaced this with new XPS models.  The newest XPS laptop is the Dell XPS 15z.  The XPS 15z looks to compete against the 15" Apple Macbook Air. On the outside, the Dell XPS 15z is very sleek and minimalist with rounded curves and precision crafted lines, it was built using  anodized aluminum . and is very thin with just .97" at it thickest point.  Dell claims that the XPS 15z is the slimmest 15" laptop on the planet.  Adding to the appeal of the XPS 15z is it's backlit chiclet keyboard . Dell didn't compromise on the computing power of the XPS 15z, video is provided by Nvidia 's GeForce video card and the laptop will be powered by either the Intel i5 or i7 processors.  The Dell XPS 15z supports up to 8 gigabytes of fast DDR3 memory.  So editing videos or photos should be no problem. For gamers, the XPS 15z will be very capable of running even the most graphic intensive games. The

Barnes and Noble has released it's latest eBook reader .  The all-new Nook is now enhanced with a touch screen , which eliminates the need for any buttons on the device. The all-new Nook was introduced by, no less than Barnes and Noble CEO, William Lynch.   The Nook , was described as "The simple touch reader" during it's launch event last May 24. The Barnes and Noble eReader now measures 6" and features an eInk display, similar to what Amazon has on their Kindle eBook reader.  The eInk display eliminates the glare of the sun when reading outdoors. One highlight of the all-new Nook is its battery life, according to Barnes and Noble, the Nook will last up to 2 months on a single charge.  The Nook is also very light, weighing in at under 8 ounces and also has built in Wi-fi . One advantage of the Nook over Amazon's Kindle is that Barnes and Noble allows you to read ebooks on your Nook for free if you bring your Nook in any of the Barnes and Noble br

Tech giant Sony and it's mobile phone partner Ericsson is ready to release it's first phone with sort of a Playstation Portable built in.  Dubbed as the "Playstation Phone", the new Sony Ericsson Xperia Play will be released in the United States for $200 depending again on what cellphone plan is enrolled to. The phone will have Playstation Portable (PSP) features via a sliding control pad which looks very similar to what is found in the current PSP Go.  The Xperia Play will come with 10 games preloaded, the games will include Madden NFL 11 (EA Sports), Bruce Lee Dragon Warrior (Digital Legends), Asphalt 6: Adrenaline (Gameloft), The Sims 3 (EA), Star Battalion (Gameloft), Crash Bandicoot (Sony PlayStation), and Tetris (EA). The Xperia Play will run on the Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) operating system and will be able to access the current Android market for additional games and applications. One advantage of the Xperia Play is that it will supports Adobe Flash Player

Apple released today it's latest updates to the iMac all-in-one line.  The newest iMacs now come with a quad processor for all the models in the line.  The new iMacs come with Intel's latest Core i5 and i7 processors, according to Apple, this makes the iMac almost 2x faster than the previous iMac generation which makes the latest iMacs the most powerful all-in-one yet. The 21.5 inch iMac will come with either a 2.5GHz or 2.7GHz quad core i5 processor, while the 27 inch iMac will have either a 2.7GHz or 3.1GHz Intel quad core i5 processor.  You will also have the option to have Intel's current fastest processor, the i7.  The new iMac will also feature TurboBoost 2.0, which allows automatic speed increase of the active cores for CPU intensive applications like Aperature 3.  TurboBoost works in the background, so this will be transparent to users. On the graphics side, the iMac will now feature advanced AMD Radeon HD graphics.  This will be a big benefit for games, parti