Satu lagi tablet 7 inci yang siap menggebrak pasar Indonesia tahun depan: Axioo Pico Pad.

Tak mau kalah dengan tim nasional yang semalam memukau lewat gocekan bola. Axioo, vendor asal Indonesia dengan prestasi global ini menyihir penggemar gadget berbasis Android dengan tablet yang sudah dilabeli Google certified.

Apa artinya? Menurut Budi Wahyu Jati (Director – Corporate Division, Axioo), Pico Pad memampukan pengguna mengakses langsung Google Market dan selalu ter-update dengan berbagai aplikasi baru yang ada di sana.

“Kalau [dengan perangkat] yang belum disertifikasi Google, pengguna hanya mengakses situs web yang memang disediakan vendor untuk mengunduh aplikasi,” jelas Budi kepada wartawan di sela-sela acara launching Pico Pad hari ini (30/12) di Jakarta.

Selain itu, perangkat yang ditenagai prosesor Qualcomm 600MHz ini dan RAM 512MB ini memiliki keistimewaan berupa menu berbahasa Indonesia dan nuansa batik. “Ini khusus untuk yang ditawarkan ke pengguna Indonesia,” papar Budi. Namun sayangnya Pico Pad batik ini menurut Budi Wahyu Jati tidak akan dijual ke negara lain yang menjadi pasar Axioo, seperti ke negara-negara ASEAN dan Eropa.

Axioo Pico Pad mengadopsi sistem operasi Android versi 2.2, dengan koneksi internet yang secara default bisa mengakomodasi HSDPA. Tablet yang termasuk kelas 7 inci ini rencananya akan dilempar ke pasar dengan harga sekitar Rp 4 jutaan. Sebagai kelengkapannya, Axioo membundelkan kartu memori berjenis microSD 16GB pada Pico Pad.

Ditanyai kemungkinan Axioo membuat tablet dengan sistem operasi selain Android, “Sementara ini roadmap kami masih dengan Android,” Budi menjawab diplomatis. Menurutnya Android menawarkan kekayaan konten yang menarik. Bahkan Axioo sudah mencanangkan untuk merangkul pengembang-pengembang lokal agar semakin banyak berkontribusi ke Google Market.

Nexus S (google)

• Nexus S akan memiliki prosesor 1 GHz Samsung Hummingbird. Prosesor ini, sama dengan yang digunakan pada Galaxy S, berbasis ARM Cortex A8.
• Nexus S memiliki memori 512 MB, setara dengan 'standar' saat ini yang digunakan iPhone 4 maupun Samsung Galaxy S.
• Seperti dijanjikan CEO Google Eric Schmidt, Nexus S akan memiliki perangkat Near Field Communication. NFC ini bisa digunakan untuk transaksi keuangan lewat koneksi nirkabel jarak dekat.
• Kemampuan grafis Nexus S diperkuat oleh PowerVR SGX 540. Sama dengan Galaxy S, sedikit berbeda dengan iPhone 4 (SGX 535).
• Kapasitas Nexus S adalah 16GB, sama seperti iPhone 4 16GB dan berbeda dengan Galaxy S (8GB internal, 16GB via microSD).
• Nexus S memiliki dua kamera. Satu di belakang (5MP) dan satu di depan (VGA). Di bagian belakang terdapat lampu LED untuk membantu penerangan.
• Layar yang digunakan serupa dengan Galaxy S, yaitu Super AMOLED berukuran 4 inchi dengan resolusi 800 x 480.
• Satu yang unik, layar Nexus S memiliki bentuk lengkung agar nyaman saat digunakan untuk menelepon.

Wicak Hidayat - detikinet
Source : detikinet

Andy Rubin is, as I type this, in the middle of a demo of Android 3.0 (AKA Honeycomb) at Dive Into Mobile. The rest of his talk I’ve got written up elsewhere, but this was too cool to pass up. The software is running on a prototype MOTOPAD that looks really slick, though it was only out for a moment and there are but few pictures at the moment. I’ll be updating this post as more information breaks.

First thing he showed off was a new lock screen and then what appeared to be a brand new “desktop” with widgets and buttons in the corners. Different UI aesthetic than earlier versions of Android. He then launched the new, 3D-and-vector-based version of Google Maps that should be coming to your phone in just a couple days.

Honeycomb will be out “next year,” which is a pretty vague deadline, but if I remember correctly, we’ve heard Q2 for the Moto tablet. Another improvement he notes is the ability to split applications into multiple “fragments,” i.e. a mail app would have two panes for mail and inbox, which would be viewed sequentially on a phone but simultaneously on a tablet. There’s a new app grid and Gmail appears to have gotten a much nicer version of itself, which I would bet money is a lot like what they’re going to show off tomorrow at their Chrome thing.

The tablet itself looks to me to be larger than the 7″ we heard a while back, but it’s really difficult to tell without actually being there. I’d guess 9″ at 16:10 from these pictures. I don’t know how big Andy Rubin actually is, so my frame of reference is a bit off.

I’ve always said the Android versions we’ve had are a bad fit for tablets. This looks like a different story. I’m looking forward to Honeycomb.

Barnes & Noble has finally released the software development kit for the Android-powered Nook Color and this could lead to multiple apps on the color e-reading tablet.

While the Nook Color is powered by Android, it won’t be able to access the more than 100,000 apps in the Android Market. Barnes & Noble did say that it would be relatively simple to port existing programs over, although it will vet these apps for various criteria.

First of all, you can expect Barnes & Noble to axe the apps with excessive violence or nudity but it will also stop competitors from getting on its platform. Don’t look for the Amazon Kindle app to show up on the Nook Color anytime soon even though porting the Android app should be relatively simple.

With a 7-inch color touchscreen and decent hardware under the hood, the Nook Color could be a decent mobile gaming device. While I’m not expecting the next Rage HD to pop up on it, I could easily see a crossword game or Words With Friends being a bit hit with the e-reader crowd.

Will this be enough to make the Barnes & Noble tablet a big success? It’s tough to tell. While the e-reader has a nice price tag at $250, it may never garner the amount of apps that the Apple iPad has right now.

Additionally, we’re in line to see a glut of Android apps from the likes of Motorola and others that will be able to access many of the programs from the market. We may also start to see a price war for Android tablets and that makes the Nook Color price tag not as appealing.

Still, this is a positive sign for Barnes & Noble Nook Color users, as it will give them more things to do with that tablet.

[Via Engadget, nook developer]

Perangkat ponsel 3D ini akan menggunakan sistem operasi Android 2.1 walau carrier akan menawarkan update ke versi 2.2 yang bisa mendukung Flash 10.1 dan kemampuan tethering. (sumber)

Ayo kita lihat video Sharp LYNX 3D:

Kamis, 18 November 2010 - 13:01 wib

Galaxy Tab, tablet berbasis Android

LONDON - Tablet komputer berbasis sistem operasi Android Google diprediksi akan menguasai 15 persen dari pasar dunia pada tahun 2011. Ini artinya tablet Android bakal menjadi pesaing terberat dari iPad.

Prediksi ini sendiri dikeluarkan oleh IMS Research, yang juga mengharapkan tablet Android akan menguasai 28 persen pangsa tablet pada tahun 2015. Beberapa pembuat perangkat keras yang akan menjual tablet Android, termasuk Samsung, Dell, Motorola dan Cisco.

Samsung telah membuat taruhan terbesar di tablet Android, dengan meluncurkan Galaxy Tab untuk T-Mobile, Sprint dan Verizon Wireless di AS, dengan peluncuran AT&T yang ditetapkan untuk 21 November. Samsung mengharapkan dapat menjual 1 juta tablet di musim liburan 2010 saja.

"Ketersediaan Samsung tablet Tab Galaxy melalui operator seluler seperti AT&T di Amerika Serikat dengan cepat akan meningkatkan kehadiran Android Google di pasar tablet," kata analis IMS Research Anna Hunt, seperti dilansir eWeek, Kamis (18/11/2010).

Sementara Hunt juga memprediksi tablet akan menguasai 75 persen dari pasar atau lebih pada saat ini tahun depan.

Popularitas tablet sendiri melejit setelah diluncurkan pada bulan April, penjualan jutaan unit dalam beberapa bulan pertama, hingga saat ini berhasil menjual sebanyak 4,19 juta pada kuartal keempat saja.
(tyo)

Google CEO Eric Schmidt has finally made it clear what differentiates Google’s Android OS from the soon-to-be-released Chrome OS: keyboards.

That’s a rather simplified expression of the bigger picture; but ultimately, Google () sees Chrome OS as the operating system for traditional computers, such as PCs, netbooks and laptops, which may include touch interfaces but always include keyboards; and the company sees Android () as an operating system best suited to mobile devices, which may include keyboards but almost always include touch interfaces.

During his talk at Web 2.0 Summit, Schmidt was asked by a member of the audience about Android’s perceived fragmentation. In addition, Schmidt was asked about where Chrome OS should be used vs. Android and where they overlap. The audience member professed that he was confused about Google’s strategy surrounding both platforms.

Schmidt responded in a few parts. His first point was that Android isn’t fragmented, stating that you can still run the same app on all Android phones — a point which our readers are welcome to dispute in the comments. However, Schmidt emphasized that he wants to make sure you can run the same apps on all Android devices.

What I found more interesting was his response to the difference between Chrome OS and Android. He iterated multiple times that it seems like Android is optimal for touch devices, while Chrome OS is best suited for traditional keyboard devices. While this explanation makes perfect sense to us, we’ve never heard this explanation from Google’s CEO until now.

In other words, if Google builds a touch-based tablet, it’s going to run Android. If it builds a new type of keyboard computer device, it’ll run Chrome OS. Schmidt says to expect Chrome OS “in the next few months” and the new version of Android (a.k.a. Gingerbread) in the next few weeks.

Today marks exactly three years since Google and a slew of hardware and carrier partners officially announced the Android mobile operating system.

It was almost a year after that before the first major Android () handset was released – the G1 on T-Mobile – and not until late 2009 that the Motorola Droid, complete with an aggressive ad campaign, catapulted the platform into the mainstream consciousness.

Today, a wide variety of manufacturers are producing Android phones, and they’re sold on all major carriers in the U.S. In fact, in aggregate they’re now outselling those running on Apple’s iOS, with recent numbers putting Google ()’s share of the mobile operating system market at nearly 20%.

With variants of the Android operating system now being extended to other platforms like tablets, Internet-connected televisions and even automobiles, we can only see it getting more pervasive in the years ahead.

Three years ago, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said, “Our vision is that the powerful platform we’re unveiling will power thousands of different phone models.” Three years later, it appears his company is very much on the way to doing so.

source : mashable

The Nook Color's built on top of Android, but seemed crippled in its potential to be a killer Android tablet by the way it'd run apps. Well, the reality is, it could be a solid little Android tablet after all.

At the Nook Color announcement, Barnes & Noble wasn't super clear about how apps and its own app store would work in relation to the larger Android ecosystem and Market. But now that we've talked to them about the development program a little more in depth, things look peachier.

Barnes & Noble is going to run their own app store for the Nook Color, distributing and selling applications. It's a "curated" experience, meaning they'll have to approve apps for the store, which developers can start submitting in "early 2011," with apps approved "within weeks" of submission. So the apps that we saw at the launch, like Pandora, is all that'll be available for a couple of months. (They won't disclose how they're splitting revenue with developers but said they're using a "familiar" scheme, so the standard 70/30 probably applies.)

The Nook Color won't run apps straight out of the Android Market, but that doesn't mean it can't run them—in fact, they've done a lot of tests on apps from standard Android smartphones and they "pretty much run on Nook Color," which has Android 2.1 under the hood. (The Nook's native interface and apps are just standard Android application layers.) Barnes & Noble's special Nook SDK runs on top of the standard Android one, and gives developers access to exclusive extensions and APIs for the Nook and its interface. So porting Android apps isn't difficult. B&N says it's more like "optimizing" them for Nook than porting them.

While Barnes & Noble really doesn't want the Nook Color "to be perceived as a multipurpose device," and their goal is to "extend the reading experience through applications," their definition of apps that do that is quite elastic. In fact, they don't have to be text-y at all. I posited a Netflix or other video service app, and B&N's Director of Developer Relations Claudia Romanini said they'd probably fly. "Is it attached to a book? Maybe not. But when I'm looking at content, I'm looking for multiple touch points. The fundamental question B&N is asking of apps is, "Woul
d that reading user be interested in consuming that content?"

Frankly, most of what I use my iPad for is reading—RSS, books, newspapers, email—and Netflix. If the Nook Color can deliver that in a slick way, well, that's all I really want out of an Android tablet, especially for $250. And given that it's plain ol' Android underneath, I won't be surprised when the more enterprising Android nerds make it capable of doing a lot of other things too.

Send an email to matt buchanan, the author of this post, at matt@gizmodo.com.

Source : Gizmodo

New York, CHIP.co.id – Nook Color meramaikan pasar tablet dunia. Diluncurkan Selasa lalu, 26/10/10, di Manhattan, New York, Amerika Serikat oleh jaringan toko buku besar Barnes & Nobles. E-reading tablet ini dapat membaca buku, majalah, koran dan buku anak-anak dengan fitur layar berwarna.

Nook Color yang memiliki ketebalan kurang dari 1/2 inci ini menawarkan fitur layar sentuh berwarna berukuran 7 inci dan dilengkapi memori 8 Gb yang mampu menyimpan sampai 6000 buku atau jika dikombinasikan sekitar 1.000 buku, 25 majalah, 10 surat kabar, 50 buku anak-anak, 500 lagu dan 150 foto. Jika kehabisan memori, Nook Color menyediakan slot untuk kartu memori MicroSD. Nook Color juga dilengkapi fasilitas Wi-Fi. Barnes & Nobles mengatakan produk ini juga akan dipasang fitur 3G seperti pada produk Nook sebelumnya.

Selain aktivitas membaca, Nook Color juga dilengkapi fasilitas browsing internet namun tanpa dukungan Adobe Flash. Sambil membaca, pengguna Nook Color juga bisa mendengarkan musik melalui headphone jack, streaming radio dan bermain games. Bagi social media junkie, Nook Color juga menyediakan sarana berbagi dan update status.

Fitur Work on the Go memungkinkan pengguna Nook Color membuat, menyunting, dan melihat file Microsoft Office seperti Word, Excel dan PowerPoint. Nook Color juga dapat digunakan untuk mentransfer file PDF, ePub dan JPG untuk personalisasi wallpaper.

Buat pengguna Nook Color telah tersedia 2 juta judul buku dan beragam majalah. Barnes & nobles juga menawarkan aneka judul buku dan majalah interaktif untuk anak-anak .

Beberapa fasilitas menarik yang disediakan Barnes & Nobles adalah Lifetime Library. Fasilitas ini adalah perpustakaan pribadi tempat pengguna menyimpan buku yang dimiliki dan bisa dibaca di mana saja, kapan saja. Fasilitas lain adalah pengguna bisa saling pinjam meminjamkan buku tanpa biaya hingga 14 hari dengan teknologi LendMe antar sesama pengguna Nook Color.

Nook Color dijual seharga 249 dolar, sekitar setengah harga iPad Apple dan sekitar 100 dolar lebih mahal dari produk Nook berlayar hitam-putih yang dirilis tahun lalu. Barnes & Noble mengatakan pelanggan bisa langsung membeli Nook Color, yang didukung oleh software Android Google, sekitar 19 November 2010.

by Alexander Louiciano

Source : chip.co.id

News Analysis: Google's Android OS is more attractive than ever. It's a hit with smartphone buyers and makers, and Google is making moves that will keep the mobile operating system on a roll.

Google's Android operating system is easily besting the competition in today's mobile market. In fact, the company's operating system, which runs on several devices from a number of vendors, is outselling Apple's iPhone, RIM's BlackBerry and other products that haven't been able to captivate audiences as effectively as it has.

And now with Windows Phone 7 out of the bag, it's clear that Google's operating system will only grow even more rapidly. Microsoft's operating system lacks the key features that most consumers really want, and it's arguably going to fall even further behind due to the limitations in its functionality.

Google's Android OS has what it takes to succeed. The mobile operating system is on a roll, and it doesn't look like there is anything out there to put a brake on its momentum.

Here's why:

1. Android 2.2 keeps coming

When Google first offered Android OS, it was a mess. The operating system didn't work the way consumers had hoped, and Apple's iOS looked all the better. But Google improved the mobile operating system with each new update. Android 2.2, for example, is easily the best version of the software ever released. That's why it's coming to more devices. As that continues, it will be harder for consumers to opt for an alternative.

2. Android 3.0 is right around the corner

As good as Android 2.2 is, Google is planning to offer Android 3.0 in the coming months. Most estimates peg the release date at early 2011. When that software is released, it will likely include several updates that will make it even more appealing to customers. Considering Android 2.1 and Android 2.2 have been such successes, it's hard to see why Android 3.0 won't be as well.

3. Tablets are starting to adopt it

With Apple's iPad setting the sales standard in the tablet market, other vendors that want to run Android OS are starting to fall into place. Currently, Cisco, LG, Samsung and others plan to introduce Android-based tablets in the coming months. That's good news for Google, and it will likely only help the company's mobile operating system take the lead in the space.

4. It's becoming more enterprise-focused

Google is finally starting to realize that in order to be successful in the mobile market, getting the enterprise into the mix is extremely important. So the company is starting to make inroads into the corporate world. Android 2.2 is widely considered by people who have evaluated it as the most enterprise-friendly mobile operating system Google has ever released. Going forward, Google will likely continue to make a push for the enterprise. That should only make its software that much more appealing.

5. Windows Phone 7 looks to be a failure

Windows Phone 7 is arguably Google's biggest competition in the mobile OS space. The new operating system from Microsoft attempts to attract vendors and beat Google at its own game: selling a slew of devices to consumers around the world. But Windows Phone 7 lacks full multitasking, apps and a number of other features consumers want. And it will likely be viewed as the other operating system when it launches in the U.S. next month.

6. Apple isn’t powerful anymore

Apple might still be a major player in the mobile market, and it's a company that should be respected. But Google has shown that it can beat Apple at its own game. Granted, the company had to do it with several devices against one, but it did it nonetheless. It has proved to the industry that it can beat Apple without much trouble.

7. Verizon has doubled down

The only way an operating system is going to be successful is if major carriers get behind it. Luckily for Google and its vendor partners, that is exactly what has happened. Verizon has been extremely successful in its support for Android. And it has made every indication that it will continue to support the operating system going forward. Considering Verizon is the top carrier in the United States, that's a good thing.

8. Google has real focus

When Google first started marketing Android OS, the company's intentions were unknown. It was still heavily invested in the search and advertising markets, and it wasn't clear how dedicated it really was to mobile technology. But it's clear now. And Android OS has become a key component in Google's strategy. That's good news for the company's partners. And it will likely only help the search giant.

9. More vendors are joining in

Motorola's and HTC's success with Android has caused some companies to take notice of Google's operating system. As a result, Google is seeing several new vendors start opting for its operating system over others. For example, Dell's Streak tablet and Aero smartphone both run Android OS. For consumers, the more options available, the better.

10. The Android Market is growing

Apple's App Store has spurred an entirely new industry in the mobile market. But Google's Android Market, which admittedly has far fewer applications than Apple's store, has been gaining ground. In fact, it currently has most of the top applications available in Apple's marketplace for sale or free download in its store. That only adds to the value of Android OS, and it will make it all the more appealing in the future.

By: Don Reisinger

source : eweek