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#SuryaRay #Surya This week saw the Mobile World Congress event wrap up in Barcelona, with a few new Android devices to look forward to. One confirmed an earlier rumor that HP was getting back in on the tablet market as the company introduced its Slate7 running on Android. The most appealing aspect of the product may be the $169 price tag because there’s not much to make this “me-too” tablet stand out from the crowd.

The Slate7 is another 7-inch tablet, competing against Google’s Nexus 7, the new Asus FonePad, Amazon’s Kindle Fire, Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 2 and others in this space. I can see why HP opted for a small slate as their comeback product: Some recent data indicates that smaller tablets will outsell larger ones in 2013.

HP used a fairly standard set of hardware in the Slate7. A 1.6 GHz dual-core chip powers the Android 4.1 device, which includes 1 GB of memory. The 7-inch touchscreen uses a 1024 x 600 resolution panel; the same res as my original Galaxy Tab back in 2010. Storage capacity is 8 GB of flash memory that can be expanded with a microSD card. A pair of cameras complete the product with the rear one offering a meager 3 megapixels. In short, this a low-priced product with old specs competing against similarly priced products with better specs. As I said when HP was rumored to re-enter the tablet market: good luck with that.

Also out of MWC are tablets that include cellular voice capabilities: The aforementioned Asus FonePad and new Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 are two examples. I’ve said for some time that I think small tablets will replace smartphones, but I think we’re very early in that trend for two reasons.

Consumers can’t conceive of carrying a 7- or 8-inch tablet everywhere because the device is not as pocketable as a traditional smartphone. I certainly understand that situation. Yet, I carry a small tablet everywhere; in a pocket when I can and in the hand when I can’t. As I said on this week’s podcast, I think this is a situation that has to be experienced; not simply written off because it sounds like a bad idea.

The other issue, at least in the US, is how carriers control what devices actually connect to the cellular networks. My Samsung Galaxy Tab actually had voice capability in 2010, but US carriers stripped the functionality out of the device. In contract, international versions of the Tab worked just fine for voice calls. I’m not yet convinced that US carriers will support voice features in these new Android slates, but I hope I’m wrong.

Finally, I’ll be spending some time using Android on a completely different device this coming week: Google’s Chromebook Pixel. I’m finding that besides a superb web experience thanks to the high resolution display paired with an Intel Core i5 processor, the Pixel is a versatile laptop as well.

I’m already running a simultaneous instance of Linux alongside Chrome OS and thanks to the Android-x86 port, I can run Android on the Pixel as well. The touchscreen isn’t yet supported, so I’ll have to use the Pixel’s touchpad; not a big deal as it’s one of the best I’ve used on a laptop, rivaling that of my old MacBook Air.

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* Analyzing the wearable computing market
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* The connected planet: Smartphones aren’t the only player

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#SuryaRay #Surya Apple may have publicly dismissed small tablets at first, but its bet to introduce the iPad mini last year has turned out to be a good one. As successful as the larger iPad model has been since 2010, the device’s smaller sibling is a hot seller. In fact, the overall market for small slates could be growing far faster than that of the larger tablet market if data out of Display Search is accurate. The research firm has reversed an earlier forecast and now suggests that smaller tablets will outsell larger ones in 2013.

Why the big change? It’s an early data point, but Display Search found that small tablet screen shipments dwarfed larger panels at the beginning of this year.

“Shipments of 9.7” tablet PC panels collapsed, falling from 7.4 to 1.3M, while 7” and 7.9” panel shipments grew rapidly, from 12 to 14M. Shipments of 10.1” panels grew only slightly. The January panel shipment data may be an indicator for 2013, starting with Apple’s product mix shift. As we noted in December, Apple had planned to sell 40M iPad minis (7.9”) and 60M iPads (9.7”) in 2013. However, the reality seems to be the reverse, as the iPad mini has been more popular than the iPad. We now understand that Apple may be planning to sell 55M iPad minis (7.9”) and 33M iPads (9.7”) in 2013.”

A visual representation of tablet panel shipments between Dec. 2012 and Jan. 2013 (in millions of units) show this stark difference between small and large displays. While one month doesn’t make a trend, it can surely be the beginning of one:

The lower price of smaller tablets is surely one driver for sales of the iPad mini, Google Nexus 7 and other similar devices in this market. Apple’s newest iPad starts at $499 while a Kindle Fire, Nexus tablet or iPad, for example, start at $159 to $329. But another reason is what I noted when comparing portability of the original iPad and a 7-inch Galaxy Tab in early 2011:

“I purchased the Tab on a weekend at the local T-Mobile store and my family wanted to hit the mall afterwards. I either carried the device in hand or placed it in my back jeans pocket while cruising the mall for hours. As my wife or daughter stopped to browse for clothes, I quickly whipped out the small tablet to manage email, web-surf, and watch YouTube videos.

I wouldn’t have been able to do that with the iPad for one simple reason: the iPad wouldn’t have come with me on a trip to the mall in the first place.”

Fast forward two years and I _do_ take an iPad to the mall and nearly every other place I go. But it’s the iPad mini because it offers all of the features of a standard iPad in a more portable package. It’s easy to use in more places and simple to take everywhere.

There’s clearly still a market for larger slates; they’re better for productivity and media consumption due to the larger screen. Simply put, Apple’s 9.7-inch iPad isn’t going away anytime soon; nor will the Google Nexus 10, Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1, Asus Transformer or any number of other large slates.

The trend, however, is toward downsized tablets — or large phones such as the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0, depending on your definition of what’s a smartphone and what’s a tablet.

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#SuryaRay #Surya Pandora users streaming free tunes all month long may find that today is the day the music died: Pandora is limiting its free monthly service to 40 hours. Don’t worry though, the free tunes start up again the following month or you can choose to pay a small fee for to enjoy music for the remainder of the month. Why the cap and fee? Rising per-track royalty rates, Pandora said in a blog post from Wednesday evening:

“Pandora’s per-track royalty rates have increased more than 25% over the last 3 years, including 9% in 2013 alone and are scheduled to increase an additional 16% over the next two years. After a close look at our overall listening, a 40-hour-per-month mobile listening limit allows us to manage these escalating costs with minimal listener disruption.”

According to the company, the impact is limited to just 4 percent of all users, which is surprisingly low. Perhaps more folks use the free streaming on desktops or laptops connected via Wi-Fi as opposed to smartphone and tablet users on costly mobile broadband networks.

Regardless of how people use the music service, pricing is understandably a challenge: Record label fees are negotiated at set royalty rates for a given time, but Pandora has no control over the demand for or growth of its service. The small $0.99 fee to continue music past the 40 hours in a given month seems reasonable to me, and I say that as a paying Pandora subscriber. I pay $36 a year for unlimited, ad-free music through Pandora mainly because I access it through multiple methods: my laptop, phone, tablet and even my television and car, both of which have integrated Pandora apps.

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#SuryaRay #Surya In a new report from mobile ad platform Millennial Media, the company compiles its data on mobile device share across its network for all of 2012, revealing that tablets in particular accounted for a rising percentage of impressions, with Android devices stepping up their game considerably. The Kindle Fire and Samsung tablets were the big share winners, helping Android slates grab a considerable 41 percent of the tablet mix, compared to 58 percent for Apple. http://dlvr.it/2znglX @suryaray

#SuryaRay #Surya Touch-based interface will support tablets from 6” to 20”. http://dlvr.it/2z26xD @suryaray

#SuryaRay #Surya It’s difficult for me to get too jazzed about Bluetooth speakers these days. They all do the same thing, right? Some work as speakerphones for cars while others are great for streaming music wirelessly. At the Consumer Electronics Show last month, however, I stumbled on to what I thought was an atypically unique Bluetooth speaker: the Coda One. I’ve been using a review unit for the past few weeks and while this device isn’t for everyone, it impressed me thanks to its three distinct uses.

It’s a speakerphone for the car

The Coda One comes with a clip so you can attach it to the visor in your car. When paired to your phone, it works like any other hands-free car solution. Being an electric hybrid, my car is pretty quiet on the road. Even so, some callers said they could easily tell I was on a speakerphone.

These are folks I’ve spoken with before over Bluetooth using the integrated wireless system in my car, which they felt offered better sound quality. Still, they’ve heard worse solutions as well. Incoming calls are announced through the Coda One and a simple button press answers calls or switches to a second call. The visor clip has a magnetic attachment because …

It’s a standalone speaker for calls and music

Remove the Coda One from the magnetic clip and you have a very portable external speaker. Sure you can still take calls with it without the clip, but it doubles as a music player. Sound isn’t what I’d call high-end; I use a Jambox at home to stream music in a room and the sound is much louder and richer.

But the Coda One output is passable for a small wireless speaker. Put another way: It offers the best sound of any hands free in-car Bluetooth speaker I’ve used. I like how it actually stands up on its own thanks to two small rubber feet, giving it a mini boombox profile. (Wikipedia’s boombox entry is here for those under 25 years of age — ah, the 1980s.)

It’s a wireless handset too. What?!?

The Coda One’s third use is my favorite. When on a call, pressing the Multi-Function Button on the device takes it out of speakerphone mode. At this point, you hold the Coda One up like a mini handset with a speaker near your ear and a microphone near your mouth. In this configuration the device is small enough that you don’t look silly talking on the phone. Heck, it’s about the length of my good old Motorola StarTAC when it was open and in use.

Why would I be excited about this? I’ve been early to the trend of phones getting bigger at the same time tablets have shrunk in size. I’ve even used a 7-inch tablet as a primary phone with VoIP for months at a time. Instead of looking the fool with a tablet alongside my head, the Coda One becomes a perfectly sized handset for larger devices.

Final thoughts

Overall, I like concept of the Coda One although I wish the sound quality in speakerphone mode were a tad better. It doesn’t have its own voice command capabilities, but can be used with one on your smartphone: Siri and Vlingo are specifically mentioned and I used it with the voice controls built into BlackBerry 10. Coda One supports multi-pairing – up to eight devices — and battery reportedly lasts for 20 hours of talk time or 40 days of standby. Supported Bluetooth 3.0 profiles include HFP, HSP, PBAP and A2DP.

The Coda One is expected to launch with a $99 price tag. Are there better hands-free speakerphones? Yes. Are there better wireless speakers? Yes.

But few can do everything the Coda One does in various places and if small tablets do become large voice-capable devices, I could easily see myself buying one of these versatile Bluetooth devices. Then I won’t look like this when having a conversation on a tablet.

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#SuryaRay #Surya My calendar says it all this morning: Microsoft’s Surface Pro is now available for sale, starting at $899. That means the early reviews are in to help consumers and enterprises see if this was worth the wait.

The device’s little cousin, Surface RT, launched in October to generally mixed reviews and many waited to see what the Pro experience was like. Here’s a roundup from some of the reviews, tweets and comments I’ve seen so far. I’m withholding final judgement on the Surface Pro until I spend time with one myself, of course.

Let’s start with the good

Some of the more positive comments have come from AnandTech, Computerworld and TechCrunch.

AnandTech, which I find always provides some of the best technical reviews of products, says this in the lengthy post:

“If you’re shopping for an Ultrabook today and want that tablet experience as well, Surface Pro really is the best and only choice on the market. If however you do a lot of typing in your lap and in weird positions, a conventional notebook is better suited for you. The same goes for if you’re considering a tablet for reasons like all-day battery life or having something that’s super thin and light.”

Battery life seems to be a common theme of concern with run-times in reviews ranging from just under four hours to approaching six, depending on the usage activities. Late this year, Intel’s next-generation chip should help with that aspect, so for now, road warriors may want to bring their Surface Pro power cord along.

Noted analyst Michael Gartenberg, writing for Computerworld, generally likes what he sees, provided you look at the device for its intended purpose and market:

“I’ve been a Surface Pro user for a few weeks now, and what I have found is that it is the best articulation of Microsoft’s vision for Windows 8 and how the PC and tablet experiences can meld on one device.

“While it might not be the device for the masses, it is the device that points the way for Microsoft’s future.”

Really, that’s what Surface Pro — and Surface RT, to a degree — is all about: Microsoft’s effort to move beyond the legacy ideas of a personal computer and towards the idea that a tablet can be a full PC in a new form factor.

John Biggs at TechCrunch may be the most enthusiastic of the bunch, leaving his MacBook behind for a week and not missing it all that much.

“In short, the Surface Pro is so good that it could drive Windows 8 adoption with enough force to make people reconsider Microsoft’s odd new OS. Microsoft bet the farm on a new paradigm and it needs a champion. Surface Pro is the right hardware for the job.”

A common theme: poor battery life and compromises

Not everyone saw the good amongst the bad, however. Laptop Magazine offers the most negative conclusion I’ve read yet, with Surface Pro earning 2.5 out of 5 stars. The Ultrabook-like performance was welcome, but the device appears to be a jack of two trades and master of neither:

“While we like its design and Core i5 performance, there’s no getting around the fact that an $899, two-pound device with 4.5 hours of battery life is impractical for those who need or want to carry a tablet for extended periods of time. And, as a laptop replacement, the Surface Pro falls short, as both keyboard covers — neither of which are included — simply aren’t as good as a genuine notebook keyboard.”

Tech site Engadget follows suit on the compromise aspect of Surface Pro. Based on their thoughts, it seems the market isn’t ready for a full Windows machine that relies heavily on touch, doesn’t like a hybrid type of device that works as both tablet and laptop or thinks the execution is simply a bad one.

“We’re still completely enraptured by the idea of a full-featured device that can properly straddle the disparate domains of lean-forward productivity and lean-back idleness. Sadly, we’re still searching for the perfect device and OS combo that not only manages both tasks, but excels at them. The Surface Pro comes about as close as we’ve yet experienced, but it’s still compromised at both angles of attack.”

Even noted Microsoft-watcher Mary-Jo Foley is riding the compromise bandwagon over at ZDNet. And that’s interesting to me because Foley owns and likes her lower-powered, less expensive Surface RT. Here’s the takeaway on her view of Surface Pro market appeal:

“I keep scratching my head over who Microsoft expects to buy the Surface Pro. It’s not as good of a tablet, in terms of weight/battery life, as the Surface RT is. But it’s also not as good of a Windows 8 PC as other OEM-produced devices, coming in at lower price points with better battery life and other specs.”

Add it up and what do you get?

So some good reviews, some average reviews and some poor reviews. When you total that up, what do you get? According to a few on Twitter, not much at all and perhaps too much compromise:

So many Surface Pro reviews, so many polite ways to say a device fails.—
Tom Reestman (@treestman) February 06, 2013

If you are looking for a tablet that’s crappier than an iPad and a laptop that’s crappier than an MBA, the Microsoft Surface Pro is for you!—
Paul Haddad (@tapbot_paul) February 06, 2013

Again, I’m not sharing thoughts until I actually use the Surface Pro. But I can’t say I’m surprised by the compromise commentary: Microsoft’s progress has long been held back by its success in the past. By having such a large legacy user-base, any innovation going forward has to appease both new users as well as old. Anytime you try to keep both happy, you’ll likely fall in the middle at best.

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#SuryaRay #Surya Apple’s iPad led the charge as total worldwide tablet shipments hit a record of 52.5 million units in the fourth quarter of 2012, according to IDC’s preliminary data from its Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker, but its market share continued to slide due to competition from Samsung. Meanwhile, PC shipments declined during the quarter for the first time in more than five years. The tablet market grew 75.3% year-over-year, and increased 74.3% from the previous quarter’s total of 30.1 million units, helped along by holiday purchases, lower average selling prices and a wider range of products. http://dlvr.it/2syNjg @suryaray

#SuryaRay #Surya Feeling a little cramped by the 64 GB of storage in your iPad? You may soon be able to stretch out and relax a little more on your tablet: The latest iOS 6.1 beta software hints at iPads with 128 GB of storage capacity. 9to5 Mac’s sources say that such a device would be identical to the current models, so the only difference would be the amount of flash memory.

Buried in the Apple’s iOS 6 beta code are references to the 128 GB of storage and was found by Twitter user @iNeal this past Saturday:

We should be seeing 128GB iDevices soon. iOS 6.1 beta 5 has 128G system partition key in BuildManifest.—
Neal (@iNeal) January 27, 2013

Assuming Apple does introduce a 128 GB iPad model, I’d expect the price jump to be $100 over the current 64 GB versions; Apple typically adds $100 for each step up to higher memory for its iOS devices. That would put this model at $799 for a Wi-Fi tablet, likely to appeal more to those who use their iPad as a primary device in place of a laptop. Or those that want to carry every _MadMen_ episode in high-definition with them on their iPad.

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#SuryaRay #Surya MoTR 288 is 57 minutes long and is a 34.5 MB file in MP3 format.

CLICK HERE to download the file and listen directly.

HOSTS: Matthew Miller (Seattle) and Kevin C. Tofel (Philadelphia)

TOPICS:

* First thoughts of the Acer W510 Windows 8 tablet / dock. Build quality, specs, performance, usage.
* Unlocking your phone is now illegal, although a carrier can still do it for you. Good, bad or just silly?
* Galaxy Note 8.0: looks legit and interesting; particularly because of the speaker at the top. A small tablet with voice, perhaps.
* Nokia Drive+ comes to other Windows Phones. Does this help Microsoft or Nokia?
* Nokia announces Nokia Music+ subscription service for Lumia owners
* Vine for iOS, Twitter video service

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#SuryaRay #Surya How much in content sales does it take for Amazon to earn a 20 percent profit margin on its Kindle Fire hardware? About $10 per month, which generates $3 once Amazon takes its 30 percent cut. Senior analyst at ABI Research, Aapo Markkanen, estimated by doing the math last week, saying this incremental $3 revenue would be required over the life of the hardware to maintain such a profit margin.

This turns the Kindle Fire into a potentially lucrative product for Amazon, even though most believe it sells the Kindle Fire products near cost, if not below it. Even better: The combination of decreasing hardware prices over time and a rise in content sales — think apps, movies, books, music — will help the product line even more, according to Markkanen:

“Considering the probable margins of app and content sales, our research shows that Kindle Fire is a credible proposition. We expect that there will be a certain level of ‘innovation plateauing’ in mobile hardware taking place over the next five years, and that would certainly work in Amazon’s favor. Its future devices are likely to require less cross-subsidy than the ones we’ve seen so far.”

Markkanen may not have the exact figure for content profits required, but you can bet Amazon does. And this may be why the company wanted to retain control over mobile app pricing when it launched its alternative Appstore. By understanding consumer preferences perhaps better than any other online retailer, Amazon knows the right pricing “mix” for content sales to make money off hardware sales.

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#SuryaRay #Surya First we had rumors of the Galaxy Note 8.0 debuting next month. Then we had a Samsung executive confirm it. And now, there’s little surprise left other than to see what the actual device looks like. Oh wait, even that has happened thanks to an Italian blog site with numerous pictures of the purported 8-inch Android tablet.

Dday.it has four images showing the slate and if you expected something other than a blown-up Galaxy S III, you’ll be sorely disappointed. That’s exactly what the device in the photos looks like, complete with the same bezel, hardware home button, camera placement and, interestingly, speaker for phone calls. Yes, there’s a speaker atop the screen for the device in question.

Just to recap what we think we know about the Galaxy Note 8.0, pieced together from various leaks:

* 8-inch Super Clear LCD with 1280 x 800 resolution
* 5 megapixel rear camera, 1.3 megapixel front camera
* 2 GB of memory, 16 GB of storage
* Android 4.2
* 1.6 GHz quad-core processor; likely a Samsung Exynos
* S-Pen and supporting software

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#SuryaRay #Surya The tablet balances size, performance, and battery life with some success. http://dlvr.it/2qkBsw @suryaray

#SuryaRay #Surya Earlier this month, Sony said it would focus on high-end smartphones and now it appears to be targeting the same market for tablets. On Monday, the company introduced the Sony Xperia Tablet Z, a large Android slate with full high-definition touchscreen and high performing internals. So how does it stand out from the crowded tablet market? The new Tablet Z is just 6.9 millimeters thick.

For those that value a thin device, here’s how Sony’s tablet compares to Apple’s market-leading slates. The current iPad is 9.4 millimeters in thickness while the iPad mini is 7.2 millimeters. The Xperia Tablet Z is lightweight as well, tipping the scales at 495 grams. That’s favorable compared to the iPad’s 652 gram weight; not to shabby when you consider the iPad uses a 9.7-inch display v. the 10.1-inches Sony is using.

That screen is full high-definition as well: 1920 x 1200 resolution using Sony’s Mobile Bravia 2 display engine. It’s like a portable high-definition television in terms of specifications. Other components include a backlit 8.1 megapixel Exmor R sensor, LTE support, NFC chip, 1.5 GHz quad-core processor and Android 4.1. Sony says the new tablet will come to the Japan market first, but there are no details on price or availability in other countries.

Hardware specs aside, Sony would be wise to remember that software is just as important, if not more so, than what’s inside a tablet. To that end, I expect the new Xperia Tablet Z to compete more against other Android tablets than Apple’s line of iPads.

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#SuryaRay #Surya MoTR 287 is 65:30 minutes long and is a 39.9 MB file in MP3 format.

CLICK HERE to download the file and listen directly.

HOSTS: Matthew Miller (Seattle) and Kevin C. Tofel (Philadelphia)

TOPICS:

* CES thoughts (and crazy press events).
* CES gadget pick of the show: Nvidia’s Shield handheld gaming device on Tegra 4
* CES surprise: Intel’s tablet strategy. Latest Win 8 slates with Intel Atom have similar battery life to Win RT but run full Windows / software
* CES: Health devices like the Fitbit Flex, Withings Smart Tracker, Body Media Core 2 were popular
* Does Samsung need a Galaxy Note 8.0? Will it really bring digital inking to the masses?
* Thoughts on BlackBerry 10: Matt and Kevin are headed to the NYC launch.
* HTC releases One SV for Cricket, hands-on thoughts

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