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Dell plans to kill its Android tablet business, current models to stop getting OS upgrades

Dell has never been huge in the Android tablet market, but today it admitted defeat — the company has just revealed (via PCWorld) that they will no longer be selling Android tablets. The tablets never sold very well and as its 2-in-1 Windows tablet business picks up, it only makes sense that the company put to rest the Android-powered devices that mostly played the background.


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6.2 billion – the number of smartphones & tablets on the planet by 2020, says App Annie

Data from 7.76B people.

The analytics company told Bloomberg that the strongest growth will be seen in India, Indonesia, China, Mexico, Brazil and Turkey as cheaper phones hit the market. For many of those in developing countries, the post-PC era has already arrived, a smartphone or tablet serving as their only Internet-enabled device …


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Samsung issues Q4 2015 guidance, profit up 15% year-on-year

Samsung has issued its earnings guidance for the fourth quarter of 2015, and things look to be heading in the right direction, albeit slowly. Samsung estimates that its profit for the quarter reached 6.1 trillion Korean Won, or roughly $5.1 billion US Dollars. That was based on estimated sales worth 53.0 trillion Korean Won ($44B USD).

While other last year’s final quarter profits by 0.8 trillion Korean Won, or approximately $666 million USD. That’s an increase of 15% year-on-year.

If anything, it shows that Samsung’s 2015 focus on creating fewer, but higher quality handsets is working. A big part of that focus was moving away from the plastic flagships of the past to make solid, glass and metal handsets with market-leading specifications.

Rather unusually, however, Samsung did see a quarter-on-quarter drop from Q3 2015, in which it made 7.4 trillion Korean Won. Holiday sales are usually stronger than any other quarter for most tech companies, so Samsung may be a little worried to see the 18% drop from Q3 even if Q4 was an improvement on the same quarter in 2014. One explanation, of course, is that Samsung released its last high-end flagship smartphone right in the middle of Q3, while many other competitors waited until October/November.

As 2016 rolls in, the competitive landscape is only going to get tougher for Samsung. Companies like Huawei and Xiaomi are expected to Huawei’s 2015 performance is anything to go by, Samsung should definitely be keeping an eye over its shoulder.

Alcatel OneTouch unveils new Pixi 4 smartphone and tablet range

CES 2016, the company announced a brand new range of ultra low-end Pixi 4 phones and tablets, all powered by Android and a dual-core or quad-core processor, but each with a different-sized screen.

Alcatel OneTouch’s latest Pixi range will come with 3.5-inch, 4-inch, 6-inch and 7-inch models, with the last of those being far more like a small tablet than a smartphone.

Although they’re clearly entry-level products, the new Pixi range have been loaded with a number of features to make them attractive to first-time smartphone buyers, or those with lower budgets. The pre-installed Polaroid software lets users design their own collages from photos and add borders and text, while the front-facing flash on the 4-inch and 6-inch models means you can take selfies in the dark. What’s more, the Arkamys optimized speakers means audio shouldn’t be terrible.

You can find the full list of key specs for each model below. No specific release date or pricing has been mentioned for any of the devices.

Pixi 4 (3.5) Specs

  • 3.5-inch HVGA display
  • Dual-core 1.1GHz Cortex-A7 processor
  • 512MB RAM
  • 2MP rear camera
  • 0.3MP front camera
  • 4GB storage (expandable)
  • Runs Android 5.1 Lollipop

Pixi 4 (4) Specs

  • 4-inch WVGA display
  • Quad-core 1.3GHz Cortex-A7 processor
  • 512MB/1GB RAM
  • 4GB/8GB storage (expandable)
  • 2MP/5MP rear camera
  • 0.3MP/2MP front camera
  • Android 5.1 Lollipop

Pixi 4 (6) Specs

  • 6-inch 720p IPS display
  • Snapdragon 210 processor, quad-core 1.1GHz
  • 1GB RAM
  • 8GB storage (expandable)
  • 8MP rear camera
  • 5Mp front camera
  • LTE connectivity
  • 2,580mAh battery
  • Android 5.1 Lollipop

Pixi 4 (7) Specs

  • 7-inch 1024 x 600 resolution
  • 1.1GHz quad-core Cortex-A7 processor
  • 1GB RAM
  • 8GB storage (expandable)
  • 2,580mAh battery
  • GSM/3G networks
  • 2MP rear camera
  • 0.3MP front camera
  • Android 6.0 Marshmallow

10-inch Huawei MediaPad M2 Android tablet leaks ahead of launch

Huawei is expected to have a large presence at Evan Blass, we should expect to see the MediaPad M2 10 among them.

If a leaked set of renders from SuomiMobiili is anything to go by, this is what the 10-inch tablet will look like:

Today at announced its next lineup of budget-friendly Chrome OS and Android based products. It announced a brand new Chrome desktop with Intel Core processors, a small, durable Chromebook and an affordable tablet…


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Pixel C review roundup: Good hardware, but Android on tablets needs serious work

Affirming last week’s purchase. Android on tablets have had a varied history and unfortunately this one suffers from the same usual friction of putting what is essentially a phone OS on a large screen. However, the device is not completely without merit on the hardware side and accompanying software updates might change that in the future.


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Sketchy Pixel C rumor predicts December 8 retail launch for the powerful all-metal Android tablet

According to a report by Dutch-language tech site, Tweakers, Play Store. The site claims that it will be offering both the 32GB and 64GB variants of Pixel C in the Netherlands on that date, suggesting we’ll see a global launch next week too. If true, it’d be highly unlikely that Google would release a product in the Netherlands before major markets like the US, UK, Germany and France.

While we can’t vouch for the site’s information, it certainly fits in with Google’s plans to launch it by the end of the year. Pricing will purportedly be €499 and €599 respectively for the 32GB and 64GB models, while the keyboard will allegedly cost €169 in Europe. In the US, prices will be $499, $599 and $149 for the two tablets and keyboard.

The Pixel C is Google’s first attempt at making its own tablet hardware and, in many ways, replaces the Nexus tablet range. While we may yet see another Nexus tablet, Google has seen a need to make its own powerful, pure Android tablet with a detachable keyboard to compete with the likes of Apple and Microsoft. Google’s all-metal Pixel C features a 10.2-inch screen boasting a resolution of 2560×1800 pixels and a quad-core processor made by NVIDIA. There’s also 3GB RAM, full USB Type-C support and it runs Android Marshmallow.

The keyboard has its own built-in battery and connects to the tablet via Bluetooth, and will come in two different finishes: Leather and Aluminum.

Android will be the main loser in the evolving tablet market, predicts IDC, but remain overall market leader

Market intelligence company IDC predicts that the worldwide tablet market will continue to decline, with the category as a whole falling 8.1% over the course of this year – and Android seeing the greatest drop in share over the next few years. Android will, however, remain the market leader through 2019.

The greatest growth, it suggests, will come in the so-called ‘detachables’ segment – tablets with detachable keyboards – where Windows is predicted to see substantial growth …


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New Samsung patents reveal foldable and scrollable smartphone/tablet designs

A patent by Patently Mobile reveals Samsung could have plans to design and build foldable, bendable and scrollable devices with various designs. Of course, the technology underpinning this entire exploration is a flexible display, which made it in to mainstream smartphones a couple of years ago with the Galaxy Round and LG G Curve. More recently, Samsung used it in the Galaxy S6 Edge, but if these designs eventually make it to market, they’ll make the S6 Edge look dull…


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Cyber Monday Android deals: $60 off Kindle Fire HD 10, Moto G 2 for $99, prepaid LG for $15, more

Black Friday may have come and gone, but tech companies and retailers are keen to keep the discounts running through this week with their annual Cyber Monday deals. Whether you’re looking to get yourself a new smartphone or tablet, or buy one for a friend/family member, there are plenty of good discounts to be had this week…


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Google Store discounts see $200 price cut on Nexus 9, $80 off Nexus 5X [Amazon too]

Update: B&H also has the Nexus 5X at $80 off across the board.

Update: Looks like Amazon is upping the competition. The online retailer has price-matched the Google Store, and you can now pick up the 16GB Nexus 5X for $299 in black or white.  Sadly, the 32GB version is back-ordered, but the price is still listed at $349, the same as Google’s discounted price.

While you could pick up last year’s Nexus 6 64GB at a ridiculously low price ($260) on Amazon earlier today, Google’s official online store has some discounts of its own to offer for Black Friday. Perhaps most attractive is the $80 price cut on one of this year’s newest Nexus phones.

You can now buy the announced the product last month, and it’s one of the only available phones to support Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the box.

While stocks last, you can also snag the Nexus 9 at a discount. The tablet is down to just $199 for the 16GB version and $279 for the 32GB model, cutting the price down by a hefty $200. As things stand (at least until the Pixel C is available), the Nexus 9 is currently one of the only tablets available offering a pure Android experience. Multiple manufacturers have Android tablets on the market, but most come with a boat-load of bloatware. For $199 I’d argue you can’t get a better Android tablet if you value performance and software purity.

If you’re curious to see what other deals are out there today, be sure to bookmark 9to5Mac’s Black Friday Gameplan.

Amazon Kindle Fire 7″ down to $35, Kids Edition and HD 6 discounted too

Along with all of its usual wide-ranging discounts, Amazon has slashed the prices of its own hardware for Black Friday. Despite the fact that its newest Android-based tablets were already crazily good value for money, you can now pick them up even cheaper. Prices now start as low as $35 for a Kindle Fire tablet, while the special Kids Edition and HD 6 have seen generous discounts too…


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