Acer joins the 8-inch world with the Iconia W3 running Windows 8 tablet

Acer announced that we would be seeing 8-inch tablet running Windows 8 at their earnings conference call. Now as we get closer to what we just might see it actually get released, though Acer hasn't made any official release date for the Acer Iconia W3. Just a few weeks ago Amazon slipped and had it on the site, and now you find the Acer Iconia W3 product page over at Acer's Finland webpage.

 

The Acer Iconia W3 rumored pricing is $380, which will be inline with the current iPad Mini and the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 but the Iconia W3 will be running full Windows 8 OS. This could mean that you will be able to run full Windows application on the road and dock it or use it as a full desktop if need be! This is something to look forward as you can do business as usual and still travel very light weight and still have enough display to actually read email, web browsing, read your RSS feeds, news, etc...

 

Acer has confirmed the following specs from its website:

 

• 8 inch display
• Intel Atom Z2760 Clover Trail processor
• Windows 8 Pro
• 2GB RAM
• 64GB SSD
• 802.11b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth 2.0
• micro HDMI and micro USB ports
• microSD card slot
• 8 hour battery
• Optional keyboard dock

 

The Acer Iconia W3 will be the first Windows 8 tablet in a 8-inch display, this could be something that would give Acer the head start of sales for such a device. That is if the consumer see's the benefit of having an 8-inch Windows 8 tablet. I would like to see the Iconia W3 have a Wacom digitizer. I personally need for my work load to mark up documents, sign PDF's and this makes it much easier. Sure I could use a capacitive stylus, but when using OneNote to take notes in meetings, the Wacom digitizer makes a world of a difference.

Acer decided to actually make the keyboard dock a little bigger than the Iconia W3 to give you better typing experience. Having a small keyboard is just not good for productivity, and since Acer is including Microsoft Office is no wonder Acer has opted to give you better keyboard to be productive with the Iconia W3. You will be able to snap the keyboard to the back of your Iconia W3 when traveling.

 

From the earlier posting of the Acer Iconia W3 over at Amazon it did suggested that it will come with Microsoft Office Home and Student 2013. Question is, will you hold off and wait to purchase the Acer Iconia W3? or wait for the iPad Mini with Retina? or maybe get the Samsung Galaxy Note 8? 

 

Samsung Galaxy Note 8 users: Get your $25 credit for Google Play…

If you purchased a Galaxy Note 8, don’t forget to take advantage to claim your $25 credit for the Google Play store. When you purchase the Galaxy Note 8, you also get upgraded to 50GB Dropbox, this will allow you sync your pictures, documents, files, etc… with your brand new Galaxy Note 8. Also you will get Polaris Office Suite which I have been using on my Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet. With Polaris Office Suite you can edit documents right with your stylus and markup any document with ease. Read on to see how to claim your $25 Google Play store credit.

 

You have to head over to Samsung website to create an account to register your new Galaxy Note 8. Just keep in mind that in my experience, the account is not the same one if you have created a sync Samsung account on your device. So don’t use that account if you already have an account, unless you know for sure you have created an account in the past for Samsung.  At least for me, it didn’t work I had to create another account right from the registration form. 

After you have filled out the information, you will get the thank you screen. Head over to your Gmail email and download your email to redeem your $25 credit. In the email you will find a redeem code that you can just copy and paste to redeem the $25 credit. So now I am off to spend some credits.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It didn’t take long for the email to come through with the redeem code. So I was applying my code within minutes after submitting my registration.

Samsung Galaxy S4 flip cover available at Best Buy stores…

As we all know, the Samsung Galaxy S4 will be hitting the store shelves and users that have been eager to get there hands on the Galaxy S4 still have to wait at least till April 30. Though I did talk to a Best Buy Samsung Kiosk yesterday and mentioned that they will be displaying the S4 starting Sunday. We will have to wait and see if this is true…

In the meantime, you can head to your local Best Buy and chose your Samsung Flip Cover for your Galaxy S4, well at least be ready for when your Galaxy S4 arrives.

 

Best Buy is offering a great selection of the Samsung Galaxy S4 Flip Covers. The Flip Cover will set you back $40, and will come in some great color choices. You can select from green, white, blue, black and yellow. Also if you want to try the new S View Flip Cover, which will set you back $60 and is available in black. The S View Flip Cover will allow you to answer your phone with out having to flip the case open to answer and see who is calling, all will be available through the window opening. I personally would like to give the S View Flip Cover a try as now I usually use my Flip Cover for my Galaxy Note II closed when talking with callers.

Samsung Kiosk stores in some Best Buy stores…

Best Buy is already rolling out the Samsung Kiosk stores inside your local Best Buy Stores. The setup is very well laid out, with tables at user height to access laptops, tablets, smartphones and hybrid tablets for you to use, hoping that you will make a purchase. This has worked very well for Apple, so this will be very interesting to see what could happen. Could this spell some bad news for other manufactures?

The layout consist of a Smart Home setup to demonstrate the uses of the Galaxy products with your home and your Galaxy products. Also it is great to see all the accessories for the Galaxy Note 10.1 tablets and the Galaxy S III smartphones. Here you get to chose from some very nice color Book Cover cases that in the past had only been available through online sales. This gives you the chance to actually see the varies colors that is available.

Samsung Galaxy Note 8: WaterField announces SleeveCase and the Suede Jacket

 

WaterField Design has just announced the Ultimate SleeveCase for the Galaxy Note 8 tablet. If you are familiar with WaterField sleeves and cases, then you know you will be getting a great product. 

 

The Ultimate SleeveCase for the Galaxy Note 8 is priced at $59, with optional add-ons. It is made out of ballistic nylon with shock absorbing neoprene to protect your Galaxy Note 8 from daily bumps and drops. The SleeveCase is a nice stylish stand-alone case or you can use it with your daily computer bag as well. Since the Ultimate SleeveCase is TSA checkpoint friendly, you wont have worry about taking your Galaxy Note 8 out of its sleeve. Very convenient! You can check WaterField website for the SleeveCase.

 

If you find that the Ultimate SleeveCase is a bit too big for your taste, you might want to look into picking up the Tablet Suede Jacket for your Galaxy Note 8. With this Suede Jacket, you can't get any thinner than this. Your Galaxy Note 8 will fit nicely and snug, protect it from daily bumps while you travel around town or from office to your home. You will also find that you can easily drop this inside your computer bag or backpack and helps protect your Galaxy Note 8 as well while inside another bag. You can check out the Tablet Suede Jacket over at WaterField website for more information. You will find that the Suede Jacket for the Galaxy Note 8 is just priced right at $19.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Video Review: Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Book Cover Case... with wake / sleep

If you managed to pick up the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 on release date, or thinking of getting the Galaxy Note 8 you will find out that accessories are a bit hard to get. I like to keep my tablets as slim as possible and with the Book Cover Case you can achieve this. At this moment you can only get the Book Cover Case in white at your local stores, but this will change come the following weeks.

Like I have mentioned, I really like to keep my tablets as slim as possible and by doing I understand that protection is not the best as you will see that most of the Galaxy Note 8 is exposed using the Book Cover Case. On the plus side, the Book Cover Case is light weight and adds very little weight to your Galaxy Note 8 which makes it very comfortable to carry around with you. The Book Cover Case is made out of vinly and plastic, well at least that is what it feels like. The inside of the front cover has felt, this could help from getting your screen scratched. The back is made out of hard plastic which protects the Galaxy Note 8 from minor drops and keeps your back cover from getting scratched. All of the ports are accessible with the Book Cover Case, so you won't have any problems when you want to raise the volume or power off the Galaxy Note 8.

Here you can see that the Galaxy Note 8 fits perfectly in the Book Cover Case, and you can see the felt on the inside of the front cover.

The Book Cover Case has an option to use the Galaxy Note 8 in angle to type or just use it for browsing the web. It does have a magnetic on the edge of the front cover case that makes it very easy to convert the Book Cover Case in typing mode. By having the magnetic on the Book Cover Case and now that Samsung has added the wake / sleep feature on the Galaxy Note 8, this is on par with the iPad Mini and Kindle Fire HD tablets that also has the wake / sleep feature, glad to see this on the Galaxy Note 8.

The Samsung Book Cover Case also has a way to use the case as a stand. The front cover becomes a kick stand to prop the Galaxy Note 8 up and gives you a nice viewing angle to watch movies or if you pair up with Bluetooth keyboard and Bluetooth mouse, your Galaxy Note 8 could be your on the go work station.

If your thinking about getting the Samsung Book Cover Case, check the video for more in-depth review.

Update for Microsoft’s Mail, People and Calendar app now available

 

If your like many of us that had heard that Microsoft would be pushing an update for the Mail, People and Calendar app for Windows 8. Head over to the Store and chose “Your Apps” that should enable for the related apps to request for update. You might need to close the Store app and then come back.

Before the update you can see that the Mail app is not so touch friendly.

One thing you will notice is that the Mail app has become more touch friendly and is much quicker in opening up. You no longer will see the turning circle when you open the Mail app. Searching for emails also has greatly improved prior to updating. I get over 40 emails a day and the need for quicker searching is a great welcomed feature with the new update. Another nice feature and very useful one is the ability to create folders as well. This comes in very handy as I also like to create folders for dropping certain emails when I am on the road to review for later. Yes I do use Outlook 2013 but when your on the road it is much easier to open up the Mail app and also is easier on the battery life rather than using the full Outlook 2013. Still wished that we could sync with Google contacts and calendar, but that’s on another issue.

I don’t use the Calendar app any longer since I can’t sync with my Google Calendar, but there is also some nice added features. Again, once you click on the Calendar app it opens up rather quickly or just might be because I really don’t have any Calendar appointments. I will give this a try on my Samsung Smart PC Pro ATIV 700T which I do sync my Google Calendar with the Windows 8 Calendar app. Lucky I was able to set up the Calendar app before Google pulled the plug. Now Microsoft needs to change the method to sync with Google so that we can continue to sync just like we do with iOS and Google.

The Calendar app now comes with a workweek-only view that shows just Monday through Friday, this is similar to Google Calendar.

You also see dateline showing where you are in the day, great to glance and see the time slot when it comes to making your  appointments. 

Last but not least, the People app received the fewest improvements. You now can post to your Facebook contacts right from the app, this can save you some time and makes it very fluid. You can also sort out to show “What’s New” page from your social network. 

You should see the new update show up in your Store apps. Once you update your Mail, People and Calendar apps, give them a try and see what new feature works best for you. 

Be the first to get your Samsung Galaxy S4… Pre-Order Now

Samsung held the big announcement on Thursday, March 14th, to show the Galaxy S IV. Overall appearance was not much of a change. The Galaxy S IV falls in between  the current Galaxy S III and the Galaxy Note II.

 

If you want to be one of the first to get your hands on the new Galaxy S IV, well you are going to have to dig down in your pockets, as the 16GB Galaxy S IV Unlocked will start at $729, 32GB will set you back $829 and the 64GB sets you back $929. For the Pre-Order your options for color are going to be Black Mist and White Frost.

Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Pre-order available now

Samsung finally made it official at Mobile World Congress by announcing the Galaxy Note 8. Like many of you have been waiting when the Galaxy Note 8 will be available to purchase, well looks like at least for the moment you can Pre-order your Galaxy Note 8. This is one step closer to getting your hands on the S-Pen enabled tablet.

So far we know that Samsung will be releasing a 3G and a WiFi version of the Galaxy Note 8. With the 3G setting you back $639.50 and the WiFi version $539.50. A bit pricey for 16GB tablet, but if you really need a 8-inch tablet with a digitizer to have a pretty experience using the stylus, well the Galaxy Note 8 is your only choice at this time.
Samsung improves the S-Pen experience every new release of a Galaxy product they release. At 5.3 x 8.3 x .3 you can easily use the Galaxy Note 8 as your note pad that you normally carry to take notes. You also get great display resolution at 1280 x 800 with 189ppi, though I was really hoping to see a higher ppi number. This also makes the Samsung Exynos Quad-Core 1.6GHz with 2GB of RAM pretty much zip along lag free with pretty much anything you can throw at it.
With the Galaxy Note 8, Samsung has included a good size battery at 4,600 mAh. We still need to see some testing, even though it is a very nice size battery, we would need to see how efficient the Exynos at 1.6GHz will be. Hoping to at least see 8 to 10 hours of good productive work with the Galaxy Note 8.
You also will see that the Galaxy Note 8 comes with a MicroSD slot, Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi a/b/g/n,GPS and IR for using as your remote control for your media center, this is a plus!
At the moment, Samsung hasn’t mentioned when the Galaxy Note 8 will be available in the US, for now you will have to import your Galaxy Note 8 which should be available in the second quarter. The price tag might be a bit hard to sell when you can pick up the bigger bother Galaxy Note 10.1 3G for around $580. But the again, this is packing a faster processor and is much more portable.
Galaxy Note 8 specs:
Data
2G Network
GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100
Dimensions
210.8 x 135.9 x 8 mm (8.30 x 5.35 x 0.31 in)
Weight 338 g (11.92 oz)
Display Type
TFT capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Screen resolution
800 x 1280 pixels, 8.0 inches (~189 ppi pixel density)
Multitouch
Yes
Loudspeaker
Yes, with stereo speakers
3.5mm jack
Yes
Memory Card slot microSD, up to 64 GB
Internal storage
16 GB or 32 GB storage, 2 GB RAM
DATA GPRS
Class 12 (4+1/3+2/2+3/1+4 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
EDGE
Class 12
WLAN
HSDPA, 21 Mbps: HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps
Bluetooth Yes, v4.0 with A2DP
Infared Port
Yes
USB
Yes, v2.0 (MHL), USB Host
Camera
5 MP, 2592х1944 pixels, autofocus
Features
Geo-tagging
Video Yes, 1080p
Secondary Yes, 1.3 MP
FEATURES OS
Android OS, v4.1.2 (Jelly Bean)
Chipset
Exynos 4412
CPU Quad-core 1.6 GHz Cortex-A9
GPU
Mali-400MP
Sensors
Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer
Messaging SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM, RSS
Browser
HTML5
GPS
Yes, with A-GPS support and GLONASS
Java Yes, via Java MIDP emulator
Color
White
- S Pen stylus
- SNS integration
- TV-out (via MHL A/V link)
- MP4/DivX/Xvid/FLV/MKV/H.264/H.263 player
- MP3/WAV/eAAC+/Flac player
- Organizer
- Image/video editor
- Document editor/viewer
- Google Search, Maps, Gmail,
YouTube, Calendar, Google Talk, Picasa
- Voice memo/dial
- Predictive text input (Swype)

Can’t wait to get your hands on the BlackBerry Z10… You can order now

Rumors point out that AT&T will be offering the BlackBerry Z10 starting March 22nd. If you don’t want to wait you have the option of ordering the BlackBerry Z10 unlocked and free of contract, then head over to Negrielectronics to place your order for the BlackBerry Z10 in either white or black. This will set you back $679.50 for either white or black BlackBerry Z10.

RIM has made the BlackBerry Z10 available in 21 other countries already, only way to get your hands on one in the US is to order a unlocked BlackBerry Z10. If you want to hold off and get one on contract, you should see US carriers offering the Z10 for around $199 with 2-year contract.

The BlackBerry Z10 will give you a great experience with the all new BlackBerry 10. The touch screen is 4.2-inch which is a tad roomier than the current iPhone 5 in screen size. Browsing can be a challenge on smaller display. At this time I am using the Galaxy Note II, and at 5.5-inch display it is quite a large display. 

The 768 x 1280 resolution and 326 ppi you will get eye popping images and great text to read your emails. The Touch On Lens technology is applied to the back side of the cover glass which eliminates the need to have a separate touch panel and in turn allows for a thin design.

The BlackBerry Z10 has great hardware, great design and for the most part it is good looking device. The ability to also run Android application makes the BlackBerry Z10 a bit tempting for those that are on Android, just a word of caution, not all Android apps will work.

Inside the BlackBerry Z10 you get a  1800 mAh battery, powered with dual-core 1.5GHz TI OMAP 4470 processor, 16GB built in memory, 2GB of RAM, 8MP rear camera, microSD slot, NFC, WiFi a/b/g/n dual band for greater strength and Bluetooth 4.0. This gives the BlackBerry Z10 the ability to compete with iOS and Android devices with these great specs.

Complete BlackBerry Z10 specs:

Network
2G Network
GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900

3G Network
UMTS 850 / 900 / 2100

4G Network
LTE 800 / 900 / 1800 / 2600

Dimensions
130 x 65.6 x 9mmWeight
125 g

Keyboard
QWERTY

DISPLAY
Type
Capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors

Size
768 x 1280 pixels, 4.2 inches (~326 ppi pixel density)

Multitouch
Yes

Sound
Alert types
Vibration; MP3 ringtones

Loudspeaker
Yes

Memory
Card slot
microSD, up to 32 GB

Internal
16 GB storage, 2 GB RAM

DATA
GPRS
Yes

EDGE
Yes

Speed
HSDPA 21 Mbps, HSUPA 5.76 Mbps; LTE

WLAN
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n , dual band

Bluetooth
Yes, v4.0 with A2DP

NFC
Yes

USB
Yes, microUSB v2.0

Camera
Primary
8 MP, 3264 x 2448, autofocus, LED flash

Features
Geo-tagging, continuous auto-focus, image stabilization, face detection

Video
Yes, 1080p@30fps

Secondary
Yes, 2 MP, 720p@30fps

Features
OS
BlackBerry OS 10

CPU
Dual-core 1.5 GHz

GPU
PowerVR SGX544

Sensors
Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass

Messaging
SMS, MMS, Email, Push Email, IM, BBM 6

Browser
HTML5

GPS
Yes, with A-GPS support

Color
White or Black

- SNS integration
- HDMI port
- BlackBerry maps
- Organizer
- Document viewer
- Photo viewer
- MP3/WMA/WAV/eAAC+/FlAC player
- DivX/XviD/MP4/WMV/H.263/H.264 player
- Voice memo/dial
- Predictive text input

BATTERY
Li-Ion 1800 mAh battery