The CES show over in Las Vegas has been the platform for Intel to finally announce that they are indeed going to be entering the smartphone and tablet processor market with new chips aimed at competing with ARM’s current strangle hold on the market.

I have always found it quite amazing how ARM entered this market and managed to so easily shi* on Intel from a small height and then keep dropping those tech turds all over them from ever growing precipices.

The K800 is Intel and Lenovo’s first smartphone on Android:

The announcement at CES that there will be a new Intel powered smartphone built by Lenovo has been met with a fair degree of interest and looking at the new device it is clear to see why.

The worlds first Intel based smartphone is quite a nice looking device.

Lenovo have gone to some lengths to totally re-skin the device and make it a device that suits them. Running on Android, and seemingly only version 2.3, this is not that difficult to do being Android based, we have already seen Amazon do the same with their Kindle Fire, things may however change come release. As it may be running on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich by the time it hits Europe and the US later this year.

Right now it looks pretty good, especially when you look at what is under the hood, from here you can see that this phone will be no lazy bones.

Lenovo K800 Specifications:

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• Android 2.3
• Intel Medfield
• 8MP camera
• 4.5″ HD 720p TFT screen
• WCDMA HDSPA+

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Watching the video below you can see that the device does look great but apparently suffers from that horrible and annoying lag that plagues this operating system, it almost looks like I am some kind of idiot when I use my Samsung S2, like some big fingered over eager freak.

But the fact is that this device currently lags, and I never know where I am when I want a lower area of a site or application on my Android device, this seems to hold true for this device too, despite the processor being so seemingly capable.

Lenovo build tanks?

Now we all remember the IBM Thinkpad’s which Lenovo took over and carried on with. Well design wise, they seem to have thought about keeping that crap looking casing that was apparently very tough.

So your phone may be happy to be dropped from a great height, but may not be getting many woo’s or ahh’s from your fellow comrades unless they do actually like the death star as a design aesthetic.

Indeed a little know fact is that the Thinkpad is the only laptop to be certified for use on the International Space Station, so maybe this smartphone might have found its niche already, now beam me up you spotty geek…;).

The Lenovo K800 will first appear in China and is expected to be released in the 2nd quarter of 2012, we currently have no other news on global releases beyond this.

Lenovo K800 summary:

Are you looking forward to this device or do you think that Intel have left it way too long to get into the fast paced mobile marketplace?

Or, is this all dependent on relationships with the right manufacturers, and in that case, is Lenovo a good choice?

We all know that first impressions count, and in all honesty, my knowledge of Intel getting in on the action has been met with lacklustre based on this device.

Surely technology releases are like comedy, it is all about delivery and timing!…dah dum!

Source: The Next Web

It is thought that ASUS will be revealing a new mini version of the Asus transformer prime tablet that currently sees them under scrutiny from Hasbro over the use of the words “transformer” and “prime”.

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this month in Las Vegas will see the arrival of many new models and it is expected that it will be the showcase of the new ASUS transformer mini.

The new version is thought to be a 7 inch model of the 10 inch version, which will come with a smaller keyboard dock, the signature of the Asus Transformer Prime.

Asus want to be big in 2012 and distinctive:

There is expected to be a few other arrivals at the CES show and these include:

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• Asus Padfone, a 4.3-inch Ice Cream Sandwich based smartphone which has the ability to turn into a tablet via a 10.1-inch touchscreen dock.
• 7-inch version of the Eee Memo Pad, with a rumoured 1.2 Ghz Snapdragon processor, 1280×800 resolution display, with Wi-Fi and 3G options.

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Will they keep the transformer name?

With Hasbro genuinely unhappy about the choice of names of the Asus transformer tablet, it may be unwise to carry on this potential legal disaster to another model even though in my eyes it seems pretty far fetched that they would have a leg to stand on, I am no lawyer and would not be the best person to pontificate on any outcome here, so if I was Asus, airing on the side of caution would be my instinct, especially as the transformers brand is growing from strength to strength currently.

Hasbro filed the action to sue in a LA court stating that the use of the term could lead to consumer confusion, and has requested that compensation be paid for damages related to the use of the term in current and future products.

Can the word “transformer” really be trademarked/patented/copyrighted?

Are you a lawyer in this field in the US?

If so, please do shed some light on the issue if you are, as it seems far fetched to me.

Barbara Finigan, Hasbro’s chief legal officer, said in a statement.

“Hasbro continues to aggressively protect its brands and products and the specific actions we are taking today against Asus underscores yet again Hasbro’s willingness to pursue companies who misappropriate our intellectual property for their own financial gain….the Transformers property is an incredibly popular global brand which enjoys tremendous fan support and interest around the world. The action we have announced today is in the best interests of our company and our shareholders.”

So like Apple, they are not taking things lightly and I am actually really excited to see what the outcome will be on this one.

Though if I was Asus I would counter sue Hasbro for making my new line of tablets sound like they are a kids toy….we had all pretty much forgotten the name until recently!…How rude Hasbro how rude.

Have you ever heard of Meizu?

Probably not, unless you live in, or come from, China or Hong Kong, and then you may well be aware that this manufacturer of rather sexy looking smartphones has just added another device to its range.

Who are Meizu?

Established in 2003, Meizu’s founder has been a keen tech lover for all his life, the company ethos quoted below shows the intriguing take they have on the corporate technology world:

In some ways, people are like computers with the similar configuration. Running at full capacity likewise, the computational load of those keeping a single task is far beyond that of those multitasked, ending and starting processes continually. Only when people remain devoted, we may suppress complicated interference, strive for our devotion consistently, and create greater value and wealth. The constant devotion is the dream!

So why was Meizu created?

Meizu was created for the dream. Devotion, perfection, concentrative and long-term pursuit shall bring out exceptional dream works of commercial products. Everything about Meizu shall transcend conventionality and imagination!

Now call me facetious but I genuinely love to read slightly “off” English translations of big corporate statements, they sound so cute dont they!

So why MX?

In keeping with the aspirational blurb above, the reason Meizu called the phone MX is actually because it is using the first two letters of the Chinese word for “Dream”, “Meng Ziang”.

Android based smartphone for Chinese market:

The new Meizu smartphone will be running Android and will feature a Exynos processor, with 1GB of RAM and 16 GB of storage capacity. The display is a decent sized 4 inches with a resolution of 960×640. It has an 8 megapixel camera that also offers panoramic shots. They also offer their own version of the Apple iCloud in FlyMe, though it does state on their website that this is only currently available in mainland China.

Queues of people waited for its launch:

In scenes reminiscent of popular Samsung and Apple product launches, there were queues of people waiting outside stores in some of the major cities in Hong Kong and China, all waiting to get their hands on the new Meizu MX device.

In fact the smartphone is so popular that it is genuinely seen as a fully blown iPhone rival in China and Hong Kong, and with specs to match, we can see why. I for one am always quite excited when a relatively new player enters a market with something worthwhile.

I wonder what Meizu’s plans for smartphone launches further afield are?

We have already discussed the iPad 3 release date in an earlier article. Now rumours seem to suggest it will arrive at a similar time as we predicted, or at least we will see a glimpse of it around the time we originally anticipated.

Digitimes, the perennial gossip mongers of the tech world have got their knitting needles out again, and they are talking of a return by Apple to a show now known as iWorld which was formerly MacWorld Expo.

At the show, which will be held next year on January 26th, Apple are rumored by supply chain partners to be demonstrating their new cut price iPad, and the new iPad 3, where these new models will join the rest of the iBrigade.

iPad 3 and iPoor 1?

The new models will see the cheaper version pitched against plucky contenders such as the Amazon Kindle Fire, and the other iPad 3 obviously holding the Apple flag high, as the kind of the tablet jungle.

Specification updates:

Processors are still rumoured to be supplied by Samsung, with Sharp delivering the new improved display that will still feature the same 9.7 inch screen.

There could be dual LED bars that will help brighten the iPads overall brightness levels. This rumour appears to have legs as Minebea are now part of this supply chain and they specialise in Backlight units (BLU’s)

Battery’s to be monsters:

Dynapack International Technology and Simplo Technology have secured orders for batteries of the iPad, with the rumour that one at least will have a very high capacity of 14,000 milliampere-hour (mAh) which will be used in the new iPad’s. Though we are not sure if one of these manufacturers will make a less powerful battery for the cut price model.

What do you think of the news? A tall story? Or, like us, can you imagine that this could have some weight?

Let us know your thoughts on the new iPad 3. And if you have heard anything remotely sounding like the truth, get in touch and let us know!