The Olympic-themed Acer Iconia tab A510 was released in the US yesterday. This new tablet followed on the heels of the little discussed Acer Iconia tab A500 and it stacks a whole new load of nifty mobile features to keep up the competition with the Asus Transformer Prime and, it goes without saying, the new iPad.

So what makes the Iconia A510 so special? For starters, it packs a brand new operating system Android Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0. This OS, as well as being just generally faster, gives you a greater grasp of the machinations behind the screen. Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0 lets you control the network so you can optimise the speed at which you browse and download depending on what it is that you find a priority. Ice Cream Sandwich also uses voice recognition (think Siri) to let you give dictation for searches and messages.

In a rather sweet gesture, Acer has not forgotten all the loyal customers who purchased early models of the Iconia tab like the A500 and A100. People who bought these early Acer tablets will be eligible for a free update of Android Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0.

This tablet will retail for around $450, which is about $50 cheaper than a 16 Gb new iPad. The Acer model offers far greater value for money with 32 Gb storage and a spanking new quad core Tegra 3 processor with 1 Gb RAM.

Although the 1280 x 800 10.1 inch screen is no match for the new iPads’, it does have superior battery power and power management lasting up to 7 hours. It has a 5.0MP rear-facing camera and a 1.0MP facing the other way.

This is one of the more technical tablets we’ve seen. Though it would be good for entertainment you’d certainly not be making the most of its capabilities without putting it through its paces with some intensive processing applications – don’t worry, it can handle it.

The Acer Iconia tab A510 is available in stores now.

Presentation of the new iPad 3 or iPad HD is all set to go ahead later on today.

The actual release date that’s being highly debated is Friday 16th March which is…you know, next week!

It seems sensible for the tablet to go on sale right after the official release but you know what’s said about good things and those who wait.

Rest assured though, at least the US set to get it first the rest of the world is excited about the details but don’t know whether it’ll even be released in their countries on this date.

We expect demands for a better webcam to be answered, and surely battery life will have been improved as well.

The world has turned once again and we all eagerly await the new iPad, top selling tablet in the market and now the third generation will be in stores within two weeks.

Online journalists were sent an irresistable invitation ‘We have something you really have to see. And touch.’ A little creepy but once the iPad 3 was mentioned they had our attention.

We guarantee almost everyone will take a glance at the new iPad when it comes out, even if they’ve already got one. But this product launch means much more to apple than just another tablet on the market.

Apple must be hoping this tablet will blow away the bad press from the Foxconn affair, which brought an ugly light to working conditions at the factories where such products are made. which is contrary to the socially conscious and creative spirit that Apple pertain to in their advertising.
The launch of the Apple iPad 3 will reinvigorate consumers and Apple alike. It’s the first main launch of a new Apple product under new CEO Tim Cook who has the unenviable task of carrrying on in the wake of Steve Jobs whose charisma, intellect and enthusiasm, arguably, made Apple what is today.

The iPad 2 did so well it is difficult to predict what improvements can be made. One of the safer assumptions is an improved screen, we’re looking at 2048 x 1536 pixels here people – get excited! Along with better graphics, the processing power of the iPad 3 should have an improvement along with the user interface Siri for voice activated browsing.

Of course there will be more to come, but with the launch so near Apple will be releasing all this information for themselves. Remember the queue for the new Apple iPad starts yesterday.

The Apple iPad has ruled supreme in the tablet market ever since it was launched, but that could change in 2012 according to new figures.

The battle between Apple and Google is set to continue (shocker), not only in terms of who’s the biggest brand in the world, but also in regards to the increasingly sizable global tablet market. According to figures released by Strategy Analytics this week, Apple’s share of the global tablet market dropped from 68% to 58% last year, while the overall market grew from 10.7m in the last quarter of 2010 to 26.8m twelve months later.

It seems that Apple’s loss has been entirely Android’s gain: the latter’s tablet sales grew from 29% to 39.1% from Q4 2010 to Q4 2011.

Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt was quoted at this year’s CES in Las Vegas as saying that Android tablets would sell a billion units before too long. With tablet prices generally going down slowly but surely, this might not be as far off the mark as it may sound right now.

It appears that this year will also be the year where smaller competitors might be squeezed out of the picture if they don’t shape up: BlackBerry PlayBook and Windows 7 tablets put together sold less than a million units.

Adobe have launched a range of touch apps for Android 3.1. Adobe Debut, Adobe Ideas, Adobe Kuler and Adobe Proto will be available from Android app stores, along with Photoshop touch app.

Designers and tablet users everywhere, rejoice – Adobe have made their Photoshop software accessible to Android-powered tablets. Photoshop touch will run on Honeycomb tablets such as the Acer Iconia Tab A500 and the Samsung Galaxy Tab.

It’s billed as a mobile sketchbook for designers and photographers: the basic tools such as filters and layers will be available, but any images will probably be have to completed in Photoshop properly on a laptop or PC. As befits a mobile device, there is an instant share function for Facebook and integrated Google image browsing, as well as a live image feed from your tablet’s camera.

Those keen for iOS versions of these apps will have to wait until early 2012, however.

Adobe Photoshop Touch and the other new Adobe apps are now available in the Android app store.

We’re pleased to say that not only is this personal computer quite a looker it’s specifications make it a powerhouse as well. Intel’s i5 processors the SandyBridge 2nd gen chips will provide you with enough power to keep up to date with the latest developments in technology for the next couple of years.

The Asus U46 can be bought with up to 8 Gb RAM, and offers crystal visuals with the Nvidia GeForce GT540 graphics card. Its main point of attraction is slender design, the 1366×768 HD res screen is just a ¼ inch thick, and have no fear that it could be easily damaged though. The ‘hinge-forward design’ keeps the screen sturdy and prevents the U46 from being a delicate machine.

As you would expect from such a fully loaded machine it comes with all the necessary ports you could need including the highly sought after USB 3.0. Naturally the standard 2.0 USB is present and you’ll also be able to hook this baby up to your widescreen via HDMI connection.

The battery supposedly lasts a whopping 10 hours which, frankly, we are a little dubious about; a review will be posted soon so come back for more info on the Asus U46 laptop.

Adobe has announced that the company is close to finishing work on the new Flash Player, and that the updated version of the application will come with enhanced security and privacy settings.

This addresses a main concern about the Flash Player, which has dogged Adobe for a while now. Flash Player 11 will support SSL socket connections, which authenticate host certificates and limit connections to secure certificates only, and include an improved random number generator.

In a blog post, Adobe said that up until now, “Flash Player previously provided a basic, random number generator through Math.random. This was good enough for games and other lighter-weight use cases, but it didn’t meet the complete cryptographic standards for random number generation.”

Adobe Flash Player 11 will also include support for 64-bit operating systems, which will increase the effectiveness of Address Space Layout Randomisation (ASLR). ASLR obscures important data areas (such as programming code) from potential attackers.

Adpbe Flash Player 11 will be available for desktops and Android devices from early October.

HP’s decisions to focus on software development, spin off its PC business into a separate unit and to abandon the tablet market are music to Dell’s ears, according to the latter company’s chief executive.

Michael Dell told the Financial Times that hardware was still very much part of his firm’s future plans, and that HP’s retreat would give Dell an increased market share. Downsizing its PC business, Dell said, would mean that HP would have to pay more for integral manufacturing parts.

Bob O’Donnell, from the industry analysis group IDC said: “While there is uncertainty over the HP PC business, HP has handed Dell a big slice of business on a silver platter. Dell is perfectly placed to take advantage.”

As the demand for tablets and smartphones grows, many are predicting the end of the PC. Mr Dell is not one of them: “Those devices aren’t necessarily replacing the PCs, so we are very committed to that part of the business, as part of this broader, end-to-end IT solutions company”, he said.

One of the largest showcases of technological innovations and consumer products, this year’s IFA consumer electronics trade show, is finishing up tomorrow. Some of the releases have been real eye-openers, but the ongoing lawyer death matches between Samsung and Apple have spilt over into Germany. A court in Dusseldorf has imposed a ban on Samsung forbidding them to sell the Galaxy Tab 7.7” Consumer choice has been severely limited since the Galaxy Tab 10.1” was temporarily banned in August as part of the global patent war between Samsung.

Samsung and Apple have both sued and counter-sued each other over tablet and smartphone designs, with Apple claiming the feel and look of their products have been mimicked by the Korean company. These legal battles are ongoing in Europe, US, and South Korea and Australia where the Samsung Galaxy Tab’s launch has already been delayed twice this year.

Oh, and if you’re wondering what IFA actually stands for: it’s Internationale Funkausstellung , which is located in Berlin.

The combination of All-In-One touch technology and 3D viewing was the next logical step, and Sony made it with VAIO’s L-Series: you get a full 3D HDMI port so it can be hooked up to a Playstation 3 for 3D gaming. With the Playstation’s Move accessory you could, in theory, get a far more interactive experience, mixing 3D game play with a touch-command capacity.

But enough of the hypotheticals, there are enough real features to spark your interest in the L-series.

Let’s start with the fundamentals: the computers naturally come with a Blu-ray player, and you’ll be able to enhance their playback with 3D at the push of a button. The VAIO L-Series comes with a second generation Intel i-series core, up to 1 TB HDD and an 8 GB memory – more than enough to be getting along with don’t you think?

Thrown into the mix are two USB 3.0 and 2.0 ports each, a WEB button, internal stereo speakers and, to keep your desk neat and tidy, a wireless keyboard and laser mouse.

The 3D capability of the VAIO L-Series isn’t glasses-free, but the rechargeable shutter glasses can also be used with Bravia televisions. If this is your first foray into 3D entertainment and computing, then there will be few finer machine available to maximize viewing quality.