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Google's Nexus Tablet To Be Unveiled Next Week
zacharye writes "Google chairman Eric Schmidt revealed in December that the company was working on its first own-brand tablet, and the 'Nexus 7' slate will finally be unveiled next week during the Google I/O developer conference, according to multiple reports. The latest reaffirmation comes from DigiTimes, which has reported a number of details surrounding Google's upcoming tablet that will seemingly prove accurate."
Smack in the middle of the market that currently B&N and Amazon hold. Seriously, 7" is e-book territory. They should have made an actual tablet. 8" or greater.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
I'm not surprised that they're going to 7" because they need to get out of the ipad shadow. it's a couple reasons - 1) they can't achieve comparable quality at the same price point as the ipad, 2) apple has gobbled up all the components.
The problem is that in the fall apple is releasing an ipad mini which will dominate the 7" space as well. if google is true to form then their announcement this evening will be "look what we're releasing in a couple months" while apple is usually "look what is now available at the apple store."
so in short, good luck to google because i know people there and they try real hard, but they're going to need it!
I thought it had been out for a long time already!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5e9thla3cko
It appears that things are cheap enough that pretty much anyone can go to China and get a tablet built. So, if the magic isn't in the hardware it must be in the software or maybe the real magic is in the content and services. What does this mean for OEMs like HTC and Samsung? They don't have search or email or any services.
...if all this noise from Microsoft was trying to preempt all of the press that Google's announcement would generate using their own announcement. It explains why Microsoft's seemed premature.
"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."
I thought Microsoft's presentation was amazingly polished and well put together. I didn't feel at all like it was rushed together.
Compare and contrast with Google's map presentation a week or so ago. Presenters could not talk without looking at notes every other sentence (watch the guy and the end bobbing his head down constantly). A bunch of filler content to make up for the fact they were just talking about a Google Earth update.
It's good to see real competition in the tablet space heat up.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
I want one, just so I can call it Rachael.
Do they allow windows computers? If so that is a hell of a double standard.
Actually... (sorry apple fan boys) Android's security is much better than the iPhones. (Their web browser doesn't run as root first of all)
The DoD uses Android, and has for years, but only finally in the past couple months has approved any version (and not even the consumer version) viable for military use. you don't NEED to have an anti-virus, that is a joke... the AV companies just want you to think you do. Though Having one to scan inbound email attachments, downloaded files/etc isn't a BAD thing by any means, but ehh...
The Android security policies aren't an issue... It is people installing applications that allow reading from the SDcard/Contacts/etc and full internet access.
Android gives people more freedom, unfortunately that means more people hang themselves with that rope... that isn't Android's fault. Also means your organization is smart enough not to trust you to use the device securely.
you don't need an AV client on android. in fact, all they do is compare applications you install against a blacklist. all they can do is warn you about blacklisted apps. that's it.
the security model of android (and many other operating systems) sandboxes apps. an app can't access any other app's data unless some special arrangement is made between them.
every android app is required to state the permissions it requires to run (internet, location, etc). these are presented to the user before they install an application.
users must actively allow applications to be installed outside of the android market.
Reminds me of Blade Runner.
I don't know about that. I have a Windows Phone, and every time there's been a widespread security concern in the past few months, it's been for the i* and Android, but NOT the Windows phones, because, as I've been told and read, that Windows Phone was the only one out of the three that *really* sandboxes 3rd party applications. I'm confused.
I don't respond to AC's.
What qualitative differences are there between general purpose computers, and mobile general purpose computers, that should makes mobile computing immune to malicious software?
It's a trade-off. Either you are allowed to install anything on your device, and are willing to wear the consequences, or you're not, and can choose from an accepted white-list of products that a trusted third party has validated clean. I can understand why some consumers choose to be limited (especially business consumers), but saying that one choice is better than another is just stupid.
And actually, when it comes to technical measures, Android's security is better, and more finely grained than iOS. iOS security model revolves around the idea that bad apps won't be running, because Apple will have stopped them being installed in the first place.
Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there isn't an invisible demon about to eat your face
So basically, this post is news that we'll have some news next week. Very informative. Thank you.
When will anybody release a tablet with very narrow edges. A lot of potential screen area is taken by the edges.
it's been for the i* and Android, but NOT the Windows phones
No, not for iOS devices either...
It's been for Android because they don't care what app stores you use, and have a permission model that asks for permissions around resources before you have any context or understanding of why it's asking for what permission.
iOS has just as good an application sandbox as Windows Phone.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
For YEARS? Er uh no.
Yeah, it really is just stupid users. I saw a "trending" game on the app store one day. It was basically an emulated copy of Mario Kart 64. However, it required just about every permission it could ask for. A ton of the comments where saying that it was a virus/spyware/malware, but "THE SAME USERS" were claiming that it was pretty good anyway, and that people should get this version, because it played better than any of the other versions out there. People are seriously so stupid. They get what they deserve.
Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
I wonder if Google can make it through their tablet presentation without one of their tablets locking up
Any more than, say, "Let's plug it in" back in 1998?
an app can't access any other app's data unless some special arrangement is made between them.
Except it's not possible under Android to make such arrangements fine-grained enough to be both secure and useful. Either a program has full read and write privileges on the mass storage or it has none; there is no middle ground as I understand it.
Android's security is better, and more finely grained than iOS.
The Android devices that I've tried have the internal memory partitioned into about half a GB for "system" and the rest for "storage", and every application with the permission to read and write storage can read and write all of storage. There's no way to limit an Android application to only one specific folder on storage.
This is good news, most of Google's hardware/software things are pretty awesome, but are marketed pathetically. Such as the Nexus series of phones. The Nexus Galaxy was a bit better with marketing, but they should have gone for all of the "big 4".
/still/ has not received Ice Cream Sandwich. I suppose I'll root it eventually, but I'll keep the warranty... for now.
Please Google, sell this in retail stores all around, Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Target, etc. and don't make this be such a niche product where you have to order online and hope its as good as the reviews say.
Google has an advantage to all the rest of the tablets: it actually updates its stuff. I've got an Android phone I love (Samsung Captivate Glide) but annoyed at the fact that it
Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
Windows computers are only allowed provisionally until they can be replaced with iPads.
PS: "Android is just as shitty as Windows" isn't really a smart argument for the platform.
The bezel gives the user a place to hold the tablet without activating on-screen controls.
Actually... (sorry apple fan boys) Android's security is much better than the iPhones. (Their web browser doesn't run as root first of all)
Mobile Safari hasn't run as root since iOS 3.0 (or perhaps even 2.0). For more information about iOS security, see
this white paper for a rather comprehensive overview of modern iOS security features: http://images.apple.com/ipad/business/docs/iOS_Security_May12.pdf
Things have changed quite a lot over the last few major iOS releases.
...if all this noise from Microsoft was trying to preempt all of the press that Google's announcement would generate using their own announcement. It explains why Microsoft's seemed premature.
Going after microsoft in announcements always made google seem awesome simply because up until recently microsoft always came out on stage and stepped on it's own dick. Then they did the surface tablet and... well even as an apple user I'm jealous of that keyboard cover. That was sheer genius. And it's shocking Apple, with all those hyper clever people, overlooked that perfect idea. and the tablet looks pretty substantial too.
Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
Do they allow windows computers? If so that is a hell of a double standard.
Hahaha...yeah well let me know when Android devices start getting timely updates to actually fix the bugs.
Although I love my iPad3 64GB and its retina display that really is indispensable for document reading, web, e-mail, etc., the iPad3 still has a lot of shortcomings.
If I was to design my dream tablet-phone it would have:
* Wi-Fi, 4G, GSM + CDMA (including audio for phone calls), BlueTooth, and NFC (with security element for Wallet and Authentication)
* 7 inch size, which fits nicely in my purse and eliminates the need to carry a separate tablet
* edge-to-edge-to-edge OLED display without any bezel
* "retina" resolution, well beyond 1080p, Apple has shown this is needed
* GPS (with offline turn-by-turn maps)
* true USB host support, none of this restrictive camera connection kit garbage
* mini-SD slot
* HMDI-out slot
* kick-stand + thin smart-cover like keyboard, like those in new Microsoft Surface Tablets
* pointy stylus, like Samsung Note
* high quality and high resolution rear camera with LED flash, and works in low light (indoors), supports RAW photos and 1080p video
* 64GB min flash
I would be okay with iOS, Android, and maybe Windows, provided that there is enough decent apps, and one can get access to the underlying OS (via jailbreak/root).
I would think the update process needs to be improved from a security perspective. My understanding is that it is solely tied to the device manufacturer, that if Google releases an update (of any kind) it's completely up to the OEM as to whether you get that? To me that sounds like a significant security concern, or am I incorrect on that?
I know there is a large community around modding so there's always that route if your device is popular I suppose (and able to be boot loader unlocked).
So I guess the question is if updates are solely tied to the manufacturer then which one is best to go with?
And if the community is a better option then which model(s) are best supported in the modding community?
I hope it has underpowered wifi just like the galaxy nexus, and they charge a restocking fee when customers return it.
And you don't seem to think that it's a problem that an obvious spyware / copyright infringement app was trending in the official app store?
-1 overrated isn't the same thing as "I disagree".
Yep, something like that would never happen in a more tightly controlled appstore... Oh, wait.
You can mod my post down if you like, but my point still stands: You can't claim Android has a better security model then talk about how users fall into traps because it's soooOOOOoooo free. Sorry, this is clearly Apologism at work!
I'm missing the part where the app took your contact list and uploaded it to who knows where and then racked up a phone bill. Or maybe you didn't read the conversation.
I only do "i"s.
Don't mean to troll here but I have not found anything in these touch pads that I could honestly use in everyday life.
I got a free one from attending a product rollout and besides installing a bunch of swiss knife like apps my Samsung Galaxy SII is more functional.
Sure they make great e-readers but what else?
Pretty sure any app in appstore could simply take your contact list and upload it wherever it wants even without a courtesy of asking user first until recent rules update after a few scandals, so you'd better grab a proxy and check that all apps you've got behave.
You're right on the second part, and it only serves to prove you can't cure stupid - to upload your contact list you don't need any permission out of usual (or no permissions at all on iOS), but to rack up your phone bill app has to clearly state that it call paid numbers before install.
Windows phone is the desktop linux of mobile phones. It's simply so rare in the wild that it makes no sense to try to own it, as it will cost more to do so then realistic gains.
Android does warn users but still some vendors managed to slip some bad applications through that would do bad things on network and CPU usage (battery drain), some even sending premium rate SMSs (they have been banned).
OTOH, root access does allow you to firewall particularly noisy apps, if not explicitly block access via the hosts file.
See my journal, I write things there
Windows phone is the desktop linux of mobile phones. It's simply so rare in the wild that it makes no sense to try to own it, as it will cost more to do so then realistic gains.
Though I agree with you, it is interesting how the market share argument gets turned around against Microsoft regardless of high/low share. It has been argued very strongly on this site (not saying by you) that low market share is not the reason for so few malware targeting Apple and Linux. The 'market share' argument has been called a complete myth. But when it comes to Windows Phone, it seems to be the accepted reason for no malware.
Hopefully these will work out better than those flaky Nexus 6's.
__
Enjoy a new life in the offworld colonies!
FIY floks
[url]http://www.gsmarena.com/the_nexus_tablet_has_reportedly_started_shipping_lacks_3g_or_lte-news-4410.php[/url]
Hurray for open source!
Wait, what? It's Google, OPEN right?
After looking at all of the ipads, galaxy media players and ereaders, I went cheap and got an ipod touch.
It may be walled, but it's a good kind of walled (and each of us already has a secret garden inside anyway).
Seriously though, the laptop is best for work and tv-substitute at home, IMHO; otherwise, for that on-the-go crap the ipod touch seems more than adequate (in a non-double-entendre kind of way). I don't know why the world needs more "in-betweens".
I own a Windows Phone, and it makes no difference to me whether anybody else owns one or not. It cost me $50 with a cell phone contract renewal.
I don't respond to AC's.
I am diging the 7-inch. I have a 7 inch Galaxy Tab and it is -exactly- the right size to actually carry in a coat pocket, or the back pocket of jeans as long as you remember to move it before you sit. I bigger format is not something I would carry everywhere the way I can carry a 7-inch tab.
I will totally look at upgrading to this since the Galaxy Tab was abandoned by Samsung as far as updates.
I didn't switch to any of the 8-or-larger formats because they really -aren't- go anywhere devices.
Innocent people shouldn't be forced to pay for inferior software development.
--"Code Complete" Microsoft Press
Yeah, which enables apps to do things like load up and modify files they didn't create, just as they can on a general-purpose computer.
Ideally, the end user would tell the application what files and folders it is allowed to modify through a file chooser displayed by a secure system process. That's what the OLPC Bitfrost sandbox does, that's what Mac OS X's App Store sandbox does, and that's what the JavaScript file API does.
I imagine the demand for that sort of feature is fairly low.
Demand will be low for anything the general public doesn't know about. The demand for smartphones themselves was low before the first-generation iPhone was introduced.
Good luck with that.
Best Slashdot Co
Well played, sir. Well played.
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
I've only ever seen my daughter use the front cam, and that was the first day we got an iPad when the photo booth seemed like so much fun. She facetimes on her touch with a friend who moved to another state, but I suspect that's mainly because it's a touch and doesn't have an embedded audio-only client.
Seriously - aside from the first week or two of "ooh - look what I can do," is video chat a really useful function? OTOH, I use the camera on the back of my tablet to take pictures (i.e. photocopy) stuff in meetings all the time. Maybe it's a business vs personal thing.
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
It's a trade-off. Either you are allowed to install anything on your device, and are willing to wear the consequences, or you're not, and can choose from an accepted white-list of products that a trusted third party has validated clean. I can understand why some consumers choose to be limited (especially business consumers),
iOS is hardly "limited". In fact, it provides significantly more options for the customer than Android does, in spite of these limits. The actual limits amount to a very small amount of software being outright prevented from being available. But when you write the word without qualification, small limits and draconian limits both can be described by the exact same word, "limited", making them sound equivalent, which they aren't.
And this is the best part of your post:
but saying that one choice is better than another is just stupid.
Which is immediately followed by:
And actually, when it comes to technical measures, Android's security is better,
HA!
Anyway, when it comes to actual measures, iOS's security is better, because it actually works in practice. What's preferable, security that is theoretically better, or security that is actually better in practice? I'll take actual security over theoretical security any day. That's also why Macs are more secure than Windows, even though we've been hearing for years now how Microsoft's security is "so much better" than Apple's. What good does that do for the user if all the pwnage is happening on the supposedly "secure" system, and next to none on the supposedly lacking one?
Same goes with iOS vs Android.
and more finely grained than iOS. iOS security model revolves around the idea that bad apps won't be running, because Apple will have stopped them being installed in the first place.
On iOS 6, Apple is adding much greater granularity with regards to data access permissions. And unlike what you see on Android apps, you won't end up with a WTF? list of permissions requests, like games wanting full access to your SMS system.
I don't own an iDevice, not sure why you think I do. "It happens on the AppStore too!" is not a valid excuse for crap.
-1 overrated isn't the same thing as "I disagree".
...Ballmer had to show of a partially complete Win8-based tablet on Monday. To try to show they were ahead of Google. Never mind that Google's tablet is far more complete and closer to shipping.
Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain't goin' away. - Elvis Presley (source: imdb.com)
On iOS 6, Apple is adding much greater granularity with regards to data access permissions.
Woo hoo! At some point in the future, Apple devices will finally have a feature that Android has had since inception! And it will be even better! What a huge win for Apple!
Until then, you're at the mercy of Apple's gatekeepers to make sure that nothing bad gets in, because as a user, you have absolutely no clue what the software you download is doing.
--Jeremy
Jesus was a liberal
dear confused,
sandboxing can't protect you against phishing attacks, on any platform, no matter what the security. if i can get you to download my fake bank of america application and enter your user name and password, i've got you. if you can get a user to come to your 3rd party app store / web site and install malicious apps, there's not much any OS can do to help you.
i guess you could say iOS protects against this by not allowing apps to be installed outside of their appstore. i don't know about WP. personally i'd rather have the option.
well ... vendors has a special interest in not putting poorly written apps. if they hurt your battery life, it makes they phones look crappy ... and they make money off the phones, not the software.
i don't dispute you can do some nice protection schemes on a rooted device, but you can also some nasty things. if you can get the user to grant you root access you can read data from anywhere on the device, read the state of memory, or snoop network traffic. so yeah, rooting is not for everyone.
On iOS 6, Apple is adding much greater granularity with regards to data access permissions.
Woo hoo! At some point in the future, Apple devices will finally have a feature that Android has had since inception! And it will be even better! What a huge win for Apple!
And it's long overdue. But you're right, it's coming, it's better, and it's a huge win for Apple (and more importantly, Apple's customers).
Until then, you're at the mercy of Apple's gatekeepers to make sure that nothing bad gets in, because as a user, you have absolutely no clue what the software you download is doing.
Apple's been a great gatekeeper so far. I see no reason to think anything's changed in that regard. Besides, there are presently ways (without jailbreaking) to find out what an app is doing (which Apple does currently check for during testing as well), so your implication that apps are doing nefarious things is incorrect.
secure data should be stored in the app's "data" space.
Except this data space is only a few megabytes in size on the devices that I've used because the device is partitioned such that most of the device is formatted as if it were an SD card. Sure, encrypting the data on the SD card and storing the keys in the app's "data" space allows storing data that another application cannot inspect. But how should an application store more than a few megabytes of data that another application cannot accidentally overwrite?
SD cards are FAT formatted and don't offer the facilities to protect the data.
They offer subdirectories. An application could be restricted to only its own folder and those folders chosen by the user through the system's file chooser service; that's how the OLPC Bitfrost and Mac OS X sandboxes handle it.