Although there’s more technology use in developed countries, those who live in third-world nations are quick to learn how devices work when given the opportunity. The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) organization recently gave tablets to children in Ethiopia to see if kids could learn without the benefit of an actual teacher. Here’s what happened:
Infographic courtesy of BachelorsDegreeOnline.com
Amazon’s Kindle Fire was officially released yesterday (November 15th) and pre-orders started shipping out on the 14th. I was tempted to buy one, but decided to wait and see what people’s initial thoughts of it were.
When it was first announced, some were saying it was definitely going to be a competitor for the iPad because of its features and the $199 price point. But is it really? Can it compare to the Apple iPad?
Here are a few early reviews:
Kindle Fire, a Grown-Up E-Reader With Tablet Spark – [WSJ] “To be clear, the Kindle Fire is much less capable and versatile than the entry-level $499 iPad 2….But the Fire has some big things going for it.”
Kindle Fire Review: New Tablet Sacrifices To Get Under $200 – [Huffington Post] “So the Fire does justice to fiction and movies, but the iPad does better in almost every way, particularly in the selection of apps, which is about 50 times greater than the Fire’s.”
Amazon Kindle Fire review – [Engadget] “When stacked up against other popular tablets, the Fire can’t compete. Its performance is a occasionally sluggish, its interface often clunky, its storage too slight, its functionality a bit restricted and its 7-inch screen too limiting if you were hoping to convert all your paper magazine subscriptions into the digital ones. Other, bigger tablets do it better — usually at two or three times the cost.”
Kindle Fire review: Yes, it’s that good – [MSNBC] “So while we’re on the subject of iPad, let’s have the talk. No, the Kindle Fire is not anywhere close to being the precision machine that the iPad 2 is. There are no cameras and no microphone. The Fire’s screen is half the size of the iPad’s, and the Fire’s battery life isn’t as good, yet the Fire is still a hair thicker. The Fire interface, while seductively simple, lacks the nuances — the futuristic animations and fades — that keep Apple on top. ”
Kindle Fire Review: The iPad Finally Has Serious Competition – [Gizmodo] “The Kindle Fire is stuck between e-ink minimalism and gleaming iPad decadence. That could either make it the goofy middle child in the tablet family, or a singular wunderkind. But the Fire will not be overlooked. Apple: Be afraid.”
Amazon Kindle Fire, iPad’s First True Competitor [REVIEW] – [Mashable] “The $199 Amazon Kindle Fire is a worthy device. It’s not an iPad slayer, but it could be the first tablet to ably stand atop Mount Tabulous (or at least on a rock ledge just a few dozen feet lower) with Apple’s industry-dominating slab computer.”
After reading through dozens of reviews, some says it’s definitely an Apple iPad competitor and some say it’s no where close. Interesting.
Did you purchase the Kindle Fire? If so, let us know what your thoughts on it are.
It also should be noted that today is the release of Barnes and Noble’s new NOOK tablet, which is pricier than the Kindle Fire at $249.
It’s no secret that Tablets are making a huge impact on society and technology use in general. A new study from GfK MRI’s iPanel proves that fact.
The use of the Tablet is changing how much consumers use video game consoles, read books and newspapers, as well as how often they use computers. Here’s a chart which shows what activities are done less as a result of owning a tablet.
As you can see, 59% of Tablet owners say they use a video game console or handheld device less often, 44% of Tablet owners say they read printed books less often and 42% say they read hard copy newspapers less often.
Thankfully it doesn’t seem to be having too much of an effect on activities like going to the movies, playing sports or hanging out with friends and family.
“The fact that a majority of game-playing Tablet owners report using a video game console or a handheld video game less often as a result of owning a Tablet does not necessarily mean they are playing video games less often,” said Risa Becker, VP, Research at GfK MRI. “But it does suggest that Tablet owners are moving their gaming from other devices to the Tablet.”
For those of you who own a Tablet, what activities do you notice yourself doing less of? Also, do you ever write up blog posts from your Tablet?
With the ever growing popularity of tablets, and smartphones getting smarter by the minute, it’s no surprise what a new study has found.
According to new data from International Data Corporation (IDC), more users will access the internet through mobile devices than through PCs or other wireline devices by 2015. Smartphones are outselling the simple cell phone and tablet sales are exploding, as are the development of them.
The new study says that internet access through PCs will first stagnate and then slowly decline over the next few years.
Here are a few interesting pieces of information the New Media Market Model found:
Does this new data surprise you? For all of us who make our living online, a piece of that $138 billion of online advertising sounds nice doesn’t it?
Image: SXC
After the death of the HP TouchPad was announced, it seems all anyone is talking about these days in terms of tablets is, yes, the HP TouchPad.
The company lowered the price of the tablet from $500 to only $99 earlier this month and they went fast. So fast, they are almost impossible to find right now.
In an interview with Reuters, HP executive Todd Bradley said there is a chance the TouchPad could be resurrected.
Bradley said the company could resurrect HP’s short-lived TouchPad tablet computer, which was introduced on July 1 before being terminated only about six weeks later.
“Tablet computing is a segment of the market that’s relevant, absolutely,” Bradley said.
He continued on saying “regardless of what happens, we’re the largest PC company in the world. We need everybody energized, and while this isn’t business as usual, we need people to go out and sell products every day.”
The biggest question right now is, will HP release any more TouchPads? Mark Budgell, HP’s PR Manager for Social Media Strategy, answered a few consumer questions in this blog post yesterday (August 29th).
In regards to the release of more TouchPads he said, “We will have more information available in the next few days about whether or not more will be available and if so, what the details will be about the situation.”
If HP does release more TouchPads, will you run out and purchase one? Some don’t see the point, while others want one as soon as they become available again.
In a bit of surprising news, Hewlett-Packard released their Q3 2011 financial results today, along with the announcement they are going to “discontinue operations for webOS devices.”
Which means this is the death of their newly released HP TouchPad. They did say they “will continue to explore options to optimize the value of webOS software going forward”.
What led to this decision? Possibly the poor sales of the TouchPad in the first place. It seemed every where I turned they were making another announcement about a sale on the TouchPad. After looking at the reviews, I was seriously considering purchasing one, but I guess I’ll keep shopping around.
Best Buy had very dismal sales and reportedly couldn’t get rid of their inventory of TouchPads. One writer called it the OuchPad. Ouch.
There’s also the fact that E-Reader ownership is larger than that of the tablet. Both e-readers and tablets have seen growth over the last 6 months, but e-readers numbers are larger.
What are your thoughts on this news and why do you think sales on the TouchPad were so awful?
According to a recent study by Pew Internet, adults in the United States are buying e-readers at a much faster rate than tablets. The number of adults who own an e-book reader doubled to 12%, compared to only 8% who own a tablet.
Both numbers have seen growth over the past six months, but the e-reader owners jumped by a much larger percentage. Adults owning an e-book reader were at 6% in November 2010 and tablet owners were at 5%.
Other interesting growth statistics from the last six months include:
The study also tracked how many people owned both an e-reader and a tablet. 5% say they own a tablet but not an e-reader. I’m assuming they mean a physical Kindle or Nook. But … why would they when they can just download the app for free?
There’s definitely still a debate brewing over whether to purchase an e-reader or a tablet. While I personally would rather own a tablet with the Kindle app, I think it ultimately depends on what you plan to use it for, what you’re looking for, and how much you’re willing to spend. CNET has a great article that discusses the pros and cons of both.
So, tell us – do you own an e-reader, a tablet, or both?
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