Tag Archives: Kindle

Survey Shows Tablets Are Popular For the Holidays

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New research indicates that the PC industry may be dealt another blow around the holidays.

According to a survey organized by PriceGrabber, around 59 percent of the respondents stated that they would rather be given a tablet than a PC.

Of those respondents, almost 25 percent indicated that they would like to receive an iPad Mini, while about 63 percent of those surveyed said they would like to receive an iPad 3 or iPad 4. The iPad 4 was released in October and is the latest version, while the iPad 3 was introduced back in March.

The Current Tablet Craze

The PriceGrabber survey also indicated that people wanted electronic items other than iPads. An Amazon HD Kindle Fire was the first choice of about 20 percent of those interviewed, while 22 percent of people who took the survey expressed a preference for a Samsung Galaxy Note Tab.

One of the latest products from Microsoft is the Surface tablet, which 13 percent of those interviewed would like to receive.

One of the vice presidents at PriceGrabber pointed out in a statement that the introduction of several tablets priced between $200 and $300 has meant that tablets have become increasingly popular as a Christmas gift. Rojeh Avanesian went on to say that this holiday season, many retailers will be fighting for customers money and that tablets will once again prove to be popular.

The Impact On the PC Market

The PC market has suffered in recent years, partly because of many consumers opting to buy a tablet instead, and partly because of the overall poor economy.

The global PC market dropped by just over 8.5 percent during the last year, according to industry analysts IDC. During the third quarter of 2012, global shipments of personal computers totalled 87.5 million units, with a drop in shipments of 8.3 percent over the previous year.

Tablets On the Holiday Wish List

According to the PriceGrabber survey, 45 percent of those surveyed put the iPad Mini at the top of their holiday wish list, making it the most popular. The survey was conducted between October 24 and November 1 and involved 1,475 online shoppers.

About 38 percent of those surveyed liked the fact that the iPad Mini was affordable compared to other models, while 47 percent liked is small size and portability.

Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD was second in the survey, with 27 percent, while the Amazon’s Kindle Fire and Google Nexus 7 tied for third place with 19 percent.

The Simple Truth

Whether you are in the market for a new tablet or a PC this holiday season, one thing is certain, both aren’t invulnerable to unexpected accidents. The experts at iFixYouri are experienced in both tablet and PC repair and can certainly help if ever your device suffers any damage.

The RIM Tablet: A BlackBerry PlayBook Review

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The Blackberry PlayBook has finally come of age. After gaining average reviews and failing to attract iPad-like customer excitement during its launch, a huge price drop and a profoundly revised OS seems to have worked. The PlayBook has a graceful and beautiful interface that is so simple to use that it actually rivals those of Android’s Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime and Apple’s iPad2 in this front.

The current price of BlackBerry PlayBook is $199 for 16GB, $249 for 32GB and $299 for 64GB. This is relatively lower compared to the 8GB Amazon Kindle Fire that goes for $199. Arguably, the Kindle Fire is a better media machine with its online-based ecosystem of music, books and movies. Apple’s third generation iPad gives the PlayBook a run for its money with its glut of compelling apps. The PlayBook on the other hand has a dearth of the same.

User Interface, Hardware and Design

The BlackBerry gadget measures 5.1×7.6×0.4 inches and weighs 14.4 ounces. Its front panel consists of black glass while the back panel is soft and tapered. The Playbook’s 1,024-by-600-pixel display is more vibrant and brighter when compared to the Kindle Display.

Hardware

The device lacks a home button. However, it more than makes it up for this by allowing users to employ an easy sweeping motion from the bezel to the display center. At the top edge of the PlayBook, there is a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, volume rocker and power button. It is also equipped with an accelerometer and a 6-axis internal gyroscope.

The device has a built-in internet-tethering feature that enables users to use the gadget’s signal as its hotspot via Bluetooth. Users do not pay extra charges for this feature. As a result, the Wi-Fi only PlayBook is an excellent deal for users.

Ports

The bottom edge has a micro USB connector, HDMI output and a port for magnetic charging similar to the one found on the Apple MacBook Pro. It is compatible with the optional RIM’s dock accessory although it only comes with a micro USB cable and charger as standards.

Graphical Interface

The graphics of the BlackBerry PlayBook are colorful and sharp. So is its overall layout. Despite having fewer apps when compared to its competitors, the existing apps are easy to launch and you get to see background activities without much hustle. At the bottom of the interface, a dock holds five icons, which displays more icons when expanded upwards.

Tech Specs

The device has more than enough hardware power to power its apps. The gadget boasts of a dual-core TI OMAP4430 CPU, PowerVR SGX540 for graphics and 1GHz ARM Cortex-A9 chip that comes with a dual-channel memory controller.

Browser & Apps

Finally, the BlackBerry PlayBook lays claim to a magnificent web browser capable of fast performance, intuitive interface and a full support for Flash 10.1. Its PlayBook OS 2.0 comes with the all-important native email, calendar support and contacts.

Conclusion

The BlackBerry PlayBook is a practical tablet computer and reasonably priced compared to other similar gadgets. However, I’ve heard reports that many PlayBooks are malfunctioning. This isn’t a problem considering they can be fixed by BlackBerry PlayBook repair experts iFixYouri, but the manufacturer still has some work to do before the gadget can claim the bragging rights in the tablet computer space.