The traditional PC market is continuing to shrink as devices like smartphones and tablets eat into the marketshare. There are certainly some critics who feel that Windows 8 is a big part of that blame, and with that in mind we present today’s newest rumor.

Intel is allegedly preparing to push new Haswell-based convertible notebooks running Android. Think devices like the Asus Transformer Prime, though manufacturers involved supposedly include Asus, Acer, HP, Toshiba and Lenovo.

The rumor further asserts that Lenovo will lead the way with this new Android “notebook” push by introducing an Android-powered variant of the Yoga this May.

So how much would an Intel Android convertible cost? The rumored price point would be sub-$500. At this price, they would be a considerably cheaper alternative to Ultrabooks and Macbooks. These convertibles would also represent a spiritual successor to the netbook, which has since largely faded into obscurity in the last few years.

By providing a device that was small, cheap and good for typing while also fully capable of seperating from the keyboard, Intel and its partners could find a way to bring out the best of netbooks and tablets all in one form.

Such a move from Intel doesn’t sound totally insane, but I would still be more than a little cautious about believing this latest rumor due to its source. Digitimes is known for generating tons of rumors, with a mixed reputation on actually getting them right.

Still, Android would work just fine as a basic notebook alternative. Android has plenty of apps and its productivity offerings such as Office Suite Pro aren’t half bad. What do you think, for a price around $375-$475 would you consider purchasing a convertible Android device as a replacement for a traditional Mac, Windows or Linux laptop?

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The post Rumor: Intel and Partners Working on Android Convertible Push appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

It doesn’t take a genius to realize that the growing mobile market has cut into PC sales in a pretty big way over the last few years. While PC sales have been declining for a while, new IDC estimates show that for the first quarter of 2013, the market fell a whole 13.9 percent.

Looking back, this is the largest drop down reported by IDC in its entire history of tracking the PC market, which goes back to 1994. According to IDC, the biggest factors for this larger level of decline is that customers are spooked by the changes found in Windows 8, combined with the rise of mobile devices and the fact that the netbook pretty much went extinct.

While Windows 8 might be part to blame, that’s not the whole story. Apple Mac computers haven’t exactly jumped up in sales either, after all. The bigger picture is that more consumers are waking up to the fact that they don’t need $800+ machines in order to live in our socially-driven, web-connected world. Unless your needs are demanding (business, gaming, etc) – you can easily get by with a smartphone or tablet in today’s world. Hell even a web-connected game system or PC might be enough for many folks out there.

Additionally, PC declines are being brought on due to the fact that many of the PCs out there are more expensive than what many people were buying a few years ago. Why is that? Netbooks are pretty much extinct (at least from major, known vendors) and instead vendors are pushing ultrabooks and touch-capable devices.

Of course there is a reason for that. Although there is probably still limited interest in the netbook, it never exactly had great profit margins and as fewer people were buying premium home computers, it became less and less profitable for vendors to continue offering netbooks. Higher-end PCs generally command higher profit margins. That and lower-end PCs often aren’t much better for many consumers than purchasing a similarly priced tablet or high-end smartphone.

Bottom-line is that the PC market isn’t going to grow again in the forseeable future, unless something crazy happens like people drop interest in smartphones and PCs. Instead, vendors need to understand that the PC market will soon be a secondary business with their main focus needing to be mobile.

The bigger question is whether Dell, HP and other major vendors has what it takes to truly make the move over to a mobile focus.

What do you think of the PC market decline? Is it over-exaggerated, or conversely do you feel that Microsoft and its vendors are too blame due to not bringing enough interesting products to the market to win back desktop and laptop consumers? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

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The post PC Shipments for Q1 Drop 13.9%, Steepest Drop in IDC’s PC Tracking History appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

It looks like Samsung isn’t the only one adding the ability to make voice calls to tablets. Asus has now officially unveiled the FonePad, a 7-inch tablet with built-in phone capabilities.

While most Android devices run on an ARM processor, the FonePad is doing things differently: the tablet will be powered by an Intel Atom Z2420 running at 1.2GHz with1GB of RAM and a PowerVR SGX540 GPU. The battery is rated at 4,270 mAh, offering 9 hours of runtime. Other specs include a 1280 x 800 display, microSD, HSPA+, 16GB storage, and a 1.2MP front camera.

The US dollar price for the unit is confirmed at $249. though there are rumors it actually won’t ship here. The European price is £179 / €219.

As more people are carrying 7-inch and 8-inch tablets in their handbags, purses and backpacks – it isn’t surprising to hear that more of these devices are starting to get the ability to make calls. Would you ever use a tablet as a phone, even if it was just as a secondary device for pairing with a bluetooth headset? Let us know what you think.

The post 7-inch Asus FonePad Runs on Intel Processor and Can Make Phone Calls appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Not too long ago we covered the news of the ChromeBook Pixel, a rumored Google-made ChromeBook that had leaked to the net. While it was unclear whether it was a hoax or the real deal, now we have actual confirmation from Google itself.

The Google ChromeBook is a high-end notebook device that is priced comparably to higher-end ultrabooks and the MacBook series at $1,300. While that’s a lot to spend for a Chrome OS device, the hardware is pretty slick with a 239ppi display, that Google says is the highest density display found in any laptop to date.

The laptop is also constructed of high-quality anodized aluminum alloy and has a touchpad made from etched glass. Not enough high-end features? The laptop is powered by an Intel Core 5 processor and is a touch-capable display.

Unfortunately there isn’t much in the way of physical storage with only a 32GB SSD, but Google does through in 1TB of Google Drive storage into the mix. At $1,300 you just get WiFi, but for those looking for LTE, a $1,450 model will exist as well.

With Chrome OS essentially being just a browser within a self-contained environment, is it going to be enough of an OS to attract people? Honestly, it depends on your needs. If you live mostly in the web, it will be great. Additionally, it will support many offline web apps as well – so it’s not like it just becomes an expensive brick when your connection is down.

What do you think of the Google ChromeBook Pixel, worthy of such a high price point or not?

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The post Google ChromeBook Pixel Confirmed, Starts At $1,300 appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Remember when having an 8GB flash drive was quite the monumental thing? Flash memory has certainly come a long way and this has helped a lot with reducing cost too, as is the case with this 64GB flash drive from Transcend. It’s on sale for half price.

The Transcend 64GB JetFlash 500 retractable USB flash drive is no larger than the standard “slider” style USB drives that you’ve seen before, but this one happens to boast that incredible 64GB of memory. That’s the same size as some solid state drives you find in many Ultrabooks these days! Performance is right on par with what you’d expect, giving you read and write speeds of up to 19MB/s and 7MB/s, respectively.

The 64GB version of the Transcend JetFlash 500 is on sale for $37.99, compared to its regular retail price of $72.25. You can choose between the standard retail packaging or Amazon’s “Frustration-Free” packaging and the drive comes with that free Super Saver Shipping too.

If you don’t need 64GB, the other capacities are also on sale for about half price or better as well. Of course, the 64GB is the best deal though.

The post Daily Deals: Transcend 64GB JetFlash 500 Retractable USB Drive for Half Price appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Late last year, Microsoft introduced the Windows RT-based Microsoft Surface tablet.  Would it be out of the realm of possibility for Microsoft to create an Ultrabook of their own?  With a continued push by Microsoft’s hardware partners into convertible territory, some rumors suggest that an ultrabook convertible/hybrid could be the next obvious step.

Designer Clemente Puertolas feels the same way and has come up with a Surface ultrabook concept of his own. The concept ultrabook has touchscreen capabilities, the power of Windows 8, and an ultra thin design that is even thinner than the Apple MacBook Air.

While touchscreen laptops already exist, Puertolas thinks they are too complicated, fragile and sometimes too thick.  Based on his designs, this Surface Ultrabook concept looks insanely thin and very stylish. Is this an avenue you think Microsoft would be willing to take?

Would they have more success here than they have had with the Surface RT?

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The post Designer Creates Microsoft Surface Ultrabook Concept appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

This probably doesn’t come as a surprise to any, but netbooks are officially goners now. This has been a long-time coming. As ultrabooks and tablets have eaten into netbook marketshare, Asus and Acer remained the only two brands that were keeping the netbook market alive.

Now Asus and Acer confirm that 2013 will be the last year, with no plans to make any further models. The companies will instead focus on convertibles, hybrids, ultrabooks and tablets.

The ending of an era. Netbooks gained popularity as quickly as they fell. So what happened? Probably the biggest reasons for the end of netbooks is that profit margins were never great for manufacturers when it came to netbooks, whereas tablets and other mobile computing devices have proven much more lucrative. Demand has also gone done.

Sure, some niche users need a highly-portable device with a real keyboard, but many consumers have moved from netbooks to tablets. So what about those that want a smaller notebook device and don’t want to pay much for it?

At this point, your best bet is probably to look towards Chromebooks, if you have a way to provide an always-on connection and don’t mind cloud-based apps. There is also the possibility of using a low-end notebook, but they are generally quite a bit bulkier than netbooks ever were.

Will you miss netbooks? Do you still use one, or have you moved on to other devices like tablets instead?

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The post As Asus and Acer Pull the Plug on Netbooks, An Era Ends appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

In an official blog post early on Wednesday morning, Microsoft announced that they would be celebrating the new year with the introduction of more Microsoft retail stores. How many you ask? At least 6:

-The Shops at La Cantera, San Antonio, Texas
-Dadeland Mall, Miami, Fla.
-Beachwood Place, Beachwood, Ohio
-Westfield San Francisco Centre, San Francisco
-City Creek Center, Salt Lake City
-St. Louis Galleria, St. Louis

More retail stores is big news for Redmond (Microsoft). More specifically, with the announcement of Windows 8 and the push towards ultrabooks, Windows and Microsoft as a whole were on the brink of a downfall. Apple and Google have become the 2 big players in the computing market. Now, Microsoft is showing that it is ready to fight and regain the #1 spot.

If you’ve ever been to a Microsoft retail store, it may have felt familiar. As shown in the image above, Microsoft sets up their stores with a layout familiar to that of Apple: big wood tables; employees wearing necklaces instead of name tags; and loads of technology ready to be played with.

Would you like to see Microsoft open a retail store near you? Are the stores too similar to Apple’s stores? Let us know in the comments below.

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Earlier in 2012, Dell announced Project Sputnik. The main goal of the project was to build a great Linux laptop out of Dell’s XPS13 Ultrabook with Ubuntu 12.04.

Yesterday, Dell came forward announcing the Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition. The specs are above predicted and are as follows:

• 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-3517U (4M Cache, up to 3.0 GHz)
• UBUNTU Linux 12.04
• 13.3″ HD 720p
• 8GB DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz
• 256GB Solid State Drive
• Intel HD 4000
• 1366×768 display resolution

Immediately, the only way to judge this computer is to compare it to the 13″ Macbook with Retina. The XPS 13 measures 6 mm (0.24″) at its thinnest point and only 18 mm (0.71″) at its thickest point.

On the other hand, the 13″ Macbook registers at 19mm (0.75″). Although the screen resolution does not equal the Macbook’s 2560-by-1600, the price is less than the starting price of the Macbook ($1,699.00) and it comes standard with double the storage and an i7 instead of an i5.

As for the software, Dell has reportedly worked extremely hard to ensure that quality drivers are available for all of the laptop’s hardware. Additionally, the XPS 13 comes standard with Ubuntu 12.04LTS, a group of developer tools and utilities, and two beta projects: the cloud launcher and the profile tool.

What do you think of the Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition, does it stack up against the competition?

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The post Dell Unveils Powerful Linux Ultrabook for $1,449 appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

The biggest shopping day of the year is upon us and that means we’re about to get bombarded with all sorts of flyers and online promotions. We’ve gathered up some of the best Black Friday gadget deals in one convenient place for you, so let’s get down to it.

The Nikon COOLPIX S9200 16 megapixel compact camera with 18x zoom and full 1080p video on sale for $169, a savings of $130.95 off the regular price.

If you prefer interchangeable lenses, the Nikon V1 digital camera system with the 10-30mm VR1 kit lens is on sale for 59% off, bringing the price down to just $369.

The Panasonic ES-LT71-S men’s wet/dry shaver with rechargeable battery, Arc 3 technology and vortex cleaning system is just $74.99, which is 63% off the regular price.

Those looking for a great tablet might consider the Amazon Kindle Fire HD, which starts at $199 for the 16GB model with special offers. That includes free super saver shipping too.

Next, we have the SanDisk Extreme 120GB SSD with super fast 6.0Gbps transfers in a 2.5-inch form factor for just $96.82, representing a monumental savings of $141.74.

The Western Digital My Passport 2TB portable hard drive with USB 3.0 comes with automatic backup software is selling for $149.99, including free one-day shipping if you pay with your Discover Card.

Save 49% on the Otterbox Defender Case with screen protector and stand for the new 4th-gen iPad, as well as the iPad 2 and iPad 3. It’s on sale for $45.88.

There are a bunch of deals on the Samsung Galaxy S III, including getting it from Sprint for as low as $39.99 on contract. Verizon is doing $59.99 on contract, while the AT&T price is $99.99 on contract.

Finally, there’s a deal for $230 off the Toshiba U845-S406 Ultrabook with Intel Core i5, 14″ display, 6GB DDR3-1600 memory, 500GB HDD + 32GB SSD, and a free t-shirt. Get it for $649.99, including free shipping, at Newegg.com; the deal expires today!

And check out many more deals on Amazon. What are you buying this year?

The post The Best Black Friday Gadget Deals appeared first on Mobile Magazine.