Kogan Agora ICS tablet review

Australian technology company Kogan has built its success on creating cheap but functional products that offer an alternative to premium priced brand names.
The Agora 10-inch tablet is no exception. At AUD$199 (£129), it is by far one of the most affordable tablets on the market, especially for a device running the Ice Cream Sandwich build of Android. The question is whether or not the sacrifices made to hit that sub AUD$200 price point are too great to justify spending your hard-earned money on it.
With either 8GB or 16GB of storage inside alongside the MicroSD slot, and all run by a 1GHz ARM processor and 1GB RAM, the Kogan stacks up pretty well spec wise.

From front on, the Agora's 10-inch screen is deceptively simple. The front of the tablet is barren of buttons, with the 2cm bezel surrounding the screen only interrupted by a tiny 0.3MP camera in the top left hand corner. In fact, the front of the tablet is so plain that if it weren't for the camera, it would be impossible to tell which way was up.
Turn the android tablet over, and it's a completely different story. The back is littered with descriptions for the bevy of ports littering the top and left hand side of the device. The standard volume rocker is partnered with a small physical back button on the side, while the top of the device comprises of six different holes, allowing you to plug in things like headphones, micro USB cables, MicroSD cards, Micro HDMI cables and 5V DC power plugs.
Interestingly, there are two micro USB ports on the device. One connects to your PC and charges the device, while the other offers a connection to USB storage via an included adapter
There's a pin-hole hard reset button on the back of the device, stereo speakers and a 2MP rear camera, without flash. And just in case you forget, Kogan's logo adorns the back as well, a testament to your quest for a bargain, if you will.

At 545 grams, the Agora tablet feels pretty good in the hand, with the tapered edges making it easy to pick up and giving the impression that it's thinner than its 9.8mm. It feels nice and solid, right up until the point you squeeze the front and the back together a little bit and you feel the flexibility in the back. It feels like there's a bit of extra space inside the device, and undermines the perception of a solid build quality.

Tablets in 2013: what to expect

2012 was a big year for tablets.
Google entered the android tablet market with not one, but two tablets, both of which offered the compelling combination of great specs and low prices.
Apple launched two full-sized iPads and the iPad mini, and even Microsoft got in on the game, with the first batch of Windows 8 and Windows RT tablets, such as the Microsoft Surface.
Not much is yet known about what will come next year, but a lot can be deduced - or at least guessed, based on what we've already seen.

1. The next Nexus

It doesn't seem too much of a stretch to imagine that Google will unleash a new wave of Nexus tablets at some point in the year.
Their Nexus phones have all been spaced roughly a year apart and much of the rest of the industry seems to work in the same way.
The Nexus 7 was announced at Google I/O in June and released the following month.
If the same thing happens again we could have a new Nexus tablet in as little as six months, though bear in mind that the Nexus 10 was only released in November.

The Nexus was a huge hit for Google; can they keep that momentum?

What we may get is a new Nexus 7 (or whatever Google choose to call it) in the middle of the year, along with a tweaked version of the Nexus 10 with 3G capabilities, since the Nexus 7 already has that.
Then towards the end of the year we might get a whole new Nexus 10.
Since the two were launched a good few months apart in 2012 it's entirely possible that the same will hold true next year, but one way or another we're pretty confident that there'll be a new version of each of them before the year is through.

A version of the Nexus 10 with 3G, and even 4G, is not unlikely

So, what can you expect from them?
Well, even more cores seem likely for a start. ZTE and Samsung are already talking about handsets with a whopping eight cores and Google's flagship devices don't normally skimp on specs.
They're also likely to coincide with a new version of Android, as new hardware is always the best way to show it off.
That's thought to be Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie, and if that '5.0' sticks you can expect some pretty big changes or additions compared to the last two versions (Android 4.1 and 4.2), which more just refined what we already had.
We can also tell you something that you aren't likely to see - a microSD card slot. For whatever reason Google have shunned the feature from all of their Nexus devices to date, and there's no reason to think they'd start incorporating one now.
It's an odd decision, as for some people that expandable storage is one of the key selling points of Android devices, but it's one they've stuck with so far.

2. iPad 5

This one's a given - Apple release a new iPad every year - and in fact last year they released two! Three if you count the iPad mini.
Despite the iPad 4 only just having launched, the wait for a new iPad might not be long, as it's rumoured that the iPad 5 might even appear early in the year and display a slimmer, lighter form factor, more in line with the iPad mini.

 

The iPad 4 merely got a spec boost, expect a new form factor on the iPad 5

3. iPad mini 2

Apple isn't likely to forget about the iPad's little brother either and it's a pretty safe bet that we'll see the next iPad mini launched in 2013.
In fact, the first one might have only just been released but there are already rumours about the iPad mini 2.
It should come as absolutely no surprise that the biggest addition is likely to be a Retina display or something similar, bringing the display up to a rumoured 324 pixels per inch.
After all, just about every other Apple product has a Retina display and the screen on the iPad mini was one of the few bad things about it.
There's no release date yet but expect it sometime in the latter half of 2013.

 

An iPad mini with Retina display would be formidable providing it's priced reasonably

There's a good chance Apple will roll out iOS 7 to go with their shiny new tablets, and while literally nothing is yet known about that, you could always check out the 12 things we want to see.

4. Windows tablets

Having ignored it for a long time, Microsoft is finally making a big play for the tablet market. They've launched not one, but two tablet-friendly operating systems in the form of Windows 8 and Windows RT, and Microsoft's own Surface tablet has already launched.

Microsoft's Surface may not be setting tills alight but there are plenty more Windows tablets to come

Next year should see a host of new Windows tablets from other manufacturers. We already know about a bunch of them, from the Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2, to the Acer Iconia W700.
But that's just the beginning.
CES 2013 is just around the corner and it's not unlikely that manufacturers will use the opportunity to announce new Windows tablets.
Just don't expect a keynote from Microsoft - 2012 was its last. Any big news from Microsoft themselves is unlikely to come before its 'Build' event towards the end of the year.

5. Everything else

Amazon are having quite a lot of success with their Kindle Fire line, so expect the 3rd generation Fire to launch sometime next year, ready to go head-to-head with the new Nexus.
There is likely to be an increasing number of low-cost, high-spec tablets available from other manufacturers too.
Asus are rumoured to be working on a low-cost 7-inch slate and other companies will probably look to release budget devices of their own in order to stay competitive.

Amazon led the charge in the affordable tablet march; don't expect them to back down now

With Blackberry 10 launching in January there's every chance that RIM will make another play for the tablet market too. Whether they'll have any more success than with the ill-fated Blackberry Playbook remains to be seen.
With all this, and probably a few surprises besides, it looks set to be one of the biggest years yet for tablets, and we'll bring you coverage of it all as it happens.

Cheap Android tablets boost Carphone Warehouse takings

In a welcome break from the UK's recent Nightmare on High Street, Carphone Warehouse has revealed its coffers have swelled considerably.
The mobile retailer's like-for-like revenues were up 16 per cent during the Christmas quarter, largely due to sales of affordable Android tablet like the Amazon Kindle Fire, available for just £99 this Christmas.
The company has also enjoyed success bundling tablets with smartphones, claiming it had become an "authority" in the tablet space.
Carphone Warhouse CEO Roger Taylor said: "We have become an authority in the tablet market for the first time ever. Having done that at a time when we've also managed to maintain our profitability is something we can be very proud of."

Tabletmania running wild

The company said it had sold 40,000 tablets per week during the Christmas period compared with 5,000 a week last year.
The success highlights just how much the ever-lowering entry level for high quality tablets has opened up the market for UK punters.
Carphone Warehouse's excellent Christmas comes in stark contrast to the likes of HMV and Jessops whose awful festive seasons saw them both collapse into administration.

Sony Xperia Tablet S review

This is the second time out the gate for the Sony Xperia Tablet S. It originally launched in September, but was quickly pulled from the shelves thanks to a manufacturing fault. That's unfortunate for Sony, because in the interim the Google Nexus 10, Amazon Kindle Fire HD, iPad 4 and iPad mini have all hit the market.

That gives this refresh of the Sony Tablet S some rather stiff competition. But with a premium build and specs to match, it's certainly still got a chance.

A striking folded book design ensures that the Sony Xperia Tablet S is eye catching, easily standing out from the hordes of identikit Android tablets. On top of that it's got a premium finish that brings to mind the build of an iPad more than most other tablets. The end result is that it looks stylish and expensive.

That sense of it being a premium device isn't just skin deep either. With a 1.3GHz quad-core Tegra 3 processor it should be pretty powerful too. Though it only has 1GB of RAM, and the 1280 x 800, 9.4-inch display isn't anything to write home about in resolution terms, coming in at just 161 pixels per inch.

That's a little disappointing, given that the similarly positioned Google Nexus 10 has 2GB of RAM and a 2560 x 1600, 300 ppi display.

Running Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich, the Sony Xperia Tablet S isn't as up to date as it could be, but at least it's getting an update to the latest major version of Android.

The Sony Xperia Tablet S comes in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB varieties, with the option of Wi-Fi only or Wi-Fi and 3G (3G version only currently available in the UK, 64GB version not available in Australia).

The price starts at £329/AU$539/US$399.99 for the 16GB Wi-Fi-only version of the tablet, which puts it roughly in line with the equivalent Google Nexus 10 and significantly cheaper than a 16GB iPad 4.

Prices rise to £379/AU$649/US$499.99 for a 32GB model, which is still a bit cheaper than a 16GB iPad 4, or £449/US599.99 for a 64GB version.

If you're in the UK and want the 3G version, it currently only seems to be available in 16GB and will set you back £429 (around AU$656/US$691), which again is about £70 cheaper than the equivalent iPad 4.

Features

With only 1GB of RAM, the Sony Xperia Tablet S doesn't stand up too well to the 2GB of RAM on what's likely to be one of its biggest rivals - the Google Nexus 10. But it's not too much of a problem, since 1GB is still the norm, with both the iPad 4 and the Asus Transformer Pad Infinity sporting 1GB of RAM.

Running Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich, its operating system feels slightly dated too, though again many other tablets are in the same boat.

Its 1.3GHz quad-core Tegra 3 processor is more competitive at least, since many tablets still rock dual-core processors.

Bluetooth 3.0 and USB 2.0 support are par for the course, but support for SD cards of up to 32GB gives the Sony Xperia Tablet S a selling point over an iPad or Nexus tablet, since neither of those have any expandable storage.

Interestingly it takes SD cards rather than micro SD cards. We're not sure why that is, particularly since it still only supports cards of up to 32GB, but it's worth noting.

The Sony Xperia Tablet S is powered by a 6,000mAh battery, which doesn't sound like much - the Google Nexus 10 rocks a 9,000mAh battery and the iPad 4 comes with an enormous 11,666mAh battery. Despite the relatively small size, Sony reckons that it should last a pretty reasonable 12 hours with 'standard usage'.

The Sony Xperia Tablet S is undoubtedly a premium device. With a shiny aluminium body and an iconic fold at the top, it really is a looker.

Viewed front-on it doesn't do quite as much to stand out, because it's basically just a black rectangle. But the start of the curve is still just visible at the top, making it at least a little different from the norm, while the slightly rounded corners ensure it doesn't look unattractive.

The front is also totally devoid of buttons, a sight that has started to become commonplace on Android tablets but was definitely the right way to go.

The only things you will find on the front are a black bezel around the edge of the screen, giving you somewhere to put your fingers without obscuring anything, along with a small 'Sony' logo at the top-left and a camera lens in the centre of the top edge, capable of taking 1 megapixel photos and shooting videos in 720p.

The 9.4-inch LCD screen is only 1280 x 800, giving it a relatively low pixel density of 161 PPI. It's certainly not the best screen you'll ever come across.

Numbers aside, the resolution is noticeably worse than even the Google Nexus 7, let alone the iPad 4 or Google Nexus 10, while its brightness and contrast isn't desperately impressive either.

It does at least provide good viewing angles, staying visible from pretty much any position. While the screen never gets all that bright, there is also a useful auto-brightness option, which will dim or brighten the screen automatically based on how bright your surroundings are.

The back sports that stylish black fold at the top while the rest of it is shiny aluminium.

The main 8 megapixel, 1080p camera can be found in the centre of the fold, otherwise the only real feature is a pair of small speakers running along the bottom left and bottom right of the back.

The bottom edge of the Sony Xperia Tablet S houses a 'multi-port' that the charger and included USB cable connect to.

There isn't a dedicated HDMI port, but you can purchase an adaptor that enables you to connect the multi-port via HDMI. There's a removable cover for the port, and while the cover is on, the Sony Xperia Tablet S is supposedly splash proof, though of course you'd still do well to keep it away from any significant amount of liquid.

The right edge holds the tablet's only two buttons - a power button at the top (which is also used to sleep and wake the tablet) and a volume rocker just below it. They stick out enough to be easy to press but the curved sides mean that they aren't prominent enough to spoil the lines.

The left edge has a 3.5mm headphone port at the top and a covered SD card slot slightly further down.

The top edge curves off into the fold on the back, with no ports or buttons to spoil it.

The tablet generally feels good in the hand. Weighing 570g, it's slightly lighter than some of its rivals (the Google Nexus 10 is 603g while the iPad 4 weighs 652g) and the difference is noticeable.

It makes it light enough to hold comfortably for longer, while still being weighty enough to not feel cheap.

The folded edge on the back does make it ever so slightly top-heavy and unbalanced when held in landscape mode, and as such it's advisable to hold it with the fold at the bottom - even though that appears to be upside-down.

On the other hand, the fold has a mottled feel to it that both makes it pleasant to hold and leaves it feeling secure in your hand.

Along with the curved edges and relatively light weight of the tablet, this makes it a great device to use for long periods without a stand. Whether you're watching movies, playing games or web browsing, it provides a pleasant, comfortable experience.

With dimensions of 239.8 x 174.4 x 8.8mm (9.44 x 6.87 x 0.35 inches) the Sony Xperia Tablet S is not the sleekest tablet you'll ever see, though folded back aside it is quite slim and definitely doesn't look or feel overly large.

It certainly ticks a lot of boxes, with a premium build, expandable storage (along with up to 64GB onboard), a fast processor and a 3G version available.

On the other hand, the screen is a bit of a disappointment and Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich is two iterations behind, but for the £329/AU$539/US$399.99 price tag it has still got a lot going for it.

Sony Xperia Tablet Z review

Sony is going all out with the bigger brother to the Xperia Z, offering a host of top end specs to convince iPad- and Nexus-lovers to look again.
The Sony Xperia Tablet Z will be available in two flavours: Wi-Fi only (£399, around $600 / AUS$590) and an LTE version too (£499, around $760/AUS $735), which puts it squarely against the iPad in terms of price, although it packs up to 32GB of onboard storage plus a nifty extra in terms of a microSD slot.
That latter spec makes us enjoy the tablet all the more – showing up the likes of the Google Nexus 10, which admittedly has a higher resolution screen. That's mitigated slightly by the fact the Sony Xperia Tablet Z offers its Bravia Engine 2 to add to that Reality Display – both combined give a really rich and colourful screen, without feeling over saturated.

So – the competition at the 10.1-inch space is fierce (give or take an inch, of course), can the Xperia Tablet Z really stack up? Sony isn't known for making the greatest Android tablets, but the Z really shows a step forward.
When first viewed, you'd be forgiven for thinking the design team behind it was simply incredibly lazy; this tablet looks like a stretched version of the (admittedly excellent) Sony Xperia Z.

But as soon as you pick it up you realise that while it is part of the same family, it's a completely different beast. Light at 495g and super slim at sub-7mm, it's a very comfortable tablet to hold for an extended period of time.
Well, apart from the sharper edges, that is. We applaud Sony for offering a universal design language through its new devices, but we're not fans of the angular edges either on the phone or tablet version of the Xperia Tablet Z.
That aside, there's very little else we can criticise this tablet for though. It's got pretty much everything you could want on an Android tablet these days, starting with a pretty up to date version of the OS (Android 4.1.2) and a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro quad core chip, clocked at 1.5GHz.

Combined with the Adreno 320 GPU, the graphical processing (and general use) of the Sony Xperia Tablet Z is excellent. It's nothing ground breaking, but it's certainly no slouch and more than enough to impress.
Something we do find strange though is Sony's insistence that the Xperia Tablet Z and the Xperia Z are two devices that could live harmoniously together in a gadget fan's house.
While both great pieces of kit, there's not need for both, as you can really see that Sony has focused on taking the core of its latest smartphone and extending that up to a much higher resolution screen (1280 x 1900) and adding in a few extras.

Like the smartphone, the Xperia Tablet Z is water- and dust-proof, rated to IP57. While this isn't going to be much of a problem day to day, the ability to do things like use the device when in the kitchen is an excellent move - which budding chef hasn't accidentally covered an iPad in egg yolk when watching the Great British Bakeoff?
The Xperia Tablet Z does have some of its own tricks though, such as being able to watch the TV as a Side View - this means if you've got a compatible TV (Sony is claiming that only its own models will work with this feature, but there's a good chance many Smart TVs will be able to jump on board) you can control the channel you're watching, change to an internet channel or stream YouTube video trailers of your favourite shows directly from the device.

We've seen something similar on the new HTC One, but provided you've got a compatible smart network set up, this is so much more impressive - plus it too has the IR blaster to turn the Xperia Tablet Z into a universal remote control too.
Media is certainly a strong point for the tablet - everything from a customisable EQ (which actually worked very well in our testing) to the four speakers designed to create virtual surround sound, we were impressed with the device in our early look.
While some tablets definitely struggle to stand alone as a media device, requiring a decent pair of headphones, the Xperia Tablet Z is definitely the right kind of thing for an hour or two in a lonely hotel room on a business trip.

Other audio enhancements, such as xLoud or S-Force surround might help fill out the spec sheet, but while offering a notable difference aren't going to be deal breakers for most.
We couldn't test the full raw speed of the Xperia Tablet Z when it comes to internet browsing, as we were forced to watch as a slow Wi-Fi signal chugged along, but if it's anything like the smartphone you can look forward to strong Wi-Fi performance and even more impressive 4G speeds on top of that.

If you're one of those people that think it's perfectly acceptable to take pictures with a device rocking a 10-inch screen (you know who you are, and shame on you - buy a camera) Sony has you covered, thanks to a frankly over the top 8MP camera on the back of the Tablet Z and a 2MP one on the front.

The latter spec makes a lot more sense given you'll be spending a lot of time video calling on this display, but even the presence of the clever Superior Auto mode, borrowed from the Xperia Z, doesn't make the rear camera compelling.
Sony is also making a big deal of the fact the tablet is NFC enabled, and is hoping this will be a compelling reason to get your house properly integrated with the tippy-tappy-technology.
From future Bravia TVs to speakers to special NFC tags, the Xperia Tablet Z loves to change its ways depending on what you thrust it towards.

The sensor is located at the bottom of the tablet, which means it can be a little tricky to actually tap when you need to, but when it works sound or pictures instantly transferred to the device on offer during our tests.

Early verdict

There's a good case to be made for having a smartphone and tablet in your possession these days, provided you have the funds.
But given the Xperia Tablet Z and Xperia Z can do the same thing, and the phone also has a Full HD screen (at half the diagonal width, admittedly) we can't recommend owning both, given that will cost you nearly £1000.

However, if you're someone that doesn't want to own a top end smartphone but loves the idea of having a family device that can be shared among kids and adults alike (don't forget, different accounts are available on today's newer Android tablets) then this is definitely one to check out.
We're feverishly awaiting the chance to get our hands on the Sony Xperia Tablet Z for full review, and if the battery life can hold up (Stamina mode is offered, as in the phone, to help extend the life of the device by switching it to a mostly-unconnected mode when the screen is off, which should help mitigate the fact it's only 66% as large as that found in the Nexus 10) then we could have a new favourite tablet on our hands.

Top 10 Reasons buying Ainol Novo 7 Elf II

As well as we know Ainol Novo 7 Elf sold well last year, and now Ainol Novo 7 Elf II has listed in the market for a short time. According to customers responsing, Ainol Novo 7 elf II is more popular than Ainol Novo 7 elf because of improvement and upgrade. Many friends will put forward to a questions what about Ainol Novo 7 elf II Android 4.0 tablet, why can it replace to the previous product? Ok, TenQ would like to open the secret that users buy Ainol Novo 7 elf II top 10 reasons.

Ainol Novo 7 Elf II
Ainol Novo 7 Elf II is high frenquency, dual core, more and more fast and smoothly.
1.The speed improve 300%, dual core CPU and dual core GPU
2. 1GHz and 1GB memory is more fast, and high speed DDR3 equivalent to 1GB capacity plus 1333MHz.
3. Alone share Flash hard decode seems to be Flash accelerate and FLV Video accelerate.
4. web page rendering GPU accelerate is more fast and more somoothly. NEON + VFP dual engine and imge increasing process.
5. five points capacitive touch and ALPS key
6. International 3 axis G-sensor more sensitive and accurate.
7. Double full function HD, 1080P decode plus HDMI 1.4.
8. support larger of file capacity: exFat plus NTFS
9.The highest 300M high speed wireless WIFI, support 802.11b/g/n.
10. High define screen 1024*600 high resolution screen.
Ainol NOVO 7 Elf II has an ultra powerful Cortex A9 dua core CPU, which is the latest processor now. Ainol NOVO Elf II runs Android 4.0.3 ICS operating system, features a multi-touch 7-inch high resolution 1024 x 600 display.
Ainol NOVO 7 Elf II tablet also features a 2.0MP front camera and supports 1080p Super HD video playback. With the 3G (with external dongle) and Wi-Fi connection, you can browsing the web anywhere and anytime.
Overall, Ainol Novo 7 elf II can be said it’s high cost-effective product, dual core Cortex A9 CPU, 7 inch HD 1024*600, android 4.0 ICS, 2.0MP camera etc. And the price also is very close to people. So anyone intrested in it, please visit TenQ online store learn more.

Android Tablets Cutting Into iPad Market Share Shows New Study

The iPad has been the best selling android 4.0 tablet since its launch in 2010 and which had many other manufacturers scrambling to roll out their own. Tablets were nothing new necessarily and had been introduced here and there, but it just wasn’t time for them yet. Apple showed that there is a huge demand for the product and since then, we’ve seen tablets get better and better.
For example, one tablet, the ASUS Transformer Prime, has received really great reviews and with a dock, can also double as a laptop. Pretty dang slick. Anyways, while the iPad has controlled most of the tablet market, a new study shows that Android tablets are gaining far more traction and are taking away market share from Apple.

Apple shipped 17 Million iPads last quarter which surpasses cheap android tablet by far, however, out of 4,734 cell phone and smartphone owners surveyed, only around 50% said they had an iPad which is quite a steep drop down from 72%. The market and tablets are evolving. Experiences are improving and this also means more people are looking to buy a tablet.
Sure. The iPad is nice and shiny, but functionality is also important, something that is also at the top of its game when it comes to Android 4.0 (and 4.1 Jelly Bean) on tablets. Apple’s iPad isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, but neither are android tablet which, again, have improved greatly. And it appears that more people lately are going the way of Android which likely isn’t sitting too well with their competitor.
Article writes by blogger from wholesaleonepiece.com. For more new about best android tablet 2012 and electronics online sale, please view author’s website. There are more surprising gift waiting for you.