Here is a roundup of the latest news this week from the technology world.
Lenovo unveils the ThinkPad X131e
Lenovo has given its laptop range a refresh with students and school children the primary focus as these laptops are “specially ruggedized for education". The Lenovo ThinkPad X131e is the successor to the X130e and comes with a better processor and graphics. There is a range of processors to choose from including Intel Core Ivy Bridge, Celeron and a dual core AMD E-Series.
The display screen for X131e will be 11.6-inches and will either have an Intel HD or AMD Radeon graphics but this depends on the processor you choose. Lenovo has added an LED light to the top of the laptop that will light up when it is connected to the internet. It will enable the teachers to know when their students have logged on to the internet.
In terms of sound, the laptop will include Dolby Advanced Audio. This laptop has added protection in that the hard drive inside has been enclosed with rubber padding, which allows to absorb 15 percent more force to it. It weighs only 4lbs and the battery life is expected to be 8.5 hours.
The Lenovo Thinkpad X131e will be released in the UK from July onwards.
Google announces the Nexus 7 tablet
Google has revealed this week at its I/O conference the Nexus 7 tablet, which is the first tablet to have latest operating system Android Jelly Bean. It will have a 7-inch display screen and will have 1280 by 800 high definition resolution. The processor will be powered by Tegra 3 and have a 12-core graphics processor as well.
It will only have a front-facing camera, which will be 1.2 megapixels and ideal for making video calls. The Nexus 7 has been designed for watching videos, reading ebooks and magazines from the Google Play store.
It will have Google Chrome as the in-built web browser with the YouTube now updated to work with tablet devices. Google Maps has been given a refresh. The tablet device can offer up to 9 hours of video playback with up to 300 hours when in standby mode.
The Google Nexus 7 aims to take on rival devices like the Apple iPad and the Amazon Kindle.
Microsoft says that tablets will outsell PCs in 2013
Microsoft believes that in 2013 it can see tablets outselling the more traditional desktop PC due in part to the arrival of upcoming operating system Windows 8. Antoine Leblond, head of Windows Web Services was speaking at TechEd Europe and said "Everything used to be desktops, now 60 per cent of PCs sold are laptops. Next year tablets will outsell desktops.”
He went onto point out that the new operating system was not specifically for tablets and will work on laptops and desktops.
He said, "Windows 8 is an old and new bet. Windows 7 was really rooted in the last generational change of Windows, which was Windows 95. [Windows 8 is] a generational change in Windows. But it's still Windows. Everything you could do before, you can still do in Windows 8.”
"You don't have to compromise. It works equally well in a managed or an unmanaged environment, or a mixed environment. You don't have to choose between the device you want [and the corporate device] you're given."
In his speech, he also talk about what devices would work with Windows 8 "We've changed, most PCs are battery-powered now, we're moving towards a world that's battery powered. In that world we care more about the CPU, how to preserve battery life. It's a fundamental change.”
"We've reimagined Windows from the OS to the chipset. We've designed Windows 8 for the billion people who use PCs today and the next billion. It works on the broadest range of devices from the biggest desktop PCs to the portable tablets powered by ARM and Intel."
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Other News:
Android on 400 MILLION devices, one million new activations every day
http://www.techdigest.tv/2012/06/android_on_400.html
Jelly Bean will not get Flash support and no more Flash Player for Android from 15 August
http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/46310/jelly-bean-wont-support-adobe-flash
Jelly Bean arrives at Google HQ
http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/46253/jelly-bean-google-android-arrives