| Intel Atom-powered Acer B1-730 HD Tablet Leaked Posted: 27 Apr 2014 07:05 PM PDT 
Android tablet reportedly packs an Intel Atom Z2560 chip Acer is reportedly getting ready to make another addition to its Iconia B1 series of dirt cheap Android tablets. A German tech site recently published images and specs purported to be that of an upcoming 7-inch tablet called the Acer Iconia B1-730 HD. The 7-inch B1-730 HD, per a report over at German site MobileGeeks.de, has a dual-core Intel Atom Z2560 clocked at 1.6 GHz. This is a departure from the $130 Iconia B1-720, which packs a dual-core SoC from MTK. Also, unlike the B1-720, which is limited to a rather shoddy 1,024 x 600 TN panel, the upcoming tablet is said to sport an improved 1,280×800 IPS display. Other specs include 1GB of RAM, 8/16GB storage, 5 MP camera, Wi-Fi connectivity and a 3,700-mAh battery. The site expects the 10-mm thick tablet that weighs around 320 grams to hit German store shelves at around €139 (roughly $190). More details are expected to become available at the company's upcoming press event in New York on April 29. Image Credit: MobileGeeks.de Follow Pulkit on Google+ |
| Google Fiber Cities Could Receive Citywide Wi-Fi Posted: 27 Apr 2014 06:51 PM PDT 
One more reason to want Fiber Currently restricted to Kansas City, Provo and Austin (promised), Google Fiber is getting ready for a major round of expansion. Earlier this year, the search giant invited 34 cities around the U.S. to "work with us to explore what it would take to bring them Google Fiber." As if gigabit internet wasn't enough, the selected cities could also end up getting citywide Wi-Fi from Google. This is as per a document Google provided to the 34 cities that are in line to get its lightning fast fiber to the premises (FTTP) internet and TV service. In the document, accessed by IDG News Service, Google tells the cities that it plans to discuss "our Wi-Fi plans and related requirements" with them during the lengthy planning stage. However, the document is said to be devoid of any technical details. "We'd love to be able to bring Wi-Fi access to all of our Fiber cities, but we don't have any specific plans to announce right now," Google said in an e-mail statement to IDG. Google has requested each of the 34 cities for more information on maps of poles, conduit, existing water, gas, electricity lines, etc. and given them until May 1 to respond. Google hopes to announce the names of the next round of cities to receive Google Fiber by the end of 2014. Follow Pulkit on Google+ |
| Start Menu Return Rumored for August/September 2014 Posted: 27 Apr 2014 03:51 PM PDT  Microsoft is allegedly prepping a second update to Windows 8.1
Through the release of Windows 8.1 last year and the minor update that followed it this month, Microsoft has made an effort to attune the latest version of Windows to the tastes of purists (of which there are plenty, going by Windows 8's lackluster showing). The concessions, as we learned at Build 2014 earlier this month, are going to continue, with the sorely missed Start Menu all set to make a comeback at an as-yet-unknown time in the future. The Start Menu, according to mostly accurate Russian leaker Wzor, could make its much awaited return this coming fall as part of a second update to Windows 8.1. That said, there is some confusion over what the update will end up being called — Windows 8.2 or Windows 8.1 Update 2? Ask veteran Microsoft watcher Mary Jo Foley, however, and she will tell you the Start Menu-bearing update could arrive as early as August. She will also tell you that the update is unlikely to include the ability to run Windows 8 apps in their own windows on the desktop. Both Foley and The Verge's Tom Warren seem to have the same set of sources, for the people he talked to also asked him to expect a second update in August. But unlike Foley's sources, Warren's informers were slightly less dismissive of the possibility of windowed Metro apps being included in this update. Although they expect the functionality to debut as part of Windows 9, the company is said to be "pushing" itself to get the feature ready in time for the second update to Windows 8.1. Image Credit: Microsoft Follow Pulkit on Google+ |
