Tag: ipad

Chinese smartphone manufacturer announces its first tablet called Mi Pad.

After many rumors about Xiaomi developing a tablet device, the popular manufacturer of smartphones has finally revealed the rumors are true and unveiled its first Android-powered tablet at a recent event held in Beijing.

The 7.9 inch Mi Pad looks similar in design to Apple’s iPad and is available in six colors.

Xiaomi’s Android tablet is Wifi-only. It is the first to be powered by the Nvidia 2.2 Ghz Tegra K1 processor and features a Sharp and Youda OGS retina screen with 2048 x 1536 resolution (comparable to Apple’s iPad mini). The device is also equipped with a 16GB ROM, 2GB RAM and a microSD storage slot that enables expansion of up to128GB.

In addition, the device has two cameras. The front camera is 5 megapixels and the one on the back is 8 megapixels. Stereo speakers, Bluetooth and a 6,700 mAh battery are also included. The device weighs approximately 0.80 pounds and its light plastic frame is a mere 8.5mm thick, not unlike the iPhone 5c frame.

Compared to the iPad the Mi Pad is considerably cheaper. The retail price for the 16 GB gadget will be 1,499 yuan (approximately $240) and the price of the 64 GB model will be 1699 yuan (about $273). Xiaomi has no yet confirmed when or where their tablet device will be released to the public, but plans for a beta version of the device is set for June.

“We hope to put pressure on Apple,” said Lei Jun, co-founder and CEO of Xiaomi, making the company’s intentions quiet clear.

Xiaomi’s tablet device could be a mobile gamer’s dream come true.

While it is quite obvious that certain features of Apple’s tablets have inspired Xiaomi in the development of its gadget, unlike the iPad, the Mi Pad features specific specs you will not find on an Apple mobile device, such as the powerful Nvidia processor, which Lei Jun claims will allow Mi Pad users to enjoy a PC-like gaming experience.

Furthermore, Xiaomi applied an entirely new design language to their MIUI firmware to display content on the tablet device. They also developed new animation effects and re-vamped the system in order to ensure that apps will show up perfectly, regardless of whether or not the tablet is vertical or horizontal.

The shipments of these mobiles devices on a global scale maintained Apple’s crown.

According to recent tablet commerce data issued by Strategy Analytics, the shipments of these mobile devices reached 76.8 million units last year, which was an increase of 20 percent over the 64 million units that had been shipped in 2012.

The Android operating system has been leading this marketplace with a clear dominance.

The data from Strategy Analytics showed that in terms of the share of operating systems in tablet commerce, Google’s Android was in the lead with a massive 62 percent. That said, Apple’s iOS had a 34 percent of the whole. That said, when it came to the individual mobile devices, Apple by far sold the largest number when compared to any other specific manufacturer.

Apple saw tablet commerce, last year, that was made up of the shipment of 26 million mobile devices.

Samsung came in second when it came to tablet sales, having shipped 13.6 million. In third place was Amazon, which sold 4.6 million. The next on this list were Asus (the manufacturer of the Nexus 7), which sold 3.6 million units, and then Lenovo with its 3 million, and Acer which had 1 million.

Among the products that drove Apple to the top of the list and made sure that consumers remained very interested in the tablets that it had to offer, were the iPad Air and the iPad mini with Retina display. These were credited by Strategy Analytics as having pushed its market share upward in the fourth quarter of last year by an additional 7 percent over where it had been in the third quarter. This turned around a two quarter streak of lost share.

Overall tablet commerce was very strong last year. It saw growth of 33 percent when compared to the year before, reaching 227 million units. The Strategy Analytics director of tablets and wearables, Matt Wilkins stated that “2013 was another extremely healthy year for the tablet market.” He added that while it was not a three digit increase, as had previously been seen, it remains considerable when keeping in mind that the market is now delivering more than 200 million units worldwide each year.