Vodafone unveils its first 4G tablet

The Vodafone Smart Tab 4G is an eight-inch tablet that is essentially a slightly tweaked version of the 3G-only Vodafone Smart Tab 4 that hit shelves in June.

Along with 4G LTE support, the new tablet also comes with a new HD display and Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor. The 3G version of the tablet was powered by a MediaTek 1.2GHz quad-core processor.

The camera has also received an upgrade. The Smart Tab 4G sports a 5 megapixel camera – up from the 2 megapixel sensor found in the Smart Tab 4.

Other than that, it’s pretty much the same tablet as the one that launched in June – including Android 4.4 KitKat and the 4060mAh battery.

 

So how much will Vodafone’s 4G tablet set you back? If you want to buy the tablet, up front, it’ll set you back £125. That’s less than rival EE’s Eagle tablet (which sells for £209.99) and even Tesco’s newly announced Hudl 2 tablet.

It’s also available on monthly plans. For 1GB a month, you’ll be looking at £17 per month with a £29 downpayment. That’s the same as the 3G Smart Tab 4

Notion Ink quietly releases Cain, a 10.1-inch Windows 8 tablet

The Notion Ink Adam was a tablet with big dreams, but it hit the market with a loud flop. It's successor, the Adam II, whooshed by with almost no public notice at all. Now the company is back, but it's not trying to redesign the Android tablet anymore. No, this time the company is building a Windows 8 tablet: the Notion Ink Cain. The Cain is a 10.1-inch, 1.8GHz Intel Atom-powered tablet with 2GB of RAM, 32GB of expandable storage and a detachable magnetic keyboard. Despite a sleek design and a rather snazzy folding keyboard case, however, the Cain appears to be a fairly straightforward implementation of Windows 8: no custom apps, or skinned interface included. Less bold than the company's other ventures, but less risky too.
There's no mention of the new tablet on Notion Ink's website, but it's currently available for order at Snapdeal, one of India's most popular online marketplaces. Interested? The slate can be had for 19,990 Indian Rupees, or about $327. Check out the full product page at the source link below.

Amazon shows off new tablets and e-readers

Amazon's been busy - the online retailer's launched a raft of new slates and a shiny new operating system to boot.

Tablets

First up are the new tablets include the Fire HD, the Fire HDX, and the Fire HD Kids Edition, the latter designed to take a beating from toddlers.

Amazon says its Fire HD slate is 'the most powerful tablet under $100.' Fighting talk aside, the 6-in tab shows off a 252 ppi display, a 1.5GHz quad-core processor, front- and rear-cameras, and five spiffing colour options.

The Fire HDX is the Fire HD's meaner big brother, pricing up at a far heftier $379, and touting a 2.5GHz CPU, an 8.9-in 339ppi display, dual-cams, and the Firefly product recognition software.

 

The final tablet is the Fire HD Kids Edition, which comes with a 'no questions asked' worry-free 2 year guarantee that'll see Amazon swap out your slate should it get busted up by your child.

The Kids Edition costs $149 for the 6-in version, and promises a quad-core processor, a HD display, and a thick, blue, bonus bezel to add a bit of ruggedness.

E-readers

Next up, Amazon's also made two new additions to its e-reader line-up with the Kindle and Kindle Voyage.

The Kindle prices up at a wallet-coddling $79, with the update seeing a 20% nippier CPU, doubled storage, and a touch-screen display.

The Kindle Voyage is a slightly more jazzed up affair, sporting a $199 price tag and a promise of being the thinnest Kindle yet.

The 7.6mm svelte slate uses a 'next-gen' 300ppi Paperwhite display, a flush glass design, and most excitingly, a free 3G connection that Amazon foots the bill for.

New OS

Amazon's latest operating system, Fire OS 4, is tagged under the name 'Sangria', and will be available for free on all Fire HD and Fire HDX slates.

"When we think about Fire OS, we start with what matters to customers - ease of use and performance," says Dave Limp, Amazon's Senior VP of Devices.

"Fire OS 4 improves in both of these areas, and deeply integrates software, content, and the Cloud to deliver services that are only available from Amazon, including Family Library, Firefly, and free cloud storage for photos."