MasHD Blog

It's no secret that Android is the most saturated operating system ever, the variety of applications running the software has caused issues when scaling as manufacturers use a variety of screen sizes when designing their product. But Android does have the ability to scale and since Android 4.0 attempts were made to scale apps accordingly, but with more form factors in the horizon, Google has re-visited the concept and has announced the Android 12L feature update (L for Large).  The new update, which according to Google is said to be targeting the growing Android tablet market and the Chromebook market and it has thereby created new features including improved notification shades, a taskbar with drag and drop support and native multitasking support. Google's new APIs also include support for three classes of devices with smartphones , Mid size foldable devices and small tablets and larger wide screen tablets and Chromebook/notebooks. google is also said to be updating app compat...

Samsung has unveiled 2 new Tablets for 2017 . The tablets running Android and Windows 10 respectively are both supported by Wacom S-Pen stylus support ,AMOLED display panels and AKG powered panels . Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 This is probably Samsung's flagship tablet for 2017 . The tablet , a part of the S series follows the S pen integration support provided on the Tab A models previously , but in a more palm friendly - larger size . The tablet , which is a 2048x1536 resolution AMOLED display with 4:3 aspect ratio is somewhat similar to the Tab S2 models ,but it now has a Wacom digitizer panel and palm rejection and HDR 10 image enhancement . The processing power comes from a 2.16 Ghz Snapdragon 820 Soc a-la S7 . The processor is also mated with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage and MicroSD card support . The tablet also has 4G LTE Cameras on the tablet include a 13MP rear sensor f1.9 and a 27mm ( FF equivalent )  ,4K video recording and LED flash . The front incl...

First of all ,Happy new year 2017!! MasHD - A tech blog which started out as a third-party tech news site back in 2011 was probably one of the longest tech news articles I've maintained for a long time , the Blog - launched as a platform to publish our now-defunct  "Mashdroid Magazine (2011-2013) was probably one of the fastest tech news blogs from Sri Lanka at the time - but as time went on the idea to continue the Mashdroid Magazine was dropped as users preferred up-to date information rather than a print ready PDF magazine - and thus , MasHD was born.     Mashdroid Magazine - June 2011  Click to read our last Mashdroid -Magazine on ISSU Mashdroid -"IFA" Sep 2013 With some success on the blogging side , MasHD slowly expanded its news content to gadgets and other lifestyle tech products other than Android Smartphones and Tablets , this also meant that i had to spend more time and energy on writing news articles ranging from fitness trackers to electric ca...

Alcatel has unveiled a affordable 7" tablet with Android 6.0 for the U.S carrier T- Mobile . The tablet , priced at $0 on contract at $5.5 monthly or $129 off contract features a 7" 1024×768 resolution LCD display  , a 1.1 Ghz Snapdragon 210 Soc , 1GB of RAM , 8GB Storage and MicroSD card support .The tablet features a 5MP rear camera 2MP front camera and supports 4G LTE . The tablet features a 3240mAh battery and doze battery enhancements found in Android 6.0 marshmallow. Source - tmonews .

Samsung has refreshed their flagship Tab S2 models with a new processor upgrade . The new tablets - identical to last year's Tab S2 9.7 and 8.0 models still pack a 2048x1536 SAMOLED display and they have the same 8mp cameras from last year . The new tablets pack a Snapdragon 652 processor - a 6 core chip containing a duo Cortex A72 layout with a 4 core A53 cluster is said to replace the Exynos 7 processor in the previous model . The ram amount is said to remain the same at 3GB and it will still come with LTE options as well . Pricing and avilability will be available later on . Source - GSMArena

Along side the Nexus 5X and the Nexus 6P , Google announced its latest "Nexus" tablet called the Pixel C . The tablet , which follows Google's design principles which started off with the Chromebook pixel are still present ,but unlike the beefier laptop , this model runs Android and has a Nvidia X1 chip with Maxwell graphics and 3GB of RAM to beat .Powered with Android 6.0 Marshmallow , the tablet is also the first Android tablet to run the software version ,and as the name suggests the Pixel has a 308ppi display with a resolution of 2560x1800 , sRGB color gamut , 500 nits of brightness which gives ranks this 10.2" display high on the tablet display department . The rest of the specs include a optional keyboard , this gives the Pixel C a a chance to compete in the productivity market against rivals like the Microsoft Surface 3 ,but unlike Microsoft's keyboard , this one features a connection point rather than a magnetic strip allowing you to prop up the tab...

When it comes to tablets , almost all manufacturers stick to boring monolithic designs but Acer - a famous PC hardware OEM has decided not to go with traditional designs and instead go for a more awesome approach . Introducing the new Acer Predator 8 , a 8" tablet that screams gaming all over - complete with some gamer laptop inspired corners and metallic panels , this tablet is designed to look good , feel good and play good as it packs a jaw dropping Intel Atom X7-Z8700 chip , Intel HD graphics Gen 8 LP and 2GB of RAM along with 32GB /64GB of storage and a 8" 1920x1080p IPS panel . The tablet features Android 5.1 out of the box and it ships on on the 6th of November for a price of $299 (wifi) .More details will be available later Written by Rakitha for MasHD Source - AndroidcentraL

Asus has unveiled two Android tablets at Computex 2015 held in Taipei ,  The new ASUS ZenPad 8 Z380 and the flagship Zenpad S 8 (Z580CA) Run Android 5.0.2 out of the box with ASUS Zen ui and Intel Atom Soc's .Based on the highly successful Zenfone 2 ,the new Zenpad 8's will surely give another boost to Asus' mobile domination ASUS ZenPad 8 (Z380) This is the cheaper option of the two , the tablet , which comes with a Intel Atom x3-C3230RK is actually one of the first devices to ship with a Rockchip made Intel processor (rather  than a Intel built one) , the 28 nm chipset is clocked to 1.2 Ghz and it has 4X silvermont cores inside along with a LTE Phone/Data modem and a ARM Mali 450 MP4 (quadcore) graphics core The rest of the specs include 8/16GB of storage with the 8GB model getting a meh -1GB of RAM , the 16GB version is set to get 2GB of RAM ,both versions feature MicroSD card slots , the Tablet has a display of 8" and it has a 1280x800 resolution IPS ...

Rumors about the next gen Zenpads leaked out last week confirming the existence of two Asus tablets with one being the Asus Zenpad 7 and the  Zenpad 8 . Details and pictures of the two tablets remain sketchy , but today we have some leaked photos of the upcoming Zenpad 8 by Ausdroid . According to the pictures , the Zenpad 8 is Asus' first 4:3 Android tablet , previous models , including the upcoming cheaper Zenpad 7 are 16:9 but the new model features a 2048x1536 resolution IPS unit which confirms to the 4:3 standard which is slowly becoming the new default Android tablet screen aspect ratio . Other specs include a 64bit Intel Z3560 and a decent 2GB of RAM . The tablet will feature Micro SD expansion and it will come with either 16/32 or 64GB of onboard storage .The Asus Zenpad 8 and its cheaper brother - the Zenpad 7 are expected to be launched in June. Written by Rakitha for MasHD Source - Ubergizmo

Asus' upcoming Zenpad tablets have allegedly leaked out before their official debut , the tablet series - a part of the ever expanding Zen lineup , are said to come in 7" and 8" form factors for those looking for a Lollipop based budget tablet . The tablets come in Wifi only or wifi+3G versions , the 7" models come with the model number Z170G (wifi) and Z170GC (3G) models and both models are said to feature the new Intel X3 Quadcore 64bit chip with 1GB of RAM , the display on the 7"model is quite mediocre as it only has a resolution of 1024x600 but the tablet might achieve good battery life as the battery is 3950mAh's , the model comes in Black , white and cost $160 for the Wifi model and $190 for the 3G version. The 8" model on the other hand will come with better specs as the display is said to feature a resolution of 2048x1536 - a resolution used mostly in 4:3 tablets . The rest of the specs are also good , 2GB of RAM and Intels Z3560 Quad core 64b...

Hp unveiled two 4:3 display Android tablets today .The new HP Pro Slate 8 and Pro Slate 12 tablets are stylus equipped , Snapdragon 800 based  tablets come with decent specs and a bit of a heavy price tag . Both tablets come with Qualcomm's Duet Pen technology that lets you record text you write on normal paper and then relay it into the tablet instantly  - kind of like a tracing pen - this stylus also works as any standard stylus once you use it on them . The Hp Pro Slate 8 is the cheaper option of the two , the 7.9 " tablet is priced at $449 which sound like a lot , but for that price you get a 2k resolution display , a Duet pen - which is powered by Qualcomm's digital pen technology and a Snapdragon 800 chip Specs at a glance Display - 7.9" 2048x1536 resolution IPS LCD Processor - Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 OS - Android 4.4 Kitkat Storage and Ram  - 2GB Ram , 16/32GB storage + MicroSD expansion Camera- 8mp rear , 2mp front Others -  Duet Pe...

Asus has launched 3 new convertible Windows 8.1 tablets at CES 2015 . The new T90 , T100 and the T300 are the latest Intel based devices in the ASUS "CHI" line of products . The first tablet/hybrid  is the ASUS T90 Chi , which as the number system goes , is the smallest and the most affordable of the lot  , The tablet costs $299 and it comes with either 32 or 64Gb of storage . The biggest let down however is the display , which at 720p is not going to impress anyone as the screen size is set for a somewhat large 8.9" Specs at a glance -  *Intel Z3775 64bit Intel Atom processor , 1.46Ghz , Intel Graphics  *Windows 8.1  *2GB Ram , 32 or 64Gb storage  *8.9" IPS LCD display , 720p resolution(1280x720) 170ppi  *External Keyboard dock  * External Keyboard dock  with 2 USB 3.0 ports , HDMI out and MicroSD slot *5mp rear camera , No LED flash , 2mp front camera  *$299 (base model)  Next up , we have a midr...

Qualcomm is "Intel" of the the mobile chipset business , the company has seen rapid growth since 2013 after the introduction of the Snapdragon S4 series . The company since then has come a long way and it stepped into the 64 bit territory early this year with the Snapdragon 610 and Snapdragon 410 processors , although lesser processor models got the 64bit expreience , the flagship 800 series processors still rolled in 32 bit until the announcement of the Snapdragon 810 a few months ago . The 810 has a 4+4 "Octacore" Big.Little mobile chip architecture that allows 4 Cortex A57 cores to work with 4 A53 cores giving variable throttling when needed . The 64 bit jump also makes the processors acquire more  RAM , 4K support out of the box and higher quality GPU's like the Adreno 430 found in the 810 . To promote the chipset to developers and manufacturers , Qualcomm announced a new reference Smartphone and Tablet running the chipset and some insane specs with a indu...

Most of you heard about Lenovo's acquisition of Motorola at the start of the year , but the deal was not complete ,so much of that information , and the company's handset stratergy didn't change but now the company is officially owned by Lenovo . The famous Chinese OEM is the latest "Owner" of Motorola after the company was taken over (mostly patents) by Google for $12.9billion back in 2011. The new deal , which costs Lenovo $2.9 Billion , is said to be paid as $660 million in cash and the remainder in 3 years . The new marriage with Lenovo is probably going to profit Motorolas handset business as the company is finally coming out of its past with new best selling devices like the Motorola Moto G and the Moto 360 , Lenovo , a company which has a established brand identity and availability might give a piggyback ride to Motorola in the global market making the company profitable once again ,Lenovo hopes to turn Motorola's profits around in 6 quarters and of c...

Lenovo had a busy day today , the aluminium friendly OEM unveiled a new series of Yoga tablets that are full of innovative features and a affordable price point . The new Lenovo Yoga 2 series comes in a 8" and 10" screen format and you can buy one with either Windows 8 or Android depending on your taste .All Yoga tablets feature a Intel Atom processor , front firing speakers with Dolby stereo sound and a Wolfson Audio processor . 1080p displays and a 8mp camera which are all excellent features considering that the 8" model starts at $250 and the 10" model starts at $300 . (see specs below) Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 8" and 10" Android and Windows Display -                 8" 1920x1080p resolution IPS Panel                 10" 1920x1080p resolution IPS Panel OS - Android 4.4.4 or Windows 8.1 tablet edition Design -Unibody tablet , 8 inch version 210 mm x 149 mm x (2.7 – 7.0) mm +419g...

Apple's full size iPad series was and always has been one of the most desirable tablet in the market today . The Apple tablet series provided excellent battery life and thanks to its 4.3 aspect ratio , it was more suitable for people who do alot of internet browsing and mobile gaming . but after 5 generations of iPads , the largest update to the marque so far is said to happen on the 16th of October when Apple is said to anounce the iPad Air 2 . The Apple iPad Air 2 , unlike the previous iPad , is said to be 0.5mm thinner so the official thickness will be 7.0 mm .The new iPad will also feature a new display philosophy with the display panel fused together to form a thin laminate which wasn't available in previous generations .The Mute button , which was available on the side of previous iPad's will be replaced due to the new thickness and the volume rockers are said to be more recessed as well . The tablet will also feature the new 64Bit Apple A8 processor and it will hav...

Launched along side the Amazon Kindle Fire HD 6 and HD7 tablets (and a host of E-Readers) the new Amazon HDX 8.9 brings major improvements in terms of hardware to the popular high -end tablet from Amazon .  The new HDX 8.9 , unlike most Android tablets today , feature one of the fastest CPU's to date - The Snapdragon 805 . The chip , clocked to 2.5 Ghz features the new Adreno 420 GPU and 2GB of ram to the Kindle Os powered tablet . The tablet ,unlike its other Kindle sibblings , is a bit expensive , but the price looks decent when we consider the hardware available on board . The HDX 8.9 will come in 16/32and 64GB versions and prices will start at $379 for the 16GB version , $429 for the 16GB version and $479 for the 64GB version . Display - 8.9" 2560x1600 IPS display , 339ppi , 400 nits of brightness OS - Kindle OS4 "Sangria" ,modified version of Android 4.4 Kitkat Design -tablet , non removable back cover , 231 X 158 X 7.8mm , 379g for WI...

Amazon has introduced a whole line of new tablets to the market today .among the tablets , we can see the ultra powerful - snapdragon 805 powered Kindle Fire HDX8.9 and the somewhat affordable and kid friendly  Kindle Fire HD -Kids edition tablet , amazon also unveiled new additions to the HD lineup - The Kindle Fire HD6 and HD7 tablets , which , like the other two , run on Amazon's own "Sangria" Os , which is a forked version of Android 4.4 Kitkat . The new HD6 and HD7 tablets are set to go online today at $99 for the 8GB HD6 model and the 16GB version will cost $119 . The HD7 tablet will cost $139 for the 8GB version and $159 for the 16GB version . Display - 6" 1280x800 IPS display in Kindle HD6  ,252ppi               7" 1280x800 IPS display in Kindle HD7 ,217ppi OS - Kindle OS - "Sangria"  - modified version of Android 4.4 Kitkat Design - HD6 = 169 x 103 x 10.7 mm , 290g HD7 = 191 x 128 x 10.6 mm , 337G Connectivity -...

Tablets with cellular connectivity is nothing new ,the concept ,which became global after the launch of the 1st gen iPad gave users the option to use a data sim for media consumption and internet , but later on ,some  tablets which ran Android started serving dual purposes by allowing voice calls and texts which meant that users can swap sims , or use the tablet as the main device altogether , although holding a large screen device to your face is kind of awkward , that hasn't stopped the sectors' growth during the past few years and according to a new report from IDC , tablets with telephoning functionality has started to sell rapidly . According to the new Report , Android tablets that allow telecommunications are responsible for 25% of all tablet sales in the Asia Pacific region (excluding Japan) this quarter , the number of slates shipped is estimated to be 13.8 million and out of that a massive 3.5 million units are voice-capable tablets , according to the findings...

Most of you are sure to have the social networking app  ,Facebook linked to your smartphone and/or tablet , although you use the app to connect with your social world , the app is now ready to use you for its next survey which involves the social surveying company Nielsen and  what TV shows you watch. The survey is set to kick off in the US with a agreement that users can opt out of being included in the full survey if they wish . The process will mine data such as the users age and gender and what TV/Movies they watch on their mobile devices  but that data will be available in two different ways to both companies -Facebook and Nielsen. Raw numerical data (excluding data about the TV show) will be available to Facebook while TV show data (excluding personal data of Facebook users) will be available to Nielsen . The move however has sparked privacy concerns which relate to how much Facebook already knows about individuals and how they plan to mine more data for the purpo...