Best Android Tablets 2014

The big spring rollout of smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy S5, HTC One M8, and the upcoming LG G3 has pushed tablets to the wayside, but a lack of high profile launches in recent months does not mean a lack of quality options to choose from. In fact, May kicked off with the launch of Samsung’s latest lineup of Galaxy Tabs, which is where we begin our list.

5. Samsung Galaxy Tab 4

New to our list is the Samsung Galaxy Tab 4, which only started appearing on store shelves as of the first of the month. Available in 7, 8, and 10.1-inch versions, the Tab 4 makes up for a lack of top-tier specs with pricing that begins at $199. These are midrange tablets with 720p displays, but they score points for their lightweight and portable design. The new Tab 4 series makes our list partly based on the reputation of Samsung’s previous releases, but more because they promise a solid experience for those looking for a cheaper pathway to a secondary device.

4. Nexus 7 2013

With Google I/O right around the corner, there is hope we might see a new Nexus Tablet in the near future. For now, for those looking for a pure Android slate at an undeniable price, the Nexus 7 is the ticket. Aging internals like a Snapdragon S4 processor have the N7 feeling a little long in the tooth, but its $230 price tag still nets buyers a solid HD display and access to Android updates about as quickly as Google can make them available.

3. Kindle Fire HDX

The Kindle Fire HDX is about as far from a traditional Android tablet as anything on our list, but despite this fact it simply offers too much for its low price to not make our top five. While Amazon has chosen to build what amounts to a completely different operating system using the framework of Android, operating outside of Google’s standard version line, users can still expect a full-fledged tablet experience. The Kindle Fire HDX is available in both 7-inch and 8.9-inch variants featuring hi-def displays and retails for a price starting at $230. If mainlining Amazon’s library of digital content is your thing, this might be the tablet for you.

2. Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet

If you are looking for a premium tablet with a true premium feel, the Xperia Z2 should be the first option you consider. This tablet mixes top-notch hardware with a sleek, modern design that only Sony could pull off. A blazing Snapdragon 801 processor is married with a solid 8.1MP camera and 1080p display, all within a package that measures a mere 6.1mm thick. The kicker? The whole thing is waterproof. You could use it in the shower, if you want (but we aren’t recommending it). How cool is that?

1. Samsung Galaxy NotePro

The Galaxy NotePro hangs on to the top spot this month, and that shouldn’t be unexpected. No other manufacturer has been audacious enough to release such a power-packed tablet, which includes a 12.2-inch 2560×1600 display, 3GB RAM, and 8MP camera. The NotePro also takes advantage of the included S Pen stylus to make it a superior productivity tool. Our top choice is far from the several affordable tablets that grace this list. Its retail pricing starts around $700.

Honorable Mentions

* LG G Pad 8.3 — Decently affordable and readily portable with its 8.3-inch display, the G Pad 8.3 is worth a look, especially with multiple US carriers offering the device and the availability of a Google Play Edition.
* Lenovo Yoga 10 HD+ — Mixes midrange and top-tier specs with a unique design featuring a built-in kickstand, the newly available Yoga 10 HD+ doesn’t offer quite enough to crack the top five. Still worth consideration for those looking for a tablet that sits slightly outside the box.
* Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition — A slew of newer tablets threaten the Note 10.1 2014 Edition’s place in Samsung’s lineup, but unless you want to drop the big bucks on the TabPro, those looking for the benefit of dedicated stylus input will want to check out this cheaper alternative.
* Samsung Galaxy TabPro — The new Galaxy Tab 4 series boasts affordability, but the TabPro goes for full-fledged performance. More expensive as an option, but added benefits like a full HD display boost its case.
* Amazon Kindle Fire HD — This is no Kindle Fire HDX, but Amazon’s 7-inch tablet sells for only $140 and comes with access to a plethora of content from the online retailer.

Tablets to look forward to

Nexus updates

With Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 4 series already available and few announcements in regards to new slates from major competitors, there are few tablets on the horizon that jump to mind immediately. There is, however, the hope that Google will provide a Nexus tablet lineup refresh at Google I/O, which will take place in late June. Rumored possibilities include a revamped Nexus 7, a proposed Nexus 8, and the long-awaited refresh of the Nexus 10, which could be a joint production between Google and HTC. We have little to go off of in terms of specs, however.

It is unclear if the Android Silver program, a partnership between Google and device manufacturers that would replace the Nexus line of smartphones, will affect the future of Nexus tablets. It seems likely that the tech giant has at least one more round of updates slates in store for us.
What say you?

While Android tablets have been playing second fiddle to major handset releases in recent months, this is no knock on the number of quality slates currently available. We’ve given you our picks, now we want to know yours. Did we leave your favorite tablet out? Did we get the rankings all wrong? Let us know in the comments below!

sources: phandroid.com

Facebook’s Oculus VR buyout puts Project Morpheus front and center

When Sony unveiled Project Morpheus at GDC 2014 last week, it had one primary effect beyond buzz in gaming communities. It legitimized the desire for gaming to expand beyond gimmicky 3D presentations that require special TVs and glasses to enjoy to a fully immersive 3D experience. A major force in gaming was now behind the notion that virtual reality could actually be the future. Oculus Rift had up until now, continued to impress early adopters and people seemed hopeful that the Rift would pioneer virtual reality and bring it to mass market.

Then Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook had acquired Oculus VR for a deal worth around $2 billion in cash and stock. The gaming community exploded at this news. Many called it fake, before the official post announcing the acquisition went up on the Oculus VR blog. After that, many gamers lamented that Oculus VR was dead. Perhaps some game developers feel the same way, since Minecraft’s famous creator Markus “Notch” Persson announced on Twitter that they would cease developing a Rift-compatible version of Minecraft for the product. Persson didn’t want to do business with a Facebook owned company, calling it “creepy.”

I just cancelled that deal. Facebook creeps me out.

- Markus Persson (@notch) March 25, 2014

Many accuse him of taking Kickstarter money and capitalizing on it for profit before ever bringing the product he asked money for to market in the first place. Cries of having to sign in using a Facebook ID and be served targeted advertisements have gone up, which Luckey denies as well. One redditor begged Luckey to confirm that there would be no tie-in to Facebook accounts. This was Luckey’s reply:

While Luckey seems to hold bright the future of Oculus Rift, saying this deal with Facebook allowed them the necessary capital to continue expansion and build a product that doesn’t rely on mobile phone scraps, many gamers are a lot more jaded. It’s for this reason that Sony’s Project Morpheus could become the front and center for many gamer’s hopes when it comes to VR.

You’re Our Only Hope, Sony

Amid the cries of traitor and lambasting comments posted across the web as the Oculus VR acquisition broke, many gamers took up the cry of Sony being the savior of VR. Sony saw a unique opportunity to offer to gamers what its competitor wasn’t.

Marketing for the PlayStation 4 focused on games, while marketing for the Xbox One focused on Microsoft’s desire to put an all-in-one entertainment box in every living room in America. TV was a prime focus and something Sony never mentioned once. Ultimately, this strategy of wait-and-see worked out well, as the PlayStation 4 continues to lead in sales worldwide and in some regions, outsells the Xbox One as much as 2 to 1.

That same strategy could lead to Sony’s Project Morpheus gaining front and center when it comes to those interested in virtual reality. With Sony’s showcase at GDC you can bet Microsoft stood at attention. Nintendo likely took note of the new development as well, but with Oculus VR firmly in the hands of Facebook, competition to enter the VR space will be more fierce than ever before. Expect announcements about VR from Microsoft at E3. Expect Sony to continue to watch development and see what they can offer in their product that doesn’t cause gamers to outrage.

While the Oculus Rift was primarily a PC-targeted platform, if Sony manages to release an SDK and hardware development kit that can be designed to work with any architecture and not just Sony’s proprietary PlayStation 4, they could quickly become the lead in the virtual reality race.

sources: ps4daily.com

Microsoft Office Goes Fully Free on iPhone and Android Phones

No more paid subscription required for document creation and basic editing.

Along with the big news that Microsoft has launched Office on Apple’s iPad, Microsoft has also made the iPhone and Android phone versions completely free.

Office was available for iPhone and Android phones before, but you couldn’t create or edit documents without an Office 365 subscription, which starts at $7 per month. Now, all you need is a free Microsoft account. (Full editing on the new iPad version requires an Office 365 subscription.)

The smartphone versions aren’t particularly robust. In Word, you can type, search, add comments and perform some basic font formatting, but that’s it. In Excel, you can search, filter and perform five simple mathematical functions. You can open existing PowerPoint files and edit slide text, but you can’t create new presentations.

Still, it could be useful for light editing and note taking. Because all files save automatically to OneDrive, I’m looking forward to jotting down thoughts from my phone and using Office Online on my desktop to pick up where I left off.

If you’re looking for an Android tablet version of Office, no such luck. Microsoft’s productivity suite still isn’t supported on larger screens, so you’ll have to use an alternative like QuickOffice, Kingsoft Office or OfficeSuite

sources: time.com

Hands-on with The Conduit HD, Android’s first Wii port

Great news making its way to Android gamers as another triple-A title has hit the Google Play Store. A well-received Wii game from yesteryear, The Conduit (HD) is now officially available for Nvidia Tegra devices, bringing all the action of the original, down to the small screen. Unlike its Wii counterpart however, The Conduit HD features Tegra-optimized visuals that improve upon the original, bringing enhanced HD graphics, more detailed characters, real time shadows and the like. Our walkthrough video going through the games first 2 levels can be found below.

Story

The story goes a little something like this: in a post apocalyptic future America is being ravaged by a virus know as “the Bug.” To make matters worse, there’s an invasion by an alien race known as the Drudge. Thing can’t get much worse than that, right? Well, a terrorist group has seized the opportunity left to them by these series of unfortunate events to make an assassination attempt on the president, using the president’s own secret service against him. Ouch. You play as secret service agent Michael Ford, the one agent who apparently never got the memo. Now it’s up to you to uncover the masterminds of the invasion, and stop the Drudge from taking over the world. Shouldn’t be too hard.

Gameplay

Gameplay is your standard first-person shooter fare. You shoot, you reload, and occasionally lob a grenade. Oh, there is this little orb thing called the ASE that can detect hidden objects and stealthy enemies, also lighting your path for when you happen to get lost. Touching on the left portion of the screen controls movement, while the right controls your view and shooting. Controls by default are set to make gameplay on the tablet a breeze. Simply aiming your reticule at an enemy will auto fire your weapon which, of course, may sound like cheating, but it works well for a genre that’s usually a pain to play with touch screen controls. Of course, a quick trip to your pause menu will let you go into full manual, should you choose.

Visuals

Graphics are sort of a mixed bag. Yes, it looks great for a mobile game, and leaps and bounds better than it did on the Wii. But somehow even with all the graphical settings set to max and the Tegra processor flexing it’s muscle, sometimes things still looked “flat.” Textures are high-res, true, and the Drudge look great when you get in close, but environments can sometimes look a little lifeless. Maybe it has something to do with a total absence of real-time physics or bullet holes when you shoot a wall, but now I just sound like a spoiled console gamer.

What the game looks like with “Wii” settings enabled (lawl)

Don’t get me wrong — The Conduit HD looks better than 99% of the first person shooters you’ll find on the Google Play Store and it makes sense. This was originally a console title, so there was just a little more time and effort put into the game than your typical Gameloft console-clone. Real voice actors, engaging cut scenes and story line. Best of all it’s NOT FREEMIUM. I can’t stress this part enough. That means you don’t have to worry about in-game currency, coins, sharing on Facebook or any of that mess. It’s weird to get excited about something like this, but honestly it lets you just simply enjoy the game, as it’s meant to be played, stress free. It’s refreshing, really.

The Conduit HD features:

* Pick-Up and Play Accessibility: The robust sensitivity of the touchscreen controls gives players a seamless sense of connection with the game.
* One of the Best Looking Games on Android: The Conduit looked awesome on the Wii but has been further improved by the graphics power of NVIDIA Tegra devices!
* Fearsome Enemies: Fourteen (14) challenging human and alien creatures work against you, and are more challenging through their use of cover and tactical thinking.
* Intense Weaponry: Unleash destruction with a huge arsenal of eighteen (18) different weapons, many of which utilize unique aiming and firing modes.
* Puzzle Solving Unlike Other FPS Games: Use a device called the All Seeing Eye (ASE) to reveal concealed objects and enemies, providing additional layers of gameplay.
* Unparalleled Customization: The Conduit can be adjusted for your style of play through changing the huge number of control options, layouts, and more!
* GameStop Controller Support: Enjoy more traditional control by using the fully supported Tablet Wireless Bluetooth Controller by GameStop!

Verdict

All-in-all we give The Conduit HD 2 blistered thumbs up. I had a ton of fun blasting baddies, not managing in-game currency, and uncovering the mystery behind the story. Good times to be had for all. The best part about The Conduit HD is that the first 2 levels are available free of charge. After you’ve been hooked, High Voltage Software offers the other 7 missions for just $5. Not bad for a game that was retailing on the Wii for around $50 bucks. And should you decide you want to take things a little slower, there’s even the option to break things up, paying $3 for levels 3, 4, 5, and another $3 for 7, 8, and 9. Options are good.

sources: phandroid.com