Tech Info: Tablets

HP Launches Low-Cost Windows 8.1-Based Stream Laptops and Tablets

HP on Monday has launched four new Windows 8.1 devices in its Stream portfolio, after launching the Stream 14 notebook earlier this month. The two new HP Stream laptops, the HP Stream 11 and HP Stream 13, start at $199.99 (approximately Rs. 12,300) and $229.99 (approximately Rs. 14,100) respectively. The two new Windows tablets, the HP Steam 7 and HP Stream 8 starts at $99.99 (approximately Rs. 6,100) and $149.99 (approximately Rs. 9,200) respectively. All four devices will be available in November this year.

The PC giant's Stream family of devices is meant to offer low-cost Windows options, and are part of Microsoft's move to counter the Chromebook threat.

The HP Stream 11 features an 11.6-inch HD display and HP Stream 13 features a 13.3-inch HD display, with both laptops coming with a touch display option. Both the laptops are powered (via Engadget) by Intel Celeron N2840 SoCs that are coupled with Intel HD Graphics, 2GB of RAM and 32GB of eMMC flash memory. HP says that the two laptops feature an innovative fanless design for cool and quiet operation.

HP Stream 11's battery is rated to deliver up to 8 hours and 15 minutes of battery life and HP Stream 13 has a battery rated for up to 7 hours 45 minutes of battery life. Both laptops will be available in Orchid Magenta and Horizon Blue colour options

Additionally, HP Stream laptops come with a one year free subscription of Microsoft Office 365 Personal which includes 1TB of OneDrive storage and a $25 (approximately Rs. 1,500) gift card for apps or games purchases from the Windows Store.

The two new HP Stream tablets - HP Stream 7 and HP Stream 8 - are powered by quad-core Intel processors and runs Windows 8.1 OS. Freebies on the HP Stream 7 and HP Stream 8 include one year free subscription of Microsoft Office 365 Personal with 1TB of OneDrive storage and 60 minutes of Skype each month. The HP Stream 8 tablet also includes an optional 200MB of free 4G data each month with no annual contract for the device's life.

HP hasn't revealed the complete specifications for both the Stream tablets, but Engadget reports a few specifications gathered at an HP event in New York - including an Intel Atom Z3735G quad-core processor; 1GB of RAM; 32GB of inbuilt storage which is expandable via microSD card (unknown maximum capacity), and Bluetooth 4.0.

HP Stream 7

KEY SPECS

Display

7.00-inch

Processor

quad-core

Front Camera

Resolution

RAM

1GB

OS

Windows 8.1

Storage

32GB

Rear Camera

Battery capacity

See full HP Stream 7 specifications

HP Stream 8

KEY SPECS

Display

8.00-inch

Processor

quad-core

Front Camera

Resolution

RAM

1GB

OS

Windows 8.1

Storage

32GB

Rear Camera

Battery capacity

See full HP Stream 8 specifications

Nvidia Shield Tablet 32GB LTE With Tegra K1 SoC Up for Pre-Order

Chipmaker Nvidia has started taking pre-orders for the recently unveiled Nvidia Shield Tablet LTE (32GB) at $399 (approximately Rs. 24,000).

The new Nvidia Shield Tablet LTE is now available for pre-order in the US and Europe, while the tablet will ship starting September 30. The company notes that the LTE version of the tablet is a "fully unlocked device" and has the capability to support up to 70 carriers worldwide.

While launching the Nvidia Shield Tablet (16GB) Wi-Fi only tablet in July, the company had promised that a 32GB variant with 4G LTE support will be launched later in the year.

Additionally, Nvidia also announced three new Android games optimised for the Shield Tablet - Beach Buggy Racing, BombSquad, and Broadsword.

The Nvidia Shield Tablet is touted as a "high-performance tablet", and has been "built specifically for gamers," according to the company. The tablet features an 8-inch 1920x1200 pixels display. Both the 16GB and 32GB variants support expandable storage up to 128GB (via microSD card).

The Shield Tablet is powered by an Nvidia Tegra K1 chipset, featuring a 192-core Kepler GPU, and a 4+1 quad-core ARM Cortex A15 CPU clocked at 2.2GHz. It comes with 2GB of RAM. The tablet sports dual cameras - 5-megapixel camera at the back and front.

The tablet is based on Android 4.4 KitKat to allow users to play Android games (with access to the Google Play store), browse the Web, and enjoy other tablet features along with a stylus for drawing on the tablet surface. The device also allows streaming of games from a PC desktop or notebook computer, or from the Nvidia cloud.

The tablet comes preloaded with the company's Shield Hub app, which lists over 400 optimised games. In July, Nvidia, alongside its ShadowPlay gameplay recording technology, also announced Twitch integration that let players record or broadcast gameplay to the streaming service.

The company announced the pre-order availability of the Nvidia Shield Tablet LTE on its official blog post and said, "The new 32GB Shield tablet with 4G LTE gives you even more ways to game. And it can be yours for only $100 more than the basic version of Shield tablet. In July, we introduced the Shield Tablet, the ultimate tablet for gamers, with 16GB of storage and Wi-Fi. The result was a tremendous response from gamers, consumers and the media alike. Now we're offering twice the storage, so you'll be able to enjoy more games, more movies, music and photos, and more of your favourite apps."