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An earlier portrait of the second quarter’s tablet market share made it quite clear that the iPad was on a rebound, if it was ever in a slump to start with. All those numbers focused on platforms and not brands, however — we didn’t know how the individual makers were doing. If IHS iSuppli’s figures are on the ball, there’s even more of a discrepancy if you break down the period’s results by manufacturer. The iPad staked out 69.6 percent of tablet shipments in the spring. That wasn’t just an 11-point jump over a year earlier; it was a level of share Apple hasn’t had since the Motorola Xoom was just cutting its teeth early in 2011.

As for the rest? Transformer Pads kept ASUS growing, but it’s not a pretty sight if you’re making an Android reader tablet; both Amazon and Barnes & Noble shed roughly a point and a half each, which is no small amount relative to their size. Samsung also lost share by this after its deliveries of Galaxy Tabs mostly stayed flat. We’d add that there’s some wiggle room as to real performance knowing that units shipped and sold aren’t always one and the same. Most of these companies are leaving clues regarding upcoming tablet refreshes that might level the playing field, some not so subtle, but it’s currently Apple’s game to win.

Filed under: Tablet PCs

IHS iSuppli: Apple iPad takes 69.6 percent of tablet brand market share in Q2, reader tablets take a bruising originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Aug 2012 17:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The LG Optimus 2X has been no stranger to controversy when it comes to firmware upgrades (for some variants, at least) so we didn’t blink an eye when we heard LG Canada’s proclamation that the dual-core device would forever remain on Gingerbread — despite the company’s previous statements to the contrary. It turns out, however, that the future of the Optimus 2X may not be all doom and gloom — for Korea, anyway. The company’s Korean branch sent out a tweet mentioning that the phone will indeed be updated to Android 4.0. Though the tweet itself appeared to be country-agnostic, we have reached out to LG reps and received official confirmation, telling us “for now, that tweet only refers to Korean availability.” We still haven’t heard any news about ICS coming to any of its global counterparts, but we imagine the healthy dev community will likely cook up a few happy options in a worst-case scenario.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software

LG confirms Optimus 2X will indeed be updated to ICS… in Korea, at least originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Aug 2012 16:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s only been a little over a month since Giada first introduced that itty-bitty, Ivy Bridge-loaded i53 mini PC, but the outfit wants to have something for everyone and is now announcing a lesser-specced i35G series. Although not as powerful as its i53 brethren, the i35G’s got some nice attributes of its own, including — you guessed it — Intel’s Cedar Trail CPU, a hot-off-the-press GeForce GT 610 GPU and 2GB of RAM with the base model (up to 4GB) — not to mention an all-in-one card reader, five USB 2.0 ports plus VGA, HDMI ports. Additionally, the standard unit comes with a 320GB hard drive, though if you’re looking for a quick boost, it’s easily upgradable to some solid-state drive goodness. Giada’s letting go of its petite i35G starting at $274, but you’ll have to call North America home, as it’s only available in Canada and the States.

Continue reading Giada intros i35G mini PC with Intel’s Cedar Trail, NVIDIA GT 610 graphics

Filed under: Desktops, Misc. Gadgets

Giada intros i35G mini PC with Intel’s Cedar Trail, NVIDIA GT 610 graphics originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Aug 2012 16:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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