Google Assistant’s Ambient Mode turns Android devices into smart displays

Google wants to put your device to work even when it's charging or resting on a living room table or kitchen counter. Today at IFA, the company announced Ambient Mode for Google Assistant. The new feature will turn the latest Android devices into sma...

Lenovo-made Vodafone Smart Tab II passes FCC testing, naturally

Lenovo-made Vodafone Smart Tab II passes FCC testing, naturally

Vodafone's 7-inch Smart Tab II made a surprise appearance at IFA last month with its 10-inch sibling also in tow, and now it's stopped off at the FCC to pick up its Visa for future trips to the US. The official documents for the chunky, carrier-branded slate aren't giving much away, except that it's got the expected mix of 3G, WiFi and Bluetooth. Most of the specs remain a mystery, but the FCC ID (O57A2107VDF3G) indicates it's Lenovo's IdeaTab A2107 in disguise, meaning it should have a 1GHz dual-core CPU running behind a 1,024 x 600 display. At IFA, the price tag on the 7-inch model was 190 Euros (approximately $245), but with only 4GB storage and no LTE, we expect some heavy, competitive subsidies from Voda when it lands.

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Lenovo-made Vodafone Smart Tab II passes FCC testing, naturally originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Sep 2012 10:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Vodafone shows off a pair of Lenovo-made Smart Tabs, we go hands-on (video)

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Hey, check this pair of tablets from Lenovo that were hanging out in the Vodafone booth here at IFA. The slates are actually branded with the carrier's name as the Vodafone Smart Tab II, the successor to Smart Tabs created last year by handset maker ZTE. The Smart Tab II has quite a nice build quality, and from the front it has a display that looks to match the level we've come to expect from the likes of Samsung. The rear, meanwhile, is covered with circular indentations, like a golf ball, with a large Vodafone logo at its center and small gray Levono one along its bottom.

The Smart Tab II comes in both a 7- and 10-inch varieties, which do a pretty good job covering the mainstream tablet spectrum. We reached out to Lenovo to ask whether they might be a rebranding of existing devices, and hear that they apparently have yet to go on sale. We're hoping to see them here in the US at some point, particularly in the case of the Smart Tab II 7-inch, which adds functionality compared to certain other seven inchers, offering up a rear facing camera -- although it's only two-megapixels in this case.

And while the build quality is quite solid on both, the 10 feels a lot thinner and sleeker in-hand. The larger tablet has 16GB of storage a 1.5GHz dual-core and is running Ice Cream Sandwich. The seven inch tablet is also running Android 4.0 and has 4GB of memory built in, priced at $190. Both devices have built-in GPS. Check out a video of them after the break.

Continue reading Vodafone shows off a pair of Lenovo-made Smart Tabs, we go hands-on (video)

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Vodafone shows off a pair of Lenovo-made Smart Tabs, we go hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Aug 2012 17:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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