.: launch

Sunday, 2 March 2014

DreamWorks to launch Android tablet aimed at kids

DreamWorks is poised to invade the tablet market with the 8?inch ‘DreamTab’ – strongly rumoured to be announced at the International Consumer Electronics Show which begins in Las Vegas this week.
According to a report by the New York Times, DreamWorks has partnered with a technology company, Fuhu, on creating a tablet that can be programmed with DreamWorks content just like a cable channel.
The studio will create original animations for the tablet featuring its best-loved characters and, in the spirit of balance, probably a fair few of its least-loved characters as well. Because let’s face it, does anybody really need anymore Puss in Boots in their lives?
DreamWorks is not the first studio to branch out into branded tablets, but the DreamTab differs from the likes of of Disney’s and Nickleodeon’s efforts by offering exclusive animation to promote forthcoming films and enhance its relationship with its young fans.
Fuhu chief executive Jim Mitchell told the New York Times: “By teaming with DreamWorks to create a device that will have original content — original content that is automatically and frequently updated — we are not following consumers, we are getting ahead of them.”

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The DreamTab will also have the technology to connect wirelessly with certain DreamWorks toys, much like recent efforts from Skylanders and Rovio’s Angry Birds. So, a standalone action figure for How To Train A Dragon, for instance, might also unlock extra games or options on the DreamTab.There will also be an educational focus to get parents on side, with learning features and drawing workshops from the pros to help kids draw their favourite characters.Although targeted squarely at children, the device is also set to come with a ‘parent mode’ and promises roughly the same computing power as an iPad.So, what do you make of the DreamTab? Let us know in the comments below, and keep it locked to Life of Android for all the latest goings on from CES this week.

Nokia prepares Android phone ‘Normandy’ for 2014 launch

Image courtesy of @evleaks
Nokia is rumoured to be building a low-end Android phone codenamed Normandy, as the Finnish mobile giant nears the finalisation of a deal with Microsoft.
A source close to The Verge claims that Nokia is working on a ‘forked’ version of the Google operating system, which isn’t nearly as homemade as it sounds.
In fact, the ‘forking’ of this potential Nokia doesn’t involve any cutlery at all – confusing, right? – but actually refers to the way in which the Android OS is redeveloped using the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) code – similar to the way in which Amazon uses Android hardware for its Kindle devices.
Supposed images of the Nokia phone were published by Evan Blass, who is responsible for the @evleaks Twitter account and is notable for past handset leaks.
Nokia has struggled to compete in the budget smartphone market, after its Asha handset on the company’s own Symbian OS suffered heavily from its lack of apps. Nokia will be hoping that Normandy will perform much better with Android backing, particularly in China where millions of phones using AOSP are sold every quarter.
Of course, the Nokia Normandy is still very much in the rumours stage, especially considering the overhanging possibility of Nokia’s deal with Microsoft. The cost of developing Normandy for Android will be very high, and Microsoft is unlikely to want to invest in developing an operating system that competes with Windows.
The deal between Microsoft and Nokia’s handset business is far from a done deal, though, and even if it did go ahead Nokia may be able to release Normandy prior to an agreement between the two companies.
So, what do you think of Nokia’s rumoured Normandy project? Could Nokia enjoy a happy union with Android? Or should it partner with Microsoft and concentrate on its Lumia range? Let us know in the comments below.