Facebook has recently released its Timeline feature that is receiving a lot of appreciation and hype. With this feature, it’s very easy to skim through your entire Facebook updates ever since you joined Facebook. This feature is in the process of activation and the latest news it that the new Facebook version with this feature would be made available on iPads in early 2012. With this feature, the profile of the user is summed up in two columns and you can search your timeline with respect to year and month. Initially Timeline was made available only for the developers and it was released on a wider scale in mid December. Although Timeline has already been made available on mobile devices but a perfectly optimized version for mobile devices was lacking which would now be released in a couple of months. At present, there are certain bugs in the feature that is made available for Apple and Android devices. With the version of Facebook along with this feature perfectly optimized for iPads and other tablets, users would have an opportunity of having a scrapbook on their iPad with its special form factor and touch-centric nature. Exact time frame for the release of such an app, however, has not been announced as yet.

Sony’s renowned tablets, Tablet S and Tablet P, would also be receiving Ice Cream Sandwich update soon. At present only one of these tablets, Tablet S, is available for sale. Besides, Sony has also not released any date when this update would take effect. The Tablet S comes with a 9.4-inch touch screen and has been available for sale since the September of this year. The official price of this tablet happens to be $500. Tablet P, on the other hand, contains quite a unique structure with two 5.5-inch touch screens which can be closed upon each other. This tablet was announced by Sony in April but the device has not yet been released. At present, both these devices have Android Honeycomb OS but the ICS update would follow in near future. The news about the update of the devices to ICS was posted on the company forum of Sony but no time frame was given about this update. Sony also announced of releasing the software development kit for Tablet R which would facilitate the developers in the process of app development specifically for this device. Other than these tablets, Sony also intends to provide ICS update for several Sony Ericsson devices next year.

Although ICS  updates are coming soon for some of the Samsung devices, Samsung had previously announced that no such update would be made available for Galaxy S and the 7 inch version of Galaxy Tab. The reasons for not providing this update were the memory issues related to the TouchWiz user interface. But according to the latest news, Samsung might be changing this stance and might release a limited version of Ice Cream Sandwich for the above mentioned devices. According to South Korean website Duam, this limited version of ICS would be called “Android Value Pack” and would showcase several important features that are part of ICS. However, complete version of ICS would not be released for these devices, at least not in near future. Several features of these devices would be improved with this value pack. Some of these features include enhanced web surfing, facilities of better multi-tasking, availability of several new widgets and some improvements in the camera of these devices. However, this is just a tentative plan and Samsung has not officially released any data for this update.

Asus Eee Pad Transformer has been considerably improved with the passage of time and at present, it can be considered among the best Android tablets. Samsung Galaxy Tablet 10.1, on the other hand, is considered to be the very best Android tablet available in the market by most of the critics. But the latest developments from Asus have considerably improved the position of Asus Eee Pad Transformer in this race. A short comparative analysis of both these tablets is in order. When we compare the software components of these tablets, both showcase some pretty impressive specifications. Both tablets utilize Android Honeycomb as operating system and in the near future, both would be upgraded to Ice Cream Sandwich. Android Honeycomb has been very successful as tablet OS and contains a variety of impressive features. Talking about the camera feature of these devices, Samsung Galaxy Tab contains a 3.15 mega pixel back end camera with the facilities of auto focus, LED flash and 720p HD video recording. Besides, it also has a 2 mega pixel front end camera. Asus Eee Pad, on the other hand, has a massive 8 mega pixel rare end camera and contains all the features that the camera of Galaxy tab has, additionally allowing HD video recording in 1080p format. So on this front, Eee Pad has a clear edge. The structure of both these devices is light weight yet solid, but Asus Eee Pad has the special premium look that Galaxy Tab lacks. The difference in weight is not massive, Galaxy Tab being 560 g compared to Eee Pad’s 586 g. Display is one feature in which Galaxy Tab excels. Screen resolution and pixel density of both tablets is exactly the same, that is, 1280 x 800 and 149ppi. But the screen brightness of Samsung Galaxy Tab is quite better comparatively.

Finally, processing power is another important feature that needs to be compared. Galaxy Tab has a powerful 1 GHz dual core processor along with 1 GB of RAM. Asus Eee Pad has an even powerful 1.3 GHz quad-core processor with 1 GB of RAM. Galaxy Tablet is available in 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB models while Asus Eee Pad comes in 32 GB and 64 GB models. So although Samsung Galaxy Tablet is a great piece of technology, it seems that Asus Eee Pad showcases considerably more exciting features that any tech buff would want.

After the success of the 7 inch tablets, specifically Amazon’s Kindle Fire, Apple is also planning to start the development of 7 inch versions of iPad. For this purpose, Apple is expected to purchase panels for the 7.85 inch version of iPad from LG Display and AU Optronics. According to the sources, the production process of these panels would begin in the second quarter of 2012 and the device itself would be released by the end of the next year. Late CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs, had criticized the idea of 7 inch tablets and had famously called them DOA, that is, dead on arrival. However, after the success of Kindy Fire and Nook Tablet, it seems that Apple has realized that releasing a 7 inch version of iPad would be a smart idea. Other than the mini iPad, Apple would also launch the next model of the famous iPad during the first quarter of the next year. The production of these devices has already started and they would most probably be ready for release during February or March of next year. These iPads would come with the famous Retina Display, the highest resolution on any Apple device which has previously been showcased on iPhone 4S.

According to an independent calculation, if Apple decides to bring iPad production line onshore in the US it would result in the creation of as many as 67,000 jobs in the country. This is certainly massive and a little part of it has already been realized after Apple’s decision to carry out the production of iPad’s various parts in a Texas based company. At present, most of the production of Apple products is being done in Asia, specifically China. But bringing of the entire production line in America would most probably happen, at least in near future, since several complex factors are involved in the process. Considering the high wages in the US, compared to those in Chine, Apple products manufactured in the US would cost much more and it is mainly due to this low labor cost that the products are being manufactured in China. Apple cannot afford to raise the prices of iPads further with the prevailing tough competition in the presence of Android tablets. Hence this can also result in a $1.8 cut in the profit of Apple which, for Apple, is not at all worth it. Several other effects inevitably associated with a capitalist economy also play their role in this phenomenon.

Android Ice Cream Sandwich is gaining all the attention and popularity that it deserved and after Samsung announced that several of its devices would be updated to this version of OS, various other manufacturers would also be upgrading their devices to this version. In certain aspects, ICS is said to be even better than iOS 5. Among the tablets that would receive this update, Asus Transformer Prime would probably be the first one. Officially the date has not been announced but it is confirmed that this tablet would receive the upgrade. Then we have Lenovo ThinkPad Table which is a beautiful piece of technology and on a corporate level, is a good alternative to iPad. The update for this device is expected to occur in the first quarter of 2012. Notion Ink Adam Tablet, though not a very successful tablet on international level even with its good specs, would be receiving its ICS update in a couple of months or so. Finally we have Motorola Xoom an update has been confirmed for this device as well. The device needed an upgrade since it was loosing its market with time and some changes needed to be done. Other than these tablets, other Android based devices would most probably follow the suit in 2012.

Dell has decided to terminate the manufacturing process of its Netbooks, specifically Inspiron Mini. These Netbooks were quite famous when they were initially introduced because of easy portability and lightweight, but now the trend has been shifting toward tablet computers which are far more portable and light weight. According to official announcement by Dell, it would terminate the manufacture of these products and would instead focus on the manufacture of laptop computers and ultra books. The production and shipment of Inspiron Mini was started back in 2008 and it came with Windows OS. The trends in the computing industry changed abruptly after the introduction of iPad and an increasing number of people has been preferring tablets over laptops and netbooks. With the increase in the tablet computers, most of the tech giants have started the production of these devices and various operating systems have specifically been released for tablets. Dell also released its hybrid tablet and computer device last year running Android but according to the CEO of Dell, the company would be running Windows 8 from next year since the sales of Android based tablets were quite low. Apple, on the other hand, would also be releasing its next version of iPad during early 2012.

Playing video games on a console these days can be quite a pain in the neck, since you need to bear with all the heavy equipment that is quite outdated now. Good news for gamers is that with the latest tablet form Sony named Sony Tablet S, you would have the facility of legally downloading as many PlayStation games as you like. Such “PlayStation Certified” gadgets form Sony are nothing less than a revolution in the domain of gaming. The latest software update that has been released for this tablet would allow you to avoid the annoying and hard to handle touchscreen controls and instead carry on your gaming on the PS3 controller. There is no need of downloading any crack or running simulation for this since it happens to be an official and perfectly legal initiative. Previously, Sony never provided a wide range of downloadable games on the devices, but with this move the previous precedence certainly seems to be broken. A wide range of games would be available for download from PlayStation one as well as two. This update would be available soon although there is no information about the exact date of its release.

Samsung has recently formed an effective partnership with American Airlines according to which Samsung Galaxy Tab would be made available to the people traveling in the business class of these airlines. The tablet would serve as an entertainment system as well as remote office for the executives and other people related to business. More than 70 movies would come pre-loaded in these devices. According to the official statement released by American airlines, this move has been made to modernize the travelling experience and to provide all the essential facilities to the passengers. At the moment, this facility has been provided to the flights from New York and Miami to Los Angeles and San Diego. Besides, it would also be made available to some international flights to Europe. With the passage of time, the scope of these services would be expanded. With the various entertainment and corporate utilities that Samsung Galaxy Tab provides, this move would certainly result in increased fame of the device which is already the most famous tablet device running Android. According to Samsung, the tablet would provide a wide range of entertainment and work options to the passengers with its efficient user interface and applications.