Acer Iconia Tab A700 to make bow at CES 2012?

Acer will reportedly show off its Tegra 3 toting Iconia Tab A700 at CES 2012, with suggestions that the tablet could finally make a more public appearance early next year.

According to Russian site NoMobile.ru the next generation tablet from Acer is all set to make a splash at CES 2012 in January, with the suggestion that the Iconia Tab A700 release date could be as early as march.

The Iconia Tab A700 is picking up attention because it is a slimmer, lighter and more powerful version of the Iconia Tab A200.

Tegra-ful

The A200 sports a now familiar 1GHz Tegra 2 processor, but its altogether sexier brother will bring a brand spanking new Tegra 3 processor from Nvidia.

Other specs include an impressive 650 gram weight, 1920 x 1200 resolution and a 5MP camera, along with SIM and micro-USB slots.

Of course, TechRadar will be heading over to Acer's CES 2012 stand to check out the tablet and give it a thorough test, so check back for our early impressions from Vegas next month.

Sony to unveil Ericsson-free Xperia phones at CES 2012?

We all know that Sony is planning to bust out a range of Ericsson-less smartphones by June 2012, but we could be seeing the shorter-named handsets as early as CES 2012.

Alongside an invitation to the Sony press conference at the tech show, Swedish site Swedroid received a note inviting it to a second meeting "where the latest Xperia models will be showcased".

The illuminating invitation arrives just as the first images of the Sony-only handset hit the web, a smarpthone apparently codenamed the Sony Xperia Nypon (model number LT22).

Image credit: mobile.it168.com

It's not a particularly inspiring looking handset, but it does seem quite slim up top with a rather rotund bottom half (above).

Speculation time

Specs are said to include a 1GHz dual-core processor, 4-inch qHD display, 8MP camera, 1GB RAM and 16GB ROM.

As far as OSes go, you're looking at Android all the way – supposedly Gingerbread at launch with Ice Cream Sandwich coming later.

But that's not all – another image of a switched on handset that also reckons it's the Nypon (or Nyphon, the rumour mill swings wildly between the two) which is a different design altogether, looking more like the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc HD (aka Nozomi) that we've seen so much of lately. Both of these have thus far come with Sony Ericsson branding, not Sony.

Image credit: Xperia Blog

So what's going on? Either there are several phones on the cards, one or more are a fake or we're seeing some prototype devices surface online.

It's a twisted web – but never fear, CES 2012 is only round the corner, at which point all should become clear.

For now, all we can tell you is that it's possible that Sony will unveil its own-brand phones in January, and it's possible that either or both of the pictured handsets will be among them. It's all wonderfully possible.

Nokia Lumia 900 release date February 2012?

Nokia is all set to release the Nokia Lumia 900 in February, if a tweet from Swiss telco Swisscom is to be revealed.

There's been much rumour and speculation about the Lumia 900 – a handset yet to be announced by Nokia.

Back in November a video with what appeared to be the handset was released and then there were reports the Lumia 900 would land early next year, after being shown off at CES 2012 in January.

Now, Swisscom has let slip on its @Swisscom_care Twitter account that the Nokia Lumia 900 release date will be February.

Bigger screen

The Lumia 900 is a handset that looks an awful lot like its predecessor, the Nokia Lumia 800.

The main difference is the size of the screen, which has been seemingly upped from 3.7 inches to a meaty 4.3 and will be a ClearBlack AMOLED display.

The phone is also set to ship with the forthcoming Windows Phone 'Tango' update.

TechRadar will be reporting from the show floor at CES 2012 in Las Vegas, so we will be sure to offer up official details on the handset when we get them. And if we don't see the Lumia 900 in Vegas, we'll have our eyes peeled for it at Mobile World Congress 2012 in February.

Sony to unveil Ericsson-free Xperia phones at CES 2012?

We all know that Sony is planning to bust out a range of Ericsson-less smartphones by June 2012, but we could be seeing the shorter-named handsets as early as CES 2012.

Alongside an invitation to the Sony press conference at the tech show, Swedish site Swedroid received a note inviting it to a second meeting "where the latest Xperia models will be showcased".

The illuminating invitation arrives just as the first images of the Sony-only handset hit the web, a smarpthone apparently codenamed the Sony Xperia Nypon (model number LT22).

Image credit: mobile.it168.com

It's not a particularly inspiring looking handset, but it does seem quite slim up top with a rather rotund bottom half (above).

Speculation time

Specs are said to include a 1GHz dual-core processor, 4-inch qHD display, 8MP camera, 1GB RAM and 16GB ROM.

As far as OSes go, you're looking at Android all the way – supposedly Gingerbread at launch with Ice Cream Sandwich coming later.

But that's not all – another image of a switched on handset that also reckons it's the Nypon (or Nyphon, the rumour mill swings wildly between the two) which is a different design altogether, looking more like the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc HD (aka Nozomi) that we've seen so much of lately. Both of these have thus far come with Sony Ericsson branding, not Sony.

Image credit: Xperia Blog

So what's going on? Either there are several phones on the cards, one or more are a fake or we're seeing some prototype devices surface online.

It's a twisted web – but never fear, CES 2012 is only round the corner, at which point all should become clear.

For now, all we can tell you is that it's possible that Sony will unveil its own-brand phones in January, and it's possible that either or both of the pictured handsets will be among them. It's all wonderfully possible.

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Nokia Lumia 900 release date February 2012?

Nokia is all set to release the Nokia Lumia 900 in February, if a tweet from Swiss telco Swisscom is to be revealed.

There's been much rumour and speculation about the Lumia 900 – a handset yet to be announced by Nokia.

Back in November a video with what appeared to be the handset was released and then there were reports the Lumia 900 would land early next year, after being shown off at CES 2012 in January.

Now, Swisscom has let slip on its @Swisscom_care Twitter account that the Nokia Lumia 900 release date will be February.

Bigger screen

The Lumia 900 is a handset that looks an awful lot like its predecessor, the Nokia Lumia 800.

The main difference is the size of the screen, which has been seemingly upped from 3.7 inches to a meaty 4.3 and will be a ClearBlack AMOLED display.

The phone is also set to ship with the forthcoming Windows Phone 'Tango' update.

TechRadar will be reporting from the show floor at CES 2012 in Las Vegas, so we will be sure to offer up official details on the handset when we get them. And if we don't see the Lumia 900 in Vegas, we'll have our eyes peeled for it at Mobile World Congress 2012 in February.

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HTC to launch quad-core tablet at MWC 2012?

HTC looks like it wants to leap to the head of the tablet race with the release of a quad core tablet at Mobile World Congress next year.

According to the Chinese paper Commercial Times, the Taiwanese firm is announce the new device in Barcelona next year, along with two new Android-powered smartphones.

While neither claim is really a shock (HTC has already been credited with a strong interest in a quad-core phone recently, and it's not a surprise to think the brand is considering launching new phones at the biggest mobiles event in the world) it's interesting HTC thinks a tablet with higher specs is the way to go.

Not off to a Flyer

The HTC Flyer, launched at MWC last year, didn't really set the world alight thanks to an outdated version of Android and an underpowered chipset in the engine room.

Back then, HTC told TechRadar it thought it could get the same performance out of the lower-cost internals, but it seems that time has proved consumers are more interested in a boost in specs as much as a fancy overlay.

The new tablet is 'confirmed' to be running Android, so more than likely will debut with Ice Cream Sandwich if HTC wants to keep up with the competition, with the Asus Transformer Prime already confirmed to pack four of those cores in a tablet.

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