Google and Samsung will announce a new 10-inch tablet codenamed "Manta" at its October 29th event, according to The Next Web. If the sites unnamed sources are to be believed the Manta will feature a 10-inch 2560 x 1600 display with an iPad-beating pixel density of around 300ppi. The tablet, which if real will likely be released as the Nexus 10, will reportedly be sold alongside the existing Asus Nexus 7 and new LG Nexus 4 as part of a multi-manufacturer Nexus program. There aren't any further details on the purported Nexus 10; processor and pricing will be key to the tablet's success.

At the same event, Google will announce a slight refresh to its Nexus 7 line, bringing HSPA+ 3G connectivity to the tablet for the first time, as well as the now-confirmed internal storage bump. The Next Web also reports that both the Nexus 4 and Nexus 10 will launch with an updated OS, Android 4.2. It named "content in the center" (a new Play Store Widget), "Tablet Sharing" (multiple user accounts on one device), and horizontal and vertical panoramic photo capture as headline features for the new OS. It's not clear if Google will release 4.2 under a new codename or if it will still be named Jelly Bean. Although, as with any rumor, these details should be taken with a pinch of salt, The Next Web seems pretty certain that its sources are accurate.

The iPad Mini not only isn't revolutionary in any way, it isn't even an iterative improvement on the iPad series, nor does it challenge opponents to step up their game (at most it challenges opponents to lower their prices further, a challenge they seem capable of meeting).

It was obvious during the launch that Apple was aware of its weaknesses, and like any good magician they practiced the art of misdirection, focusing on red herring issues like how that extra .9-inches of screen real estate mean a better browsing experience (because tapping or pinching to zoom is such an enormous hardship, apparently), or their subtle assertion that the Nexus 7 feels "cheap" and "plasticky" (which, outside the reality distortion field at least, is nowhere near true; sorry, Apple, but even professional fanboi MG Siegler doesn't agree with you on that one).

Even Samsung wouldn't try to make a selling point of having the biggest mini tablet out there... it's a mini for a reason, after all! If anything even Apple must have known their "mini" wasn't really very mini, how else to explain those ungodly narrow bezels in portrait mode? Those bezels are so narrow that, to borrow a Jobsianism, they make no sense for normal human hands unless it also comes with sandpaper to file down your fingers with.

Nexus 10 Specifications

Samsung Exynos 5250
Clocked at 1.7 GHz
Dual-core Cortex-A15
Mali-T604 GPU
2GB RAM
16GB internal storage (other options possible)
10.1-inch Super AMOLED display
2560 x 1600 pixel resolution
298.9 pixels-per-inch
5-megapixel rear-facing camera
LED flash
Front-facing camera
NFC
WiFi
Bluetooth 4.0
Dual speakers located on front of device

To save battery while playing video Tegra intelligently decreases the backlight while increasing color brightness and contrast. Because it monitors on a frame by frame basis the changes are often unnoticable. You basically end up with the same displayed image using less backlight.

Unfortunately it seems to get stuck even after you leave the video and the changes are very noticeable as the changes were specific to the video frame you just left and not your homescreen.

This also may be the cause of some ghosting issues and for some it seems to eliminate any ghosting problems for them.

Why did you make the system buttons and status bar consistent across all devices in Jelly Bean?

Consistency and usability are really important to us, and that’s something we strive to improve in every new version of Android. With Honeycomb we first introduced the idea of a completely onscreen navigation UI which gave us unprecedented flexibility in how that UI adapts and transforms - both when you turn the device in your hands and when the software changes and has different control needs. Now in Jelly Bean we’ve made the universal software navigation buttons and system bar consistent across all screen sizes.

This new configuration is based on usability research we did on all of the different form factors and screen sizes that Android runs on. What mattered most of all was muscle memory - keeping the buttons where you expect them, no matter how you hold the device.

Phones are almost always used in portrait mode, flip sideways occasionally, and never go upside down. As screen sizes get larger though, any which way goes. Imagine the frustration you’d feel if every time you picked up a tablet off the table ‘the wrong way up’ you found yourself reaching for a home button that wasn’t where you expect it to be? That irritation adds up and over time like a tiny grain of sand in your shoe and undermines the rest of your experience.

The Jelly Bean system bar always keeps the same 3 buttons where you expect them. This happens dynamically for every screen size, up until you get to small handheld screens where stacking the bars in landscape mode would leave too little vertical space.

The second thing we discovered was that there are almost as many different ways of holding our devices as there are people. In fact people love to use their Nexus so much that they use them for such long periods of time that having a single ‘correct grip’ is actually counter productive and increases hand strain. The Jelly Bean navigation buttons work equally well for left handers and right handers, one handed use, or two handed use, and for devices you’re carrying, resting on your knee, or putting on the table.

Last but not least, by unifying the design we are now able to put Notifications and Quick Settings right where you’d expect them, and only one swipe away.


Why don’t Nexus devices have SD cards?

Everybody likes the idea of having an SD card, but in reality it's just confusing for users.

If you’re saving photos, videos or music, where does it go? Is it on your phone? Or on your card? Should there be a setting? Prompt everytime? What happens to the experience when you swap out the card? It’s just too complicated.

We take a different approach. Your Nexus has a fixed amount of space and your apps just seamlessly use it for you without you ever having to worry about files or volumes or any of that techy nonsense left over from the paleolithic era of computing.

With a Nexus you know exactly how much storage you get upfront and you can decide what’s the right size for you. That’s simple and good for users.

Anyone who purchased the Nexus 7 before October 29 when the price dropped and more memory suddenly meant less money certainly has a reason to be a little upset. Up to this point we haven’t heard anything from either ASUS or Google on the subject, but the situation seems to have changed today. Depending on where you live in Europe, you can receive a €30 or €25 voucher to the ASUS store if you purchased it before the price drop.

Better get your receipt ready though, ASUS does want you to register your tablet through their website to get your voucher. It’s worth noting as well that the Nexus 7 must have come directly from ASUS or Google to cash in on this voucher. No word on a plan like this for the US, but we’ll keep our ear to the ground since more than a few of you might be interested.

Update: Reader Thom pointed out that Google offers a similar “Price Protection” for devices whose prices have been reduced. The 16GB Nexus 7 is singled out in their Help section as being eligible. It reads:

Nexus 7 (16GB version only) purchases from Devices on Google Play are currently eligible for Price Protection if the purchase was made on or after October 14, 2012. If your purchase is eligible, we’ll refund the difference in price within 14 days of your request.