There have been a few rumblings in recent weeks around the interwebs surrounding a supposed budget tablet heading to market from Acer. According to the folks at NDTV, the Acer Iconia B1 is not only real, but is heading to India potentially before the month end for RS 7,999 ($147.) Further still, there's a chance the first public showing of the new tablet will be at CES next week in Las Vegas. 

The Iconia B1 has also -- briefly -- appeared on the Acer website, before being quickly removed. Thanks to the folks at Unwired View though, we can still view the majority of the page via Google Cache. From it, we learn that the 7 inch tablet will sport a pretty sexy looking blue band around the outside. Spec wise, we're looking at a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, a 1024x600 display, 512MB of RAM, 8GB of on-board storage with a microSD card slot and Jelly Bean. Not at all high end specs, and certainly doesn't hold a candle to the Nexus 7. But, not everyone can get the Nexus 7, or has to pay a distinct premium to get one in their country. In specific markets and the right price, Acer could be onto a good thing with the B1. 

Source(s): NDTV, Acer via Unwired View

Corning has just announced that they have released the latest version of their hardened glass, and Gorilla Glass 3 will be shown off at CES. They haven't told us a lot about the product in their press announcement, but we expect to see scratch-resistance glass that's thinner and more optically clear than the first two iterations of the popular Gorilla Glass line. 

Corning labels Gorilla Glass as "tough, yet sophisticated". Electronic manufacturers seem to agree, as you'll find Gorilla Glass on all manner of products from big screen TVs to the smartphone in your pocket. Their technique makes the surface of the glass clearer and harder to scratch, without adding any bulk or weight. Anything that keeps nasty scratches away from our precious Android phones and tablets. 

Corning will have hourly demos that test the toughness of the new Gorilla Glass 3 at their booth at CES, as well as large format multitouch displays for a more hands on look at the new product. We'll be sure to have a look as we mosey through. A demonstration video and the full press release is after the break.

Polaroid (yes, that Polaroid) is launching a durable, kid-friendly 7-inch tablet today at a pretty great price point. The tablet, which doesn't seem to have a proper name, is designed to be rugged enough to be handled and controlled by a young child as you can see with the large buttons and bezels. The device is actually running Ice Cream Sandwich -- though you'd never know it -- and is pre-loaded with 35 "premium apps" out of the box, with more available in a kid-friendly App Shop. It's probably best not to give a little kid Google Play access right from the get-go anyway.

There's 8GB of storage and some moderate specs here, so for $149.99 it may be a compelling option if you're looking to get a young child in your life a "my first tablet" kind of device. The tablet is on sale now from Polaroid directly or in stores later this month.

Source: Polaroid (BusinessWire); Polaroid Store

After an eternity of waiting and speculation, it seems the elusive ASUS Nexus 7 dock may be about to hit the United States and Europe this month.

In the Netherlands, AndroidWorld.nl has word from ASUS Benelux that the dock will arrive in mid-January. Prices are speculated to be around €29.99. On the U.S. side B&H Photo, which opened preorders of the Nexus 7 dock back in December, is now showing an expected availability date of Jan. 10.

Originally rumored shortly after the tablet's Google I/O debut, the ASUS-made dock connects through the Nexus 7's pogo pins and allows it to connect to other devices through microUSB and headphone jack.

Source: AndroidWorld.nl (Dutch)

Since going open source, HP's webOS platform has been ported to a handful of Android devices, including the Galaxy Nexus and the Nook Color. The most recent addition to this niche club is the ASUS-made Nexus 7. A dedicated gesture area, working keyboard, brightness adjuster, and Wi-Fi connectivity are all up and running.

Palm expatriates may by happy to see their old friend webOS again, especially if they have a a spare Nexus 7 kicking around to get the build running themselves once it's made publicly available, but as you can see in the video, things are still very much in an alpha state.

It's hard to say exactly where aspects of Open webOS will proliferate through the mobile ecosystem over the long run, but looking at experiments like this, it's hard not to think that Android might be one of those places. Any old webOS users here? Who would be willing to try to bring it to their Nexus 7? 

via webOS Central

If you got a Kindle device this year for the holidays, don't forget about the Kindle Store Daily Deals. There are always plenty of books for just $1.99, and they change daily. It's a great way to build your library on the cheap.

You need a Kindle or Kindle Fire to buy them, but once purchased they are in your Amazon account and can be read on any device with a Kindle app. With WhisperSync taking care of your bookmarks, you'll be hard pressed to find a better reading solution anywhere. To find them, just open the Kindle store from your tablet and look for the Daily Deals link on the right. 

You'll always find deals and specials in the music and video store as well, but the Kindle deals are a solid perk for having one of Amazon's tablets. Take advantage of it if you like to read and have a Kindle device. I just picked up William Alexander's "The $64 Tomato" and plan on spending the evening enjoying the warm indoors with it.

Coming a bit out of left field, the Toshiba Excite 7.7 tablet is receiving an OTA update to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. A model that most people had forgotten about (including Toshiba, many would've guessed,) the 7.7-inch variety of the Excite is pulling down a quite sizeable 348MB update that will bring it up to Android 4.1.1. The update will bring the new UI style -- with centered navigation buttons and new status bar -- that we've seen on the latest updates to the Nexus 7, along with all of the other new Jelly Bean goodies like Project Butter and Google Now.

The update is now live and many users are reporting that the OTA is hitting their tablets. Have you been notified on your device yet? Let us know in the comments.

Source: Android Police

You might remember that we hooked with Google last week and set up some giveaways for Nexus 7 tablets and Google Play gift cards. That's the kind of awesome stuff we do around these parts, and spreading the Android love around is something we enjoy. Anyhow, back to those giveaways.

We went through the forums threads and picked out our winners, and here they be.

• Day one (December 17): scottyhifi
• Day two (December 18): randyw
• Day three (December 19): Culex316
• Day four (December 21): Danrarbc
• Day five (December 22): lexflo

Congrats all around! Keep an eye on your inboxes, as I'm going to need to know where to send the Nexus 7s. Thanks everyone for entering, and keep an eye out for more big contests.