Take that, iPad! (1 Viewer)

[Parker Clack]

This would be good to have in the kitchen to be able to look up recipes, create a grocery list, etc. It is basically a striped down Acer Aspire laptop.

 

 

[Hanson]

Here's a real contender for the tablet market from Samsung:

 

http://www.pcworld.com/article/202347/let_the_samsung_galaxy_tablet_hype_begin.html

 

Here's a teaser trailer:

 



 

If they sell these for $400 without contract, I'm all over this puppy.  My one complaint about the iPad is that it's too big and heavy -- a lighter tablet you can hold in one hand that plays widescreen movies in almost full screen is much more appealing to me.

 

If they're going to force me to purchase through a carrier with a data plan or the price is north of $400, there's always this $300 wifi only option:

 

http://cruztablet.com/tablet.php 

 

[DaveF]

Aren't tablets officially prohibited for Android 2.2 and enforced by blocking them from the Marketplace?

So how's an iPad competitor going to fare with no "AppStore"?

 

[Hanson]

The core Google apps outside of the OS, notably the Market app, have to be licensed from Google (the Augen Gentouch was pulled from stores for violating this stipulation). I assume Samsung has paid that licensing and will have full Market access. However, the language in the Cruz tablet website seems to indicate no official market access. That does not mean that you cannot sideload apk's, and I believe you can install appbrain to take care of that anyway.  So you should be able to get around this limitation with the Cruz tablet with a little know how.  I haven't found a single app I've downloaded from the Market that isn't already available from appbrain.

 

EDIT:  Not sure about appbrain, but there is a site called SlideME that allows you to download the apk files for sideloading.  NOt as comprehensive as Marketplace or Appbrain, but it covers most of your needs.

 

[DaveF]

I'm just going with what I've read elsewhere: no "Markeplace" for Android 2.2 tablets (Android 3.0 is for tablets).

 

If this is the case, compare the iPad, where any idiot can trivially go to the iTunes store and buy games and apps and music, to this tablet where you have to be an Android geek to know the places you can and cannot shop. This is not a recipe for success. This isn't me being a fanboy in any way, it's just tablestakes. How do you compete with the iPad if you start with a confusing app system?

 

If none of that is right, if this tablet has immediate access to the main and other Android appstores, then I take it all back

 

[Hanson]

I highly. highly doubt that the Cruz Tablet will gain any traction. In fact, I can guarantee it will plagued with enough issues that only techie geeks (and perhaps their spouses) will find any real enjoyment from it. Between the price and the means of the manufacturer, it's almost certain that it's not going to be a polished, mass market product.

 

The Galaxy tablet is another story -- it is almost a given that Samsung will be releasing a full featured, mass market device, and that means Marketplace access. Note that the Dell Streak, which is more tablet than phone (and is marketed as such) has full Market access.

 

But the bottom line is price -- the Galaxy tablet, if marketed and priced correctly, will be a less expensive alternative to the iPad. And for people like me, the smaller form factor makes it a more attractive option (also, being inside of Apple's wall-garden makes the iPad a non-starter for me).

 

If the Galaxy tablet isn't able to access the Marketplace, the only hope is for Samsung to create and maintain their own app marketplace. This might not be as terrible as it sounds for casual users, provided they carry all the bit hitters, and geeks can work around it anyway.

 

[DaveF]

The "cruz" and "galaxy" aren't the same thing? You've got a video to the Galaxy and a link to a cruz: I took it they were the same product. I'm already confused by the Android tablets and none have even launched yet

 

Bottomline is price, until people find they can't buy Angry Birds or GPS apps or whatever they want because Android 2.2 tablets are blocked from the main app store.

 

It seems that all pre-3.0 tablets are just going to make a mess of things.

 

[Hanson]

Oh no -- the Cruz Tablet is from a company called Velocity Micro. The Galaxy Tablet is from Samsung. Two separate products. Sorry if my wording confused you. I was trying to say that if the Galaxy tab was too expensive or required a data plan, my fallback was the Cruz Tablet.

 

[DaveF]

Apple's in trouble now! A rumored tablet is rumored to compete with Apple's rumored iPad!

http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20100827PD209.html

 

 

[Hanson]

The Galaxy tablet is not a rumor.  It's real.  It's the one I linked to above. 

 

The 7" iPad?  Now that's a rumor.  But likely to be released.

 

Now here's a rumored tablet:

 

http://tablets-planet.com/2010/08/22/googles-chrome-os-tablet-will-feature-what-kind-of-screen/

 

Here's some speculation on iPad marketshare:

 

http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/acer_ipad_will_drop_to_20_of_tablet_market_losing_to_open_android/

 

[DaveF]

Ah, missed the name; thought it was a fantastically meta rumor

 

Now...wait! A company is predicted they're going to kick the butt of their competitor? That must be a quality, unbiased analysis!

 

 

I love these companies that talk about how they're going kick ass but never get around to doing it. It's like the car companies with their awesome concept cars that never see light of day, while they keep producing crap product for the salesfloor. Acer should shut up and release a product. Or is that too much like Apple?

 

[DaveF]

Getting closer. No pricing yet.

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2010/09/galaxy-tab-coming-to-all-us-carriers-no-pricing-yet-no-4g.ars?old=v6

 

[Sam Posten]

O rlly?

http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/23/hp-slate-prototype-caught-in-the-wild-booted-to-windows-7/

 

[Sam Posten]

The Force is strong with the ABA* coallition.

*anybody but Apple

 

[DaveF]

That looks like a joke: it's what happens when you smash a conventional UI into a touch system.

 

The promo of the Samsung tablet, however, looks great! It looks like a near copy of the iPad in ways, with some nice tweaks and even innovations. Full video out during all use? Wow!

http://www.tmonews.com/2010/09/want-nine-minutes-of-the-galaxy-tab-on-video-youre-in-luck/

 

But I'm still not a big fan of screens with 1/2 the effective resolution of my iPhone (and so I hope for a 150 ppi iPad).

 

[Hanson]

I found it interesting that Google's stance on Android Tablets is that Gingerbread is the official Google Android Tablet software, and they will deny Market access to any tablet that is running froyo or less.


Of course, the upcoming Galaxy Tab is running froyo and yet has Market access. So what gives? Does Samsung simply have more pull than Archos or Cruz or NotionInk? Is that fair?


Well, it turns out there is a little loophole. If you can make calls with the device, you can technically argue it's a phone, and therefore you can have Market access. Which is why the Galaxy Tab has 3G voice capability (which requires a contract) and the reason why there is no wifi only Galaxy Tab -- it couldn't have market access if it were wifi only.


Once Gingerbread is released, look for an avalanche of Android tablets from all the big hitters. If you're sniffing around for an Android tablet, you should probably sit tight and wait for Gingerbread.

 

[DaveF]

Is 3.0 tablet only?

 

[Hanson]

Both.

 

[DaveF]

It will be interesting to see which phones get the 3.0 upgrade and which are left behind. People complain about the iPhone OS upgrade strategy, but so far Apple does a much better job of keeping old phones up to date than Google. Can Google start doing a better job than Apple as it moves past 2.2 to 3.0? If they can, that will be attractive to the tech-minded consumers.


When is 3.0 due out? Or, how much longer will the iPad be the only tablet on the market? (I'm discounting the Galaxy Tab since it's apparently a ginormous phone rather than a tablet. That may be an erroneous view. )

 

[Hanson]

I'm starting to think that Gingerbread will not make it to the current batch of 1ghz phones. It's looking like froyo will be the OS for entry level phones and gingerbread will be for dual core phones and tablets. There are also resolution standards that current phones will not be able to meet.