Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Wi-Fi 16GB

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Wi-Fi: A Worthy Rival to the iPad 2

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Wi-Fi is the first Android tablet to mount an effective challenge to Apple's iPad 2 in the area where Apple does best: design. And let's face it, where tablets are concerned, design occupies center stage. Happily for Samsung, the Tab 10.1--available in limited distribution starting today, starting at $499 for a 16GB version--parlays its design and its Android 3.1 operating system into a machine that vaults to the head of the Android pack.

In my hands-on testing, the Tab 10.1 achieved perhaps the best design compliment an Android tablet could hope for--often being mistaken by passers-by (including Apple iPad users) for an iPad 2. The confusion is understandable when you see and hold the Tab 10.1 for the first time. It has a slim profile of 8.6mm (0.34 inch)--a hair's breadth slimmer than the iPad 2's 8.4mm depth.

From the side, the two tablets look very similar. The Tab 10.1 edge is more rounded, though, while the iPad's is tapered. The tablet comes in two colors: Shipping first is the White model, which couples a silver-painted plastic edge with a white plastic back, and a Metallic Gray version, with edges and back that more closely match. I preferred the Gray version, which is less likely to be mistaken for Apple's ultrahip tablet, because I liked the feel and texture of the dark backing; the white backing somehow felt chintzier.

The Tab 10.1 weighs slightly less than the iPad 2, as well, at 1.25 pounds versus the iPad 2's 1.33 pounds. And it stands slightly taller and narrower than iPad: 10.1 by 6.9 inches, as against the iPad 2's 9.5 by 7.3 inches.

Using the Galaxy Tab 10.1 Wi-Fi

All of these details matter less, though, than how the Galaxy Tab 10.1 Wi-Fi handles. The Tab 10.1 feels lightweight and extremely well balanced; I found it comfortable to hold in one hand or two, and it weighed so little that I hardly noticed it was in my bag. I would still like to see the weight on tablets of this size drop closer to 1 pound, while the devices increase their built-in functionality with additional ports and other features; but this model is a significant step toward that goal--especially if you consider that (discounting the heavier, thicker, region-specific 10.1V) the Tab 10.1 is Samsung's first mass-market tablet of this size.

The Tab 10.1 takes minimalist design cues from Apple, as well. Beyond the docking port, it offers a power button and volume rocker at the top (in horizontal orientation) or along the right side (when held vertically). Also along the right top is the headphone jack; it's awkwardly situated if you hold the tablet horizontally and engage in video chat at the same time, because the jack is just above and to the right of where the camera is. But if you flip the orientation to put the jack at the bottom of the horizontal display, or if you hold the tablet vertically with the jack running along the right side, the jack's location works fine).

The stereo speakers are situated a little more than an inch down from the top, along the left and right horizontal edges. This positioning worked well, since my hands didn't get in the way of the speakers. The speakers were above average for an Android tablet sound system, and far better than the iPad 2's single rear-facing speaker. But audio still sounded too tinny on my test tracks.

The 1280-by-800-pixel-resolution display looked bright and brilliant, two characteristics we've come to associate with Samsung's phone and tablet displays. Like the 7-inch Galaxy Tab before it, the Tab 10.1 has a display that tends to oversaturate colors. On a color-chart test image, most of the colors, including reds and blues, were blown out. In our test images of sights and scenes, images popped but had a bit too much red and blue in the mix. In side-by-side comparison, the Apple iPad 2 generated better color reproduction, especially when in the soft browns of skin tones.

Still, the Tab 10.1 rendered images with terrific sharpness and detail. This is the first Android tablet to ship natively with Google's Android 3.1 update, and images clearly benefited from the updated OS, looking crisp and lacking any sign of the fuzzy rendering issue that plagued earlier Honeycomb versions.

Inside the Galaxy Tab 10.1

Like other Honeycomb tablets, the Tab 10.1 runs Nvidia's Tegra 2 platform, with a dual-core 1GHz processor and 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi. The Tab 10.1 has many of the now-standard tablet accouterments like rear- and front- facing cameras (3- and 2-megapixels, respectively, with rear flash), a gyroscope, an accelerometer, a digital compass, and an ambient light sensor.

The Galaxy Tab 10.1 Wi-Fi's specs have changed--for better and for worse--since its introduction atCTIA in early 2011. Most notably, the weight has decreased from 1.31 pounds to 1.24 pounds. Unfortunately, that weight reduction might be due to the now-departed microSD card slot--a disappointing late scratch in an area that would have given the Tab 10.1 a significant advantage over the iPad 2. Also missing so far is any mention of a 64GB version, which Samsung had previously announced was in the works.

The Tab 10.1 supports Adobe Flash, but my test unit came without Flash preinstalled. Nor did the unit have a shortcut on the desktop linking directly to Adobe's Flash Player on the Android Market, as other Honeycomb tablets have done to handle the Flash installation conundrum (Flash is not native to the Android OS).

And yet other, positive file-support surprises abound. The Tab 10.1 supports Windows Media audio and video files (including .WMA, .WMV, and .AVI)--formats that Android 3.1 doesn't natively support--so Samsung deserves credit for jumping in to the fill the void here. The Tab 10.1 can also read Xvid, another format not cited on Android's official list.

The Tab 10.1 comes preloaded with Quickoffice HD, for reading and editing Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files and for file browsing. (Interesting observation: Files that I downloaded via Gmail appeared only in the Download folder, even though the images and videos appeared directly in the Gallery app, and even though the music showed in the Music app.)

As shipped, the Tab 10.1 comes with the stock Android 3.1 OS on board, with very little customizing. The Tab 10.1 is the first Honeycomb tablet to ship with Google's facile Android Movie Studio (Google's answer to Apple's iMovie on iOS). In addition, it offers a customized keyboard from Nuance, with trace typing capabilities. This keyboard is the default keyboard, but you can switch to the native Honeycomb keyboard if you prefer. I liked the Samsung keyboard: It's gray with black letters, large keys, and mostly useful shortcut keys such as @, .com, and :-) in the e-mail keyboard.

Beyond that, you get Samsung's attractive orange-and-blue sunrise-like wallpaper scheme; Samsung Apps, Samsung's nascent and (for now) irrelevant app store; Samsung Music Hub, a music store and player powered by 7digital; and the Pulse news reader.

Samsung's more customized overlay, TouchWiz UX, will be available later this summer as an over-the-air update. It's not available preinstalled at launch, Samsung says, because the company didn't have time to test it thoroughly with Android 3.1. When the overlay does arrive, Samsung says, users can opt to use elements of it, or they can revert to stock Android. That said, we won't know the details of the implementation until it arrives.

TouchWiz UX will add various interface customizations to improve Android 3.1's usability. It will also add Samsung's Media Hub movie and TV purchase and rental service, along with Reader Hub (powered by Kobo Books and Zinio) and Social Hub (for accessing social networks under one roof).

Of special interest to business users: You can set the Tab 10.1 to encrypt user data; and it supports enhanced Exchange ActiveSync, Cisco AnyConnect SSL VPN, and F5 SSL VPN.

What You Sacrifice

To achieve its slim and light design, Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 Wi-Fi accepts some compromises that may temper its appeal, depending on your needs. Like the iPad 2, it has no ports beyond its docking port, which is centered along the horizontal bottom edge. To add connectivity, you must invest in the optional dongles due to arrive later this month.

Samsung will have docking port dongles to add USB, SD Card, and HDMI, but all of these feel like the afterthoughts they are. It would be nice to get to a point where at least HDMI and USB connectivity are integrated directly into the tablet. Many competitors in the red-hot tablet space build in at least one such port--but those competitors are also far heavier, at 1.5 to 1.65 pounds. Once the dongles are available, I'll update this review with further hands-on testing.

Another thing I noticed in my casual testing: The 7000-mAh battery took inordinately long to charge. After 2 hours plugged in, my test unit had reached only about 30 percent charged. The battery is rated for up to 9 hours of use.

Stay tuned for our full PCWorld Labs performance test results, including battery life and recharge times.

The full-scale launch of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Wi-Fi is scheduled for June 17, when you'll be able to buy the tablet at Best Buy, Fry's Electronics, and Micro Center; and online at Amazon.com, Best Buy, Newegg, and Tiger Direct. The 32GB version is priced at $599, $100 more than the 16GB model; both prices match Apple's comparable offerings. Additional mobile broadband versions will come; Verizon starts its presale today for 4G versions of the Tab 10.1, at a $130 premium over the Wi-Fi prices (that's the same premium as for the 4G iPad 2).

Sony Tablet S Goes Beyond Basics

Sony Tablet S Review

(Updated: November 21, 2011) The Sony Tablet S marks the company's first foray into Android tablets. The 9.4-inch slate ($500 for 16GB, $600 for 32GB, prices as of November 21, 2011) is no run-of-the-mill iPad lookalike, though. The Tablet S shows that the consumer electronics giant has not lost its design mojo over the years, as this model brings Sony's originality and flair to a tablet market that desperately needs both.

What distinguishes the Sony Tablet S isn't its specs, which are fairly standard, but its design. Sony's attention to detail is hard to miss.

'Wedge' Design: Refreshingly Unique

What makes the Tablet S unique, for starters, is the tablet's tapered design, which grows from 0.3 inch at its thinnest edge to 0.79 inch at its deepest. The Tablet S eschews the usual flat-slab look. Sony says the design was influenced by the curve of a folded-around magazine.

Sony has sacrificed the slimness of an Apple iPad 2 or a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in favor of something distinctively pleasing to hold. The unusual design offers two benefits: First, at the thicker side, the plastic curves around the edges, making the device comfortable to hold. Everything on the screen flips orientation based on the accelerometer, so you can hold the tablet just as comfortably in your right or left hand. Second, the wedge design provides a gentle incline for typing, making this tablet more natural to use than the flat slabs.

The Tablet S weighs 1.33 pounds according to Sony, which puts the new device on a par with Apple's iPad 2. However, the effective weight feels different, because the wedge design of the Tablet S also accommodates an off-center weighting of the components inside. This has the net effect of making the tablet feel as if it weighs less than it does. In a side-by-side test, the iPad 2 seemed just a tad heavier--even though it really wasn't.

A Typing-Friendly Tablet

Sony's attention to detail doesn't stop there. The tablet is clearly optimized for use in a landscape orientation. And in that position, I found that my fingers naturally fell to where the power and volume buttons were, in the sloped, indented right edge of the tablet; plus, I liked how natural the flow felt as I pressed the power button to wake the device and then swiped my finger to unlock Android 3.1.

Sony made numerous interface changes, as well. The company stopped short of doing a full rework, as Samsung did with its Galaxy Tab 10.1; instead, Sony tweaked the standard Android Honeycomb interface, making tasks more intuitive to perform. It also added useful widgets and shortcuts to the home screen, and included a tile-based Favorites screen (shown first at the tablet's unveiling earlier this summer). Lastly, Sony completely transformed the look of the apps menu to make app icons easier to navigate.

Sony has replaced the stock Android keyboard with its own keyboard design, too. I liked the layout of the Sony keyboard a lot, largely because I didn't have to think much about what was where. In some views, such as for entering a password, the width of the keyboard reduces so that a number pad can appear on the same screen. I wish more tablet keyboards raised the number pad up a level--or at least gave the option to do so.

Tablet S Adapts Easily to Your Routine

One of the things that made the Tablet S stand out for me is the way it complemented how I wanted to use the tablet.

It's easy for me to tell you how surfing the Web with the Tablet S or reading a book on it from the couch was a breeze, but what I really like is the attention Sony paid to how someone might use the tablet. For example, with the tablet's built-in IR blaster app and Sony's well-designed remote control app, I had no trouble turning the Tablet S into a universal remote for controlling my home theater components, including multiple DVD recorders, Blu-ray players, and televisions, regardless of the manufacturer or age of each component.

Dream Tablet for Gamers

Another feature that has tons of potential: The Tablet S and the smaller Tablet P (which releases later this year) are the first tablets to be PlayStation Certified. On-board you get the PlayStation hits Crash Bandicoot and Pinball Heroes. Never mind that Crash is a throwback to 1996-era gaming; I still found this port to the Android platform entertaining and compelling. The potential is huge given Sony's library of titles--and that potential only gets multiplied if the company were to ever tie in PlayStation Portable or PlayStation 3 games. Sony is slowly ramping up the titles available; by year-end it hopes to have a couple dozen games, with more on the way. Regardless, with this feature (and with support for PlayStation game controllers), Sony clearly differentiates its tablet for the gaming crowd.

When you add up the pluses of the Tablet S, suddenly Sony's pricing feels a bit more reasonable.

Getting Up Close With the Tablet S Display

For a Honeycomb tablet, the Sony Tablet S specs sound fairly familiar: a 1GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, and 16GB or 32GB of storage.

The display, however, measures just 9.4 inches on the diagonal, which makes the Tablet S unique among its competitive set for now. Interestingly, the rumor mill had pegged Amazon as offering a 9.4-inch display, but in fact Sony looks to be the first out the gate with that size. The overwhelming majority of Android 3.x Honeycomb tablets have a 10.1-inch display; only a handful have strayed, including Acer's 7-inch A100 tablet and T-Mobile's 8.9-inch G-Slate tablet. (The Sony Tablet S measures 9.5 by 6.8 inches, and, as mentioned earlier, 0.3 inch at its thinnest edge.)

The display's resolution, 1280 by 800 pixels, is the same as that of the 10.1-inch competition. And the display benefits from Sony's TruBlack technology, borrowed from HDTVs. The technology reduces the air gap between the LCD layer and the glass layer by filling in the space with a clear gel that reduces the light reflectivity to mitigate glare and increase sharpness and contrast. As with most any LCD tablet, the screen is still an unusable mirror in bright light and direct sunlight. In ambient light, however, the display looks better than most, judging from my casual use testing.

Buttons, Cameras, Ports, and Jacks

My test images looked impressive on my unit, exhibiting fine detail and generally good color handling, though the Tablet S had difficulty handling the natural colors of skin tones.

The front-facing camera is just 0.3 megapixel, while the rear-facing camera is 5 megapixels. It tested as one of the better tablet cameras we've seen.

Along the left edge, the tablet has a headphone jack and a secure flap that covers the SD Card slot and Micro-USB port. The port is more for sideloading content via the PC than anything else, while the SD Card slot is handy for viewing media; unfortunately, the slot is there only to transfer media from the card to tablet, not to serve as bona fide usable expansion as on theToshiba Thrive, for instance. Sony says this situation may change with a future firmware update.

At the bottom is Sony's proprietary docking port and charger. I could understand this part being proprietary if the tablet recharged quickly, at least. In our tests, however, this model required 3 hours, 19 minutes to charge--not as much as some competing models, but a disproportionately long time given that the battery lasted only 4 hours, 44 minutes.

Tablet S: Software and Usability

The Tablet S brims with additional hardware and software tweaks that set it apart from the rest of the competition. For example, Sony added its own software algorithm to the touchscreen's firmware to analyze finger movement and improve responsiveness. Also nice is the redesigned apps menu, which permits you to make icons larger and allows for custom views such as sorting apps alphabetically or newest first. Another customization, the promising Sony Favorites page, has a tile-structured design; in use, though, I found it more limited than I would have liked, with its heavy focus on showing my most recently added, played, or viewed content.

Speaking of apps, Sony provides a slew of custom apps. Sony's Gallery app replaces the native Google gallery. Sony also includes its own music player, which produces far better audio than the Google native player that ships with the Android OS. In my informal tests Sony's music player boosted the loudness, bass, and overall sound quality significantly. Regrettably, the improvement is audible only through Sony’s player; if you use the Pandora app, for instance, you’re out of luck. And Sony’s player has limited features (for example, you can play by album or artist, but you don't get track-level access). One convenient feature in Sony’s own gallery, music player, and video player is the ability to throw a piece of content over to any DLNA device the tablet detects. This throw capability, together with the Tablet S’s DLNA support, may explain the unit’s lack of an on-board HDMI port.

The Tablet S has links to Sony's stores on the Web, Music Unlimited and Video Unlimited, as well as to the Reader store; however, the sites were not ready at this writing, so I couldn't tell how optimized the experience was for use via the tablet. What was available: Sony’s Chumby for Sony Tablet. Sony ported the Chumby apps used on the Sony Dash for its tablet, which opens up plenty of options for how you can engage with the Tablet S.

Apple iPad 2 with Wi-Fi + 3G 16GB

Apple iPad 2: Tablet Is Thinner, Lighter, Faster to Use

The Apple iPad 2 is neither a revolution nor a revelation. Rather, it's an evolutionary bump over its predecessor, which is enough for iPad 2 to be competitive with, and stay ahead of, its tablet competition, even if only by a hair. While the iPad 2 still leaves much room for improvement, it delivers a largely satisfying tablet experience at an appealing price (in 18 variants, starting at $499 for a 16GB, Wi-Fi-only version).

Design Aesthetics

The iPad 2's industrial design follows the model established with the first-generation iPad and with the iPhone 4: The 9.7-inch display dominates the device, with a home button on front, a volume rocker and slider switch on the side (now usable as either a mute button or rotation lock, your choice), and a power button up top. The back and sides continue to be anodized aluminum--a design trait that enables Apple's new Smart Cover (in 12 colors and two materials; prices start at $39.95) to attach on the underside using magnets, and to flip over the display to "smartly" lock and unlock the screen. Nifty. Regrettably, the aluminum back is highly prone to scratches--so if you don't put some sort of protective sheath over the back, you're bound to end up with scratches just from putting it on a surface.

Compared with the original, the iPad 2 is physically streamlined: At 0.34 inch deep, it's thinner than the original's 0.5 inch, and its chassis is now surround by tapered edges, which make it easier to hold. The tablet weighs 1.33 pounds (Wi-Fi version; the AT&T and Verizon models weigh 0.01 and 0.02 pounds heavier, respectively, to accommodate the 3G radio). The 12 percent to 17 percent weight reduction as compared to the original iPad--which weighed 0.17 and 0.26 pounds more for the Wi-Fi and AT&T 3G varietals--truly does make a difference, particularly when holding the tablet in one hand. And you will use any tablet one-handed: Anytime you don't use the tablet when resting on a surface, you'll at some point have to hold it one hand while you use the other hand to navigate the screen. While the change in weight isn't enough for me to say I'd hold the iPad in one hand for reading a book for an hour, I found it did make the one-handed general operation much more pleasant and viable. And I found the difference in weight very obvious compared with the Motorola Xoom, an Android 3.0 tablet that weighs 1.6 pounds.

This model's tapered edges provide a single unibody-style design, leading to a flat back (the first-gen iPad had a slightly curved back that left it wobbly on a surface). The buttons are now located along this curve, as is the dock connector. Though I had no issues with the button placement, the curve repeatedly made it challenging for me to properly align and insert the cable into the port.

The tapered edges also required moving the speaker. Previously, it was located flush on the bottom bezel, facing downward. Now, it's along the taper, running about half an inch up to the back. The new location gives you a chance of getting audio even if you rest the tablet directly with the bottom edge on your lap (before, audio would be muffled in this position). But now, audio can be muffled if you lay the tablet flat on its back and expect to hear output from the speaker. The speaker still sounds tinny and barely passable, but it's there if you need it. For better audio, flip that Smart Cover around to the back; the audio will reflect off the cover, amplifying the sound.

Like its predecessor, you won't find any ports, slots, or connectors (beyond the 30-pin dock connector and the headphone jack). Video-out is handled via a bulky but effective dock connector to HDMI cable.

Display

While the iPad 2's display is one of the best I've seen on any tablet in use today, it still disappoints. Here's why. The display is unchanged from the first-generation iPad: It's bright, with 1024-by-768-pixel resolution, at 132 pixels per inch. After using an iPhone 4 for the better part of the past year, though, I couldn't help but wish we had the Retina Display (960 by 640 resolution at 326 pixels per inch) on the iPad instead. I've seen some reports that say the display is comparable to the iPhone 4's, but I find that the sharpness of both images and text suffers on the iPad 2 versus the iPhone 4.

Text, in particular, is a sore point for me: The pixelation and fuzziness in many fonts--including the font for the icon labels, and the standard text I see in the Web browser or in iBook--borders on unbearable, in the same way that I cringe when I go back to my iPhone 3GS after using my iPhone 4. I imagine that some of these complaints could be solved by better antialiasing in the iOS operating system to compensate for the lack of native resolution, but no such tweak is evident in the version of iOS shipping on the iPad 2 (iOS 4.3).

Those complaints aside, in comparison with the Motorola Xoom and the (7-inch) Samsung Galaxy Tab, the iPad 2 display more than holds its own. Of the three, the Tab has the sharpest text and images, but its colors are oversaturated. The Xoom is fuzzy, and suffers from similar antialiasing issues in text--despite its higher-res 1280 by 800 display. Though the iPad 2 has issues with fuzzy, pixelated text, too, it's colors are pleasingly balanced and accurate, and images are reasonably sharp.

Performance

The guts of the iPad have been stepped up to include 512MB of RAM (twice the RAM of the original iPad), a 200-MHz bus, and the new dual-core A5 chip. The inclusion of a dual-core CPU was necessary; competing Android 3.0 tablets all use a dual-core chip. The RAM on the iPad 2 is half that on the Android models, but whether this will truly impact usability or is merely a reflection of Apple's home-team advantage as both hardware and operating system manufacturer remains to be seen.

Our performance tests showed the iPad 2 completed the Sunspider 0.9.1 Javascript test in 2.1 seconds. That result is full 1.2 seconds faster than the iPad 1, and was twice as fast as the iPhone 4. Moreover, the iPad matched the Android 3.0, dual-core Tegra 2-based Motorola Xoom, and it was three times as fast as Samsung's single-core Galaxy Tab. The iPad 2 hammered the Motorola Xoom in startup time; it was 43 percent faster, requiring just 26 seconds to the Xoom's 46 seconds.

I didn't need a benchmark result to confirm the zippier feel of iPad 2. Some things didn't feel especially different (like swiping between home screens), but scrolling in iTunes felt faster, as did navigating photo galleries, for example. And I found the iPad 2 could actually keep up with my fast, touch-typist fingers; neither iPad 1 nor Xoom could do so.

The Cameras

The iPad 2 adds both front and rear-facing cameras, for use in FaceTime chats and for video and still capture. Sadly, Apple's approach to cameras in iPad 2 feels cursory, as if the cameras are there just as a checkbox item; the company hasn't made tweaks, or included good enough hardware, for either camera to produce a truly satisfying experience. That stands in stark contrast to Apple's approach with the 5-megapixel, 720p iPhone 4 camera (which has satisfactorily captured over 3000 images and videos, and counting).

My casual snaps with the iPad 2 proved not worth the trouble; I'd only use the camera if I had no other available. This isn't surprising, since Apple doesn't state a spec for its rear-facing camera for still images, and in PCWorld's photo tests, the iPad 2 scored a Poor, in line with what the iPod Touch scored for its camera. By comparison, the iPhone 4 scored at the high end of our Fair rating, besting both the Motorola Xoom and the Samsung Galaxy Tab.

The iPad 2 did do better than the Tab on video, and performed comparably to a Cisco Flip Ultra HD 2HR, earning a rating of Fair. For video, the camera can capture 720p HD, at up to 30 frames per second. The front-facing camera also underwhelmed. It's rated at just VGA (640 by 480 pixel resolution), and as such, I found video looked pixellated during Facetime video chats with another iPad user over Wi-Fi.

Another gripe: Apple doesn't endow its cameras with any additional controls to enhance image capture. Furthermore, iOS 4.3 doesn't do anything to adjust the location of the camera's capture button on screen, so it's positioned at horizontal right center, as, oddly, it is on the iPhone. Without repositioning, most hands will have difficulty reaching the capture button (in horizontal orientation, in falls to the lower center of the screen--nowhere near where you fingers will be holding the tablet at the left/right edges).

iOS 4.3 and Software

Apple has done little to push iOS's evolution. While this is disappointing, given its recent updating patterns that's not entirely unexpected: The company has announced major new iOS revisions at its Worldwide Developer's Conference, and released those updates tied to iPhone's summer bump first (last year, iPad didn't get its big iOS update until fall).

But the incremental updates in iOS 4.3--while welcome (hooray for choosing whether the switch on iPad's side is a mute button or a rotation lock, and for providing Home Sharing)--are frustrating. They do nothing to refresh or improve upon iOS, and that's something that feels necessary in the face of the pressure coming from competing operating systems on current and forthcoming tablets (Google's Android 3.0, HP's WebOS, and RIM's PlayBook OS). Notifications, widgets, and multitasking are all topics that need revisiting now that Apple's iPad is no longer the only tablet around (at least to speak of).

Likewise, Apple's reliance on iTunes to facilitate all data transfers and backups is getting increasingly tiresome. On Windows, iTunes is more kludgy and more limiting than it is on Macs; and ultimately, it's wrong to require consumers to connect a tablet to a PC for basics like data backup and software updates, especially if the tablet is supposed to replace the computer.

One point worth noting about software: The iPad has 65,000-plus apps that are optimized for its large screen. While we've seen much interest in Google's Android, both from game makers and others, Android 3.0's tablet apps, at this point, rank only in the hundreds (optimistically), not thousands. I believe Android 3.0 app development will ramp up considerably in the next six months, just as app development stepped up rapidly for Android 2.X smartphones; but, if you're after a breadth of apps today, be aware that Android--at least for version 3.0--is a still-evolving marketplace.

Battery Life

In my hands-on, I experienced no discernible difference in battery life compared with the iPad 1.Macworld's battery life tests confirmed this real-world usage impression; there, the 32GB iPad with AT&T 3G lasted 504 minutes, just 14 minutes longer than a 16GB iPad 1 with AT&T 3G. After using the Motorola Xoom, however, I must say I found the iPad 2's lengthy recharge time highly annoying: Compared with the Xoom's rapid recharge, the iPad 2's wall-connected recharge seemed to progress at a trickle.

Pick an iPad 2

Apple provides no fewer than 18 different variations of the iPad 2, with the differentiators tied to color, capacity, and connectivity. You have a choice of white or black, Wi-Fi-only or Wi-Fi/3G on either AT&T or Verizon. The capacity options remain unchanged from last year: 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB.

And the prices corresponding to those capacities also remain unchanged: $499, $599, and $699. Add another $130 for the Wi-Fi/3G version, regardless of the carrier you choose. The 3G models have one cosmetic difference versus the Wi-Fi models--a black piece of plastic at the top, to enhance 3G reception.

The iPad 2 is the first Apple tablet to come in black and white varietals. Although some might consider the white to be the epitome of Apple chic (as on the iPhone), on the iPad you might want to think twice before getting the white bezel. Unlike the iPhone, where the white is really limited to the outside of the device, here the white is the bezel surrounding the display. And as on other e-readers and televisions, the display can be harder to read, and you'll have a perception of less pop and poorer contrast compared with a black bezel.

Should You Buy an iPad 2?

No question that the iPad 2 lacks some elements that would make it a complete package. It has no built-in hotspot, it's cameras are weak, and the OS needs better notifications and greater flexibility for file handling and updating without a computer.

If you're considering upgrading from the iPad 1, you'll see your most satisfying boosts in the lighter weight and zippier performance. Gamers will want the new model for its graphics handling, which is improved thanks to the new processor design.

If you're in the market for a tablet today, though, iPad 2 remains the class act to beat. Yes, it has limitations and omissions in its hardware, but on balance, it is the tablet that is best prepared, right now, for the mass-market consumer. The question that remains to be seen is whether iPad 2 can hold its crown for a year, as its predecessor did.

How to Buy a Tablet

As more tablets come to market, be prepared to be wowed by the power that some of these slates are capable of. You'll find plenty of models out there, including tablets with impressive dual-core processors or even quad-core chips. And many tablets can satisfy specific needs. The iPad 2 shines bright, but it isn't the only star in the tablet universe.

Be aware, however, that the lower-end models you may see advertised at rock-bottom prices come with lots of gotchas. The following three key points are critical to keep in mind before you buy.

1. You Get What You Pay For

Motorola XoomThe supercheap tablets you see advertised around the Web carry those low prices for a reason. Typically they lack the processing power, memory, display quality, or responsiveness (or some combination thereof) to provide a satisfying experience. Not that tablets should be all about specs, but right now, if you're going to buy, do pay close attention to specs. Single-core models, or those with CPUs offering a clock rate less than 1GHz, are going to be slow performers. In addition, watch out for resistive touchscreens, which generally lag in responsiveness, and for low-resolution displays.

The one bonus: None of these inexpensive models require a service contract with a carrier, so you'll have the option to ditch your first tablet with less pain than if you had signed a contract.

2. Service Contracts Risk Your Ability to Upgrade

While it's possible to get a tablet via a service carrier without a contract, you'll pay more for that privilege. The unfortunate reality is that many tablets--especially those that have 3G connectivity--are tied to contract obligations with mobile broadband service carriers. That means that if you buy a tablet today with a carrier contract, you won't be eligible for an upgrade anytime soon. Never mind the two-year wait for a contract to expire; in the tablet universe, the technology is evolving so rapidly that the market will shift again in six months, let alone one or two years. For example, tablets based on Nvidia's dual-core Tegra 2 and quad-core Tegra 3 chips came out in the same year.

Before signing up, get a sense that the unit you're buying is the one you want, and not just a stopgap until the next great thing comes along (though something is always around the corner). The amount you save up front may not offset what you'll pay down the road--and the freedom to change devices may be something it's not worth putting a price on.

3. For Android Tablets, Look for Google Services

Let me preface this by saying that a number of alternative app stores are around, such as GetJar and Amazon's Appstore. But the bottom line is, they're not the official Google Android Market. Having the Android Market on a device--along with other Google services such as those for maps and email--just makes using an Android tablet more fluid, and stronger on the whole. The "Google Experience" encourages a certain consistency and expectation of what you're going to get, so if you're bothering to plop down the bucks for a tablet now, consider that the more complete and well-rounded your experience, the more likely it is that you'll love your tablet. Think of what has made Apple's iPad so strong beyond the easy-to-use interface: It's the simplicity of accessing a deep array of apps.

Google to debut new Android tablet to rival Apple's iPad

Google Chairman Eric Schmidt has revealed that the company is planning to bring its flagship Android tablet to the market in the next six months to rival Apple's iPad.

"In the next six months we plan to market a tablet of the highest quality," Schmidt told an Italian newspaper.

Google has already had a hand in the development of the Motorola Xoom, but like other Android tablets, it suffered disappointing sales in a market dominated by the iPad.

Since then Google has itself become a major hardware manufacturer via its 12.5 billion dollars acquisition Motorola's devices division, which is currently under consideration by competition authorities.

According to The Telegraph, Schmidt paid tribute to Steve Jobs' role in kickstarting the tablet market, describing the iPad as "amazing".

"Steve Jobs was the Michelangelo of our time. A friend of mine and a unique character, able to combine creativity and visionary genius with an extraordinary engineering ability," the paper quoted him, as saying.

"Steve realised the revolutionary potential of the tablet and created an amazing product like the iPad," he added.

Schmidt said that competition between Android smartphones and the iPhone will be "brutal".

In the smartphone market, Google designs the Nexus range as both a testing ground for new versions of Android and to show off cutting-edge hardware. Samsung manufactures the most recent device, the Galaxy Nexus.

Intel's Smart Phone and Tablet for 2012

Intel inside: This “reference design” running Google’s Android operating system is meant to help persuade manufacturers to build their handsets around Intel’s new mobile chips.
Credit: Intel

The era of the personal computer dawned thanks in no small part to the chip maker Intel. But the company has been only a spectator to the rise of smart phones and tablets in recent years. These mobile devices use chips based on designs licensed by the U.K. company ARM, which deliver the power efficiency the powerful, compact gadgets require.

Intel is about to fight back.

Last week, Technology Review tried out prototype smart phones and tablets equipped with Intel's latest mobile chip, dubbed Medfield, and running the Android mobile operating system created by Google. "We expect products based on these to be announced in the first half of 2012," says Stephen Smith, vice president of Intel's architecture group.

Known as "reference designs," the devices are sent out to inspire and instruct manufacturers interested in building products around Intel's latest technology. "They can use as much or as little of the reference design as they like," says Smith, who hinted that the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show in January could bring news of gadgets in which Intel's chips will appear.

Intel's Medfield is the latest in its "Atom" line of mobile chips. So far none of them have seriously threatened the dominance of ARM-based chips in mobile devices, in part because they are more power-hungry. However, the new chip represents a significant technological step toward lower power consumption.

Previous Atom designs spread the work of a processor across two or three chips, a relatively power-intensive scheme that originated many years ago in Intel's PC chips. But now Intel has finally combined the core functions of its processor designs into one chunk of silicon. "This is our first offering that's truly a single chip," says Smith. The all-in-one design, known as a system on-a-chip, is a standard feature of the ARM chips so dominant in smart phones today.

The phone prototype seen by Technology Review was similar in dimensions to the iPhone 4 but noticeably lighter, probably because the case was made with more plastic and less glass and metal. It was running the version of Google's operating system shipping with most Android phones today, known as Gingerbread; a newer version, Ice Cream Sandwich, was released by Google only about a month ago.

The phone was powerful and pleasing to use, on a par with the latest iPhone and Android handsets. It could play Blu-Ray-quality video and stream it to a TV if desired; Web browsing was smooth and fast. Smith says Intel has built circuits into the Medfield chip specifically to speed up Android apps and Web browsing.

Aakash tablet delivery delayed till January 2012

The wait for the Aakash tablet is going to be longer, even for those who have already ordered the ultra low-cost tablet online. According to recent reports, DataWind is scheduled to start distribution of the Aakash tablet only in January. It's notable that the Aakash tablet was supposed to be delivered within seven days of the order.

A spokesperson of DataWind tells The Mobile Indian that the people who had booked the tablet online would start receiving the device in January. However, the spokesperson didn't elaborate reasons behind the delay.

It may be recalled that the Aakash tablet had sold out in less than a week after its online release.DataWind is still accepting pre-orders for the UbiSlate 7, which is an upgraded version of the Aakash tablet. The UbiSlate 7 is slated to launch in January next year. Meanwhile, there's no update on when the Aakash tablet will be available in retail stores.