new tablets at the IFA show
Several companies announced new Android tablets at this week's IFA Conference in Berlin. IFA bills itself as the world's largest show for consumer electronics and appliances.
While a few 10 inch tablets were announced, the real news was about tablets with screens that measure 8 inches or smaller. Here are a few that caught my attention: Archos 80 G9; Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7, Samsung Galaxy Note, Lenovo A1 tablet, and the Kindle tablet from Amazon.com.
Archos 80 G9
The ninth generation of Archos tablets have a couple of features that may appeal to overland travelers. The 80 G9 has an 8 inch, 1024x768 capacitive color touchscreen, so it will be a little smaller than the ubiquitous iPad. Processor will be a 1.5 GHz TI OMAP ARM Cortex A9 dual core unit, which should be about 50% faster than the processors in today's top models. A 250GB hard drive will be an option for internal storage, so the 80 G9 can hold lots of photos taken during your trip. Last, the 80 G9 has a slot for a USB modem rather than a SIM card for access to a carrier's data network. The contracts associated with USB modems are often less expensive than SIM card plans. The 80 G9 is expected to be available in October, price about $400.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7
This model probably is the replacement for the venerable 7 inch Galaxy Tab, which was introduced last December. The new model has a 7.7 inch screen with 1280x800 pixels, the sort of display used on most 10 inch tablets. At first I thought this would make text be too small to read comfortably, but hands-on movies show this concern to be unfounded. The 7.7 will include USB 2.0 Host capability, so it can be used with a USB keyboard, and can accept a USB memory drive without an adapter. The 7.7 includes an assisted GPS chip that works without Internet access. The tablet includes an 8 megapixel camera on the back. Somehow Samsung has found room for a 5100 mAh battery in a device that measures 7.7″ x 5.2″ x 0.3 inches and weighs 0.74 lbs. Price and shipping date were not announced.
An ominous sign: After two days of showing the 7.7, Samsung pulled the device from its booth. Samsung and Apple are locked in a patent dispute in Germany. A judge has issued a restraining order that prohibits Samsung from selling their 10 inch tablet while the dispute is argued in court. It's likely that the 7.7 was pulled to avoid getting tangled up in the lawsuit. Apple has sued Samsung in USA, too, but no injunctions have been granted so far.
Samsung made additional news when they announced the Galaxy Note, a smartphone with a 5.3 inch, 1280x800 capacitive touchscreen. The Note has a 1.4 GHz dual core processor, an 8 megapixel camera, and will be offered with an LTE or HSPA+ data modem. As the name implies, the Note also has the ability to work with a stylus. Samsung includes a Memo app that can record handwritten notes, photos and voice input. Again, no delivery date or price was announced.
Lenovo made news for their A1 tablet, but not because the A1 has cutting edge features. Instead, the A1 has a great price: $199 for a 7 inch tablet with 1024x600 capacitive color touchscreen. To save money, the A1 has a 1 GHz single core processor and only 8 GB storage. The design includes a GPS chip plus front and rear cameras. The A1 is about 0.5 inches thick and weighs 0.9 lbs. Reviewers at the show say the A1's build quality is more than you might expect for the price.
While not appearing at the IFA conference, Amazon.com's new 7 inch Kindle tablet made news. The design was shown to journalists. The tablet was described as appearing very similar to the RIM Blackberry tablet, one of my favorite tablet designs. The Kindle tablet will run a highly customized version of Google Android. The tablet will connect to Amazon's book and magazine sales, Amazon's music store, the Amazon store for Android apps, and Amazon streaming video. The tablet will link to Amazon's cloud storage. You can access your media purchases from any Kindle associated with your account. Price of the new tablet is expected to be $250, matching the tablet from rival Barnes and Noble. Delivery of the Kindle tablet is expected to start just before the holidays.
Several companies announced new Android tablets at this week's IFA Conference in Berlin. IFA bills itself as the world's largest show for consumer electronics and appliances.
While a few 10 inch tablets were announced, the real news was about tablets with screens that measure 8 inches or smaller. Here are a few that caught my attention: Archos 80 G9; Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7, Samsung Galaxy Note, Lenovo A1 tablet, and the Kindle tablet from Amazon.com.
Archos 80 G9
The ninth generation of Archos tablets have a couple of features that may appeal to overland travelers. The 80 G9 has an 8 inch, 1024x768 capacitive color touchscreen, so it will be a little smaller than the ubiquitous iPad. Processor will be a 1.5 GHz TI OMAP ARM Cortex A9 dual core unit, which should be about 50% faster than the processors in today's top models. A 250GB hard drive will be an option for internal storage, so the 80 G9 can hold lots of photos taken during your trip. Last, the 80 G9 has a slot for a USB modem rather than a SIM card for access to a carrier's data network. The contracts associated with USB modems are often less expensive than SIM card plans. The 80 G9 is expected to be available in October, price about $400.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7
This model probably is the replacement for the venerable 7 inch Galaxy Tab, which was introduced last December. The new model has a 7.7 inch screen with 1280x800 pixels, the sort of display used on most 10 inch tablets. At first I thought this would make text be too small to read comfortably, but hands-on movies show this concern to be unfounded. The 7.7 will include USB 2.0 Host capability, so it can be used with a USB keyboard, and can accept a USB memory drive without an adapter. The 7.7 includes an assisted GPS chip that works without Internet access. The tablet includes an 8 megapixel camera on the back. Somehow Samsung has found room for a 5100 mAh battery in a device that measures 7.7″ x 5.2″ x 0.3 inches and weighs 0.74 lbs. Price and shipping date were not announced.
An ominous sign: After two days of showing the 7.7, Samsung pulled the device from its booth. Samsung and Apple are locked in a patent dispute in Germany. A judge has issued a restraining order that prohibits Samsung from selling their 10 inch tablet while the dispute is argued in court. It's likely that the 7.7 was pulled to avoid getting tangled up in the lawsuit. Apple has sued Samsung in USA, too, but no injunctions have been granted so far.
Samsung made additional news when they announced the Galaxy Note, a smartphone with a 5.3 inch, 1280x800 capacitive touchscreen. The Note has a 1.4 GHz dual core processor, an 8 megapixel camera, and will be offered with an LTE or HSPA+ data modem. As the name implies, the Note also has the ability to work with a stylus. Samsung includes a Memo app that can record handwritten notes, photos and voice input. Again, no delivery date or price was announced.
Lenovo made news for their A1 tablet, but not because the A1 has cutting edge features. Instead, the A1 has a great price: $199 for a 7 inch tablet with 1024x600 capacitive color touchscreen. To save money, the A1 has a 1 GHz single core processor and only 8 GB storage. The design includes a GPS chip plus front and rear cameras. The A1 is about 0.5 inches thick and weighs 0.9 lbs. Reviewers at the show say the A1's build quality is more than you might expect for the price.
While not appearing at the IFA conference, Amazon.com's new 7 inch Kindle tablet made news. The design was shown to journalists. The tablet was described as appearing very similar to the RIM Blackberry tablet, one of my favorite tablet designs. The Kindle tablet will run a highly customized version of Google Android. The tablet will connect to Amazon's book and magazine sales, Amazon's music store, the Amazon store for Android apps, and Amazon streaming video. The tablet will link to Amazon's cloud storage. You can access your media purchases from any Kindle associated with your account. Price of the new tablet is expected to be $250, matching the tablet from rival Barnes and Noble. Delivery of the Kindle tablet is expected to start just before the holidays.
