It’s early to make any final judgment on the potential success of the iPad 2, since only a few reviewers have had little time to spend with it. The general consensus is that it is speedy, thinner, lighter and comes in black or white with two cameras.  There is also general consensus that the improvements are worthy and will stand up well to the current crop of new tablets just beginning to hit the market.

The pricing has remained intact, and sales will begin on March 11.

No one can say the competition will stack up, though, until we have more hands-on experience on all the new devices.  It will probably be early summer before that happens

Below are a few reviews and comparisons that may be of interest to those who are considering a decision.  Personally the real comparison is going to be between the relatively closed Apple system, where sharing data and programs is difficult to impossible, or the more open systems other vendors are bringing out– USB ports, HDMI, Flash video and some program compatibility, depending on the vendor. The elegance of the iPad often trumps other features that its competitors trumpets.

Yahoo News:  How iPad 2 Stands up to Competition:Click Here  Ben Patterson is  Technology Blogger for Yahoo.  Good comparisons of specifications of Dell Streak 7, HP Touch Pad, LG G Slate, Motorola Zoom, Samsung Galaxy Tab, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, RIM BlackBerry Playbook.  Good pictures of all the compared devices.

Engadget:  iPad 2 first hands-on! Click Here  Joshua Topolsky comments on the blazing speed and lighter weight.  Many pictures and videos.

PC World has a nice comparison table, below.  Click to enlarge.

For their article Click Here

I am an iPad owner, and I love using it. It has expanded how I use computers, and it has taken usage from my netbook and laptop. I would like to have the new one, but I will wait until mid-summer when some of the heavy hitting vendors are out with their new machines. There are serious limitations with the iPad’s design. 

Ray Hendon

11/20/2010

The month of November has been a watershed for this website.  For the period from November 14th through the 26th, the number of inquiries per day jumped about 600%.  And then, on November 24th, the drop off was dramatic.  Black Friday marked the end of the surge.

During this time of greatly expanded inquiries, I noticed that certain articles were receiving a huge proportion of the hits, and now that it is over, I have gone back to my data and painstakingly compiled exactly which ones got how many requests.

The results for the top 14 of the eReaders are posted in the table below:

*Face-off is for a single article posted that compared the iPad, the Sony Reader series, Kindle and the Nook.

A bar chart of the percentages is shown below.

I tracked six additional names, but none of them got to the one percent level.  Also, the iPad got relatively few hits, but this is a site for eReaders, so those looking for information were, I assume, looking at the iPad as an eReader and not as a full functioning tablet computer.

A number of things stand out in the data.  First, color rules.  I didn’t count the request under the generic heading of “Color eReader,” but if I had, this generic label would have placed rather high in the ranking.

Secondly, the numbers of requests for Kindle information is not good news for Amazon.  From a third to half of the Kindle requests were for an article I did on the possibility of a color Kindle in the near future, and which I answered in the negative.  Thus a large percentages of the Kindle requests resulted in an answer that would possibly point the interested party away from Kindle.

If my conclusion that color rules is correct, then that explains part of the reason Sony, the third largest supplier of eReading devices, places so poorly in the rankings.  It also expalins why the Nook (without color) didn’t even make the top ten.  I expect the price of it and the Kindle to fall in the not too distant future, if this shift to color is as pronounced as it appears.

A third conclusion is that the seven inch tablet is a strong product, at least for those looking.  The Nook Color, Velocity Cruz, View Sonic, Galaxy Tab and RIM Playbook are all seven inch screens, and all with color and fast refresh rates.  If they dominate in sales the way they dominated the requests my site received, seven inches is a winning number.

The last thing that stands out in the numbers I collected is that there is a great deal of price elasticity for tablets.  This means that a small price drop will bring in more revenue to the seller through a large increase in sales.  There is some pent-up demand for colorful surfing and eReading from a segment of the population that can’t pony up the $500 or more for an iPad or Galaxy Tab.  A manufacturer that can bring a good quality tablet to the market under the $500 price mark will likely be rewarded by large sales.

For these reasons, it looks to me that Barnes and Noble has won this Christams from Amazon.  Its Nook Color has hit a sweet spot among those looking for eReaders with color and surfing ability.  My guess is the the Nook Color is going to be under many Christmas trees soon.

The Galaxy Tab will be in T-Mobile locations on November 10th and Sprint and Verizon a few days later.  The two videos below offer a good look at what using a Tab will be like, so you might want to review them before visiting your favorite cell phone dealer.

The first video was taken at the electronics show in Berlin, and it was strictly a one handed-demo since the demonstrator was holding a camera in the other hand.  But, he still does a good job of showing some of the features of this newest of the new tablet gizmo.

The CNet video is informative and a more controlled demo. It was done a short while ago in the offices of CNet and is about the same length as the one above.

Pricing seems to be settling out on the Tab:  $700 for unsubsidized model, and $399 at both Sprint and T-Mobile with their data plans.

I haven’t seen a WiFi-only version, but that would be my preference.  I use the iPad as WiFi only, and it is fine for the way I use it.  When travelling, I can use the hotspot feature on my wife’s Palm Pixie.  Also, the Tab has a USB port, so it could also be tethered to a smartphone that allows it.

All the major carriers offer a small WiFi hotspot device, usually between $50 and $100 with a contract for service.  I actually prefer this type of arrangement, since a portable hotspot can be used for you laptop or other mobile device as well as a tablet.  The built in 3G cannot be shared.

An even more important benefit of a stand-alone hotspot is that you can get 4G on the Sprint hotspot card, if you live in an areas served by their WiMax 4G system.

For now, the push by Samsung is through the wireless carriers, but I expect to see a WiFi-only version out soon.

The Tab comes with the Kindle Reader software installed.

The Galaxy Tab will be in stores within a week, we are told, so it is time to get a good look at this exciting new 7” Android Tablet.

Excellent view of uses of Galaxy Tab—commercial video by Samsung

Below: A film of user at Berlin show:  less professional, but by an actual first time user being filmed over his shoulder.

A fair video from Korea, but a good look at the features and usefulness.  You must endure a short commercial for about 10 seconds before the Korean video begins.

Executives from Samsung project sales of 10 million units by the end of next year.  This means this is a major effort by one of the world’s finest electronics design and manufacturing firms.

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In an article from PC World yesterday, seven reasons for choosing Samsung’s Galaxy Tab over the iPad were spelled out by Tony Bradley.

The full article is available here.

A brief summary of the seven features

1. Size of screen:  The Galaxy Tab has a seven inch screen—can be held in one hand.  More portability.
2. Weight:  The Tab weighs less than half the iPad, so it can be held for long periods.  More portability and comfort.  Much better for eReading.
3. SD memory card slot.  This opens up moving data between devices—something the iPad makes exceptionally difficult to do, and opens up more storage memory for operations.
4. Cameras:  Tab has two, one facing front, and one read facing.  iPad has none.
5. Flash player.  All the internet videos that can’t be watched on the iPad can be watched on the Tab.
6. More RAM:  the Tab has 512Mb of Ram, twice the iPad’s.
7. True Multitasking:  The Tab an do multiple things at the same time.  This feature makes the Tab much more capable of creating material by combining items from multiple sources.

I will add two additional feature to the list above that are important:

A USB port on the Tab allows a host of connecting devices to be attached, and an HDMI port allows high definition video connection to a TV.

These are compelling features in favor of the Tab.  Samsung has said it expects to sell 10 million of their new gadget before the end of next year.  This is, shall we say, ambitious.  It looks as if they have prepped the Tab to make a good run at it.

To see three video presentations of the Galaxy Tab follow this link.

See the article below for more comparisons of these two tablet–or follow this link.

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by Ray Hendon

The leaks and rumors about Samsung’s new tablet are finally confirmed, with a few corrections about features.  The Pictures below are from Samsung from the IFA show in Berlin earlier this morning.

Here are the actual specifications:

• OS: Google Android 2.2 (Froyo) with TouchWiz UI
• CPU: Cortex A8 1.0GHz
• Graphics: PowerVR SGX540 GPU
• Memory: 512MB RAM
• Storage: 16GB or 32GB (plus 32GB expandable memory)
• Sensors: gyroscope, geomagnetic sensor, accelerometer, light sensor
• Weight: 380 grams (0.84 lbs.)
• Support for Adobe Flash Player 10.1.
• “Readers Hub” is Samsung’s e-reader digital library application.
• “Media Hub” and “Music Hub” is Samsung’s answer to iTunes (movies, videos and music)
• Support for HD content (DivX, XviD, MPEG4, H.263, H.264, etc.)
• 3G HSUPA connectivity, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0
• Front-facing camera allows for 3G (as opposed to iPad’s Wi-Fi-only FaceTime) videoconferencing
• Rear-facing camera captures still images and video.

The CPU is a Snapdragon, but running a little faster than we have been led to believe.  Also, it has smartphone capability, and it will probably be launched later this year in the U.S. under Verizon or, perhaps, AT&T.

Reviews are unambiguously positive.  Everyone is impressed with the graphics, video, touch operations and size.  There is a thorough review at ZDNet–follow this link. The link also has a video, provided by Samsung, of operations and features.

There is also no mention of price anywhere in the Samsung presentation.

There will be an eReader app, from Kobo, supplied .  But, it will also have access to the Android marketplace, so the Kindle and Nooks reader software will also be available.  At 7 inches, it will make a more pleasant eReading experience than the heavier iPad.