The Iconia Tab A200 Android tablet

Acer has been a little busy these last few weeks of 2011. They've put out the word that they remain committed to more Android tablets with the Tegra 3 processor in 2012. We've also seen a video pop out before an announcement of a new Iconia Tab in a very feel good 'Apple-esc' style of marketing. Now, Acer has put out an official Press Release for the all new ICONIA TAB A200 Android tablet.

The Acer ICONIA TAB A200, is running Android 3.2 Honeycomb, with an Android 4.0 ICS available upgrade in January 2012. It has a couple of tricks up its sleeve on why you would want this tablet over the currently released A500 or A501 tablets in stores. We'll get to those reasons in just a minute. The ICONIA TAB A200 comes with 8GB or 16GB sizes, a choice of Titanium Grey or Metallic Red color panels, 10.1 inch capacitive multitouch screen with 1280 x 800 resolution, 1GB RAM, 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core processor and a front facing 2 megapixel camera. It has an approximate 8 hours of battery life as well as the usual Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 and USB.

Lenovo 10.1-inch Ice Cream Sandwich tablet with 1.6GHz Tegra 3 by year's end

You wouldn't think a giant like Lenovo would stop at just three (or four) Android tablets now, would you? In fact, a little birdie has informed us that said Chinese company will release a new 10.1-inch tablet by the end of the year, and unsurprisingly, Ice Cream Sandwich along with NVIDIA's Tegra 3 T33 are on the menu. Other features include 2GB of speedy 1,600MHz DDR3 RAM, a standard USB host socket (covered by a not-so-elegant pop-out flap), a back-facing camera of unknown resolution, a "Special Fusion-Skin Body" and, most interestingly, a fingerprint scanner that apparently doubles as an optical joystick on the seemingly flat backside -- only time will tell whether this layout makes sense. Our source hasn't spilled any info on the dimensions and weight, but judging by the photos in our gallery, this 1.6GHz quad-core slate should be significantly thinner than the IdeaPad K1 or LePad sitting underneath. As always, you'll hear from us as soon as we find out more.

Android Tablet Wars? The Evolving Tablet Spectrum

Android tablet devices are still struggling to define themselves in the marketplace. Unlike Apple's iPad, which has established a niche based on strong brand identity, its Android rivals are still a generic blur. Will they be distinguished by design specs or by the online stores they are associated with?

Android's tablet-form evolution is not purely a consumer-market issue. How this marketplace develops will have a major impact on Android use in the workplace. This in turn will help shape how IT at small and midsized businesses (SMBs) respond to tablet devices, mobility, and "the consumerization of IT."

Android Wars and Stores
Triggering the debate is the debut of the Nook Tablet. As noted by columnist M.G. Siegler at TechCrunch, this release coincides with early reviews of the Kindle Fire. What these devices have in common is not just that they are inexpensive Android tablets, they also both aim to leverage their association with bookstores--that is to say, with large-scale content providers.

This double development comes amid the ongoing struggle of Android tablet devices in general to gain a firm identity in the marketplace. Another TechCrunch columnist, Matt Burns, characterizes the current trend as the "PC-ification" of the Android tablet segment.

Best Androids For Less Than $100

Android phones for less than $100 don't have to be more than two years old, and as fast as technology is moving today, you can get some decent tech for much less than $100. Pantech, a company new to the U.S. is selling a brand new device for $100 with a two year contract from Verizon. It's got a four inch screen, a five megapixel camera and runs Android 2.3 right out of the box.

For the best deal, check out AT&T's Samsung Captivate. With a new two year contract, you can grab one for a penny (online offer only)! This may be a limited time offer, but it's such a good deal. It runs on an older version of Android (2.2 Froyo) but it's got a four inch screen and comes with Swype for faster texting and typing.

Sprint's HTC Evo Design 4G can also be had for $100 on contract after a $50 mail-in rebate. It comes with a four inch qHD touchscreen, Android 2.3 and 1.2GHz processor. This is a good option because Sprint allows unlimited data on their network. If that sounds good then check out the Nexus S 4G, also from Sprint. This was Google's second phone and it's over a year old now, so it costs $100 on contract with the $50 mail in rebate. It even comes with Android 2.3 and a four inch Super AMOLED display. If T-Mobile is your flavor, there is the HTC MyTouch 4G, free with a new two year contract. It runs Android 2.2 also, but has a 3.8-inch screen and four gigabytes of on board storage expandable to 32GB with an SD card (eight gigabyte card included).

Tips to Buy the Best Tablet

It's difficult to remember a time before tablets, but it's been a mere 18 months since the first Apple iPad was released, and the current tablet market was born. Since then, we've seen scores of manufacturers trying to snag a slice of the tablet pie, which so far, has been dominated by Apple, who is now on its second iPad iteration. According to a study by Strategy Analytics, of the 7.5 million tablets that shipped during the second quarter, 80 percent were iPads, well ahead of those from rivals like Motorola, Samsung, RIM, Asus, and HTC.

That's not stopping others from trying. And the result so far has been a float of difficult-to-distinguish tablets at various price points, performance capabilities, and feature sets. There hasn't really been another standout. The latest big name to throw its hat in the already-crowded tablet ring: Amazon. The company's Android-based Kindle Fire won't be available until mid-November, but it comes at a very pleasing $199—a price low that no quality tablet has been able to yet manage. It will be interesting to see what Amazon's entry means for both the iPad and the non-Apple tablet market share.

Barnes & Noble's Nook Tablet Hands-On

Barnes & Noble announced a $249 Nook Tablet Monday that will compete with Amazon's not-yet-launched Kindle Fire tablet; the Nook Tablet sports a customized version of the Android OS, runs Android apps, streams video from content partners such as Hulu, and (of course) can be used as an e-book reader.

Barnes & Noble's Nook Tablet

Though it officially goes on sale at the end of next week, you can preorder the Nook Tablet now, according to Barnes & Noble.

A Closer Look

The 7-inch Nook Tablet is the second generation of B&N's Nook Color platform, and with the adoption of the simple name “Nook Tablet,” the company acknowledges what we've all known for the past year: That this LCD-based platform is as much a tablet as an e-reader. The Nook Tablet will cost $50 more than Amazon's Kindle Fire, but for that, you get more than what Amazon offers. Or what any other tablet offers, for that matter.

That said, the Nook Tablet's interface looks nothing like that of the Android masses. The software is a wholly customized version of Android 2.3, with optimizations for accessing your reading material. Like the Nook Color before it, the Nook Tablet lacks access to Google services, including Android Market; to download apps, you'll have to go through B&N's own app store, which is growing daily.

USB 3.0: Three Times Awesome

If you’ve ever connected a media player to your laptop to sync up a few gigabytes of music and movies, only to spend the next eight hours waiting … waiting … waiting for the job to complete, you’re the number one candidate for USB 3.0.

USB 3.0, as the name implies, is the third major version of the USB standard, perhaps the most successful, universally-adopted connector format in the history of computing.

USB is beloved for its simplicity, its ability to charge battery-powered electronics connected through it, and phenomenal availability among thousands of devices – not just computer peripherals but also consumer electronics galore.

That is, until you find yourself in the fourth hour of that eight-hour synchronization slog. Then USB becomes a pain instead of a savior.

And that’s the main issue that USB 3.0 (also known as SuperSpeed USB) was designed to address, pumping up the maximum throughput of USB from the 48Mbps of USB 2.0 to the 480Mbps of USB 3.0.
That alone solves a lot of problems, but USB 3.0 also has another trick up its sleeve: The ability to charge more power-hungry devices than USB 2.0 could. USB 2.0 could provide up to 100 milliamps of power to gadgets connected via the connector. That was fine for the cell phones of 2004, but in 2011, USB gizmos often need so much juice that they can’t charge via USB 2.0. Most tablets won’t charge at all via a USB connection, and those that do will usually only “trickle charge,” an agonizingly slow operation that can take all day.

USB 3.0 bumps power output up to 900 milliamps, providing power aplenty for just about anything you could think to throw at it.

Best of all, in keeping with USB’s history, USB 3.0 is backward compatible with USB 2.0 devices. In other words, if your computer has a USB 3.0 port, you can still plug a USB 2.0 hard drive into it – and vice versa – though in both cases the connection will operate at the slower, USB 2.0 speed.

While USB 3.0 was introduced last year, support for it remains spotty, and even computers that feature USB 3.0 ports tend to have only a couple instead of a full bank of four or more. Still, that support is coming, however slowly. USB 3.0 is on its way to everything – it’s just taking its sweet time getting there. Which, oddly, is so unlike the zippy USB 3!    (http://www.pcworld.com/article/242483/usb_30_three_times_the_awesome.html)

Android Coming To TV With Gesture Recognitions

TVs are about to grow some brains. Hisense Group, a leading Chinese consumer electronics manufacturer signed a licensing agreement with eyeSight Mobile Technologies, a developer of touch free interfaces for digital devices. Together the two will integrate eyeSight’s innovative Hand Gesture Recognition Technology into new models of Android based Smart TV sets. Yep, Android is coming to the TV.

The first model of Hisense Smart TV with this unique feature is Series XT710, which has been introduced to consumer markets in China to mark the October 1st National holidays. Users will enjoy a natural, new intuitive way of interacting with their TV sets. They will be able to control basic TV functions, without having to move out of their comfortable viewing position to reach the remote control. Users will also be able to play games using intuitive gestures and touchless use other applications on the device.

But how does all this work, your all too human neurons might be asking you. Well, these smart TVs will use motion monitoring cameras to read a persons hand and body gestures and in turn control various functions. Hisense will be making use of eyeSights SDK on their new XT710 smart TV, which makes use of 2D cameras to monitor hand gestures and movements. It’s back to the future, folks!
[UberGizmo via PR]

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich

Google has taken the stage in Hong Kong to make the next version of Android OS, nicknamed Ice Cream Sandwich, a thing of reality. Better known as Android 4.0, the update offers a massive redesign to the user interface and adds a plethora of new features. Some of the highlights include an NFC-enabled feature called Android Beam, offline search in Gmail, new lock screen features and a fancy unlocking method called "Face Unlock," which uses facial recognition to ensure strangers can't use your phone without permission.

Ice Cream Sandwich also includes enhancements in almost every native app within Android itself. The SDK is already available for Android 4.0, and the update itself will make its first public appearance on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, also unveiled tonight. After the break, we'll cover all of the nitty gritty details, along with some excellent screenshots below. So come along, why won't you?

Here's some of the enhancements found in Ice Cream Sandwich:

1. Option to use virtual buttons in the UI, instead of taking up capacitive touch buttons
2. Widgets are in a new tab, listed in a similar list to apps
3. Folders are much easier to create, with a drag-and-drop style similar to iOS
4. A customizable launcher
5. New phone app with visual voicemail functionality that lets you speed up or slow down voicemail messages
6. Pinch-to-zoom functionality in the calendar
7. Gmail has offline search, a two-line preview, and new action bar at the bottom
8. Swipe left or right to switch between Gmail conversations
9. Integrated screenshot capture by holding power and volume down buttons
10. Improved error correction on the keyboard
11. Ability to access apps directly from lock screen (similar to HTC Sense 3.x)
12. Improved copy and paste
13. Better voice integration
14. Face Unlock, a facial recognition service
15. New tabbed web browser, allowing up to 16 tabs
16. Browser now automatically syncs your Chrome bookmarks
17. Modern "Roboto" font
18. Data Usage section in settings lets you set warnings when you reach a certain amount of use and disabling data when you go over your limit
19. Ability to kill off apps that are using data in the background
20. Camera app: zero shutter lag, time lapse settings, zoom while recording
21. Built-in photo editor
22. New gallery layout, organized by location and person
23. Refreshed people app with social network integration, status updates and hi-res images
24. Android Beam, a NFC feature that lets you exchange websites, contact info, directions, YouTube, etc.
25. Don't like some of those preloaded carrier apps? Disable 'em. Android Engineer Dan Morrill mentions that, among other new features, any app can be disabled, and while it will still take up space in ROM, it won't be snatching any of your precious resources or clock cycles again if you don't want it to.

Lenovo IdeaPad K1 32GB Android Tablet

In response to the rise of the Apple iPad, it seems like all the Android folks decided that $499 was the benchmark price. Just about all of the Honeycomb offerings launched at that price. Well, while it’s not as cheap as the Kobo Vox or Kindle Fire, the Lenovo IdeaPad K1 is certainly more affordable at just $349.

I spotted this price at Future Shop in Canada, but it seems that at least a few other retailers are offering variants of the K1 at that price point. This is notable for a couple of reasons. First, it undercuts the Eee Pad Transformer 16GB by a solid fifty bucks. Second, the Lenovo has 32GB of internal memory.

To get the Eee Pad Transformer in 32GB (without the keyboard dock) is still in the $499 range, so you could say that the IdeaPad K1 is undercutting by $150. Yes, this is still almost double the price of the Kindle Fire, but you are getting a real Honeycomb tablet here with real Android Market access and a peppy NVIDIA Tegra2 processor. Is that cheap enough yet? Or are you willing to pay more when the Kal-El tablets arrive?

Wi-Fi tethering : Use a smartphone as a mobile hotspot

Computerworld - Buried inside many of the latest smartphones is a capability that few people take advantage of. A feature called tethering lets a phone go beyond talk, email and Web surfing to act as a mobile hotspot that can supply Web access to nearby computers, tablets and other devices. 

"It lets [smartphone users] always have the Web with them without taking any extra equipment along," says Allen Nogee, research director for wireless technology at market intelligence firm In-Stat.

Like dedicated mobile hotspot devices, these phones connect to a mobile data network and then act as a Wi-Fi router, distributing the bandwidth to nearby clients. There is a price to pay for the convenience that hotspot phones provide: Three of the four national networks charge an additional fee to use tethering. On the other hand, you don't have to worry about finding a public Wi-Fi hotspot or having another device to buy, lug around, keep charged and accidentally leave behind.

Want to know more? After speaking to analysts, network engineers and other mobile experts, I've rounded up and answered the 12 most common questions about smartphone tethering, including options and carrier policies. Additionally, I used a couple of smartphones as hotspots in various parts of the U.S. and Europe to discover what the experience is like in real life.

Finally, I've gathered a listing of all the hotspot-capable smartphones currently available from the Big Four U.S. carriers, including how much they cost, which network(s) they work on and how much tethering services cost.

FAQ: Tethering with a hotspot phone
What is tethering?
Tethering is the ability to share a smartphone's Internet connection with computers or other devices. It can be accomplished by connecting the devices with a USB cable, a Bluetooth wireless link or a Wi-Fi connection. This story concentrates on Wi-Fi hotspot tethering because it's convenient and can service more than one client at a time -- and because just about all laptops and tablets have Wi-Fi built in these days.

Amazon Push Kindle Production

Amazon is boosting production of its Kindle Fire tablet, thanks to immense pre-order demand. Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos said the company is "increasing capacity and building millions more than we'd already planned."

The Kindle Fire is Amazon's first Android tablet device; the device launches Nov. 15 and costs $199. It's not the most tricked-out tablet -- it ships with just 8GB of memory (and no expandable memory), no camera, and no 3G, but its sub-$200 price tag and the fact that it runs Android (albeit Android 2.3) appears to be more than enough to get people riled up.

Amazon has high hopes for the upcoming holiday season. According to Bezos, "Sept. 28 was the biggest order day ever for Kindle, even bigger than previous holiday peak days."

"In the three weeks since launch, orders for electronic ink Kindles are double the previous launch," Bezos said in a statement. In addition to the Kindle Fire, Amazon also introduced the Kindle Touch 3G, which sells for $149; the Kindle Touch, priced at $99; and the Kindle, which retails for $79.

Tablets are expected to be a hot item this holiday season. According to a recent report by the Consumer Electronics Association, everybody wants a tablet for Christmas. In fact, tablets are second only to clothes on adults' holiday wish lists, and first on adults' holiday consumer electronics wish lists.

After tablets on the consumer electronics wish list, people want laptops, TVs, e-readers, and video game consoles. After tablets on the overall list of gifts, people are looking for laptops, peace/happiness, and money.

The association said consumers plan to spend, on average, $246 on electronics gifts this season -- and with the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet, that's actually a doable price.

Amazon also released its third-quarter earnings report Tuesday afternoon. According to the report, Amazon's sales are up 44 percent to $10.88 billion. However, net income is down 73 percent to $63 million, compared to $268 million in the third quarter of 2010.

Android Problems Solved

Whether you’ve got a Desire, Galaxy S, Droid or Nexus One our troulbleshooting guide will help you solve these common Android problems.

How do I re-install purchased apps?
You need to make sure that you have setup your Google account on your Android device, the same account you used to purchase the app, and then go to ‘My Downloads’ to retrieve the app. Free apps are not held in the My Downloads section, but can be retrieved direct from Android Market.

How can I soft reset my Android phone?
Try pressing the End, Send and Menu keys at the same time. This should restart the phone in working order, but if it does not try a battery pull.

Can I tether my Android phone to my laptop?
Yes. Many Android phones are supported by EasyTether which will allow most of the popular models to stream their mobile data via a laptop or desktop. Remember that a 3G connection is required at the very least to make the experience worthwhile.

Why are some apps not available in the Android Market?
Some apps will only work on specific phones with set screen resolutions. Check the developer’s product page for more information regarding which phones are compatible.

Should I worry about OS updates?
The Android OS does get updated often, but the only real advice is to buy the best model you can afford which should ensure that it will cope with at least the next 2 or 3 updates.

Is it safe to run Android on a Windows Mobile phone?
This is a difficult one because it is in many ways, but the overall experience will not live up to Android on a phone that has been designed for the OS. Some people have ported the OS, but a full backup should be a minimum precaution before you attempt to do this.

My phone can’t connect to my home Wi-Fi!
This is a common problem on some Android phones such as the Hero, but some quick steps could solve it. Wireless N routers are problematic with some Android phones so make sure you switch on B/G compatibility and that you have the latest router firmware installed. With luck your problems will be solved.

Can I send group SMS messages?
This has been a problematic issue for a while now, but there is a solution. Look for ‘Text Easy’ in the Android Market which has the features which allow you to create groups and select multiple contacts. It is free as well.

Where did my new contact go?
Sometimes when you add a new contact on an Android phone it will not show up in the contacts list. It is without doubt a problem that needs fixing, but the quick solution is to go to Google Contacts in GMail and you will see the new contact. Now, click the Groups button and then the ‘Add to My Contacts’ button. It will now appear on your phone.

Viewing photos is too slow!
Trying to view lots of photos in the native Android gallery app can be painfully slow especially if you have recently cleared the cache. The best solution is to search for alternative solutions in the Android market, of which there are a few, and see which works best for you.

Wrong email headers?
Some Android users suffer from an anomaly where email subjects do not match the emails themselves. The way to fix it is by resetting up your email account and clearing the original data. Go to Settings / Applications / Manage Applications and then choose the email application and ‘Clear Data’.

Can I back up my Android phone online?
Lookout Mobile Security will do the trick and allows you to backup your personal data and to also access it directly online. It is a free download and should offer some peace of mind.  Image: lookout.tiff  Lookout will look out for your data.

Coolest Android Ice Cream Sandwich Features

Wednesday morning, Google and Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Nexus, the first phone designed specifically with Android 4.0 (aka Ice Cream Sandwich) in mind. Ice Cream Sandwich will, naturally, make its way to other handsets when it's released to the public sometime in November. As such, we're taking a look at the latest Google Android mobile operating system.

Ice Cream Sandwich contains many new features, but we've highlighted 10 of the tastiest, ranging from wireless sharing to new widget management. Check out the features and images below for a rundown on the new operating system. Which is your favorite?

Face Unlock
Is swiping the home screen to unlock your phone growing a bit tiresome? Ice Cream Sandwich's new Face Unlock feature taps a phone's camera so that users can log in by simply looking at the handset. Don't worry, if you don't want to use your grill, you can still use a code number (or a drawing interface) to unlock the handset.

Android Beam
Ice Cream Sandwich leverages NFC (near-field communication) technology that lets users share apps, websites, YouTube videos, maps, directions, and more by simply tapping two Android 4.0 phones together, much like iOS's Bump It app.

New Browser Functionality
Android 4.0's Web browser has evolved to closely match the desktop Chrome browser. Ice Cream Sandwich includes Chrome sync (which keeps bookmarks synced between your handset and desktop browsers), a “full site" button (which let users switch between desktop and mobile views), tabs, and a new Incognito tab.

New Contacts and Social Networking Features
Ice Cream Sandwich's "People" streamlines the way that contacts are displayed. Contact information is culled from your social networking connections, plus any other custom info that you'd like to manually add. This data is displayed on cards (similar to Windows Phone 7.5's tiles) that are updated when the contact updates his or her social networking information.

Data Management
Bundled with Android 4.0 is a stock app that lets you control network activity and view a specific app’s data usage. What's the benefit of this? You can now set up warnings (for when you begin to approach certain data thresholds), and hard caps to avoid an overage-fee pummeling

New User Interface

New User Interface

Taking a cue from the Honeycomb tablet operating system, Ice Cream Sandwich sports a sleek futuristic design that more closely aligns the phone and slate OSes. Android 4.0 also has a multitasking icon that calls up your recently used apps, and eliminates the need for physical keys, as it features adaptable software buttons.

New Camera Capabilities
Have you ever wanted to take a photo with your phone, but lost the moment due to the relatively lengthy snap time? Ice Cream Sandwich aims to eliminate that with swift, multiple shot shooting that plays catch up with the recently released Apple iOS 5. Android 4.0 also packs a new filter-filled photo editor, and a particularly cool sounding feature: an image rotator that spins the photo based on where your eyes are looking.

Speech
Does Apple iOS 5's Siri have voice control competition in Ice Cream Sandwich? That remains to be seen, but Android 4.0’s live voice-to-speech feature lets smartphone users create e-mail, texts, and perform other functions simply by speaking. This should (hopefully) make dictation and messaging a swifter, more streamlined affair.

Simple Screenshots
Android finally lets you take screenshots without requiring users to install apps, pull hair, or gnash teeth. How is it done? Users (especially hardworking Android app reviewers) will appreciate the operating system’s ability to grab a screenshot by simultaneously holding power and volume-down buttons.

Widget Management
Ice Cream Sandwich gives you widget flexibility by letting you select the size of displayed information on the home screens. Android 4.0 makes it easier to place widgets on the desktop; you simply press and hold the screen which opens a menu that reveals all of the widgets.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

Times have changed substantially from the days of the Samsung Instinct. That was a sad dumbphone that tried to compete with Apple;s iPhone. Now, though, the Samsung Galaxy S line of Android smartphones are among the best in the business, but can we say the same about their tablets? Well, let’s have a look at one of the best in the bunch in the form of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. It’s name is pretty much self-explanatory: this is a Samsung tablet with a 10.1-inch screen. Does it stand out?

Features and Specs

Quite unlike the original seven-inch Galaxy Tab, this version isn’t running on a stretched out version of a smartphone operating system. Like the Asus Eee Pad and Motorola Xoom, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 has Honeycomb under the hood. There is some customization with TouchWiz too. It’s still unclear whether this will be upgradeable to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich at some point in the future, but I’m perfectly happy with Honeycomb for now.

This particular review is of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 4G from Bell Mobility, but it’ll largely be the same Tab 10.1 as you’d find elsewhere like the recently “leaked” date from T-Mobile on November 2.

It’s not Super AMOLED Plus, but it’s still very bright and vibrant. It boasts a 1280×800 pixel resolution. As with so many other tabs of this ilk, it gets a dual core 1GHz processor, 1GB RAM, 16GB storage, WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth, and so on. The camera on the back is a 3MP unit capable of 720p video recording. The “4G” part of the name refers to the HSPA network compatibility with speeds up to 21Mbps.

The Skinny Tab

“Wow. This is thin.”

That was the first thought that struck me when I opened up the box. Yes, I realize that most tablets are relatively skinny these days, but with just a 8.6mm profile, I believe the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is the skinniest of them all. That may or may not be a good thing, depending on your personal preferences. I had a friend say that he didn’t like that it was so thin, because it made it more difficult to get a good handle on it.

Coupled by the fact that the back is a slippery glossy plastic and you can see how grip might become a bit of a concern. Contrast this to, say, the slightly thicker Asus Eee Pad Transformer with its more textured back and you’ll notice the difference right away. Even so, I didn’t find the slippery back and super slim size to be much of a problem at all.

The design is actually very simple with just three buttons in total. There’s the power button, of course, and the two volume control buttons. That’s it. Ports are very simple too: you get a headphone jack, a charging port, and a slot for the SIM card. This relative simplicity is both a blessing and a curse.

It’s Honeycomb All Over Again

There’s not a lot to say about the UI, since you’ve seen it all before. Yes, Samsung has gone through the trouble of putting a few tweaks here and there with TouchWiz, like several of the Samsung-specific home screen widgets, but they’re relatively minimal. I did like how there was a dedicated screenshot “button” near the home, recent apps, and back “buttons” on the screen, though, but not everyone will want or need that kind of functionality.

The settings menu looks a little different too, but I wouldn’t say that it’s necessarily any better or worse. Getting at the hotspot functionality seemed a little simpler, including the ease of changing the security and password settings, but these are all really minor.

Battery life was again on par with other Android tablets, getting somewhere around 8-10 hours under constant usage. Naturally, your mileage will vary considerably here depending on how and how often you use the tablet. With intermittent usage, I could get a couple days before needing to reach for a power outlet.

Quadrant Standard and Speedtest Benchmarks

To give an objective test to the performance, I put the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 through Quadrant Standard. The results were within the realm of expectation, getting anywhere from 2022 to 2288 in the few iterations that I attempted. This range is similar to other Honeycomb tablets with similar specs.

General everyday performance felt reasonably smooth most of the time and it stood up to par with other similarly equipped Honeycomb tablets that I have tried. The exception was when I tried to play YooNinja, a game where a ninja runs quickly across the screen. The game played much more slowly than I had experienced elsewhere, but I’m not sure why: other games seemed to be just as smooth as elsewhere.

As far as the 4G network was concerned, I ran a few tests with Speedtest.net in the Vancouver area. Ping was typically under 100ms with the download speed in the 2-3Mbps range. This is a far cry from the claimed maximum of 21Mbps. It is nice to see the upload speed approach the 2Mbps range, though, which is certainly handy if you’re going to be uploading any of that 720p video you’ll be shooting. This is nowhere near 4G LTE, but for a tablet, it does the job just fine.

Conclusion

Considering that we are on the eve of Kal-El, it’s harder to recommend a current Honeycomb tablet like the Galaxy Tab 10.1. You can’t get it in certain countries and I can see why Apple would say that it’s a little too similar to the iPad in some regards. Even so, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is a seriously solid tablet with an attractively slim profile, decent performance, and a svelte user interface.

If you’re looking at current dual core Honeycomb tabs, though, I would still take the Eee Pad Transformer over this, if only for the added flexibility of the keyboard dock. In general, I like the Samsung over the Motorola Xoom and LG Optimus Pad, but that could be because of the brighter screen and overall better-looking package.