News - Samsung GALAXY Tab 11.6 to be announced Friday at 10pm?

[HEXUS]

Could this be the rumoured iPad 3 killer from Samsung?

Read more.

[cheesemp]

Wish people didn't use the term 'killer' for this sort of thing however it would certainly take the wind out of Apple's sail...

[Scribe]

Wish people didn't use the term 'killer' for this sort of thing however it would certainly take the wind out of Apple's sail...

I've been looking forward to some exciting hardware this year and the iPad 3 just didn't do it for me! I'm interested to see how thin Samsung can make the device vs battery life as the new Exynos is rumoured to be quite the little power-efficient chip (claims of x2 performance at x0.5 the power consumption over A9 equivalent along with new tech such as not refreshing the screen when there's a static image).

Interestingly, Samsung recently put up a page for the new chip http://www.samsung.com/global/busine...ucts5dual.html but the detailed PDF appears to be DRM'd and not possible to open.

[Biscuit]

11.6 is far too big IMO

[[GSV]Trig]

Depends on bezel thickness, if you look at most 10" tablets a simple 1.6" increase could be easily hidden..

[Biscuit]

i suppose but i found that even with split thumb keypads its a stretch when typing

[bradyjames]

Yeah I'm not sure a thin bezel makes sense on a tablet from a usability perspective. I think it would be really hard to hold in two hands and still use your thumbs to touch the areas close to the edge of the screen. I think that is part of the reason why the bezels are so large on the iPad. If you have a 10" tablet pick one up and then imagine you had a thin bezel and try touching the areas close to the edge as if you were typing or navigating. I think you will find it's actually more difficult for an extended period than you would think.

[Scarlet Infidel]

I moved from 9.7" iPad to an 8.9" Galaxy Tab. I also looked closely at the 10.1" version.
I have no doubt now that I made the right choice (in terms of screen size at least).

Even though I have moved to a smaller screen, the increased resolution (1024->1280) makes the world of difference. What is great about it is that with a smaller screen and battery it is light enough to hold in one hand, this makes the tablet experience so much more pleasant (kindle owner's will understand).

As mentioned, being able to reach the full keyboard is possible in landscape on this whereas it wasn't on my iPad.

Bezel is a minor issue. While is is visually quite large (borderline ugly) it still isn't quite big enough to get a comfortable thumb hold without touching the screen (particularly because the device is so thin).
My preferred solution would be to have a slightly thicker bezel but only on two sides. In this case the tablet must be light enough to hold in one hand (<400g ideally). This covers you for both landscape and portrait.

[crossy]

Wish people didn't use the term 'killer' for this sort of thing however it would certainly take the wind out of Apple's sail...

on the stupidity of the "iPad killer" monica. That said, I hate the Apple "everything we do is sprinkled with magic" idea equally.

Is it just me, or are iPad owners less "evangelical" than iPhone owners? Perhaps it's because other tablets (cough ... cough ... Galaxy Tab and Transformer) unarguably match the iPad, and in some respects beat it, (then again I'd argue the iPad is still easier for Joe Public to "get"). Or maybe iPad owners are just more laid back and less fan-boyish than the phone owners.

Like the idea of the larger screen on the latest Galaxy Tab, especially if they've managed to do it by bezel shrinkage rather than growing the size of the device.

EDIT: We're now hearing from sources that Samsung's announcement is actually relating to a new Angry Bird's product, suggesting that any new Samsung hardware will likely receive its own launch event

Bit curious why Samsung would be making an Angry Birds announcement, unless it's going to be something like they've got it installed on their new TV's as standard.

[3dcandy]

iPad killers are abound in plenty depending on what you want to do. Arguably the Android system being more open means any Android based tablet has more apps and more choice than Apples limited offerings (in terms of choice). I honestly can't see the fuss behind the new retina display, it's not going to help web browsing, game playing or video consumption at all and just seems a waste of a high res display as most people won't use even a quarter of it's capabilities - but it's a great boasting point...

[kingpotnoodle]

As much as I loathe the usability of iOS and find the styling of Apple products a bit too similar to a DeLonghi microwave I have to admit that the iPad is not really "kill-able" by an Android device yet... no matter how much better the hardware spec is, for one reason only - the Apps.

The Mrs has an iPad2 and the Apps she finds particularly for entertaining her nephew are far better than on offer in the Android store. Also the momentum is behind Apple devices, they have the popular (BBC, Sky etc, i.e. the non-tech media) mind share and reverence, and that is hard to beat.

Sadly at the moment despite excellent hardware and a nice Android 4 OS anything else but an iPad is at a disadvantage because of this and has no chance of a kill manoeuvre. Tablets are not phones, people expect more Apps than an IM client and Evernote etc for their tablets, all those Disney Apps and similar are what sells iOS. Google better hope Microsoft don't do Office for iOS, it would be really massive advantage handed to Apple, I doubt MS will do it as they would rather see people buy a Windows 8 device (thankfully, lets have competition not Apple monopoly).

[saltyzip]

I stick my asus transformer on my lap and have a suitable photo frame style case that allows me to bash on the screen keyboard without the need to hold the device or worrying its going to fall over. To be honest I don't need to type that much when using the tablet, the odd email, facebook comment, its not the right form factor for data entry, that is until someone invents a device to read ones brain waves.

[kopite]

kingpotnoodle is correct to a point. At the moment The apps are what is giving the ipad the edge. I have a sony tablet s and I love it to bits but its annoying when people like sky release Apps for the Ipad and pass off Android as not important (SKy go app for instance)

Considering Android has the market share with Phones now and Will probably get market sharew with tablets more of these companies need to start to take android seriously and make apps for us!

Back to the topic though If the rumours are true this is going to be a very nice tablet Will be sorely tempted to upgrade

[3dcandy]

so entertaining the nephew are the reason for buying an ipad???
I have both iOS and Android devices and don't find Android worse at all, there are as many apps that are better on Android as iOS, and whilst some companies are slow to embrace Android more fool them.
I do prefer the open nature of Android much more though. The only area where the iPad really excels is music apps, where the fragmentation of Android means audio latency is all over the place....but they are not essential to my music making and too expensive to buy for a few fairly frivolous apps.

Overall I don't believe the momentum is with Apple any more. As more innovative devices come out with less restrictions than those that Apple impose they will be forced to change and possibly lose the advantages that Apple believe they have with their approach. The new iPad doesn't seem a great leap forward, especially the high resolution which I really don't feel is much use at all.

[crossy]

kingpotnoodle is correct to a point. At the moment The apps are what is giving the ipad the edge. I have a sony tablet s and I love it to bits but its annoying when people like sky release Apps for the Ipad and pass off Android as not important (SKy go app for instance) Considering Android has the market share with Phones now and Will probably get market sharew with tablets more of these companies need to start to take android seriously and make apps for us

I can't help thinking that we're in a chicken-and-egg situation here. Gingerbread-based tablets weren't that good, Honeycomb ones were better, but it's really ICS that's the first proper "optimized" OS release. So when ICS tablets become more prevalent then I think that app developers are going to be more inclined to develop for Android.

That said, I've noticed more and more of the apps that are advertised in the media are claiming both iOS and Android availability - which has got to be a good thing all round, (I don't believe that an Apple near-monopoly is healthy).

I'm also perhaps being naive, but I think that the range of form factors (like this mega Galaxy Tab) and capabilities available to the Android consumer could persuade developers that are currently undecided to jump in.

[3dcandy]

I agree with Crossy. Apple has nowhere near the lead it once had in hardware or software, goto a techy shop and there will be plenty of Android devices on show at a wide range of price points and specs and sizes. The new iPad missed a trick by being roughly the same just increased specs. I believe a cost reduced option would have brought far bigger returns for Apple in the long run. They could have kept a similar display and new processor and lopped £50 off the price...just my 2 cents.
However witness the huge amount of ipad 2's that have suddenly become available and you know a huge amount of sheeps will be in the long lines snaking out of Apple stores worldwide come 16th March