AT&T Officially Launches the Galaxy Tab. AT&T today gave it’s final pricing on the Samsung Galaxy Tab.  The Galaxy Tab will be priced at $649 and will be available on November 21.  This is very interesting news since AT&T has given the cheapest price for the Galaxy Tab, beating it’s competitors, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon.

You might be wondering how AT&T did this, considering that they are all selling the same hardware specs.  One answer is that AT&T is using the same flexible, pay-as-you-go data plans pioneered on the iPad, priced at $14.99 (250MB/month) and $25 (2GB/month). If you plan on making use of the Tab’s Wi-Fi capabilities, having the option of paying as little as $14.99/month makes this competitively more affordable in the long-haul.

Apple once again is tickling the suspicion of the tech world today by modifying their website to display a very simple but catchy bulletin.  On the Apple website, www.apple.com, today, the homepage says “Tomorrow is just another day.  That you will never forget.  Check back here tomorrow for an exciting announcement from iTunes”.

The tech world is again on it’s toes waiting for what Apple could possibly release tomorrow.  Most of the expected releases have already been announced in earlier Apple events which makes tomorrow’s announcement more exciting since everyone has the same level of knowledge, except of course the Apple employees.  Apple has been known as an expert in these marketing strategies, take for example the company’s tagline for the iPad, “Magical and revolutionary”.   Apple didn’t disappoint, the iPad actually changed the industry once again, it was quicker to hit the one million unit mark than the very popular iPhone.  And Apple’s competitors are actually working hard to beat the iPad.

The announcement, scheduled for 7 AM PT time looks very important since no other than the Apple CEO, Steve Jobs himself will do the announcement.  Could the announcement just be about the release of iOS 4.2, finally?  Hopefully, the announcement would not disappoint, and Apple has been known to always impress with each of it’s announcements.  I think the difference now is that the announcement is sourced from iTunes, which, if I remember it right will be Apple’s first time to do this in this method.  Let’s wait and see what Apple brings to us tomorrow.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab has been released and is making the buzz on the web these past few days.  It’s aimed to directly compete against the Apple iPad, how does it fair?

The Samsung Galaxy Tab has a 7 inch multi touch screen compared to the iPad’s 9 inch screen.  Steve jobs, Apple’s CEO has criticized tablets which have smaller than 9 inch screens, saying that 9 inches is the optimal size for multi touch and typing comfort.  The Galaxy Tab is proving that statement to be wrong.  The Galaxy tab is easy to use and type on and doesn’t feel like a cramped version of the iPad.  In fact, carrying around the Galaxy Tab feels easier than the iPad, it’s more portable without sacrificing functionality.

The Galaxy Tab runs on the Android 2.2 (Froyo) operating system, which means it runs on open-source and would likely have more applications you can run on it.  Their is already an app store for Android apps and since Google doesn’t control what can be uploaded to the store, there are a lot more choices from the open source community.  The Galaxy tab also comes with 1 front facing and 1 rear facing camera which the iPad is rumored to have only in it’s second generation.

The Galaxy Tab is one of the first true competitors of the iPad and definitely gives the iPad a run for its money.  Of course, no gadget is perfect, there are some quirks about the Galaxy Tab like, you won’t be able to charge on a USB dock, you will need to connect the Galaxy tab to a power outlet.  Also, browsing on some major sites, the Galaxy Tab will display stripped down version of those sites and there isn’t any configuration that will allow you to browse the full web version.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab is currently available from T-Mobile and Verizon and will cost about $600.

A lot of rumors are swirling around the internet these past couple of days and they are regarding the  iOS 4.2 update for both the iPhone and iPad

One of the major enhancements that iOS 4.2 brings to the iPad is the ability to do multitasking.  Steve Jobs mentioned in the Apple event last month that the new iOS 4.2 will be released sometime in November and all rumors lead to an earlier than expected, November 12 release.  Although this may seem as a minor release, this release will now bring the functionalities of the iPad and iOS to somewhat equal terms.

Aside from multitasking, iOS 4.2 will bring AirPlay.  AirPlay is an enhanced version of AirTunes.  AirPlay, according to Steve Jobs last September, will enable audio and video streaming as well as image viewing through wi-fi to other devices on your network.  This will include the iPhone, iPad, iPod as well as the Apple TV.

AirPrint on the other hand enables printing over wi-fi from all your networked devices.  This is going to be very important for the iPad since Apple has marketed the iPad also as a business and productivity device.  AirPrint does not require drivers to be installed on any device since it will just detect any compatible printer and add it to the selections you can have to print.  This is also interesting because of the recent deal between Apple and HP wherein the new HP printers will definitely support the AirPrint.

Is some convergence underway between the iPad and Apple’s iMac desktop computers? A patent filing spotted by AppleInsider certainly suggest so. The filing, which was published in January, describes “transitioning between modes of input” on a device that supports both mouse and touch interfaces—and the illustration almost hints at an iMac successor:

Transitioning between a high-resolution input mode, such as a mouse-based interface, and a low-resolution input mode, such as a touch-based interface, is described. A change of orientation of a touch screen between a first orientation and a second orientation is detected. Transitioning between the two input modes and corresponding user interfaces (UIs) is based on the detected change of orientation. . . . Transitioning from one mode to another can include modifying an item displayed in the UI of the one mode into a corresponding item displayed in the UI of the other mode. The modifying can include enlarging/reducing, obscuring/unobscuring, moving, etc. For example, an item can be obscured by the visual effect of sliding it off of the screen.

AppleInsider points out that the patent application also provides an example with a notebook. Convertible laptops are, of course, nothing new, so that’s not quite as exciting.

If Apple adds touch input to the iMac, it wouldn’t be the first with an all-in-one, multi-touch desktop. HP has been selling its TouchSmart PCs for a while now. Swiveling the screen into a more touch-friendly position sounds like a useful innovation, though, as does a “smart” transition between mouse- and touch-friendly user interfaces. We’ll just have to see whether Apple actually does anything with this patent.

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Specifications

Size and weight

Height:

9.56 inches (242.8 mm)

Width:

7.47 inches (189.7 mm)

Depth:

0.5 inch (13.4 mm)

Weight:

1.5 pounds (0.68 kg) Wi-Fi model;

1.6 pounds (0.73 kg) Wi-Fi + 3G model

Display

• 9.7-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen Multi-Touch display with IPS technology
• 1024-by-768-pixel resolution at 132 pixels per inch (ppi)
• Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating
• Support for display of multiple languages and characters simultaneously

Wireless and cellular

Wi-Fi model

• Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n)
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR technology

Wi-Fi + 3G model

• UMTS/HSDPA (850, 1900, 2100 MHz)
• GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
• Data only
• Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n)
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR technology

Location

• Wi-Fi
• Digital compass
• Assisted GPS (Wi-Fi + 3G model)
• Cellular (Wi-Fi + 3G model)

In the box

• iPad
• Dock Connector to USB Cable
• 10W USB Power Adapter
• Documentation

Capacity

• 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB flash drive

Processor

• 1GHz Apple A4 custom-designed, high-performance, low-power system-on-a-chip

Sensors

• Accelerometer
• Ambient light sensor

Audio playback

• Frequency response: 20Hz to 20,000Hz
• Audio formats supported: AAC (16 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), MP3 (16 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, and 4), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV
• User-configurable maximum volume limit

TV and video

• Support for 1024 by 768 pixels with Dock Connector to VGA Adapter; 576p and 480p with Apple Component AV Cable; 576i and 480i with Apple Composite Cable
• H.264 video up to 720p, 30 frames per second, Main Profile level 3.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats

Mail attachment support

• Viewable document types: .jpg, .tiff, .gif (images); .doc and .docx (Microsoft Word); .htm and .html (web pages); .key (Keynote); .numbers (Numbers); .pages (Pages); .pdf (Preview and Adobe Acrobat); .ppt and .pptx (Microsoft PowerPoint); .txt (text); .rtf (rich text format); .vcf (contact information); .xls and .xlsx (Microsoft Excel)

Languages

• Language support for English, French, German, Japanese, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, Russian
• Keyboard support for English (U.S.) English (UK), French (France, Canada), German, Japanese (QWERTY), Dutch, Flemish, Spanish, Italian, Simplified Chinese (Handwriting and Pinyin), Russian
• Dictionary support for English (U.S.), English (UK), French, French (Canadian), French (Swiss), German, Japanese, Dutch, Flemish, Spanish, Italian, Simplified Chinese (Handwriting and Pinyin), Russian

Accessibility

• Support for playback of closed-captioned content
• VoiceOver screen reader
• Full-screen zoom magnification
• White on black display
• Mono audio

Battery and power

• Built-in 25 Whr rechargeable lithium-polymer battery
• Up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi-Fi, watching video, or listening to music
• Charging via power adapter or USB to computer system

Input and output

• Dock connector
• 3.5-mm stereo headphone jack
• Built-in speaker
• Microphone
• SIM card tray (Wi-Fi + 3G model only)

Mac system requirements

• Mac computer with USB 2.0 port
• Mac OS X v10.5.8 or later
• iTunes 9.0 or later (free download from www.itunes.com/download)
• iTunes Store account
• Internet access

Windows system requirements

• PC with USB 2.0 port
• Windows 7; Windows Vista; or Windows XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 3 or later
• iTunes 9.0 or later (free download from www.itunes.com/download)
• iTunes Store account
• Internet access

Environmental requirements

• Operating temperature: 32° to 95° F (0° to 35° C)
• Nonoperating temperature: -4° to 113° F (-20° to 45° C)
• Relative humidity: 5% to 95% noncondensing
• Maximum operating altitude: 10,000 feet (3000 m)

Features

• Bright OLED Display for excellent Viewing
• Full Screen Internet Browser using Safari
• Supports all the apps for iPhone, OS of both devices is similar
• Easy access of Mail, Photos and Videos
• Could be used for book reading, books can be instantly purchased from the Online Book Store of Apple using iBooks. There’s an app for that.
• Multi-touch and Multi-tasking capability
• Inbuilt 3G capabilities
• Better battery Life (Supports up to 10 hours)

Price

via

It is now confirmed from some sources that Steve Ballmer would announce a new “Slate Type Computer” during the CES 2010 Keynote. The PC would support all the versions of Windows since XP and would offer built-in E-Reader capabilities.

Rumor has it that it won’t be a courier tablet (One with dual screen and no keypad), just a standard multi-touch tablet instead, but its hardware capabilities will make it an important addition to the current line-up of the Tablet PCs.

The hardware in Microsoft HP Slate would put it directly in competition with the Apple’s Tablet (iSlate) which is rumored to be released this month.

You can watch the LIVE webstream of the CES 2010 event from here

Apple might announce some new awesome products in their first event of this new year, which would be held on January 27, 2010. The new products might include the launch of a new Apple Mobile-OS, iPhone 4.0 and their new tablet PC (iSlate).

This mega media event will be held at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco.

The Wall Street Journal offers some more insight to the details of this event: It cites people “briefed by the company” who say Apple plans to ship the tablet in March, and that it will feature either a 10 or 11-inch touch screen. The paper also cites analysts who “currently believe” the machine will cost $1,000, which may include a Kindle-like bundled wireless plan.

via

Though the credibility of the source is not revealed by the website, the specs mentioned in there looks quite close to what Apple might offer in the near future. According to them, the Apple iSlate would be consisted of a 7.1-inch capacitive multitouch display combined with a 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo processor (Unknown model), 2GB DDR3 RAM, 120GB hard drive, built-in projector for a bigger display. There’s no option for connecting an external display in iSlate so the users would have to rely on the built-in projector.

Moreover, there’s no information on to what level the customization would be available. The picture of the document posted below shows the specification of an Apple Tablet with 120GB HDD with no upgrade or future-support information, while the installed 2 GB RAM is shown expandable to 8 GB. This feels kind of awkward since such documents are not designed in this fashion, even if it means that the HDD would be irreplaceable.

More details are given in the pic below: