Barnes and Noble has gone ahead of Amazon by being the first to release the colored ebook reader (aside from Sony, but that’s a different story).  The first Barnes and Noble Nook reader was released in 2009 and was based on the eInk technology.  Barnes and Noble differentiated the Nook from Amazon’s Kindle by adding a separate smaller color screen at the bottom primarily used for navigation and keyboard input, compared to the Kindle’s actual keypad also located at the bottom.

Today, Barnes and Noble announced that it’s color ebook reader is shipping slightly ahead of schedule and will be available for about $250.  The Nook has a 7 inch touchscreen LCD and built in Wi-Fi.  The Nook no longer has the color strip at the bottom since Barnes and Noble decided to have it full touch screen.  Also, Barnes and Noble has decided to go toward the tablet market by calling the Nook “the readers tablet”.  The display is sharp, however compared to the Kindle, the Nook is more susceptible to glare because of it’s “glass” display.

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.

Add Toshiba to the list of challengers hoping to dethrone the iPad. Notebook Italia has posted pictures and details about an upcoming, Android-powered slate Toshiba reportedly unveiled at a press conference in Australia.

The site says “whispers” hint the device could be dubbed the SmartPad. It will have a 10″ display—pretty much like the Apple contraption—with a next-generation Nvidia Tegra system-on-a-chip. The external design looks pretty iPad-like, with a large black border and metallic-looking trim, but Toshiba has traded some elegance for practicality: the front surface has a few buttons and what looks like a webcam, while one of the sides has a little door that conceals HDMI and USB ports. I believe there’s a card reader next to those ports, as well.

Notebook Italia sadly doesn’t talk of pricing or availability, but who knows? Perhaps the SmartPad will be part of Best Buy’s holiday season push. Or maybe we’ll have to wait until next year for it. In any case, I like where Toshiba is going with this. The iPad may have a great user interface, but it’s a little short on the connectivity front—just hooking up a digital camera requires a $29 connection kit.

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( via CrunchGear )

The news comes to us from Download Squad, which bases its story on an anonymous source.It says that a Google branded, Chrome OS toting slate device could be launched as soon as Black Friday, that is Nov 26 2010.

Download Squad says HTC will manufacture the device, and Google will offer it in collaboration with Verizon. On the hardware side of things, the Google slate could be relatively well-endowed:

It’ll likely be based on NVidia’s Tegra 2 platform and sport a 1280×720 multitouch display, 2GB of RAM, minimum 32GB SSD, WiFi/Bluetooth/3G connectivity, GPS, webcam, and possibly expandable storage via a multi-card reader. Expect it to be every bit as geek-tastic as the Nexus One — Google won’t want to disappoint its early adopters.

Evidence definitely points to Chrome OS hitting the streets this fall. The folks at 1UP broke the news on Monday that the Chrome Web Store is “set to launch this October.” From what I can tell, the service will have much in common with the Android Market and iTunes App Store, just with web applications instead of native software.

Thanks to the UI concepts Google posted on the Chromium Projects site a while back, we have an idea of what the rumored Chrome OS slate could look like: a big, iPad-like contraption with a web browser for a home screen. Of course, if the price is right—and it could be, if Verizon subsidizes the thing—this might just turn out to be the perfect device to pitch against the Apple iPad.

The iPads fight with the competition starts here, Dell has finally decided to launch the Dell streak in the US from the 13th of august. Many believe that this first foray into the world of smartphones by Dell marks the first real challenge to the success of the iPad so far in the US. The Dell streak debuts on the Android Platform and is one of the first tablet implementations of the device.

Officially priced today at $299 (with two-year AT&T contract) or $549 contract-free, the Dell Streak will be available directly from Dell as early as this Thursday.

All the pre-sale registered crowd will be given ordering priority, while the general order books will be opened up on Friday the 13th of august(let’s hope the date proves lucky for Dell, despite the spooky connotations).

While the Dell Streak is not all we had hoped from the first real Google Android based tablet, what with the device shipping with Android 1.6 out-of-the-box, but if the rumored over-the-air  Android 2.2 update materializes, with the promised Flash support, then this could really turn into one of the flagship Android devices.

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When HP bought Palm and revealed plans for webOS-powered slate devices this spring, word on the web was that HP had quietly euthanized its Windows 7 slate. Evidence now points to the contrary. Kind of. Engadget has been told by HP itself that the Windows-powered slate is “still very much in the works.”

Confirmation came after a mysterious HP Slate 500 product made its way onto the HP website yesterday. Inquisitive folks also unearthed an EnergyStar page for the device; the page mentions a 1.6GHz Atom processor and Windows 7.

HP hasn’t confirmed any specs directly, though, and even its statement to Engadget is somewhat open to interpretation. The company reportedly said it’s carrying out “customer evaluations” and “will make a determination soon on the next steps.” To my eyes, that phrasing leaves room for the Slate 500′s potential demise. Then again, it’s just as likely that HP will allow Windows and webOS-powered tablets to co-exist.

Following the launch of a host of phones this summer, not least the iPhone 4 and motorolla droid x,Dell’s Streak device can’t be much further off now. A product page has apeared on Dell’s website, which quotes a “late July” purchase availability date. Users can “sign up for pre-sale,” too—I guess that counts as a pre-pre-order.

The Streak has less in common with the iPad and more with the giant smartphones we’re seeing lately. This device has a five-inch multi-touch display (with an 800×480 resolution), a couple of cameras, cellular connectivity, and Google’s Android operating system.

Dell pimps the Streak’s multimedia and social networking capabilities, and the form factor might make it easier to toss in a backpack than an iPad. Then again, some folks might prefer to lug around a big smartphone—they wouldn’t be sacrificing much display real estate, and carrying one device beats carrying two.

Google’s Android OS has finally been used in a tablet environment, and by a most unusual source, and in a rather unique application. Today Cisco announced the Cius tablet as an “ultra-portable, mobile collaboration business tablet that offers access to essential business applications and technologies.”

Obviously, the Cisco Cius is not the Android tablet many of us have been hoping for, since it’s directly targeted at the corporate world. However, it’s exciting to see a big player like Cisco get onto the Android platform and produce such an advanced business tool for the corporate world. Cisco will start rolling out customer trials of the Cuis in late 2010 with commercial availability expected in Q1 of 2011.

Applications capabilities:

• 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, 3G/4G data and Bluetooth 3.0 help employees stay connected on and off-campus
• HD video (720p) with Cisco TelePresence solution interoperability for lifelike video communication with the simplicity of a phone call
• Virtual desktop client enables highly secure access to cloud-based business applications
• Android operating system, with access Android marketplace applications
• Collaboration applications including Cisco Quad, Cisco Show and Share, WebEx, Presence, and IM

Cius tablet highlights:

• 7” diagonal, high-resolution color screen with contact-based touch targets delivers an elegant, intuitive experience
• HD Soundstation supports Bluetooth and USB peripherals, 10/100/1000 wired connectivity and a handset option
• Detachable and serviceable 8-hour battery for a full day of work
• Highly secure remote connections with Cisco AnyConnect Security VPN Client
• HD audio with wideband support (tablet, HD Soundstation)