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The Galaxy Tab as seen in Samsung’s video.
Photo: Samsung

Samsung today released new details about the Samsung Galaxy Tab, the first viable iPad competitor we know of. (For basics on the device, see our blog, Samsung Galaxy Tab: The first serious iPad competitor from last week).

Here’s the new information:

• The tablet weighs about 13 ounces. Its TFT-LCD display’s resolution is 1024 x 600 and measures 7 inches. That makes it 7 ounces lighter than the iPad and its display quite a bit smaller than the iPad’s 10 inches.
• Powered by a 1GHz Cortex A8 processor, the Galaxy Tab will connect via 3G, 802.11n Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. You’ll be able choose from models with 16 or 32GB of built-in memory; an external slot can accept up to 32GB of removable memory. Samsung claims the Galaxy Tab’s battery will last 7 hours playing movies.

• With a camera on the front (1.3MP), you’ll be able to do videoconferencing. The rear camera is 3MP, with auto focus and LED flash. A gyroscope sensor, geo-magnetic sensor, and accelerometer add location, direction, and motion capabilities.
• Samsung didn’t list a dedicated USB port as part of the Galaxy Tab’s connectivity. Presumably, USB connections are made via the 30-pin connector.
• The tablet will also play HD videos, supporting a variety of multimedia formats. Access to films and video will be available, Samsung says, through the company’s “Media Hub” and to music via its “Music Hub.” Samsung says its e-reader app, Readers Hub, will provide access to reference materials as well as classics and bestsellers.

The company says that the Galaxy Tab will be launched in the US “in coming months.”

—Donna Tapellini

The Galaxy Tab as seen in Samsung’s video.
Photo: Samsung

The wait for competitors to the Apple iPad appears to be nearing an end, judging by a new video Samsung just released for its upcoming Galaxy Tab tablet computer. (Clicking on the link will take you to the video.)

According to the video, the Galaxy will have a 7-inch display, significantly larger than the Dell Streak my colleague Paul Eng recently tried out and within shooting distance of the iPad’s 9.7 inches. This size is consistent with the trend we’ve noticed for early tablets being sized smaller than the iPad. If such a size proves popular, it should put pressure on Apple to respond with an iPad version in the neighborhood of 7 inches. (Rumors of a smaller iPad are already circulating).

Here are other Galaxy Tab features I’ve culled from Samsung’s video:

• It runs Google’s Android 2.2 operating system, which is the version now being rolled out to smart phones. That means it will support Adobe Flash video when browsing the web, which the iPad doesn’t.
• In the video, it appears less than 1-inch thick.
• It makes video calls, which implies that it includes a front-facing video-capable camera. There’s also a rear-facing camera. The iPad has neither of these.
• The onscreen keyboard appears to include Swype, the software which I found sped up my typing when I tried out the Droid2 smartphone last week.
• As you would expect, there appear to be apps for e-mail, text messaging, web browsing, maps (presumably Google maps) with navigation, and a calendar with appointments.
• The ability to display HD-quality movies and read e-books.

All of the above is enough to make for a serious competitor to the iPad. What’s not clear is whether the Galaxy Tab includes other features that would give it more of a leg up on the iPad, such as a standard USB port (compatible with printers, card readers, and other devices), 3G connectivity with a major provider other than AT&T, removable battery, the ability to charge via a USB connection to a computer, and an HDMI output. I expect it to offer some if not all of these.

All the evidence points to more Android (and other) tablets becoming available by the holidays. This is a good thing for consumers. Not only will it increase their choices in hardware and in wireless providers, but since new Android tablets apps will presumably be able to download appropriate apps from the same Android Market that serves smartphone users, it will break the stranglehold Apple’s App Store has had on the market for tablet software apps.

We’ll have more on the Galaxy Tab and other new tablets, including hands-on looks, as soon as they become available. Meanwhile, here’s to a robust and competitive tablet market for the holidays and the foreseeable future.

—Jeff Fox

The Motorola Droid 2, $199 with Verizon contract.
Photo: Verizon

The Motorola Droid 2, successor to the original Droid, went on sale August 12. Filling in for the vacationing Mike Gikas, I spent a few hours using the sample we purchased from a retailer. It offers several design refinements and handy new features. I found it easier to use than the original Droid smartphone and didn’t encounter any notable drawbacks.

The Droid 2 is available from Verizon and costs $199 with a two-year contract. Verizon is reportedly offering an early upgrade, available now, to customers whose plans expire on any remaining date in 2010.

It’s still a Droid. In form and design, the Droid 2 is barely distinguishable from the Droid. It’s virtually the same size and weight, with nearly identical buttons and controls. It, too, has a slide-out keyboard, though it has been overhauled (more on that below). It comes with Android 2.2, the newest version of Google’s operating system (the upgrade to 2.2 is being delivered to older Droids as I write this). All my attempts to verify that Adobe Flash 10.1 Player was running on the Droid 2 out of the box pointed to the conclusion that it wasn’t running, even though there have been reports that Flash 10.1 is supposed to be bundled with the phone.

The new keyboards. The physical keyboard’s keys are raised, which made it easier to quickly settle a finger on the key I wanted. With the old Droid’s flat keys, I had to carefully feel my way from key to key. Individual keys appear about 25 percent wider than those on the old Droid. To make space for them, the Droid’s navigation pad was eliminated in favor of arrow keys and an “OK” key, and the Droid’s pairs of “Shift” and “Alt” keys were each replaced by single keys. The onscreen keyboard was also changed. In landscape orientation, keys were slightly more widely spaced, although most of the keys themselves appeared 20 percent narrower than their Droid counterparts. I found them easy enough to type on.

Faster typing. Touch typing on even the best keyboard, if it’s this tiny, can be cumbersome. The Droid 2 includes the software called Swype that speeds up on-screen typing by eliminating the need to lift your fingers between key presses. To type “dog,” for example you slide your finger from the “D” to the “O” to the “G.” My fingers were sufficiently large that it was sometimes a challenge to know which key they’d stopped on, though the visual trail of their path that the Droid 2 displayed as I typed was a help. It took a few tries to get the hang of it, but within minutes I was typing long words, that I’d thought would be challenging, with confidence and accuracy. Swype can speed up typing, but to take full advantage of it, I found, you’ll need to practice the new technique.

Beefed-up specs. The Droid 2 has a 1GHz processor, compared with 550mHz on the Droid. In using both, I didn’t notice any significant speed improvement. Its battery is supposed to be able to last up to 190 minutes longer than the Droid’s in continuous use and 45 hours longer in standby. A definitive conclusion on the Droid 2’s speed and battery life, though, must await our upcoming slew of lab tests which will help us determine where place it in our Ratings of smartphones. (Ratings are available to online subscribers of Consumer Reports.) Like its predecessor, it comes with 16GB of memory, but can be upgraded to a total of 40GB (8 onboard; 32 removable), compared with around 33GB (32 removable) for the Droid. The camera and connectictivity are generally similar to the Droid’s.

Mobile hotspot capability. The Droid 2 includes a feature that the newest iPhone model began offering just this summer: The ability to use the phone as a wireless hotspot for a Wi-Fi device, such as a laptop, netbook, or tablet. One Droid 2 can serve as a hotspot for up to 5 devices. With both the Droid 2 and iPhone 4, such wireless tethering requires a $20 per month data plan on top of your regular monthly plan.

Bottom line: The Droid 2’s refined design and new features appear to make it a worthy successor to the highly-ranked Droid. The original Droid was one of relatively few smart phones we tested with good voice quality. Our formal lab tests will determine if we can say the same about the Droid 2.

If you’re trying to decide between the Droid 2 and Verizon’s Motorola Droid X and HTC Droid Incredible, both $199, here are some key considerations (voice quality aside): If you prefer a physical keyboard and can tolerate a heavier, bulkier phone, the Droid 2 (or the rated Droid) is a better match. Neither of the others has a physical keyboard. The Droid X has the largest display (4.3 inches) and slimmest case of the three. The Droid Incredible is a very good phone, though its battery life wasn’t as long as the other Droids we rated.

—Jeff Fox

The Nikon D3100 D-SLR, $700, will be available in September.
Photo: Nikon

Nikon just announced a new entry-level digital SLR camera, the 14-megapixel D3100, $700. It’s a very compact, light SLR with full 1080p HD video capability (at 24 frames per second for up to 10 minutes per clip) and 3-inch liveview LCD. It replaces the Nikon D3000, which had neither capability.

One feature that looks promising: It will have what Nikon claims is full-time autofocus in liveview and D-Movie modes. So when the camera is shooting video, it should be able to autofocus much the way a camcorder can. For example, if a subject moves much closer to the camera, the D3100 should be able to automatically refocus, instead of maintaining a locked focus, the way it does when shooting still images. Nikon claims this is the first full-sized SLR to do this. (Several SLR-like models, such as the Sony NEX series, can already do this.)

The D3100 also includes these enhancements:

• A new help mode, with sample photos, for achieving particular effects.
• An 11-point autofocus system.
• A top ISO of 3200 that can be expanded up to 12,800.
• Compatibility with the new, high-capacity SDXC memory cards.

In addition to this new SLR, Nikon also announced four new SLR lenses:

• AF-S DX 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR zoom lens, $400.
• AF-S 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR zoom lens, $1300.
• AF-S 24-120mm f/4G ED VR zoom lens, $1050.
• AF-S 85mm f/1.4G prime lens, $1700.

Of the four lenses, the 55-300mm is one aimed at average consumers. On most Nikon SLRs, this telephoto zoom lens will have the 35mm equivalent of a 82.5-450mm focal range, which gives it approximately a 6x optical zoom range, which is broad. Yet it’s still moderately priced.

The D3100 will be available in mid-September. All four lenses will be available later that same month.

—Terry Sullivan

If you’re still on the fence about buying an Apple iPad, you might want to hang out a bit longer, particularly if you’re waiting for smaller tablets to hit store shelves.

Rumors have been circulating about an iPad with a 7-inch screen, possibly available by Christmas. There are good reasons for Apple to offer a downsized version of its 9.7-inch tablet, despite its successful track record of 3 million sold by the end of June and about a million a month continuing to sell.

For starters, a 7-inch version would cost less than the $499 starting price of the current iPad, allowing it to better compete with other portables of similar size and get a bit closer in price to e-book readers like the Amazon Kindle and the Barnes & Noble Nook. But Apple also likely wants to head off the competition as other manufacturers release, albeit slowly, tablets of their own. And many of those manufacturers are entering the market with smaller models of 5- to 7-inches.

One reason smaller tablets will probably proliferate early is the ability to run them using a version of operating systems already in use in smartphones. Dell just began shipping its 5-inch Streak, which we took a first look at. It uses the mobile Android OS and can even function as a phone with the addition of a SIM card. Archos already has a 5- and 7-inch tablet; each runs a version of Android. Kmart has an Android-based 7-inch device from Augen.

Other Android tablets on tap include Samsung’s Galaxy, which looks to be about 7 inches in this photo published by Engadget.

HP will continue the phone OS-based theme with an offering using the WebOS, which it acquired when it bought Palm earlier this year. It’s not clear how large that device will be; the company told us it won’t be released in 2010.

Windows 7-based devices should also be launching later this fall and early next year.

—Donna Tapellini