A video has found its way onto the internet, courtesy of a South Korean website (dt.co.kr) that not only gives us some footage of the Galaxy Tab in action, but also shows it playing happy families posing for a photo with an iPad and it’s younger sibling, the . We have to say, it looks much smaller than we expected. It seems then, that the Galaxy Tab may not quite be the competition to the iPad we’d been expecting, instead, it seems that is hoping to beat Apple to the punch with the rumoured iPad Mini.
The video isn’t of the highest quality, but does allow us to see quite a substantial insight into what to expect from the Galaxy Tab and we’re pained to say that, if the video is to be believed, that the Galaxy Tab will be incredibly iPad-esque. In that, apps appear to be listed in an almost identical fashion with side scrolling screens. We can take some solace though, in the fact that there is an on-screen ‘Home’ button below the application grid pointing towards the fact that, although not seen on the video, the Galaxy Tab does retain the usual Android customisebale screens found on the and what we’re actually seeing on the video is merely the app drawer.
Interestingly, the video shows the Galaxy Tab to be a 3G connected device. Although, we’re going to hang on to our hopes that a Wi-Fi only version will be available too. The video also shows us the dialer, browser, a calendar and a maps application as well as an application which appears to allow the Galaxy Tab to pick up TV programs.
Check out the video to see for yourself and let us know what you think of the Galaxy Tab in the comments section below.
It has been confirmed that the will be upgraded to 2.2 which is the latest version of the Google operating system and will bring with it a variety of improvements to the handset. The speed of the Galaxy S will see an immediate improvement, as version 2.2 (Froyo) is roughly 2 – 3 times faster than previous versions. A personal Wi-Fi network can be created so that your internet connection can be shared with other devices in the area, such as your or games consoles.
The internal memory on the Galaxy S can be kept clear for important files such as photos and videos, as applications can now be stored on a microSD card with Android version 2.2. This way, users can benefit from more entertainment on their handset.
Some of the other features the Galaxy S sports include a 4 inch touchscreen display, 5 megapixel camera and a 1GHz Snapdragon Processor; all in all the Galaxy S shapes out to be a very desirable .
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You may have seen about 2.2 Froyo and how the update has begun to reach Nexus One owners, well, the rumour mill has been running in overdrive for Android recently and has now churned out another, juicy rumour: Android 3.0 Gingerbread.
According to a podcast from Eldar Murtazin, Gingerbread brings with it imposed minimum requirements for hardware. These being a 1GHz processor, 512 MB RAM and a 3.5″ diagonal screen (Good news for , and owners) which really sets the scene for where Android is heading in the future and pretty much lays to rest any doubt that we’ll soon be seeing phones with 1.5+ GHz processors any time soon, given that it’s been reported that we’ll be getting our teeth sunk into some tasty Gingerbread goodness as early as October.
What will become of phones running a spec lower than this? Well, this is potentially where the problems could start get worse. As you are probably aware, fragmentation is one of the biggest issues currently faced by Google and it’s Android OS, by this we mean the fact that there are several versions of currently in active use on the market, making it difficult for developers to roll out applications and updates which are compatible with all devices. Android 2.1 Eclair and 2.2 Froyo have essentially formed what will become the low/mid-range Android OS (, , ), whilst the full shebang (Gingerbread) will be the flagship OS found on tablets and the future high-end .
Gingerbread is also said to remove the need for proprietary bootloaders/skins such as Sense UI and Timescape offered by and , since the new Android will seek to further develop it’s own UI (found on the Nexus One currently) to create a viable User Interface to be found on all future Android 3.0 touting handsets. The universal UI is quite possibly our most anticipated part of this rumour given that essentially, the future of Android lies with it. If, right now, you were to pick up a Samsung Galaxy S, a HTC Desire and a , the actual navigation, menus and appearance are very different which creates a problem when you consider a product such as the and it’s incredibly simplistic UI; any owner of an could simply pick up an iPhone 4 and use it, there are quite significant differences between the two phones, but the user experience remains the same (albeit tweaked) and this is probably the biggest obstacle standing in the way of Android becoming a dominant force in the mainstream market.
Android Google really does need to get this absolutely spot on, if it is to be in with a chance of actually dethroning the iPhone. Google need to go back to basics, applying the ‘Mum’ test to it’s UI and creating a ’straight-out-of-the-box’ experience that even you’re Mum could use, whilst retaining the deep levels of customisation that the tech-lovers around the world have fallen in love with; which is no easy feat, even for Google. Early suggestions are that the UI will be based on the for the Nexus One, offering seamless transitions, speed and considerable ease of use; a very good start and a step in the right direction already.
Gingerbread is said to be due for release in October, of course, we’ll wait for Google’s official statement before getting too excited but in the meantime, lets us know what like from the above and what else you’d like to see from Android 3.0 in the commenst section below.
Google has only recently released it’s source code for 2.2 Froyo (for Frozen Yoghurt), which now means that carriers and manufacturers can begin their work on updating software and skins to be compatible with Android 2.2; which has resulted in huge amounts of speculation and angst, especially amongst owners, surrounding the likely date that an OTA (over-the-air) update to Android 2.2 can be expected.
The main concern from the HTC owners camp, is that they could in fact be faced with a similar dilemma to those that own(ed) a , in that, despite running Android 1.5 (Donut), an update to 2.1 Eclair has only just become available now that version 2.2 is also. This doesn’t bode well at all for Desire owners or indeed owners, although there is still optimism and hope in abundance amongst the online blog-osphere and indeed here with us at .
Early rumours suggested that the update would be available from the 23rd June for HTC Desire owners; a rumour which sadly didn’t come to fruition and wasn’t actually ever confirmed by themselves. However, we can now report that HTC have actually released a date (albeit quite vague) that Desire, Wildfire and Legend owners can expect to be on the receiving end of some frozen goodness (like that currently being enjoyed by Google Nexus One owners); the update is expected to be rolled out “beginning Q3″ which if our calendars and our maths are correct, could see the update rolling out as early as next month, although, realistically, we expect this to be mid-late Q3 given that the manufacturers have barely had their hands on the source code for a week.
Why all the hype for Froyo i hear you ask? Well, probably the biggest improvement brought by 2.2 (from the perspective of a Desire owner) is that 2.2 brings ‘Apps2SD’ which, in essence, is the ability to save applications to the SD card; functionality sorely lacking (and our only issue) on the . With Froyo also comes Flash 10.1 support, bringing the ability to watch iPlayer and embedded Flash videos without the need for a seperate media player. Android 2.2 Froyo is also proven to be faster than 2.1, not just a little bit, we’re talking up to 5x faster, thanks to the ‘Just In Time Compiler’ found lurking within. There’s also a multitude of other functionality beng added: the ability to turn your Android device into a Wi-Fi hotspot, USB tethering and much more.
Let us know what you think below and keep an eye on the blog for updates. Better yet, to take a look at our range of Android handsets and get involved in the action.