Here is something we are keeping our eye out for. In the market for a decent tablet but don’t want to spend the proverbial arm and leg for it? Walmart, as usual, has you covered. They’ve partnered with Hisense to develop the Sero LT and the Sero Pro tablets. These tablets will be exclusive to Walmart and are available for purchase now.
The prices are extremely competitive coming in at $99 for the Sero LT and $149 for the Sero Pro. Now I was skeptical too, but the specs are not shabby for this price range.
Serp Pro Specs:
NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor
Android 4.2 Jelly Bean
7 inch, 1280 x 800 IPS display
1GB of RAM
8GB of on-board memory
2.0MP front camera
5.0MP rear camera with flash and auto-focus
Mini HDMI, SD, and USB ports
10-hour battery life – Twonky Beam, which allows users to share local and Internet resources with other equipment via a DLNA network
Built-in NFC (Near Field Communications) to share pictures, playlists and videos clips
Bluetooth enabled, providing secure transmission of data to and from devices
Sero LT Specs:
1.6 GHz dual core processor
Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
7 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display
Built-in WiFi, Mini HDMI, SD, and Micro USB ports
1GB of RAM
4GB internal memory
Judging from the user ratings – these bad boys aren’t too bad. We’ll review once we get our hands on one.
Samsung launched it’s latest ten inch tablet today in the US. It looks like the company is trying to enter an area spurned by Apple in emphasizing pen input. There is a reason many tablet makers are leaving that space alone – read on to find out whether or not Samsung has got the right formula.
At the press event, there were a few guests who lauded the tablet for it’s different approach to creativity and functionality. Baz Luhrmann the Australian Director of films like Moulin Rouge and Australia talked about how it was a “creative toolbox” that helped him to share in real time while Zac Posen, the designer talked about how the tablet facilitated his creativity. Both have upcoming projects, so I think that didn’t hurt either, but I had a hard time fully digesting everything they were saying as it really did seem too good to be true.
Test driving the device was a different experience. Below are a few key elements about the tablet.
Specs:
GENERAL
• Android™ 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich
• Processor: WiFi®, 1.4GHz quad-core
• Memory: 2GB RAM & 16GB On-Board Memory
• microSD™ Card Slot (Up to 32GB)
• Display Screen: 10.1″
• Display Resolution: WXGA (1280 x 800)
• Display Type: TFT
• Battery Type: Li-Polymer
• Battery Capacity: 7,000mAh
• Color: White
• WiFi®: 802.11 a/b/g/n
• Camera 5MP AF + 1.9MP FF
• Flash (Power LED)
• GPS
• Bluetooth 4.0 (LE)
• Supports USB 2.0 Connectivity (with an adapter sold separately)
• Audio: Built-in Front Dual Speakers
• Built-in Infrared Blaster (Smart Remote)
• Speaker (Stereo)
• Antenna (Integrated)
• Ear Jack: 3.5mm (Line-in Mic)
• IF Connector: 30Pin
• Multiscreen
• Video Pop Up Play
• Drag and Drop
• Dropbox
• Handwriting Recognition
• Enhanced Customizable Keyboard
• Built-in S Pen
Key Differentiators:
What makes this tablet different from it’s predecessors is – mainly – the pen input. The success of the Galaxy Note seems to have prompted this device. It comes with a built in “S-Pen”. They were careful not to call it a stylus because it has a few more tricks up it’s sleeve. For one, it is pressure sensitive so your strokes look different depending on how hard or softly you write. Second is that i works with “electromagnetic response” which allows for more accurate positioning.
Samsung has a slew of proprietary programs that come bundled with the device like S-Note, Pop-up Play, and its partnership with Adobe for Photoshop Touch. They had some artists sketching attendees. See my sketch below.
My initial thoughts on the device were that it is great conceptually. They really thought about the design with the speaker placement, note-taking capabilities, and true multi-tasking concept. However, while playing around with the device, I felt like the many great things I was looking forward to – just didn’t work the way I expected it to and came away wanting a more polished experience. For instance, it took me forever to get acclimated to the note taking process and didn’t really feel like it replaced my physical pad and pen. The S-Pen did perform fairly well, and writing with it was legible, however, I couldn’t visualize myself using it very often. In the productivity sweet there is the ability to smooth out shapes with “shape match” which comes in handy when drawing diagrams. Yet, I don’t draw diagrams on a regular basis so I wasn’t as excited about that – however, I could see it being useful in an educational setting. That along with the formula look-up which recognized formula’s as you wrote them down. Switching between modes got kind of confusing and you ended up just wishing you could just type it all in. There was text recognition as well which allowed the program to convert your scribble into a legible font. It took a little too long to actually be useful though and again, the machine was slow to my commands which was puzzling given the amount of power under the hood. It has 2GB of RAM and a 1.4GHz Quad Core Processor. I get the distinct feeling that Touch-Flo is the cause for the lag.
I also noted that Palm Block support was helpful with Samsung Apps and totally didn’t work with Adobe Photoshop Touch or any other non-Samsung application which means you have to stay within Samsung’s ecosystem to experience all the benefits. I was super excited about true multi-tasking, but was a little disappointed with it in practical use. It was noticeably laggy while working in two apps at the same time. This makes me sad because I really want a tablet to handle that functionality well and Samsung’s execution seems to have almost gotten it right.
The device launches with Ice Cream Sandwich and not Jelly Bean, which isn’t a huge disappointment, however, the upgrade should come before next year. Lets just hope its not in December!
You can purchase the device tomorrow and it will run you $499 for the 16GB Tablet, while the 32GB version will cost $549 and it comes in white and sexy deep gray. Check the full press release further down.
Game-Changing Device Hits U.S. Store Shelves Tomorrow
New York, August 15, 2012 – Samsung Electronics America Inc., a market leader and award-winning innovator in consumer electronics, today announced its highly anticipated GALAXY Note 10.1 for the U.S. market. The device will be available for purchase tomorrow – August 16th, 2012 – across the U.S.at authorized retailers.
At a launch event in New York City, Samsung will be joined by fashion designer Zac Posen, who has created looks for the most elite stars, and acclaimed writer, producer, director Baz Luhrmann (William Shakespeare’s Romeo+Juliet, Moulin Rouge and the forthcoming The Great Gatsby). Each will provide a window into their own creative process, and how the Galaxy Note 10.1 will unleash new levels of inspiration in their work.
The GALAXY Note 10.1 extends the GALAXY Note category, building on the success of last year’s worldwide hit smartphone – and delivering the functionality and precision of a pen and paper by combining the S Pen with a 10.1-inch large display.
Adobe’s premium creative application, Photoshop® Touch is preloaded and optimized for Samsung’s S Pen to deliver unprecedented precision and control.
The device also introduces the game changing Multiscreen feature, which allows users to actually operate two different apps side-by-side, simultaneously, on the same screen.
Thanks to a 1.4GHz quad-core processor and 2 GB RAM, the Galaxy Note 10.1 can handle it all without missing a beat.
“Our goal with the Samsung GALAXY Note 10.1 was simple – redefine the tablet experience,” said Tim Baxter, President, Samsung Electronics America. “The S Pen offers both active content creation as well as passive content consumption, while the Multiscreen capability finally enables true multitasking. For the user, the resulting experience is completely new and quite unexpected.”
True Multitasking with Multiscreen Feature
With GALAXY Note 10.1’s Multiscreen feature, users can effortlessly utilize two different applications side-by-side simultaneously for true and easy multitasking. Users can view Web pages or videos, or launch other applications while writing or sketching ideas with the S Pen on the other half of the screen – no need to toggle back and forth between apps.
Further, users can even capture and crop images from an app on one side, and drag them to an app on the side – for enhanced creativity and productivity.
Apps supported for Multiscreen are S Note, Internet Browser, Video Player, Email, Gallery and Polaris Office . The Galaxy Note 10.1 thus meets the increasing needs of a growing mobile workforce, from interfacing with customers to creative sharing.
The GALAXY Note 10.1 also offers the Pop up Play feature first introduced on the GALAXY S III Smartphone. With it, users can play back videos in a floating window that can be overlaid anywhere on the screen, providing a “picture in picture” experience. New for the GALAXY Note 10.1 is the ability to adjust the size of the video window.
In addition, GALAXY Note 10.1 offers a mini-apps tray that can launch a selection of mini-app on top of others apps and freely moved around the screen. These include Alarm, S Note, Music Player, Email, Calculator, World Clock.
S Pen & S Note Make it Personal
Featuring an advanced S Pen with 1,024 levels of sensitivity, GALAXY Note 10.1 is designed for natural and intuitive content creation. The S Pen is embedded directly into a slot in the device and when removed, activates a taskbar with quick access to optimized S Pen apps such as S Note, Adobe® Photoshop® Touch and Polaris Office. Alternatively, users can easily set their preferred application to be launched instantly.
The S Note application is a unique tool that gives users the ability to combine notes and sketches with other digital content in ready-to-use templates. Shape Match converts hand-drawn shapes such a square and lines into clean and perfect versions – perfect for creating charts. Formula Match can actually solve formulas hand-written with the S Pen.
S Note is also integrated with knowledge search engines so that users can search for content, obtain information, and easily drag and drop content onto S Notes without having to switch between screens.
Adobe Photoshop Touch – Edit Photos Like Never Before
Adobe® Photoshop® Touch, normally a $9.99 purchase, is preloaded on the GALAXY Note 10.1. Further, since it is optimized for S Pen, users are able to control brush size and opacity by just adjusting the pressure of the pen on the screen.
“Samsung’s GALAXY Note 10.1, with its pressure-sensitive S Pen, truly unleashes the power of Adobe Photoshop Touch and provides a great tool for creative expression,” said Winston Hendrickson, vice president products, Creative Media Solutions, Adobe. “More than ever, people around the world want to create, wherever and whenever inspiration strikes. We look forward to seeing what they imagine with the S Pen and Photoshop Touch.”
Users can also use popular Photoshop features such as layers, selection tools, adjustments, and filters to create mind-blowing images, or use the high quality GALAXY Note 10.1 camera to fill an area on a layer with the unique camera fill feature.
With Photoshop Touch, it’s also a snap to add or remove people or objects from a photo, or blend two photos together.
To get users started quickly, in-depth step-by-step tutorials are provided to help users learn techniques the pros use for great-looking results.
Photoshop Touch is integrated with Adobe Creative Cloud providing users free access to powerful file syncing and sharing features and 2GB of storage space. Files can be synched to the Creative Cloud and opened in Photoshop on the desktop or laptop for further refinement.
The Ultimate ebook Experience
Samsung is adding even more value through a range of partners.
Kno, a pioneer in education software, will offer its e-textbook platform preloaded on the GALAXY Note 10.1. With it, k-12 or higher education students can say goodbye to heavy backpacks filled with books and instead, download any of thousands of interactive textbooks. Even better, with the new Social Sharing feature announced today, they can utilize the S Pen to highlight and annotate the texts, and share those annotations with other students and teachers in the context of their book.
The popular NOOK® free reading app from Barnes & Noble will also be preloaded on the GALAXY Note 10.1 as well as a customized NOOK for Android™ Widget allowing quick and easy access to titles directly from the desktop.
A range of other partners are involved as well, delivering a complete solution.
To allow seamless collaboration with others, the GALAXY Note 10.1 offers a free two-year subscription to Dropbox, giving users 50 GB of storage space – a $100 value.*
Samsung Smart Remote, powered by Peel, utilizes the built-in IR emitter in the GALAXY Note 10.1 to transform the device into a sophisticated universal remote control that can control an entire home entertainment system and even recommend programs.
Finally, Polaris Office lets provides robust word processing, spreadsheet and presentation capabilities, while S Pen support makes it a snap to mark up and annotate documents.
Superior Hardware Performance and Connectivity
GALAXY Note 10.1 is designed with advanced hardware technology, including a 1.4GHz quad-core processor and 2GB of internal RAM. Seamless multi-tasking, high-standard graphics, and blazing-fast performance without any lag are essential features of GALAXY Note 10.1. The device also includes a 5-megapixel main camera and a 1.9-megapixel front-facing camera.
The GALAXY Note 10.1 carries over several features first introduced with the hit GALAXY S III smartphone, making it an ideal companion tablet for owners of that devices. ShareShot which makes it a snap to automatically share photos in real time between the GALAXY Note 10.1 and the GALAXY S III.
Smart Stay, first introduced with the GALAXY S III, uses the camera in the GALAXY Note 10.1 to prevent the device from going into standby mode while it detects a user in front of the device.
Finally, with AllShare® Play, users can share content with a large group in real-time by connecting GALAXY Note 10.1 to Samsung HD TVs, phones, mobile tablets, laptops, and other consumer electronic devices on the same network. With Group Cast, users can also share and collaborate on documents, presentations, or images in real time, without loading the files separately.
Available Aug 16th Across the U.S.
GALAXY Note 10.1 will be available beginning Aug 16th nationwide at partners including Best Buy, Amazon, Tiger Direct, HH Gregg, CDW, BrandSmart, Conn’s and Fry’s.
In a special promotion, Samsung will also be making the Galaxy Note 10.1 available at BBY’s Union Square store in NYC beginning at noon EST today, Aug 15th.
The device will be available in choice of white or dark gray, and in 16 GB or 32 GB memory configurations, for $499 or $549 SRP, respectively.
Available accessories include replacement S Pen, S Pen Holder Kit, Book Cover in Grey or White, Travel Charger, USB Connection Kit to allow usage of thumb drives or USB peripherals, HDMI adapter and Universal Desktop Dock.
Codec: MP3, OGG, WMA, AAC, ACC+, eAAC+, AMR(NB,WB), MIDI, WAV, AC-3, FlacMusic Player with SoundAlive3.5mm Ear Jack
S Pen Optimized Features
S Pen Experience (S Note, S Planner)(* more S Pen optimized apps are available via Samsung Apps)
Multiscreen
Adobe® Photoshop® Touch
Shape Match, Formula Match
Polaris Office
Kno
Sharing Features
Samsung AllShare Play / Samsung AllShare Cast / ShareShot
Samsung Kies /Samsung Kies Air
Content Features & Services
Samsung TouchWiz / Samsung L!ve Panel
Samsung Apps
Samsung Hub– Music Hub / Game Hub / Media Hub
Samsung S Suggest
Samsung ChatOn mobile communication service
Google Search, Google Maps, Gmail, Google Latitude Google Play Store, Google Play Books, Google Play Movies Google Plus, YouTube, Google Talk, Google Play Music Google Places, Google Navigation, Google Downloads
Bluetooth technology v 4.0 (Apt-X Codec support)USB 2.0 HostWi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n (2.4 & 5 GHz), Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi Channel BondingmHL, 3.5mm, IR LED(Smart Remote: Universal Remote Control)
Sensor
Accelerometer, Digital compass, Light, Gyroscope
Memory
16/32 GB User memory + 2GB (RAM)microSD (up to 32 GB)
Dimension
262 x 180 x 8.9 mm, 597g
Battery
Standard battery, Li-ion 7,000mAh
＊ All functionality, features, specifications and other product information provided in this document including, but not limited to, the benefits, design, pricing, components, performance, availability, and capabilities of the product are subject to change without notice or obligation.
＊ Android, Google, Android Beam, Google Search, Google Maps, Gmail, Google Latitude, Google Play Store, Google Play Books, Google Play Movies, Google Plus, YouTube, Google Talk, Google Places, Google Navigation, Google Downloads are trademarks of Google Inc.
The Kindle is Amazon’s newest 7″ device. It’s quite different from the E-Readers because of the fact that the display is full color. It will also have access to many apps downloadable from the Amazon Marketplace. Compared to other tablets, internal storage is fairly mediocre, coming in at around 8 Gigs, however, with access to Amazon’s cloud storage and the ability to re-download any app you ever downloaded, you may not need it. You connect to the internet via wi-fi as there is no 3g or 4g options at this point. Units are now shipping for $199 bucks!
Asus Transformer Prime:
This bad boy will be pretty powerful using NVIDIA’s Quadcore Tegra chip which means it should be able to handle pretty much anything. Gaming should be pretty fast and fluid with that much power under the hood. What makes the Asus Tablet different is that it can be docked with a keyboard which carries extra battery power and usb ports. This can come in handy for power users. Asus just announced the product so expect it to go on sale before the Holidays.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1/8.9:
Samsung has different sizes to suite different needs. The smaller 8.9″ for a super mobile experience or the 10.1″ for a nicer viewing experience. Both are running Android’s Honeycomb and have wi-fi versions, but only the 10.1″ models offer 4G options with either Verizon or T-Mobile. You can take a look at Samsung’s different tablet offerings here.
The Motorola Xoom tablet is now available for online order, or you can pick one up at a best buy. It ships with Google’s new Honeycomb OS which is basically Android for Tablets. The Xoom has a lot under the hood that makes it comparable to iPad like 4G from Verizon, Flash, and a larger display (10.1 inches). It’s also got a 1GHz Tegra dual core processor and 1GB of RAM to boot. Not bad Motorolla not bad.
Notion Ink Adam
This tablet was the first of the bunch to actually go on sale. It boasts a Pixel Qi screen which allows you to turn the back light on and off enabling daylight reading. It also has a custom Android interface and will be upgrading to Honeycomb. Ad to that a 1GHz Tegra dual core processor and swiveling 3.2 MP camera and you have an inexpensive rival. The most expensive 3G + wifi version will run you only 500 bucks. Plus its got a whole slew of ports including HDMI, USB (x2) and Micros USB.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 will have Honeycomb with Samsung’s “Touchflo” customization. It will be super thin at only 8.6 mm which is slightly thinner than the iPad2 which comes in at 8.8mm. It also has a dual core 1GHz processor and front and rear cameras of course.
Playbook
The Playbook is RIM’s definition of a tablet and I think its a pretty good one. The OS will be RIM’s so it’s neither Android or iOS. It’ll be a little think at 10mm in depth. It’s also smaller coming in at a more mobile 7 inches. It will also have a 1GHz processor with 1GB of RAM. Front and rear facing camera, 3 and 5MP respectively, however, the difference lies in its ability to sync with your Blackberry. We are talking contacts, calendar appointments…the works.
G Slate
The Gslate is another Honeycomb tablet that will be running on Tmobile’s 4G network which means 1GHz dual core processor, 1 GB Ram. The screen will not be as big as the other guy’s (only 8.9 in) however the display will be HD. Nothing out of the ordinary except for they sucker punch you with this little trick. It will have dual rear cameras for 3D and HD video capture. Booyah.
