TMCnet News
iPad faces a few new contenders in the world of tabletsFeb 11, 2011 (The News-Item - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Just as it seems Apple's famed iPad had been named the reigning champion of the tablet world, over the past year, a few iPad killers have appeared on the horizon. Details were revealed last month at the Consumer Electronics Show about Motorola's Xoom tablet running Google's latest version of the Android OS built specifically for tablets, known as 3.0 Honeycomb. Then, an Android event held at Google HQ last week showed off even more of the tablet and its OS features. Honeycomb brings the beloved Android OS to tablet form, updating apps for a larger screen size and bringing further integration such as video chat with Google Talk. Motorola's Xoom will have an NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual core 1 GHz processor with a 10.1 inch widescreen HD display that supports 1080p HD video, HDMI output, 32 GB of internal storage and SD Card support (through a later software update), a 2-megapixel front-facing camera and a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera that captures video in 720p HD. It will launch as a 3G/Wi-Fi enabled device on Verizon's network, but will be upgraded to 4G LTE in the second quarter. Although no official release date has been given, rumors and leaks have been pointing at a Feb. 24 launch with prices estimated at about $800. A recent Super Bowl ad also added to the hype of this tablet. The Xoom isn't going to be the only tablet trying to steal the market from Apple with help from Google. The LG G-Slate is another Android Honeycomb competitor that is expected to launch in March. It touts the same NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor as the Xoom, an 8.9 inch multi-touch 3D capable display, HDMI output, a 2-megapixel front-facing camera, a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera with LED flash, 32 GB of internal storage and will run on T-Mobile's HSPA+ network. A recently discovered feature is a set of dual rear-facing cameras, featuring a stereoscopic video recorder with 1080p for HD video capture, making the G-Slate the first device of its kind to be able to capture 3D video. Consumers will be able to watch 3D video on the slate through the use of special 3D glasses. There has been no word on pricing for the feature rich tablet. If Android tablets weren't enough competition, another tablet was revealed Wednesday: The HP TouchPad running the new HP webOS. HP completed its acquisition of Palm, the original owners of the webOS operating system, back on July 1. The first webOS slate coming this summer will feature a Qualcomm Snapdragon dual CPU 1.2 GHz processor, a 9.7 inch multi-touch display, an option of either 16 GB or 32 GB of internal storage, and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera. An innovative feature which will allow easy wireless charging, much like the Powermat for mobile devices, is built-in HP Touchstone technology. This has not yet been seen in the Android tablets. Wireless communication will also enable the sharing of web addresses from browser to browser between TouchPad and compatible webOS phones. One last tablet hoping to steal some of the iPad's thunder is coming from RIM. The BlackBerry Playbook 4G is forecasted for summer on Sprint's network. It will run BlackBerry Tablet OS on a 7-inch capacitive multi-touch display, a Cortex A9-based dual core 1 GHz processor, and a 3-megapixel front-facing camera, along with a five megapixel rear-facing camera. The Playbook will utilize Sprint's 3G network by using a BlackBerry smartphone as a modem, but will also have access to Sprint's 4G network through the tablet alone. All of these tablets will have Adobe Flash Player support, and, with the exception of the Playbook, a gyroscope for measuring or maintaining orientation, a feature the current generation iPad lacks. If you haven't already purchased an iPad, you may want to be patient considering numerous options will be surfacing in the next couple months. In addition, there were rumors from the Wall Street Journal Wednesday of a spring release of the iPad 2 with at least one front-facing camera for use with Facetime, Apple's video conference software. It's said to be thinner and lighter than the first model, and will have more memory and a more powerful graphics processor. Only time will tell who will come out ahead in the tablet war, but the competition is finally starting to heat up. To see more of The News-Item or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.newsitem.com. Copyright (c) 2011, The News-Item, Shamokin, Pa. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. |