Hasta La Gadget!

The "inadequate" Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 at the Mobile World Congress, Barcelona. Photo: Charlie Sorrel

Samsung’s mobile VP Lee Don-Joo has taken a look at the iPad 2 and decided that his own Galaxy Tab 10.1 isn’t up to scratch. “We will have to improve the parts that are inadequate,” he told the Korean Yonhap news agency.

Further, Samsung was planning to sell the 10-inch Tab for more than the seven-incher, but that too has changed. “[W]e will have to think that over,” said Lee.

When I tried out the Tab 10.1 at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona last month, it seemed like a plastic toy with a gorgeous screen. Its “superior” specs turned out to be squeezed in so they could be marked off on a feature checklist.

The camera is terrible, the Android Honeycomb OS feels like an old-timey desktop OS, and the plastic body may make it light, but it also makes it feel cheap. Obviously Samsung was building down to a price.

Now that the iPad 2 has slimmed down and added cameras and a faster, dual-core processor, even those hardware differences have evaporated. This will be worrying not just for Samsung, but for Motorola and all the other tablet-makers trying to make a dent in Apple’s market. Expect a lot of pre-announced tablets to mysteriously disappear.

Lee’s words are telling. These companies are doing all they can to compete with the iPad, but — as Steve Jobs said at the launch event on Wednesday — they’re making PCs. And nobody is buying them, because iPad buyers don’t care about megapixels and CPU clock-speeds.

A final remark from Lee sums up the bewilderment these companies must be feeling. “Apple made it very thin,” he said.

Samsung sees iPad 2’s thinness, price as challenges [Yonhap News Agency via Physorg]

See Also:

• Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Hands-On: A Plastic Toy With a Gorgeous …
• Official: Samsung Galaxy Tab $600 on Verizon
• Motorola Thinks You'll Pay $800 for the Xoom Tablet

Booq’s Booqpad iPad 2 case mixes the old and the new

The iPad 2 Smart Cover looks pretty sweet, despite my esteemed colleague Brian Chen’s griping about it, and may itself be reason alone to buy the iPad 2. And as soon as the iPad 2 launches, you can expect case manufacturers to start coming up with clever uses for those internal magnets Apple has squeezed inside the new tablet.

But until then, it is business as usual, and my inbox has yet again been flooded with news of newer, thinner versions of existing cases. None of these companies seems to be panicking, although maybe they should: According to the Spanish newspaper El Pais, case-maker Zagg’s shares dropped 24% upon news of the Smart Cover.

If anything, Booq’s new case looks to the past instead of the future, stuffing in wad of paper on which you can do something called “writing” with a “pen.” It’s called the Booqpad, and also has slots for other Olde Worlde items such as a pen (or stylus), cash, and business cards. The paper refills are case-specific and feature sheets that are the exact same size as the iPad’s own screen. It shares something with the Apple case, though: you can buy plastic version ($50) and a leather one ($100).

It looks fine, although I’m really more interested in what these folks will come up with when they start playing with magnets. The Lady says she doesn’t like the new case as it offers no drop-protection, nor does it protect the back. She’s a serial gadget-dropper, so her concerns are understandable.

I have a few ideas. What about a case that sticks with magnets, but is like a book-cover. Think Amazon’s Kindle case, only with magnets instead of hooks. This would eliminate the straps and squeezy-edged grippers that are currently used. Or what about magnetic handles? Or a wall-strip like the magnetic knife-rack in your kitchen so you could hand the iPad up on a wall? Interesting stuff, right?

I’m sure that you all can do better though. Any ideas on clever uses for the magnetic iPad? Suggestions in the comments.

Booqpad [Booq. Thanks, Mark!]

See Also:

• Booq Boa iPad Sleeve, Like an Upgrade to Apple's Own
• Rush-Hour: Booq Bag Is an Office in Your Lap
• Mamba Shift Backpack Swallows Almost Everything

On Wednesday, Apple introduced the world to the iPad 2. A beautiful device, to be sure. Feature packed? You bet. Soon to be selling like hotcakes? Absolutely. But the introduction of an iteration on an already existing product wasn’t the most notable piece of the event, nor was the surprise appearance of Steve Jobs. No, Wednesday’s event was significant because it introduced the world to Apple’s real vision for the foreseeable future, a theme the company has hinted at but never fully expressed. This week, Apple showed everyone where it was headed, challenged competitors on that direction, and made it clear that the company not only has staked a claim in that space, but is defining it.

This week, Apple stepped into the “post-PC” era of computing — and there’s no looking back, at least not for the folks in Cupertino.

By joining the company’s ongoing vision of a “different” kind of computing with a soundbite friendly piece of marketing-speak, Apple has changed the rules of the game, and made the competition’s efforts not just an uphill battle, but — at least in the eyes of Steve Jobs and co. — essentially moot. But what exactly is the “post-PC” world? And why is it significant? Let me explain.

Continue reading Editorial: It’s Apple’s ‘post-PC’ world — we’re all just living in it

Editorial: It’s Apple’s ‘post-PC’ world — we’re all just living in it originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Mar 2011 19:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Smart Cover, Apple's protective case for the iPad 2, can be bent to cover the front or the back of an iPad 2. Jon Snyder/Wired.com

Apple’s new Smart Cover for the iPad 2 is one of the most interesting protective cases yet, not because of the clever magnet design, but rather the aggressive business strategy behind it.

The iPad 2 is 33 percent thinner than the original iPad; a significant design difference. That means first-generation iPad cases won’t fit on the new iPad. And when the iPad 2 ships March 11, Apple, the only company that’s had direct access to the iPad 2, will be the only vendor selling a case made to fit the product just right.

That gives Apple a few weeks to rake in juicy profits with the $40-$70 Smart Cover before third-party case manufacturers whip up other variations of protective accessories for the iPad 2. Keep in mind the most sales for a product typically come on launch day, plus Apple retail stores carefully select which third-party cases they display on shelves. With the Smart Cover, Apple can potentially create a temporary pseudo-monopoly on protective cases for the iPad 2, bringing in millions of dollars in profits to pad hardware sales.

This isn’t the first time Apple has enjoyed a head start on accessories. Apple shipped its own “Bumper” cases for the iPhone 4 (which probably didn’t work out so well because of Antennagate and the free case program), and Apple also sold cases for the original iPad when it launched.

Still, the Smart Cover is Apple’s hardest push in the accessories game yet. The marketing behind it is intense. Apple devoted an entire webpage and video just for the Smart Cover, embellished with some truly over-the-top ad copy: “A magnetic attraction.” “An on-again, off-again relationship.” “A cover that’s smart. And bright.” “That’s not just smart. It’s genius.”

To be fair, it’s a well-designed cover, and the ability to prop up the iPad at an angle makes it easier to type on a touchscreen. But it’s a plastic cover with a magnet on it, people.

Steve Jobs even noted that the case is made of polyurethane, “which is used to make spacesuits.” Polyurethane is also used to make some condoms, baby toys, carpet underlayment and mattress filling, facts which Jobs neglected to mention.

The Smart Cover comes in leather, too, and surprisingly Jobs didn’t note that leather is the same material used to make Phillip Lim motorcycle jackets or Olivia Harris purses.

Jokes aside, Apple’s accessory strategy might point to a change in its hardware evolution.

In the past, Apple only gave major makeovers to Macintosh computers every three or four years; the smaller upgrades in between would be incremental improvements in chip speeds and other small features. The iPhone also didn’t get a hardware revamp until the iPhone 4.

So it’s peculiar that the iPad 2’s design is so different, just one year after the first iPad. Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal claims the iPhone 5 will have a “different form factor” than the iPhone 4. Maybe we’ll see more rapid hardware design changes occurring in Apple’s mobile products, partly motivated by Apple’s desire to compete in the accessories game.

That’s wishful thinking, as it would make each Apple announcement a bit more exciting, so long as you’re not an avid upgrader who always buys a case.

iOS 4.3 is getting itself a pretty snazzy launch vehicle in Apple’s brand new iPad 2. The thinner, lighter, faster Apple tablet now comes in a choice of black or white, has cameras on front and back, and we understand its cake-cutting abilities are unrivaled. Now that you’ve had a good few hours to digest the news, consume the subsequent comparisons against the original iPad and the rest of the tech world’s tablet offerings, we want to know what you think. Will the iPad 2 pry open your purse, is the oldie still a goodie, or will you wait for the bigger and better things coming down the road? Answers below, please!

View Poll

iPad 2: are you buying one? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Mar 2011 13:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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