Hasta La Gadget!

The iPad 2 is already delayed in Australia and New Zealand

If you want to get your hands on an iPad 2 on the international launch day, you’d better go sleep outside an Apple Store. Thanks to the wonders of time difference, it is already tomorrow, March 24th in Australia and New Zealand, and the online Apple Store is already experiencing delays.

All 12 models went on sale at 1AM this morning (or tomorrow morning — I’m a little confused) and all 12 will ship in two to three weeks. That’s pretty much the same amount of time as you’ll have to wait in the U.S.

It seems that Apple just can’t make enough of these things, and is selling as many as it can force manufacturer Foxconn to pump out of its Chinese factories. I’m pretty sure that its selling faster than the original iPad did last year, but I still doubt that it has shifted one million units in the first weekend as some sold “analysts” have guessed — if it had, wouldn’t Apple be bragging about it already? Still, at this rate, we should probably expect the iPad 2 to hit the million mark in less than the 28 days it took the first version.

I will likely be heading over to Barcelona’s new Apple Store tomorrow afternoon, but I’m really in no rush. After all, my existing iPad still works fine, even if it now looks as fat and ugly as Ben Grimm. If any of you are going to be at the Barcelona store, come and say hi. I’ll be the handsome one on crutches.

First International iPad 2 Online Sales Begin With 2-3 Week Shipping Estimates [Mac Rumors]

See Also:

• Want an iPad 2? Be Prepared to Wait
• iPad 2 International Launch Still On Schedule, 5PM This Friday …
• International iPad 2 Pricing Chart. Hint: It's Expensive

Samsung has slimmed down its Galaxy Tab 10.1, but is it enough to compete with the iPad?

Samsung has already superseded its own inadequate 10-inch Galaxy tab with a brand-new tablet that is thinner than the iPad 2. The company has also announced a tweener-sized 8.9-inch tablet.

This upgrade to the cheap-feeling Tab 10.1 we saw at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, measures in at 256.6 x 172.9 x 8.6 mm and weighs 595g. Compare that to the iPad 2, at 241.2 x 185.7 x 8.8 mm and 601 g for the Wi-Fi only model.

The new tablet, announced at the CTIA show in Orlando, Florida, also has a 1280 x 800 multitouch display, a 1-GHz dual core processor, stereo speakers, Flash support (note — like the previous Tab 10.1 it appears to come without Flash pre-installed) and a new TouchWiz UI built on top of Android 3.0 Honeycomb. It also has a 3-MP camera at the back, and a 2-MP up front.

Price wise, Samsung has got this one dead right, making it the exact same price as the iPad: $500 for the 16-GB Wi-Fi-only model, and $600 for the 32-GB Wi-Fi version. The smaller Tab 8.9 will cost $470 and $570 for the same capacities.

And none of this will matter. There will be a few people who buy the Tab, but the “regular” non-geek person doesn’t go to the store to buy a “tablet.” They go to the store to buy an iPad, just as they used to go buy iPods, not MP3 players.

It may still be too early to call this one, but I have a feeling that Apple already has this market sewn up, and while there will be plenty of other tablets on display at your local big box store, the iPad will be the only one that sells in meaningful numbers. Just like the iPod.

The full press release is pasted below.

See Also:

• Galaxy Tab
• Samsung's Galaxy Tab: iPad's First Solid Contender
• Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Hands-On: A Plastic Toy With a Gorgeous …
• Samsung Chief Calls Galaxy Tab 10.1 'Inadequate'

Samsung Unveils GALAXY Tab 10.1 and GALAXY Tab 8.9,

World’s Thinnest Mobile Tablets

Samsung GALAXY Tab 10.1 and GALAXY Tab 8.9

to feature the first customized Android™ 3.0 experience

ORLANDO, March 22, 2011 – Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., the global leader in Android™ mobile devices, announced two new additions to its family of GALAXY Tabs, the GALAXY Tab 10.1 and GALAXY Tab 8.9, the world’s thinnest mobile tablets, measuring just 8.6 millimeters.

The GALAXY Tab 10.1 and 8.9 feature Samsung’s own TouchWiz user interface implemented on the Android™ 3.0 (Honeycomb) platform, offering superior multi-tasking and enhanced user interaction and navigation.

“The GALAXY Tab 10.1 and 8.9 are remarkable examples of Samsung’s constant innovation and show our dedication to designing premium tablets that fit the unique needs of consumers around the world”, said JK Shin, President and Head of Samsung’s Mobile Communications Business. “By combining Samsung’s innovations in design and display with

our exciting new user experience, we’ve created a new class of products that will lead the tablet market.”

Thinner & Lighter

The GALAXY Tab 10.1 and 8.9 are the thinnest mobile tablets available. The GALAXY Tab 10.1 weighs 595 grams and 8.9 weighs 470 grams. Combining the GALAXY Tabs’ ultra-thin form factor with a lightweight design adds to the outstanding mobility of these two products.

Super Fast

The new GALAXY Tabs will support HSPA+ network speeds of up to 21Mbps as well as Bluetooth® and Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n connectivity to deliver rapid mobile download speeds and reduce data transfer times. Also, the GALAXY Tab 10.1 and 8.9 include a 1GHz dual core application processor for a powerful multimedia and web browsing experience.

Customized User Experience “Samsung TouchWiz UX”

Samsung’s TouchWiz user experience is designed with a Live Panel menu users can customize to display a variety of content on the home screen including digital pictures, favorite Web sites and social network feeds.

In addition, the interface includes an application tray of commonly used features such as task manager, calendar and music player which can be launched while other major applications are also in use, including large file downloads and document editing. This Mini Apps Tray provides a mixture of convenience and flexibility previously unheard of with tablet devices.

The Ultimate Entertainment Hub

The GALAXY Tab 10.1 and 8.9 are pre-loaded with Readers Hub and Music Hub giving consumers instant access to more than 2.2 million books, 2,000 newspaper (49 languages), 2,300 magazines (22 languages), and 13 million songs. The devices are also designed with Samsung’s Social Hub, which will aggregate email, instant messaging, contacts, calendar and social network connections into a single interface.

The GALAXY Tab 10.1 and 8.9 feature a 3 megapixel rear camera and a 2 megapixel front camera, providing smooth transition and seamless 1080p HD video and Flash playback for a rich entertainment experience.

Ready for Business

The GALAXY Tab 10.1 and 8.9 will include an industry leading suite of solutions designed to give enterprise customers and IT managers more security. Developed in collaboration with industry-leading partners such as Cisco, Sybase, SAP and Citrix, Samsung’s enterprise mobility solutions will provide flexibility and connectivity for mobile workforces, ensuring that users are able to operate more efficiently on–the-move.

GALAXY Tab 10.1

GALAXY Tab 10.1, with its WXGA TFT LCD display (1280 x 800) powered by 1GHz dual core AP, is 8.6mm thin and weighs only 595g. It is the perfect device for sharing and enjoying media content with family and friends. In addition, with its surround-sound stereo speakers and support for Flash 10.2, the GALAXY Tab 10.1 will deliver premium entertainment experience whether watching videos, movies or playing games.

GALAXY Tab 8.9

At just 8.6mm thin and weighing only 470g, the GALAXY Tab 8.9 is the perfect device for today’s mobile professional. Whether writing emails on a trip or reading an eBook on the couch, the GALAXY Tab 8.9 provides the ultimate tablet experience without compromising mobility.

The GALAXY Tab 10.1 and 8.9 now join the original 7-inch GALAXY Tab to provide consumers with an unmatched array of choices to select the mobile tablet experience that fits their needs the best.

Samsung’s entire line of GALAXY Tabs will be on display at the Samsung booth (#2440) at CTIA Wireless 2011, March 22 through March 24.

Can the iPad 2 suck GPS info from the iPhone 4?

When Kyle Carmitchel fired up his Wi-Fi only iPad 2 to check his route on a road-trip, he was amazed to see that it was tracking his position on the map using proper, works-in-the-middle-of-nowhere GPS. Kyle was pulling in his iPhone 4’s data connection via wireless tether, and it appears that the iPhone was also sending GPS info to the iPad.

Only 3G iPads have a GPS chip inside, so Kyle says that his Wi-Fi only model was being fed the more accurate data from the iPhone. Wi-Fi iPad and iPod Touches can work out where they are thanks to hotspot triangulation, and they will even track you as you move, but Kyle is convinced that he was getting the real thing:

The location I’m getting on my Wi-Fi only iPad is most certainly not this. It is clear I am being fed GPS information from the phone, at what appears to be an interval of once a minute or so between refreshes (likely they didn’t do real time updating so as to go easy on the phone’s battery).

And because the Wi-Fi iPad 2 has a compass inside, this works, too.

If true, this is a great hidden feature, and makes the combination of iPhone and non-3G iPad more compelling. I have heard that a lot of people are planning on just this combo. I think that they may be disappointed. I used an iPod Touch with a MiFi hotspot for a while and found it to be a huge pain.

With the 3G iPad, you are always connected, and quickly checking your mail is easy. With hotspots, you need to activate them, wait for connection and then juggle the hardware in your hands. It is clunky, and far from ideal. If you almost never leave the house, though, maybe you’ll be happy. But then, if you never leave the house, why do you even have an iPhone?

Video: Wi-Fi Only iPad 2 GPS Navigation [Tablet Monsters via Cult of Mac]

See Also:

• Tiny Dock-Dongle Adds GPS to iPad, iPod Touch
• The Wi-Fi iPad's Dealbreaker: No GPS
• Hands-On With the Dual iPod Touch GPS-Kit
• Eight Great Tips for Traveling with the iPad

The HP TouchPad, one of this year's crop of new tablets. Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

With the iPad 2 finally available, do other tablets stand a chance?

Last week, Forrester analyst Sarah Rotman Epps made the assertion that although this year’s non-Apple tablet offerings are “solid products,” they have “fatally flawed product strategies.”

The post called out iPad 2 contenders like the BlackBerry PlayBook and HP TouchPad, as well as Android Honeycomb tablets by manufacturers such as Toshiba and Motorola. Such tablets, Epps claims, won’t be able to compete with the low price point and in-store experience that Apple can provide, leading to Forrester’s prediction that Apple will score upwards of 80 percent of the U.S. tablet market in 2011.

Will that actually happen?

Motorola CFO Francis Shammo said that “the XOOM pad is selling extremely well” at the Deutsche Bank Media and Telecom Conference on Tuesday. Samsung’s original 7-inch Galaxy Tab had good reception, selling over a million units. But the iPad reached three times that number in only 80 days, and early reports suggest the iPad 2 may have sold over 500,000 in its first weekend.

So if tech giants like Samsung and Motorola can’t compete with Apple’s tablet, is there anybody that can? Epps points to Amazon as a possible underdog.

According to Forrester’s data, consumers would rather purchase a tablet from a retailer like Amazon than a carrier like Motorola (24 percent versus 18 percent). Amazon has the incentive — and ability — to develop a product that would rival the iPad. Apple’s updated subscription policy has garnered the ire of publishers and app makers alike (Amazon and its Kindle app not excluded). And Amazon’s hardware chops have already been proven with the success of its Kindle e-reader.

Microsoft, Vizio and Sony also have the resources to become major players in the tablet arena.

In the meantime, tablets that target niche markets like business folks, gamers and kids could be manufacturers’ best way to slowly chip away at Apple’s dominance. Steve Jobs already branded the iPad 2 as a device for creation.

It’s up to the tablet makers and marketers to show that their solid products can shine. Their product strategies may be flawed, but they’re not fatal … yet.

– – –
Why iPad 2 Won’t Have Much Competition [Forrester via Forbes]