Hasta La Gadget!

Samsung’s sequel to the first 7-inch Galaxy Tab touts a bigger screen and thinner chassis. Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.com

Samsung announced Thursday morning that its latest Android tablet is slated for release next week, but initially only in Manhattan, and only in one store.

The Galaxy Tab 10.1 hits the shelves in New York City’s Union Square Best Buy on June 8, exclusively available from the store for over a week. The tablet won’t roll out in wider release until 10 days later, on June 17.

Initially available in a Wi-Fi only version, the new Galaxy Tab’s price is on par with Apple’s iPad 2 Wi-Fi version. Each costs $500 for 16 GB of storage, and $600 for the 32-GB model.

Verizon announced there will also be a 4G version of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 on its LTE network, available for pre-order June 8. Though the company hasn’t given a ship date for 4G tablets pre-ordered that day, it’s interesting to think that Samsung will be the first to release a 4G-capable device.

Motorola’s Xoom — the flagship tablet for Android’s tablet-optimized Honeycomb operating system — promised 4G connectivity on Verizon’s network, but didn’t launch with it. Xoom owners are waiting to mail in their devices for a 4G upgrade, though Motorola and Verizon haven’t announced when the process will begin.

4G-enabled versions of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 cost $530 and $630 for the 16- and 32-GB models, respectively.

The Galaxy Tab 10.1 enters the already-clogged tablet market with a list of specs similar to others. It’s powered by Nvidia’s dual-core Tegra 2 processor, has front- and back-facing cameras, and as the name suggests, a 10.1-inch display.

But with a svelte 8.6-mm waist, Samsung’s is currently the thinnest tablet offering from manufacturers, even skinnier than the iPad 2’s 8.8 mm. And unlike a number of other devices we’ve seen, the new tablet will ship with Android version 3.1 (Honeycomb). The Xoom was the first device to run Android 3.1, and up until Asus’ Transformer received an over-the-air update to the software version this week, Motorola’s tablet was the only tablet with the latest software version.

It’s another episode of The Engadget Show, in which we keep on keepin’ on and give you a taste of what’s to come next week. That’s when the Electronics Entertainment Expo happens, and we just couldn’t keep from going all gaming for this month’s episode. It all starts when Tim and Brian take a look over some of the month’s biggest gadgets, like the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the iCade.

Then, we take a trip down to Babycastles, the indie arcade where the gamers make the games — and the cabinets. After that, Joystiq’s Chris Grant and Justin McElroy join us on the stage to dish up just what’s coming next from Sony. NGP? Wii HD? Project Cafe? Intrigue.

It’s a gaming-heavy, genre-busting show this week that you won’t want to mis. So what are you waiting for? Watch it now! The video stream is above, or download the show in HD below!

Hosts: Tim Stevens, Brian Heater
Special guests: Syed Sulahuddin, Kunal Gupta, Chris Grant, Justin McElroy
Producer: Guy Streit
Director: Michelle Stahl
Executive Producers: Joshua Fruhlinger and Michael Rubens
Music by: Narwhalz of Sound
Visuals by: Nonhorse

Taped live at AOL Studios

Download the Show: The Engadget Show – 021 (HD) / The Engadget Show – 021 (iPod / iPhone / Zune formatted) / The Engadget Show – 021 (Small)

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The Engadget Show – 021: Joystiq’s Chris Grant and Justin McElroy, Babycastles, gadgets, gaming originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 16:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A very strange thing popped up on mobile graphic benchmarking site NenaMark the other day — an entry for the Droid Bionic. Now, it would be very easy to fake this test, and you’d be right to be skeptical given the incomplete score and the fact that it’s reporting PowerVR’s SGX 540 GPU, instead of the Tegra 2 we saw at CES. But, let’s not be too hasty — we heard back in April that NVIDIA’s mobile chip wasn’t playing nice with Verizon’s LTE. Perhaps when Motorola said it was delaying the Bionic to incorporate “several enhancements” it really meant “rebuilding the phone with a more LTE friendly CPU.” Both Samsung and Texas Instruments use the SGX 540, and Moto has previously turned to TI’s OMAP for the Droid, Droid 2, and Droid X. Then again, a single, suspiciously low benchmark score isn’t the most convincing basis for a rumor.

Droid Bionic benchmark reports PowerVR GPU, new SOC inside? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 May 2011 05:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon's second 4G phone, the Charge, is Samsung's first offering to use the "Droid" brand. Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

A new handset maker is joining Verizon’s Droid party: Samsung’s Droid Charge recently appeared on Verizon’s network, and we got a chance to take one for a test drive.

Android phone manufacturers in 2011 seem to regard bigger as better. The Charge sports a 4.3-inch screen, a size more common than ever in smartphone releases. This may be a welcome change for you, but only if you’re into big phones. A 4-inch screen suits most of my needs, so the extra space felt a bit unwieldy to me at first. But after tapping away on the very responsive capacitive-touch keyboard, the extra screen space grew on me.

I appreciated the size when I used Amazon’s Kindle e-reading app, which comes bundled with the phone. It’s difficult enough reading Jane Austen in any form, so more screen meant more space for my eyes to relax and focus on each “page.”

Despite such large dimensions, the Charge is surprisingly airy. At about 5 ounces, the phone feels lighter than you’d expect. Samsung uses mostly lightweight plastics in its Android phones — for instance, the Galaxy series of handsets all have a chintzy feel to them (my only major qualm with the Nexus S was its lack of sturdiness). I’ve always found the lightness strangely off-putting, and the lightweight Charge is no exception.

As the second 4G device on Verizon’s network, I had high expectations for the Charge’s download and upload speeds. Verizon’s flagship 4G device, the HTC Thunderbolt, blew us out of the water. Luckily, the Charge didn’t disappoint: Results on our speed tests averaged between 7.5 to 8.6 Mbps on download speed, and 5.6 to 6.3 Mbps up. That’s a far cry from the theoretical peak speeds Verizon’s site boasts, but still faster than most phones we’ve seen.

It almost goes with out saying that the Charge comes with two cameras — a 1.3-megapixel front-facing one for video chat and face pics and an 8-megapixel back-facing camera for everything else. Fairly straightforward stuff, though the test shots we took were better than what we’re used to. In the handful of photos we took, pictures came out crisp and properly exposed.

An interesting tidbit for smartphone modders: Blockbuster’s recent app comes bundled with the Charge and lets you stream movies directly to your phone (the more-popular Netflix is only available on a handful of Android phones at the moment). But if you’ve rooted your device (obtained superuser access and have full permissions to install any types of programs you want on your phone ), you’ll be blocked from using the Blockbuster app.

The app uses Widevine’s Digital Rights Management (DRM) software to restrict rooted phones from access. It’s not a huge surprise — the Android Market’s recently released movie-rental service is also restricted to those using rooted devices — but it’s still annoying to those who want to modify their phones.

Unfortunately, Samsung isn’t deviating from the trend of shipping phones that aren’t running the latest version of Android (Gingerbread, 2.3.4). The Charge comes with version 2.2 (Froyo), cluttered with a host of pre-installed apps that clog up the home screens. Most of those are related to Verizon, which come with the company’s “Droid” branding. Many users may find apps that let you check your monthly minutes or direct you to Verizon’s “V-Cast” proprietary app store helpful. I consider them bloatware.

And not to pour more fuel on the Apple vs. Samsung fire, but Samsung’s Android skin makes the app icons look a bit too iPhone-esque for my taste.

All in all, it’s a decent phone if you’re a Samsung loyalist. If not, HTC’s Thunderbolt or LG’s Revolution may sate your thirst for Verizon’s 4G network speeds.

Verizon is seriously diversifying its portfolio today with the official in-store launch of four new smartphones. Three of them roll up in Android gear, though they all have major selling points beyond Google’s software. LG’s Revolution is the sole LTE-capable handset of the bunch, bringing with it a 4.3-inch screen and pre-installed Netflix for $250. The Droid X2 undercuts it on price, at $200, but doubles the core count with its Tegra 2 processor and ramps up resolution to qHD (960 x 540). Gaming aficionados can spend the same amount on the Xperia Play from Sony Ericsson, which offers a slideout gamepad and unique PlayStation Certified status. Bringing up the rear is HTC’s well-traveled Trophy, a 3.8-inch Windows Phone that accepts it’s a little late to the party and therefore slices $50 off its asking price, with a $150 levy before the obligatory two-year contract. What say you — buy, try, or keep waiting?

Verizon bonanza: Droid X2, Revolution, Trophy, and Xperia Play hit Big Red today originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 May 2011 02:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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