Design

The company has created Xoom 2, improving a new product compared to its predecessor. The original was a little thicker and heavier; Xoom 2 is 100 g lighter (the weight is 599 g) and obtained an improved form. The edges of the housing are made more comfortable to hold, so it’s a pleasure to keep this tablet in the hands. Design has become much more attractive. Dimensions of the tablet are 253,9 x 173,6 x 8,8 mm.

A rubbery on/off button is located from the rear of the tablet; there is also volume rocker. In landscape mode you will have an access to them. The loudspeakers are located in the upper right corner of the device, and the quality of sound is just perfect. As they are away from the softer edge, this makes impossible covering them, while holding the tablet. Xoom 2 is equipped with an infrared port, which supports Dijit application. Thus, the tablet can work remotely and be used as a control panel. The device is equipped with a headphone jack and IR emitter, which are on the top edge. At the bottom of the device there are Micro USB and HDMI ports. They deal with charging and data. Thus, HDMI output is intended for playing games and movies on the HD TV. There is also a bezel on the front of Xoom 2. However, the device doesn’t have micro SD. It means that if you want to add some new storage it’s impossible to do this. The sides and lower edge of the device are bordered with a soft plastic edge, which is pleasant to touch. The aluminum-framed housing of the tablet doesn’t wobble. The aluminum back is firm, matt and without roughness. In the center there is a rounded M logo. The device is very handy in portrait mode, however not so comfortable in landscape.

Display

Xoom original screen was good, but it lacked the brightness. IPS-technology display of Xoom 2 has a 1280×800 pixels resolution and it proves its priority, while demonstrating video: the best viewing angles and brighter and richer colors. It’s really impressive. The tablet has 178 degrees viewing angles, both horizontally and vertically. The device has a 16:10 display ratio. An interesting addition is that the tablet is equipped with Corning Gorilla Glass safety glass and has a special coating that protects against dust and splashes.

Software

In terms of software Motorola Xoom 2 should operate on the basis of Android 3.2 Honeycomb, ready to meet the maximum requirements of the client. However, the company plans upgrading to Android 4.0. Modifying Xoom 2, Motorola has returned to pre-installed applications: a few business programs, Citrix, Fuse Meetings and Quick Office HD, along with MotoCast software, which allows connecting the tablet to the computer and adding videos, photos, music to the device from the PC. The mentioned applications are lightweight. The browser itself frequently bewilders when it comes to flash content, while video is clipping. The buttons of the stock keyboard are quite big for averting mistakes. It’s possible to adjust Xoom 2 in order to control all the AV devices which the user has. It allows creating the customized groups of controls for different devices. Thus, everything what is necessary for you will be on the screen of your Xoom 2. One can also customize various profiles for various rooms.

Functional features

The device is equipped with Texas Instruments OMAP 4430 dual-core processor, working at 1.2 GHz and has 1 GB RAM. The storage capacity of the built-in flash drive for data storage is 16 GB. The tablet has a built-in Nvidia Tegra 2 T20 graphics core, which significantly improved the graphics subsystem. Among other things, yet it is worth mention support for encryption of data and VPN. And also the tablet has a MOTOPRINT function, which allows you to print documents via a wireless connection. There is also Wi-Fi wireless module. Xoom 2 operates smoothly. It allows you to load up websites and graphically intensive applications without any problems. The tablet supports strong Vellamo web browsing scores. Motorola offers its Intelligent Grip Suppression technology in the new tablet. This clever technology enables you to hold the device in one hand with your finger on the screen, working with it without impediments with your other hand. Thus, the screen doesn’t register the thumb. However, this function doesn’t work all the time – it works well if you navigate the home screens, but if you are going to use the camera you must remove your thumb from the screen for shooting.

Stylus

Xoom 2 supports Motorola Active Stylus optional pen and multi-touch, with which you can conveniently make handwritten notes. The stylus works on AAAA battery and operates on all Honeycomb menus and applications. There is a notepad icon in the lower right corner, pressing which you will be offered several options such as opening previous annotations and sketches, Evernote, starting the Floating Notes app.

Cameras

Xoom 2 is equipped with 2 cameras: 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera and 5 megapixel camera from the rear. The latter has autofocus and LED flash and is able to shoot HD video. Photography options include color effects, quality, exposure settings, several preset modes, size, as well as the possibility to use macro, infinity and auto focus. The quality of shots is quite good.

Battery life

Without recharging the tablet can work over 10 hours, playing movies, music, or when using the Internet. In this case the device will work on 50 percent brightness. In the standby mode, as the developers had promised, the device will work for a month.

Summarizing, it’s possible to say that the new model Motorola Xoom 2 is a solid device on Honeycomb and its qualities are improved greatly in comparison with the original Honeycomb tablet. The device doesn’t have many bright qualities, but the new design with comfortable housing edges and rounded corners turned out successful.

Housing

The 8.9-inches tablet (243x149x12 mm) is easy to handle due to its relatively low weight of 630 grams. If desired, it is quite safe to keep even with one hand. The frame around the display is large enough to instill confidence that the fingers will not close the display of the tablet while it is in the hands. The thickness of the tablet, except for its sloping sides, is 12 millimeters. The cover of the device is made of two parts, one smaller is removable. Beneath the cover there is a slot for SIM-card and Reset button.

Display

Unlike the most manufacturers who use in their tablets 7- or 10.1-inches diagonal displays, the LG engineers have chosen IPS-display with 8.9 inches diagonal. The display has 1280х768 pixels resolution (16.7 million colors). However, the difference in size with 10.1-inches diagonal devices is quite small. The capacitive screen supports multi-touch. The image on the screen automatically rotates depending on the tablet’s orientation in space. This feature can be turned off in settings if it impedes for some reason. Outwardly, the colors on the display seem to be very rich. The screen is glossy, so bright light contributes to the emergence of multiple reflections. When the sun shines directly on the screen it is very hard to make out anything. The maximum brightness of the screen is at a very high level – 389 cd/m2. The display has contrast ratio of 778:1. LG Optimus Pad has excellent viewing angles. The image is perfectly visible at various angles of observing, with adequate color rendering and brightness.

Performance

The tablet is based on dual-core APU Nvidia Tegra 2, working at 1 GHz and 1 MB second level cache. The graphics processor is built-in. APU Dual Core supports multitasking, enabling the user to run on the tablet multiple applications simultaneously. The device has 1024 MB (DDR2) RAM installed. Tegra 250 is a so-called System-on-Chip (SoC), that is, the device, in which all the hardware components are integrated into one module: the CPU, graphics core, GSM and UMTS modules, etc. Tegra 250 is currently very popular among the manufacturers of the tablets. Maximum 1000 MHz frequency is used only in cases when it is needed. In daily use, the processor works within the range of 266-606 MHz. This allows the system to save energy and prolong battery life. There is no possibility of expanding internal memory of this tablet.

Operating system

LG Optimus Pad runs on OS Android operating system. The tablet has the third version of this operating system, codenamed Honeycomb. This innovative shell is created by Google and optimized for the tablets. Among the innovations of given OS there are improved and refined multi-tasking, support for 3D mode, the opportunity to use three-dimensional desktop, improved widgets, support of the video chats, which is made with Google Talk program, improved OS communication skills, refined user interface. In addition, this operating system allows the use of Google software applications, specifically designed for the tablets: Google Maps 5 and Google eBooks.

Keyboard

The system control of the tablet is only possible through its 8.9-inches touch-screen display. Besides the key for volume control, there are no additional control elements on the tablet. The fingers of the user are used for data entry, menu navigation, and text typing. Three icons (Back, Menu and Task Manager), standard for Android, appear in the lower left corner of the screen. It depends on the current situation and the running application. The fourth icon is displayed only in those applications, for which the Settings menu is available.

All applications and games start by pressing the appropriate desktop icons. Virtual QWERTZ-keyboard appears only when it’s necessary to enter text. Swipe-input is not supported. If necessary, the keyboard for almost any language and with any layout can be downloaded from the Android Market. If you use the keyboard, it occupies about half of the visible screen area. At the same it has all desktop keyboard characters including digits. When working with e-mail, browser, or write notes, it works perfectly. All the actions are implemented immediately. The tablet can recognize voice input. In case that the word was not recognized accurately, different options appear on the screen.

Communications

LG has equipped its tablet only with the most necessary external controls and interfaces. The device has the USB and HDMI ports located at the bottom end face of it. Additionally, there are connectors for docking station or LG SDT-500 cradle.

On the left end face of the tablet there are headphone output, input for the power adapter and power button. On the opposite end face of the housing there are only a couple of small loudspeakers. Microphone is in the center of the upper end face, and the volume rocker is just to the left of it. The device can be connected to a PC using its USB port. Data cable is used only for data transfer.

Cameras

There are three cameras in LG Optimus Pad. Two of them are from the rear and enable the user to shoot video and take pictures. Another is located on the front side of the tablet and is designed for video calls, etc. An important feature of this LG tablet is that a couple of cameras from the rear allow the user to shoot 3D-video. 3D-video is produced with the use of anaglyph or side-by-side method. The resulting image will not be seen without special 3D-glasses, but they are not included into complete set of the tablet. 3D-video can be viewed in 2 modes, switching between them by pressing a special button. 2D-viewing of 3D-video is not possible in this device.

LG Optimus Pad is a new standard of the tablets. Dimensions of the LG Optimus Pad allow achieving the optimal combination of portability and screen size, without losing performance. It’s also the world’s first tablet featuring 3D-shooting.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 has been introduced as the true rival to the Apple iPad, but it is not clear whether it is really worth this title. The review of this new Android 2.2 Froyo device will outline all of the advantages and disadvantages of the tablet in question.

Hardware

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 has a 7-inch TFT color touch screen featuring a resolution of 1024*600. The device has a 1GHZ Cortex A8 CPU, bundled with about 16 GB of internal storage. Those users who believe this is not enough for them are able to further upgrade the Tab up to 32 GB through a micro-SD card.

The device has two cameras – the front one facing 1.3 mega pixels and a rear one having 3 mega pixels with flash. Despite the fact that the American and Canadian versions don’t have either calling features or video calling thus far, there’s still hope for a successful rooting of the Tab to get video calling and phone dialing feature through Bluetooth. For online connectivity you are free to get on the Internet through Wi-Fi – in case you have locked yourself into a provider, you can get 3G with lots of companies. The device also supports GPS.

Talking about audio, the device also offers dual stereo speakers and a headphone jack allowing listening to music. In addition, the Tab has audio buttons on the side, which means that you can tap it to decrease or increase the volume. The users are free to use the Galaxy Tab in both portrait and landscape modes, through the accelerometer and lock the most convenient view. That’s great for users who want to read an electronic book or watch video content. However, a number of apps, even if the device was locked on portrait mode, would load in landscape mode despite user settings. To adjust the orientation lock on the device, you have to simply pull down the top menu and find an option for orientation lock on the far right. There you can also turn on or off Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS, as well as activate silent mode.

Software

A lot of companies bundle their own apps with the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0, which means that future OS updates may have to take longer, because the company you buy the device from is able to update its own GUI. Meanwhile, it is still quick and robust, featuring its own piece of software called Touch Wiz. Those users who use the Samsung Galaxy S series of smartphones will have no problems with using the new device as well.

However, the Tab comes with some cool software, providing a number of new features. First of all, it has the software that Kobo used to work on, named the Readers Hub. That app was developed specifically for the Galaxy Tab running Android 2.2, and provides owners of the device a viable store to use it as an electronic reader. Kobo app is recognized as the one easily used and accessible for all users, allowing access to the whole book store offering more than 2,200,000 popular books in various formats. Moreover, this software will even allow the user to add electronic books that they bought or downloaded from other sources. It will also allow you to Tap or Swipe in order to turn the pages of the book and use the interactive table of contents in order to flip to certain chapters. Readers Hub contains lots of fonts and their different sizes to let you customize e-reading experience. In addition, you will also be able to view and install extra options like Newspapers and Magazines through this app. In other words, it makes a device a perfect ereader.

Another refreshing element of the Samsung Galaxy Tab is that it is able to connect to the Google Android Market. At the same time, lots of other tablets have been regarded as iPad enemies and don’t have access to the Android Market. Aside from this, lots of other apps are pre-loaded on the Tab, including most Google applications: YouTube, Maps, and Gmail, as well as alarm clock, Internet browser, and so on! Actually, the device comes bundled with two full pages of apps.

In the meantime, there are some disadvantages with the software built-in – in fact, it seems that the Tab comes with nothing free. A lot of tablets, on the contrary, offer free e-book reading software built right into the item. For example, Kobo works great as a content provider, but a dedicated ebook reading app letting tablet users to load their own electronic books and audiobooks directly on the unit, thus bypassing first and second party companies that were trying to sell them something.

Finally, the device features nice camera software that lets people shoot video and take photos by the rear facing camera. Unfortunately, it doesn’t provide the same option for the front facing camera. Although the company is really focused on showing users talking to each other face to face, it didn’t provide the software bundled with the Galaxy Tab that allows people to use it.

It also looks like the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 assigns each device a phone number. However, this aspect for the customers from the United States has been locked because of the carrier restrictions. Nevertheless, it is still possible to root the Tab, although it would undoubtedly void the warranty. Still, the experts recommend waiting with rooting until a stable and accepted solution is found. Users willing to find out what phone number is associated with their Galaxy Tab can go to Home -> Settings-> About Tablet -> Status, where they will view their phone number.

Wrap-Up

All in all, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 is quite expensive, ranging from $350 to $450 for a tablet. However, when making your choice, you should understand that you are paying for a high quality device that will do a lot for the user. People looking for a high-end piece of technology, able to do almost everything for them, are recommended to purchase this device, produced by the company engaged in manufacture of great technology. Although there are some drawbacks to the device, there are still a lot of advantages. The Tab can help many users figure out if the device fits into their budget and lifestyle.

Design

Tablet S stands out with its unusual design of the back. Sony didn’t try to make its tablet diminutive. As a result, the tablet looks a bit stoutish – 20.6 mm at the thickest part. But it’s impossible to mix it up with other Android-tablet: laterally and from behind it is a bit like a folded magazine. Unless you can not unfold it back. The essence of the decision is that the top of the tablet is thicker than the bottom.

According to the company, this design, which assumes an offset center of gravity, allows the user more convenient to hold the tablet on the palm of one hand at an angle. That is, for example, if you put the tablet in hand, the risk that it will fall less than in the case of the tablets of uniform gauge. It’s really a productive solution. So, thanks to the form, in a horizontal orientation, Sony Tablet S does not slip from the hands, and in the portrait orientation, the tablet excellently fits the hand.

Model of the device is made in black color tone, while the base has a silver tint. In the gadget space of air clearance, located between the glass layer and the display, is reduced. Housing is made of a slightly rough plastic that hides annoying fingerprints well and helps to hold the tablet tight. Hard plastic does not look cheap or fragile, while remaining lightweight. And the lowest part of the rear panel has rubber feet in order to prevent sliding off the smooth surface and protect the body from scratches.

If you place the device on the table and type any text, you will notice that the shape of the tablet provides the best angle when entering characters.
On the right end face of the housing there is the power button with light-emitting diode, which indicates the charge, volume control button, reset hole and reset. On the left end face there is a 3.5mm jack for headphone, a micro-USB port, a full-sized slot for SD memory cards, hidden behind a removable cover.
On the bottom end face there is nothing, but a port for charging and synchronization, to which various accessories can also be connected. A cable for charging the tablet is original. If the cable is lost, it’s necessary to buy it at the service center.

Display

Sony Tablet S has a 9.4 inches screen with a 1280×800 pixels resolution, executed on Sony TruBlack technology, which provides improved color reproduction, a really deep black color. The producers have succeeded in reducing reflection coefficient. So, Tablet S display smoothes glare, increasing the sharpness and contrast. The unusual screen size (diagonal) is one of the main features of Sony Tablet S. The developers tried to find the ideal compromise between compact size and ease of operation. Though, the screen is smaller, than the most of 10 inches tablets have, but this is hardly noticeable when the tablets are put together. Coupled with a powerful processor, which makes all operations quick and smooth, the picture looks perfect.

Hardware

The tablet is based on NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor with two cores and a 1.0 GHz operating frequency. Tablet S has 1 GB RAM. One type of tablet has 16 GB of internal memory; the other operates 32 GB of internal memory. However, HDMI port is not available.

Software

Tablet S operates on Android 3.2, which is running smoothly and steadily. At the top of the main screen there are a few buttons. They are almost of the widgets size, but little less. Additional icons provide quick access to the browser, e-mail, infrared port (for controlling the TV), and E-reader client. Sony also customized the appearance of media players. Clicking on the cover of the album plays the music at once.
A major change occurred in the Favorites interface. Using tray, it’s possible to view all the newly opened applications, games, music, add the bookmarks. Thus, favorite web pages can be gathered in one list.

Camera and battery

Sony Tablet S is equipped with a sufficiently powerful battery and 5000 mAh capacity. It’s enough for 10 hours of continuous operation at a quite high load. The tablet has a 5 megapixel back camera (without flash) and a VGA camera on the front panel, which has become a standard for today’s tablets. The back camera is sufficiently sluggish, while shooting.

Browser

Sony has optimized the web browser to maximize its performance, while browsing web pages. The pages are loading quickly, and their scrolling is smooth, without any delay and jerks. It’s possible to use convenient Google Voice for finding information. Find objects of interest on three-dimensional map browser.

Accessories

Sony has released the tablet with additional accessories for it. This is a Bluetooth keyboard, which, besides Tablet S, can work also with other Android tablets, and has the support of DLNA and infrared controlling various home electronics. In addition, there is the charging dock station, which has an HDMI video output and can be conveniently used as a stand for the tablet, bundled with a keyboard, since it has adjustable tablet’s tilting angle (2 positions). They can be bough separately.

Entertainment

There are preinstalled Entertainment Pack and Crackle applications in Sony Tablet S. Access to video and music resources is free and will be available to you immediately upon request. Millions of magazines, comic books, electronic books can be found through Google Books. For the fans of games there is PlayStation support in Tablet S. Crash Bandicoot game is also preinstalled. Sony Tablet S saves your time, while downloading the applications for rest, receive instructions, and watch useful and interesting TV programs.

Sony’s engineers has thought out design of Tablet S, and balancing very well. Filling the tablet with the valuable resources, the device will be inseparable for its owner.

Design

The front panel is made in the form of a rectangle with rounded corners and is completely covered with a glossy protective glass Gorilla Glass, which successfully resists minor scratches, but no fingerprints. There are no buttons on the front panel. Frame around the front panel, finished in glossy plastic, has so small area that fingerprints are just not visible on it.

The basis of the housing, including the back and part of the sides, made of rubberized practical material. At the housing bottom service information is applied with a hardly noticeable gray paint, and a little above the center there is a large Kindle logo.

The rubberized back panel allows the user to not worry that the tablet can slip out the hand. The device fits the hand very well. Dimensions of the table are ideal for the device on each day, the width is just sufficient for putting Kindle Fire in the inner pocket of a jacket or coat. Weight of the tablet is 413 grams. It is not so heavy, but also not too light to doubt whether there is a battery inside. In landscape orientation it should be monitored that the dynamic speakers, featured on one of the short sides, were not overlapped.

Screen

The high-quality IPS-screen of the tablet is one of its main advantages. A 7-inch LG matrix with a 600×1024 pixel resolution, a 68 Hz refresh rate, 169 ppi (pixels per inch), and 16 million displayable colors are used the device. Viewing angles are good for IPS-technology; the picture is clear and pleasant. The brightness of highlight is regulated smoothly with the corresponding slider (the minimum level is 25 cd/m2, and the maximum is 265 cd/m2). The panel supports multi-touch.

Connectors and controls

Kindle Fire has only two connectors, and a hardware button. All these elements are located in one place – on the bottom of the housing. In the center of contact pad a standard micro-USB port is placed. It is used for data transfer and battery charging. A 3.5 mm audio jack is to its left is, while the tablet’s power/lock button is on the right. The button is equipped with two-color indicator, translucent through the transparent feed icon delineation. During the charge button glows orange, and in a single click on it, the button is briefly winking green. Prolonged retention of this key causes the dialogue of the tablet’s shutdown, or the forced restart in the event of system lockup. On the upper end face there are two dynamic speakers under a fine-mesh metal grid. Their maximum volume is sufficient for listening even in noisy environment, although in such circumstances it is better to use headphones. There is no volume rocker in Amazon Kindle Fire. To change the sound level it’s necessary to go to the appropriate menu. Meanwhile, and the running application (game, video), as a rule, automatically goes into pause mode. The device is not equipped with a camera.

Hardware

Amazon Kindle Fire has a dual-core 1GHz ARMv7 processor (TI OMAP 4430), with PowerVR SGX 540 graphics. The tablet has 512 MB RAM and the size of the built-in storage is just 8 GB, which is at least twice smaller than most of the current models have. The tablet’s settings indicate that 6.54 GB of memory is available, but when connected to a PC, 5 GB can be used.

Interface

Amazon Kindle Fire tablet is running on Android OS 2.3.4 Gingerbread, which is hidden very well under the original cover, created specifically for this model. The interface is quite interesting and at the same time is simple. Its main feature is the rejection of the hardware buttons, as all actions are performed solely by touching the screen (tablet just created for Android OS 4.0). If necessary, a set of four standard buttons Home, Back, Menu and Search rises from behind the lower end face of the screen, folding into a thin strip in a passive mode. After system loading, you will see a blocking window in front of you with wallpaper (alternate for each block), the current time and date. Pulling the orange slider to the left you will go to the main, and the only desktop. In its upper part there is a service panel, while a search box and seven sections of bookmarks “News”, “Books”, “Music”, “Video”, “Documents”, “Applications” and “Browser” are located just below.

All sections appear in a similar way. Firstly, cloud/local storage is opened, in which content can be sorted by title/author/last open item, or to find with the search string. If the book or the application is in the cloud, then there is a small arrow on its icon, clicking on which you will download it to the local device. But this scheme works only for content, which is officially downloaded from Amazon Appstore. It’s possible to go to the company Amazon store from each section.

Browser

Company has paid much attention on Amazon Silk cloud browser, which shifts much of its work on the company’s servers. It supports bookmarks, downloads, multi-touch zoom and flash-content.

Books

There is a convenient built-in program for reading books. Shell is very similar to the version, used in the Amazon’s e-ink-based models; it supports a rich set of MOBI and PDF text formatting. FBreader can also be used. The text is adjusted as follows: eight sizes, eight fonts, three types of indents, three types of distances between the lines, three types of color models (the most pleasant – black font on a parchment background).

Video

Video, stored in Kindle Fire can be found not in “Video” section (just movies, purchased from Amazon, are placed there), but in “Gallery”. Built-in player plays only MP4 and VP8 file formats.

Amazon Kindle Fire is the perfect tablet for those people who love reading, using modern devices. And the budget nature of this kind of product, combined with its high quality, is the great competitive advantage of the Amazon tablet.

Design and construction

The tablet weighs only 465 grams, and its size is 230.9 x 157.8 x 8.6 mm. Proceeding from the parameters, one can definitely say that it is easy and convenient to carry the device. The housing is made of plastic; color of the end faces is silver. Smooth white back part, on which there is camera lens and flash, looks very good. At the top end face there is 3.5mm jack, a microphone, SIM card slot, while and on the bottom there is a proprietary connection port. Dynamic speakers, in the amount of two units, are located on the sides. It is worth to say that they are very loud, compact music system can be replaced by an alternative Tab, surround sound experience can not but please. Location of a power button is the top end face; a volume rocker is also there. These buttons are not touch-sensitive.

Black color is selected for framing the display. At the top over the display light sensor and front camera are set. The tablet is assembled as a whole thing, and the developers did their best in order to avoid backlash and squeaks.

Display

There is a capacitive PLS LCD display with 8.9 inches diagonal and a 1280×800 pixel resolution (WXGA). Multi-touch function is supported; a light sensor with automatic backlight is available. The screen is sensitive, it responds well to touch. 16:10 widescreen aspect ratio is very handy for watching videos, games and much more. The display has good contrast and color reproduction. Viewing angles are also good. The display provides possibility of excellent readability in sunlight, which a plus in favor of the tablet.

Performance and Hardware

Cortex A9 Dual-core processor is selected for use in the tablet, with 1GHz clock speed. 1 GB RAM is provided. The tablet has GeForce Tegra 2 graphics chipset. The chip is responsible for working with three-dimensional graphics and video rendering in high definition. Applications run quite fast, which is peculiar to the majority of Honeycomb tablets, but of course if you don’t work with a great number of apps at the same time. There are no delays during installation of some software for Android, and Angry Birds. Performance doesn’t depend on TouchWiz. For storage internal memory is available, with three variants – 16 GB, 32 GB, and 64GB.

Operating system

Android 3.0.1 Honeycomb is used in Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9. The only difference is that there is a TouchWiz interface and a few brand features are available. The upper notification area, familiar to users in Android, is located on the bottom. There are virtual buttons for calling up the list of applications and the transition to the desktop on the side panel. There is an icon, needed to take a screenshot. The right side of the interface line displays icons that notify about a variety of information and installed programs. Here is also quick access to Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3G, etc., as well as the notifications, available for closing not relevant information, brightness control, and percentage of battery charge.

The services, the usual for all Samsung devices, are available in Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9. They are Music Hub, Social Hub, and Readers Hub. TouchWiz interface implies the obligatory brand icons and widgets. The new tablet is equipped with all possible means of communication. Menu for adding widgets is made very comfortable, and is a great implementation. The producers enabled users to use the tablet as a navigator. The coordinates are loaded not only quickly but also qualitatively. Besides various hubs, the tablet has its individual programs. They include link to the Samsung Apps store, programs for reading, AllShare, possibility to read the Pulse news. At the top of the desktop, in the corner on the left side there is a Google search, including a voice search, and the performance level of all this is excellent. And on the right there is the menu button. You can also add or delete widgets.

Communication

Due to a slot for standard SIM cards, the tablet can provide communication and data transfer all over the world. International roaming is possible thanks to Quad-band GSM, and a high-speed data transfer is possible, using HSDPA with HSUPA. To provide local communication, Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 tablet is equipped with Wi-Fi/B/G/N modules (with the possibility of creating a Wi-Fi access point) and Bluetooth 3.0 + HS. In addition, there is a standard MicroUSB port, standard 3.5 mm jack for headphones and HDMI TV-out (via adapter).

Cameras

Galaxy Tab 8.9 has a 3.15 megapixel camera that can shoot 720p video. The camera has autofocus and LED flash. Moreover, on the front panel there is also a 2-megapixel front camera. Two cameras are mainly intended for providing the functionality, needed in a video chat. The camera interface is an oversized version of what is installed in Samsung mobile phones.

Video player

There is no video player in Android Honeycomb, so Samsung decided to install its own version. The main view can be displayed as outlines, list, or folders. Application is quite functional, and can handle 1080p video rendering, but only in MP4 format, as there is no DivX and Xvid support. However, Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 can be a good home media center.

Battery life

The tablet has a battery with a capacity of 6800 mAh. Estimated time of work in video mode is 10 hours, but, of course, the number of connected updates, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth work must be taken into account.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 is the tablet of a new generation. Among the main advantages of the new Tab 8.9 a very nice and impressive display, ability to support a large number of audio and video formats in the database, loud dynamic speakers, support of the most wireless interfaces, HD-quality video should be mentioned. And of course, the user will enjoy the ultra-slim housing, and light weight of the Galaxy Tab 8.9, which allows using it for quite a long time and not being tired.

Design

In outward appearance, Acer Iconia Tab W500 tablet is similar to the majority of its brethren, but it has a number of differences which are not typical for classical tablets. Thanks to the original docking station, performed as a kind of cradle with keyboard, Iconia Tab W500 can act both as a tablet, and as a compact laptop.

The tablet’s housing is made of plastic. Back of the housing resembles polished aluminum in its texture, and from afar it can be taken for the metal, but it is not. The front part of the tablet is covered with a protective “glass”, under which the screen is located, and the frame around the display is painted in black.

On the bottom left part of the tablet there is the only hardware command button with the logo of “Windows”, calling up the “Start” menu. The other hardware buttons are placed on the end faces of the device: power button and volume rocker are on the left end face, while on the bottom – screen orientation lock button. A tablet turns into a netbook. To do this, one only need to put the tablet into a special reclining holder on the docking station with a keyboard. One can easily fold up the device. For the secure fixation of the two parts, of the tablet provides a special sliding catches, fitting into the grooves on the docking station, and docking station itself is equipped with a sliding latch.

Functional features

Acer Iconia Tab W500 model is built on a new hardware platform from AMD company. The device is equipped with Dual-Core C50 dual-core processor, running at 1 GHz and A50M chipset. Processor, established in the tablet, is not the most productive in the family of new AMD chips and is greatly inferior to E350 processor, which is one of the main components of the Brazos platform, in performance. But compared to major competitor in the face of Intel Atom, AMD dual-core processor demonstrates more impressive results. The integrated in chipset Radeon HD 6250M graphics card, equipped with 256 MB video memory, answers for HD video playback and work with 3D graphics in the new platform. As opposed to the tandem Intel NM10 + GMA 3150, AMD A50M + Radeon HD 6250M pair demonstrates a high level of performance at comparable power consumption, and hence is the most promising platform for the modern netbooks at the moment. The tablet has 2 GB RAM installed, 32GB SSD storage capacity and Wi-Fi wireless modules, Bluetooth 3.0 and optional 3G.

Display

In Acer Iconia Tab W500 model capacitive screen with a 10.1 inches diagonal, a 1280×800 pixels resolution and a 16:10 aspect ratio is installed. W500 screen shows a bright image and good viewing angles, but the combination of “glossy” matrix with mirror padding and a thick protective “glass” (to protect the display plastic is used) affected the ability of the screen to display a clear picture in bright, direct light not in the best way.

Ports and connector

Iconia Tab W500 is equipped with two USB 2.0 ports (located on the bottom of the device), HDMI and Jack 3,5 mm connectors (on the left end face) and a slot for SD/MMC cards. After installing the tablet on a docking station, one of the USB ports is used for connection with a keyboard, while the second is overlapped with the elements of the docking station, so for peripherals connection there are only two USB ports, located on the end faces of the docking station. In addition to the USB connectors, the docking station is equipped with Ethernet connector (RJ-45) and allows connecting the device not only to wireless networks, but also to wired networks. Connectors for Flash and SIM-cards are closed with plastic plugs.

Software

Unlike the most of modern tablets, operating on the iOS and Android OS, new Iconia Tab W500 runs on Windows 7, and demonstrates the broad communication skills. For more comfortable working with the device, Acer Ring software is preinstalled on the tablet. The shell is invoked by clicking on a special icon and allows you to configure the basic parameters of the tablet just with one touch, as well as run applications that are adapted for controlling with the fingers: TouchBrowser (application for working with web content); SocialJogger (application for tracking tapes of activities in Facebook, as well as new videos on YouTube and photos, posted on Flickr); My Journal (application for storing bookmarks of web pages that are dynamically updated), and Clear.fi (application for searching, sharing and playing music, photos and video). Application Acer Games preinstalled on the tablet – a kind of applications store such as App Store.

Docking station and keyboard

The docking station is a kind of cradle, combined with a keyboard. The island-style keyboard is ergonomically close to the keyboards of netbooks and subnotebooks which enables easily text typing and working with the device like on an ordinary 10-inch netbook. To move the cursor Touch Point is used, which is well-known to the owners of Lenovo laptops. At the top of the docking station there is a special folding mechanism for fastening, consisting of retractable USB port and two guides. Installation and removal of the tablet can be made literally in one motion. The dock station also has a Gigabit LAN Port. At the present time Acer Iconia Tab W500 is one of the few tablets, offering such an original solution for a more comfortable work.

Acer Iconia Tab W500 is a highly original device, built on a new AMD hardware platform, and runs on Windows 7. The tablet allows you to shoot video in HD, but also able to render video in Full HD (1080p). However, the main advantage of Iconia Tab W500 is the availability of the dock station with a keyboard and extra connectors, which help to turn the tablet in a convenient and compact netbook in a twinkling.

Appearance

Lenovo designers were able to make device in strict accordance with the ideology and values of ThinkPad series. Tablet came out black, square, reliable, durable and stiff. In ThinkPad series this tablet looks very organic. Tablet is very convenient, as its shape, size (260.4 x 181.7 x 14 mm), and weight (715 grams) allows a user to hold it firmly without fear to accidentally press the button or screen.

The back cover is made of solid plastic, similar to that used in ThinkPad laptops, with a slightly rough surface. Logos are made of metal. ThinkPad logo is with a red light-emitting diode instead of dot over “i”. During work, the letter “i” also acts as an indicator, as it’s lighting up red. From design point of view, it can be called a very interesting solution. The whole framework is very strong. Meanwhile, this tablet is fairly easy to disassemble.

The entire front cover is closed with Gorilla Glass glass, which is integrated into the frame without collecting dust clearances. The glass is glossy. Glossy surface creates glare, but the display’s brightness (400 nits) allows reading the text comfortably, even in bright light.

In addition, despite the fact that Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet is a keyboardless device, there are quite enough keys on the tablet. Thus, beneath the screen when placing it in portrait orientation, there are four tactile buttons. The first two are responsible for locking the screen orientation and launching the browser, and two others are “Back” “Home” keys. Herewith, the keys are made so that it’s impossible to accidentally click on them.

Software

Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet runs on Android 3.1, launched on the device. There are 30 applications, and their range includes out-house productions (Kindle, Netflix) and in-house productions (Lenovo App Shop, SocialTouch). With your tablet you have access to the official Android Market, including Google’s mobile apps for Gmail, Books, Google Talk, Navigation, and Maps. On the home screen of the tablet there is the Lenovo Launcher, which is the dashboard with the set common actions. You can edit it (change the scheme color or the shortcuts) or delete. But it allows checking e-mail, reading, watching, and listening. The launcher comes with the Honeycomb Web browser. The icons row is improved. There is SocialTouch app, which is an aggregator of all the events in different social networks (Facebook and Twitter), email and RSS.

Pen input

Digital stylus for Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet is accessory provided optionally and can be bought separately. The stylus for work with this tablet is a very convenient solution, and will let not to dirty the screen with the fingertips yet again. Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet ignores touch when using the stylus. The method of pen input was implemented in the Lenovo tablet, which is entirely analogous to those, involved in the Windows-based tablets of the ThinkPad X-series. The complete stylus allows you to make notes with handwriting recognition or not, draw, or simply to manage the tablet with a high accuracy.

The stylus works on batteries AAAA and provides very high fidelity. Notes Mobile program is provided for making notes, which supports handwriting recognition. Notes Mobile can export your notes to PDF (or simply to send the notebook pages that are stored in the usual PNG).

Connectors

The main set of connectors is assembled on the lower edge. There is a corporate port, but it is only used for the optional docking station. Standard microUSB connector is used for connecting to a PC or charging from a complete power source. MiniHDMI port lets you connect the tablet to the TV. There is a connector for headphones or a headset. Under separate cover slots for SIM cards, full-size SD card, and a reset button that allows you to go into recovery menu are arranged. On the side edge there is full-sized USB port, which makes possible connecting keyboards, flash drives and even hard drives, and also an optional accessory – a keyboard case and trackpoint. Also at the end-face is a single speaker.

Accessories

Simultaneously with the release of ThinkPad Tablet, Lenovo has produced a well thought-out set of accessories. Firstly, it’s a simple leather case. The tablet is placed in plastic cradle inside the case, which provides additional protection. If desired, the case becomes a stand. One more accessory is the case with built-in keyboard. It consists of two halves, in one of which, along the guide, the tablet is put and connected to the keyboard, using USB port. The halves do not have a rigid connection with each other, and the tablet is installed on the keyboard in one of three holes and is held there by magnets. This design provides maximum portability. Buying the keyboard case you get a possibility of quick and comfortable typing when you go on business. The keyboard layout closely follows that of the ThinkPad Edge laptops, but instead of function keys, the buttons for quick access to functions in Android are provided – volume control, go to the home screen, settings and so on. Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet’s keyboard is furnished with an optical trackpoint. Finally, another important accessory is a docking station with support for fast charging.

Battery life

Without charging Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet will work about 9 hours, and this despite the connection of Wi-Fi and active work with video. This result is achieved thanks to a 3,250 mAh battery. Tablet PC Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet is charged through USB. At the same time it can be done both via a micro-USB port, and its full-size version.

Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet really turned out quite compact and serious decision for the business segment. In terms of functionality the tablet can compete with virtually any competitor.

Specifications

• NVIDIA® Tegra 2 Dual-Core 1GHz processor
• Google Android 3.1
• 10.1” WXGA (1280×800) 16:10 IPS panel with Corning Gorilla Glass
• Multitouch display with digitizer input (pen optional)
• Starting at 1.65 lbs; up to 8 hours battery life
• Up to 64GB storage
• Bluetooth, WiFi and 3G connectivity
• Native USB 2.0 and micro-USB ports, full-size SD card slot and mini-HDMI output
• Front and rear-facing 720p HD webcams (2M front, 5M back)

Design

Toshiba Thrive is rather big tablet with 15 mm thickness. It is rather big size, compared with 12.9 thick Motorola Xoom or 8.8 mm Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. It weights 771 grams that is more than the most of modern tablets. It is rather heavy for long use, so it is better to hold it on the knees or some surface. The quality of assembly is average. The back cover is made of durable plastic, however there is a slight play between it and the rest of the body. It is more noticeable when you hold the tablet by the sides. The back cover is textured for stylish look and comfortable positioning in hands. Thanks to this texture the table sits tightly in hands, not slipping out. However Thrive is too bulky for a multimedia tablet, it is not comfortable for long use on the move. The load on hands won’t allow you to hold it more than half an hour by hands.

Display and Camera

Toshiba Thrive features 10.1″ IPS LCD touch screen and two cameras, 5MP back and 2 MP front cameras. The display is similar to Acer Iconia A500 or Asus Eee Pad Transformer in terms of image quality and viewing angles. It is not as good as Super AMOLED Plus screens, but also provides bright colours and good contrast image.

The back 5 MP camera is similar to the one in Asus Eee Pad Transformer, with ability to shoot photos and video in HD format up to 720p. Camera for a tablet is not so important as for smartphone, users do not often use it. Due to the big size and weight, Toshiba Thrive is unsuitable for being used as a digital camera.

Front camera has 2 MP resolution, but it doesn’t differ from 1.3 VGA in terms of quality. It is good for video calls or chatting, however using it for making photos is also not suitable due to low quality of photos.

Software

The device runs on Android 3.1 Honeycomb operating system without any brand shells. So it doesn’t differ significantly from the rest of Honeycomb tablets. As for the software, there is a pack of preinstalled applications in Toshiba Thrive. It includes a few games, an application for access to Toshiba store, Kaspersky Antivirus, LogMeIn ignition for access to remote PC and virtual screen keyboard Swype that allows to type texts not taking the finger off the screen, by one continuous move.

Besides this, Toshiba Thrive features handy file manager with bookmarks, similar to Android’s Astro in functionality. It provides easy switch between internal memory, memory card and USB drives. With its help you can easily copy information between different memory storages, put files in order quickly and easily.

Performance

Toshiba Thrive is as fast in performance as other tablets working on Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor. The operating system works quickly, without significant delays. The working tables change one another smoothly and quickly. New applications require little time for installing. Web browser optimized for Honeycomb is very handy in use, as well as other Google apps. No problems with screen response, all commands work fine.

The time of tablet start up after turning it on is not big. Game performance fully justifies all possible expectations from dual-core Tegra 2, the tablet easily manages with high-quality dynamic games. The combination of Honeycomb and powerful hardware make Toshiba Thrive one of the fastest tablets among today’s market offers.

Communication and Adds-On

The diversity of ports and jacks is a special marketing move of Toshiba that gives Thrive tablet impressive facilities for extending its use. USB 2.0 port, mini USB port, HDMI out, SD memory card slot – all this is present in Thrive.

USB 2.0 allows attaching different peripheral units to the tablet. This can be a USB keyboard, cameras and other USB accessories. The same feature is available from miniUSB port, as the gadget has built-in USB host mode for miniUSB too. Also USB is suitable for attaching various memory drives including flash cards and portative HDD. So the tablet doesn’t require special cables and connectors to use all these add-ons.

MiniUSB port is given for attaching digital cameras, copying photos and videos and other purposes. MiniUSB is a standard connection protocol for the majority of digital cameras instead of microUSB that a lot of tablets usually have. Toshiba Thrive connects to cameras without any adaptors.

HDMI port is used for displaying the image from tablet screen on some external display, like TV panel. You can view photos and videos recorded by tablet cameras, watch movies and enjoy games on bigger screens.

Battery

A tablet with removable battery is rarely met among today’s models. This is not a must-have feature, like in mobile phones, but sometimes it is rather useful. Having a few batteries, you can always change the discharged battery to the full one, if there is no ability to charge the tablet from the outlet.

Toshiba Thrive is able to work from one charge for 2 days of heavy use. This is little worse than in Galaxy Tab 10.1, but it is also an impressive result, taking into account that Toshiba Thrive has smaller capacity of 2030 mAh, while Galaxy has 6800 mAh.

General Impressions

If you decided to buy Toshiba Thrive, you will definitely be satisfied with the choice. It works perfectly and didn’t show any bugs during practical tests. As for the battery, some experts regard such solution less successful than in Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. It would be better to have built-in battery of the same capacity that would provide enough lifetime from one charge even in a few years, when the battery will lose a part of its capacity. The diversity of ports and connectors is very useful for tablet, making it universal, all-purpose gadget that easily interacts with numerous devices.

Design

HTC EVO View 4G combines typical Flyer design with special EVO line colour scheme – charcoal body with elegant red exterior details. In general new EVO looks more elegant than Flyer, featuring aluminium body with ideally assembled parts. Yes, it is really a good looking and nice to touch tablet. There are plastic pats on the top and bottom body sides. You can see microSD slot plaxtic cover on the top. The bottom plastic insert creates a handy hold for hands when the device is used in landscape mode.

HTC EVO View 4G weights 425 grams. Such weight is justified by durable metal body and glass screen cover. These high-quality materials will provide good wear resistance for the tablet that is often used on the move. 7 inches display with its 1024×600 px resolution seems better than the most of HTC smartphones. It is bright, with clear and sharp image and excellent viewing angles. Below the display you will find for buttons – Home, Back, Menu and Scribe Pen. Regardless on the tablet orientation, landscape or portrait, these buttons will be always located below the screen.

The top body side features 3.5 mm audio jack and Power button. Volume controls, microUSB port is located on the bottom side. The back panel features the lens of 5MP camera and 2 cutouts for loudspeakers, surrounded with red fillet.

In general HTC EVO View 4G is well constructed device in both design and assembly. The problem is that it is not resistive to fingerprints. It is better to get used to it than to try keeping it constantly clean.

Software

The manufacturer equipped HTC EVO View 4G with its new Sense 3.0 interface, the same as in HTC Sensation and EVO 3D. Compared with previous interface version, this one features much bigger display space for widgets in portrait mode. For instance, if you set a calendar widget it will occupy the top two thirds of the display, showing you month view. When you turn the gadget to the side, the interface will automatically rotate by 90 degrees. In landscape mode the widgets have less space. Larger display didn’t influenced on the menu structure – it is still 4×4 grid of icons that can be found in many Android mobile phones. In the tablet there is much free space between the menu items.

Being rather handy in use, Sense still has shortcomings compared with Honeycomb. For instance, when you browse the Android Market, you will clearly see that Android 2.3 is not optimized specifically for tablets, as there is always a wish to make fonts and images bigger for more comfortable look. Not all applications support full screen mode properly, there are often some discrepancy in proportions. Another shortcoming of the current software version is the lack of Google Talk service. It is available only starting from 2.3.4 version, while EVO View 4G runs only Android 2.3.3. Even updated to 2.3.4 with new firmware package, there was no GTalk).

A really impressive feature is HTC Scribe pen. It is provided in EVO View 4G by default, while being sold separately for HTC Flyer at $80. This feature provides user with ability to make freehand notes while browsing websites and do lots of other interesting things. For instance, you can tap the screen with stylus in Scribe pen mode to get a screenshot of the current web page or any other activity on the screen. Then this screenshot can be scribbled on. There are a lot of writing settings like colour and size of pen, etc.

Connectivity

HTC EVO View 4G supports Sprint WiMAX network. When tested in action, the new EVO showed similar data transfer speeds for up and downloading, the built-in module provides stable network connection without any flows. The gadget also supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 3.0, as well as GPS.

The integrated web browser works rather good, loading the web pages with complex content quickly, even when there are a lot of Flash elements. Scrolling, as well as zooming features also work fine, very handy in use.

Camera

The interface for camera is similar as in HTC Flyer. User has a few manually adjustable parameters such as contrast, exposure, sharpness and saturation. Various add-ons are also supported, such as face detection or geo-tagging. The camera performance is not perfect. 5MP shooter made photos with the lack of detailing, even on the bright daylight. Of course, camera is not the main part of big internet tablet, but actually such a perfect device as HTC EVO is expected to be good in every offered feature. The camera is able to shoot 720p videos that are also have mid-level quality, as photos.

In the landscape mode there is an ability to view media content in two-column way. One part displays the content list, while the other one is for the playback. OF course, there is an ability to view photos and videos in full screen mode. Viewing videos on the 7 inches display is great. There were no problems with media content playback, no delays or something like this occurred. In this part HTC EVO View 4G has flawless performance.

General Impressions

HTC EVO View 4G seems to be well-built tablet with handy intuitive interface. 7 inches display covered with glass, aluminium body cover look stylish and provide excellent wear-resistance. This is where functionality is perfectly combined with the design. The battery life is enough for two days of active tablet use. Always unique in its innovations, HTC equipped its gadget with interesting HTC Scribe Pen feature that has no analogues on the market. The only disadvantage is that HTC EVO View 4G doesn’t run tablet-optimized Google software, using Sense 3.0 interface instead it. It is not critical, as Sense itself is also a worthy solution. The verdict is definite YES to such device as HTC EVO View 4G on the world tablet market.