Samsung’s bada platform has been something of a stealth OS until now, though one that’s seen surprising smartphone success in the market. Still, it’s remains on the down-low in comparison to Android, iOS and others, something Samsung hopes to change with bada 2.0 and the Wave 3. We grabbed some hands-on time with the 4-inch smartphone at IFA 2011; read on for our first impressions.
It’s the one year anniversary of the original Galaxy Tab, with Samsung’s first 7-inch stab at the market launching at IFA 2010. This year, with the Galaxy Tab 10.1 under its belt and the Tab 8.9 imminent, it’s the turn of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 to make its debut. Bigger screen, better processor and now in time for Honeycomb, the high-resolution Tab 7.7 wants to convince you that just because Steve Jobs isn’t a fan of the 7-inch form-factor, that doesn’t mean there’s no room for “tweener” slates. Read on for our first impressions from the show.
Can Samsung save the stylus? The Samsung Galaxy Note is the company’s main surprise at IFA 2011 this week, a MID-scale super-smartphone that offers a blend of phone and tablet functionality with a dash of paper notebook thrown in too. We thought the Galaxy S II was big, with its 4.3-inch display, and then were slightly more surprised by the Inspire 4G when that stepped up to 4.5-inches. The Galaxy Note, though, surpasses them both, with its huge 5.3-inch panel. Samsung brands it as HD Super AMOLED, and claims it’s the statistical midpoint discovered when consumers were polled for their thoughts on ideals of front visibility, single-handed operation, pen input and calling. Read on for our hands-on first impressions.
As oddly-shaped speaker systems go, the Philips Fidelio SoundSphere pair should still stand out even in the most avant garde living room. In fact, unless your lounge looks like the egg room from the first Alien film, expect plenty of questions about the bulbous AirPlay-compatible set. On show at IFA 2011 today, the SoundSpheres dragged us in like a Facehugger’s tail around the neck.
Hannspree‘s Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablet, the SN10T3, isn’t expected to hit the market until Q3 2011, but the company had the freshly-released SN10T1 on show here at IFA 2011 today. Based around a 10.1-inch 1024 x 600 touchscreen and NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 processor, the slate may run Android 2.2 Froyo but it’s well hidden under a custom UI. Still, that decision has left the SN10T1 missing a few key features which may take some of the shine off of its low price tag.
Video demo after the cut
Samsung may have had 3D video-on-demand to announce at IFA 2011 this morning, but the company was also demonstrating its smart TV streaming system that can squirt a live video feed from a D7000 or D8000 series HDTV to one of the company’s Android-based devices. We grabbed some hands-on time to see whether this is the setup to retire your SlingBox for; check out the video demo and more after the cut.
Video demo after the cut
TerraTec have plowed away at the internet radio segment, and their new NOXON iRadio 500 is a slick example of the breed. A €299 ($386) standalone model, with both WiFi and a wired network option, the iRadio 500 has a 2.1 speaker system, large 3.8-inch color display and straightforward controls. As well as playing internet radio, it can also stream locally-stored music across your network from a computer or NAS.
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E-Noa's Tegra 2 based Interpad was one of those tablets we harboured quiet doubts over back in July, uncertain whether the company could beat big-name rivals to the market with their Android 2.2 slate. Having met the company at IFA 2010 this week, though, it seems they're well on their way to making some sales. The Interpad isn't quite ready - E-Noa are apparently still working on a custom UI that will suit the 10-inch 1024 x 600 multitouch display - but it was certainly functional enough.
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We’re big Sleek Audio fans here at SlashGear, and we’ve known the company has been cooking up something special for the past six months or so. That project – the new flagship Sleek Audio SA7 in-ear monitors – has come of age just in time for IFA 2010, along with their upcoming refresh of the original SA6‘s, in the shape of the SA6-R (where the “R” stands for “Reference”). We jammed the carbon-fiber and machined aluminum SA7′s into our ears for a preview.
Huawei are another company going in for Android in a big way, already behind several of the operator-branded budget smartphones on the market and hoping to follow up that success with the new Ideos U8150, a Froyo 2.2 smartphone with what's tipped to be a roughly $150 unsubsidized price tag. As well as playing with the U8150 at IFA 2010 today, we also grabbed a fleeting moment with the Ideos S7 tablet and a (non-functional) Huawei prototype for their idea of a potential gaming MID.
Video demos after the cut
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Though Archos' larger internet tablets grabbed our attention first, we spent some time playing with the French company's three smaller models too: the Archos 28, 32 and 43. Ranging in size from 2.8-inches QVGA, through 3.2-inches WQVGA, to 4.3-inches FWVGA, the three palm-sized tablets are Archos' attempt at hybrid PMP/MIDs, hitting price points from $99.99 to $149.99 to $199.
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Archos weren’t short of new internet tablets for IFA 2010, though it’s their Archos 70 and Archos 101 which stood out when we stopped by their booth earlier today. Measuring in at 7- and 10-inches respectively, the two Android slates (running 2.1 right now, but set to launch with 2.2 Froyo) are certainly thin and reasonable feature-packed, each toting a 1GHz ARM Cortex A8 processor, 3D OpenGL ES 2.0 graphics accelerator and WiFi b/g/n.
Video demo after the cut
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