Samsung officially unveiled the Galaxy Tab 7 inch Android tablet this morning at the IFA trade show in Germany. And ever since, news has been streaming out of Berlin like a gusher. Here are some of the latest updates:

Benchmarking the Galaxy Tab

Chippy at CarryPad took a few moments to run a couple of benchmarks on the tablet. Overall, it’s not the fastest machine out there, but it certainly scores higher than a typical smartphone. That said, Chippy ran the same tests recently on the Toshiba AC100 smartbook with better results — and the AC100 has the same basic specs as the upcoming Toshiba Folio 100 , which means that may be the tablet to beat.

You can check out Chippy’s video after the break.

Rooting the Galaxy Tab

What, benchmarks aren’t exciting enough or you? How about this, then? One guy figured out how to root the Tab. Not bad for a device that not only isn’t available to the public yet, but which as far as I know isn’t available outside of the confines of a trade show floor (unless you’re a Samsung employee).

via jkkmobile

Samsung Galaxy Tab apps and games

The Galaxy Tab has full access to the Google Android Market, which means it can run most of the games and other apps available for the Android platform. The folks at Android Central took a few of those games for a spin and they look great on the 7 inch display.

Samsung also packs the tablet with a few custom apps, and the video after the break shows some of those off as well.

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I got a chance to check out a pre-production unit of the Samsung NF210 netbook today. This mini-laptop was first announced way back in… well, yesterday. But it won’t hit the streets in the US for another few weeks, and I learned today that it will actually be a Sam’s Club exclusive in the States, where you’ll be able to pick this curvy netbook up for $379.99.

The Samsung NF210 has a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N455 processor, a 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display, and one of the most unusual designs I’ve seen in a netbook, with a curved body and a recessed keyboard situated between two fins, waves, or whatever you want to call them. While I’m not 100% sold on the overall design, which serves to make the netbook a bit wider than many others in its class, there are a few things I really like about this and other Samsung netbooks.

First, Samsung added a thin lip to the top of the display, which makes it much easier to grab and open the lid when the laptop is closed. Second, the touchpad is perfectly level with the palm rest area around it, but thanks to a bumpy textured surface, you can easily detect the edges of the touch area without looking down at your fingers. Third, the display is matte, which makes it easier to see in direct sunlight.

Probably the most compelling feature of this 10 inch netbook though, is its battery. Samsung is shipping the NF210 with a 6 cell, 8850mAh battery which the company says should provide up to 14 hours of run time. I’ll be putting that claim to the test when I receive a review unit later this month, but it’s a pretty bold claim, even as other netbook makers push their run times past the 10 hour mark.

You can check out more hands-on photos of the Samsung NF210 below. I’ve been told that the color scheme isn’t final. The finished product will have an “espresso” color scheme.

Samsung will also soon launch the NF310 netbook in the US. That model will be physically quite similar to the NF210, but it will have a metallic finish (although it will still have a plastic case). The Samsung NF310 will also have a dual core Intel Atom N550 processor and a 10.1 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel display. Final pricing for that model hasn’t been set, but Samsung says it will likely cost $429 or less. Unlike the NF210, the NF310 will be available through a variety of retailers.

Samsung also plans to continue offering the Samsung N150 netbook for customers that don’t feel like visiting Sam’s Club or paying more for snazzy design elements and extra battery life. The Samsung N150 has a MSRP of $349, but it regularly sells for far less than that.

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It’s been a few months since the SD Association approved the new UHS-I standard for speedier flash memory cards. Now we’re starting to see actual products based on the spec head to market. Toshiba has introduced a new  line of SDHC UHS-I memory cards which are do to start shipping in November.

The cards will have read speeds up to 95MB/s and write speeds up to 80MB/s. They’ll be available in 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB capacities, with the 32GB model hitting the streets in November and the smaller guys set to hit the market in December.

via Gizmodo

Camangi’s first go at an Android tablet was less than spectacular — then again, the same can be said of quite a few of the Android tablets currently available for purchase. We seem to be heading into a period of re-birth for Android tablets, however, and OEMs seem determined to get things right this time around.

And that includes Camangi. The company has announced two new Android tablets, both running Android 2.2 Froyo.

First up is the FM600, which (you guessed it) sports a 600MHz Qualcomm processor. Not exactly blazing fast by today’s standards, but it should still perform reasonably well and allow Camangi to keep the sticker price on the FM600 fairly low. Better yet, the new model sports a capacitive touchscreen and a 7″, 800×480 pixel display. It will also include 512MB RAM and ROM, 802.11b/g wireless, bluetooth, 3 megapixel rear-facing and VGA front-facing cameras, and a 3240mAh battery.

On a somewhat more surprising note, the FM600 also includes an accelerometer, compass, SIM card slot, and pre-installed Google goodness (Android Market and all the Google apps).

Next is the Camangi II. Details aren’t as plentiful on this model yet, but Carrypad reports that it will feature a 1GHz Samsung CPU… Now that’s more like it, Camangi!

Want to get your hands on a smartbook with an ARM-based chipset but don’t feel like waiting for Toshiba or HP to bring their models to the US? Genesi USA has you covered.

The company has launched a mini-laptop with a 10.1 inch display and an 800MHz Freescale i.MX515 ARM Cortex-A8 CPU. The smartbook is called the Efika MX, and while it may not have the fastest ARM-based chip around, it’s powerful enough to handle 720p HD video playback.

The device has a 1024 x 600 pixel display, 16GB of storage space, WiFi, Bluetooth, and an optional 3G modem, as well as a 1.3MP camera, SD card reader, and mic and headphone inputs.

The Genesi Efika MX weighs about 2 pounds and measures about 0.8 inches thick. The computer runs Linux and uses less than 12 watts of power. It runs just $349, which sounds pretty good… until you realize that you can get  Windows 7 netbook for about $50 less. On the other hand, I have yet to find a Windows netbook at this price that weighs just 2 pounds.

via Blogeee and Netbook News

Sure, it already made the rounds a bit this morning, but now Toshiba has officially unveiled its 10 inch Android tablet, known as the Toshiba Folio 100. The tablet is expected to launch in the fourth quarter of 2010 for 399 Euros, which is about $510 US.

As expected, the Folio 100 will ship with the Google Android 2.2 operating system, a 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel capacitive touchscreen display and an NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor. It has 16GB of internal storage, HDMI output, a 1.3MP camera, USB, WiFi, and Bluetooth capabilities and a 3G model will be released in early 2011.

The tablet measures 0.6 inches thick and weighs about 1.7 pounds.

via Engadget and Android Central

As expected, Hannspree is showing off a new 10.1 inch notebook in advance of the IFA show in Germany this week. This is in addition to the 10 inch Android tablet the company is pushing. The folks at nDevil snagged some time with the new Hannspree HannsBook Sn10, as well as a 12.1 inch notebook called the HannsBok SN12.

The 10 inch model has a chiclet style keyboard, a 1.83GHz Intel Atom N470 CPU, Bluetooth, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, and runs Windows 7 Starter Edition.

The HannsBook SN12 has an intel SU4300 ULV processor and integrated graphics, but it can handle HD video and Hannspree has added an HDMI port to this model. It comes with 2GB of DDR3 memory and a 250GB hard drive as well as Windows 7 Home Premium.

You can find more details at nDevil, and check out a few hands-on videos after the break.

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What do you get if you take a Toshiba AC100 Android powered netbook, add a touchscreen display and remove the keyboard? Apparently what you get is the Toshiba Folio 100, an Android Tablet that’s seeing the first light of day at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin this week.

Although we’ve been hearing rumors about the tablet for a few weeks, this is the first time we’ve gotten a chance to see the thing up-close-and-personal, assuming you consider looking at photos snapped by journalists and bloggers in Germany is personal.

Anyway, the folks at Pocket Lint, Netbook News.de, and Engadget have all managed to snag some time with the tablet, and here’s what we know. It has a 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel capacitive touchscreen display with support for multitouch. The tablet has an NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual core chipset and runs Google Android 2.1. THere’s a 1.3MP camera and 16GB of storage.

The Folio 100 also has 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth, and 3G connectivity, an HDMI output, 2 built in speakers and a mic, a USB port and SD card reader. The battery is reportedly good for up to 7 hours o run time, and the default browser is Opera Mobile with support for Adobe Flash. Like the Toshiba AC100, the Folio 100 also comes with some preloaded software including a PDF reader, eBook reader and RSS reader.

The tablet measures 11.1″ x 7.1″ x 0.6″ and weighs 1.7 pounds.

Unfortunately there’s no word on the pricing or launch date yet. It’s also not clear what regions the tablet will be available in. While the Toshiba AC100 is already shipping in Japan and due out soon in Europe, I haven’t seen a US release date for that model yet either.

You can check out a short hands-on video from Netbook News.de after the break.

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