September 02, 2011, 7:32 AM — Yesterday was the second Press Day of the IFA consumer electronics show, and this time it was Samsung's turn to step up to the plate (don't ask me why I've been using baseball metaphors to write about a European trade show).
Samsung was one of the earliest companies to jump into the Android tablet fray with the 7" Galaxy Tab last winter and then the Honeycomb-powered Galaxy Tab 10.1 last spring. The 10.1 is arguably the most elegant Android tablet currently available, being thin enough and light enough to draw Apple's ire, if the various lawsuits are any indication.
Samsung isn't done with Android, though. We know there's an 8.9" version of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 (called, unsurprisingly, the Galaxy Tab 8.9) coming, but yesterday Samsung was introducing two more models. First up is the Galaxy Tab 7.7. This model has (as I continue to state the obvious) a 7.7" screen. More specifically, it's a state of the art 1280x800 Super AMOLED Plus screen. Inside is a dual core, 1.4 Ghz chip. The tablet will ship running Android 3.2 with Samsung's TouchWiz interface layered on top. It weighs just 12 ounces and Samsung claims it'll run video for 10 hours on a charge. It's got dual cameras, 2 megapixel in the front and 3 in the back. The rear-facing camera can also capture 1080P video.
So that's pretty neat, but I was more interested in the Galaxy Note. The Note is a 5.3" device, conjuring up memories of the Dell Streak to a certain extent. The Streak never really found an audience, but it didn't have the same kind of tech that the Note has. We're talking the same 1.4 Ghz dual core processor as the Galaxy Tab 7.7 and once again, a 1280x800 Super AMOLED Plus screen. There's an 8 megapixel camera on the back that'll also capture 1080P video (and a 2 megapixel front facing camera for chatting). And most interestingly, the Note comes with a pressure-sensitive stylus for note-taking and sketching. The Note weighs about 6.25 ounces (178 grams, to be precise). Due (presumably) to the smaller screen size, the Note comes with Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) rather than Honeycomb (and once again with TouchWiz layered on).
It's interesting that Samsung is calling the Note a smartphone in the video. Hmm...
What we don't know are either pricing or release dates. Considering how rarely I use my phone for actual phone calls, I'd consider upgrading to the 5.3" Note as my 'carry everywhere' device, but then I'm a big nerd. Anyone else as enamored with the idea as I am?
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