Android this week: Amazon’s tablet spied; Samsung Note debuts; Tablets galore at IFA

Amazon’s long-awaited entry into the Android tablet space is nearly ready and expected to launch in time for the holiday season. But it’s not the tablet that some were expecting. MG Siegler from TechCrunch spent an hour with a sample of the device and shared his experience: Instead of a full-fledged Android tablet, Amazon’s new Kindle slate runs a forked version of Android under the hood that no user is likely to ever see.

The 7-inch tablet takes a cue from the Barnes & Noble Nook Color; arguably the most successful non-iPad tablet if it fits your definition of one, and likely to see a hardware refresh soon. Amazon’s tablet will use a completely customized interface, not have Google apps of any kind, nor will it access the Android Market. It will run apps from Amazon’s AppStore.

Software to read Kindle books, watch Amazon videos on demand or play music from Amazon’s MP3 store and Cloud Drive service are the focal points. Expected to launch for $249, possibly with a free subscription to the Amazon Prime shipping service — normally $79 per year — the tablet could be a holiday hit for mainstream consumers who want a traditional Kindle with more access to Amazon services.

Those wanting something smaller than a tablet but bigger than a standard phone may be more interested in the newly announced Samsung Note. The handset uses a 5.30 inch Super AMOLED display with 1280×800 resolution and includes a digital pen which fits inside the phone for storage. Samsung says this combination of hardware features makes the Note a new class of device for enterprise users who want to capture and store digital notes. The pen is pressure sensitive and may be used for drawing images as well.

Samsung hasn’t abandoned the 7-inch tablet market, however. The company also announced a refresh of the existing Galaxy Tab with a 7.7-inch version that uses a 1280×800 screen like the Note. However, the display technology is boosted up to Samsung’s Super AMOLED Plus, providing more vivid colors that appear to pop off the screen. The new tablet uses a dual-core 1.4 GHz processor, Google Android Honeycomb and a boosted battery capacity over the prior version.

Toshiba and Lenovo also debuted new Android tablets this week at the IFA exhibition in Berlin, Germany. Toshiba slimmed down its existing Thrive tablet to create the AT200; just 7.7 millimeters in thickness. The 10.1-inch slate uses a 1.2 GHz dual-core process from Texas Instruments and has a micro HDMI port to share media with a high-definition television.

Lenovo’s newest Android entry, the A1, runs on Gingerbread, which is designed for smartphones, and offers 1024×600 resolution on a 7-inch touchscreen display. It only has a single core processor and reminds me of last year’s Galaxy Tab from Samsung. However, the Wi-Fi model with many of last year’s hardware components has a price from 2010 as well: the A1 will cost only $199 and should appeal to many at that price due to its versatility and portability.

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Samsung goes big with a 5.3-inch, high-res phone

In a challenge to the iPhone 4′s Retina Display, Samsung introduced a new high-resolution smartphone, the Samsung Note, at the IFA Exhibition on Thursday. The Samsung Note doesn’t pack all of its 1280×800 pixels into a small screen, however; the new Note uses a 5.3-inch display with Samsung’s Super AMOLED technology for vivid colors and wide viewing angles. If that sounds like a large phone or a very small tablet, it really is both. But Samsung is touting the extra screen space as better for browsing and note-taking with an included digital pen.

The large display, high pixel density — 285 pixels per inch — and abilities to take notes or draw with the pressure sensitive stylus are the stars of this short overview video:

Other hardware features in the Samsung Note, which runs Android 2.3 are attractive as well: a dual-core 1.4 GHz processor, 1 GB of RAM, 16 or 32 GB of internal storage, 8 megapixel rear camera with 1080p video recording (24 – 30 fps), 2 megapixel front camera, and microSD card slot. The usual host of radio connectivity is there as well: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and aGPS, plus support for 21 Mbps HSPA+ networks. Essentially, the Note is a small tablet with voice capabilities.

The other way of looking at it isn’t as a small tablet, but a big phone, of course. I’m partial to larger screened devices and can’t wait to take the Samsung Note for a test drive. Yes, holding a 5.3-inch phone to one’s head will look goofy to say the least. But I’m not thinking about products like the Note as a traditional phone for two reasons.

One, we’re actually talking on our handsets less and less. Far more of our time is spent in apps, browsing the web or watching videos, for example. These activities are sure to benefit from the larger, higher resolution screen. Second, for the few calls I get, it’s simple to use a Bluetooth headset — sometimes tech that’s been around for a number of years can actually supplement new tech. I say bring on the big screen phones. If I can carry a 7-inch tablet everywhere I go these days, surely I can tote a smaller slab.

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