Both the 10-inch and a 7-inch model have calling and texting capabilities and sports Android Ice Cream Sandwich, TouchWiz UI, as well as dual-core processors.

Suggested retail prices are as follows: Galaxy Tab 2 7.0” WiFi goes for Php12,990/$311 USD; the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0” 3G+WiFi retails at Php16,990/$407 USD, and the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1” 3G+WiFi is available for Php21,990/$527 USD.

Starting July 13th, Galaxy Note users will be able to tap into multimedia features and a range of new S Pen optimized applications, which includes the option to download the free app, S Note, a unique tool that lets you combine your notes or sketches with other digital content.

“GALAXY Note continues to delight Canadian customers with its incredible versatility and unique user experience,” said Paul Brannen, Vice President Enterprise Business Group at Samsung Canada.

Brannen adds: “With the Premium Suite upgrade, we added features that enrich the GALAXY Note experience, including the highly anticipated upgrade to Android 4.0 software and innovative applications to S Pen functionality.”

The Premium Suite also includes My Story – another download from S Choice – an S Pen optimized application that allows users to create personalized digital cards using any type of content including notes, video content, photos, text or voice.

The BrainPOP Featured Movie for Android app allows users to access educational movies and quizzes in a variety of subject areas including science, math and social studies.

Students can keep mobile learning fresh and exciting as the app is updated daily with timely content.

Travis Merrill, Director of Marketing, GALAXY Tab, Samsung Electronics America is excited with the prospects: “Our partnership with BrainPOP will enable students at all levels to take better advantage of the GALAXY Tab 2 as a mobile learning tool by making it easy for them to access fun and interesting educational content through this exclusive app.”

Merrill continues: “The rich display of the GALAXY Tab 2 is the perfect platform for BrainPOP’s content to come alive, and the timing of the app launch offers a great way for parents to keep kids engaged in learning over the summer break.”

The BrainPOP Android application is exclusive to Samsung through August 1, 2012.

It’s no surprise, I love my Galaxy Tab 10.1. But often times I get frustrated at the fact that it is nearly impossible to find tablet specific apps for it. Many times a developer would claim that an app was “optimized” for tablets but what does that really mean? Users are led to believe that the app they are about to purchase was indeed a “tablet app”. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case.

Often times, the word optimized usually refers to the fact that the app stretches out to fit the size of our tabs without pixelation-but that’s not really the definition of optimized is it? Finding real tablet apps is a chore! Since there is no dedicated section for tablets, like how the iPad does, it might deter potential Android tablet buyers. This is where Tablified.com comes in.

Tablified.com was designed to only show apps that truly have been optimized/designed for tablets. Everyday new apps are being added to the list. Each app is tested to make sure that really is a tablet SPECIFIC app…a “tablified app”. The site doesn’t waste your time by showing any other apps, just tablet ones. Once you find the app you want, simply click the Android Market logo and it will take you directly to the official market page.

So for those tablet owners out there who are sick of not being able to find apps for their Galaxy Tab, its definitely worth taking a look at. Over 100+ tablet apps already added and more coming each day. Let us know what you think in the comments below.

[Tablified]

Tuesday is the  day of The Galaxy Tab “Games of the Week”. Today’s list includes games recommended by our Facebook fans (Join us by “Like”-ing us on the sidebar of the website)! We welcome any other Games of the Week Suggestions on our forum!

1. Flight Control

An interesting game that is running great on Galaxy Tab is Flight Control. Aim of the game? You just need to land planes and avoid collisions in this addictive airline action.

Learning the controls is quite fast and the main objective is to guide the aircraft to their landing zone. You can do this by drawing with your fingers news routes in order to avoid collision. It becomes more challenging and exciting when more planes are on the screen so you will have to avoid collision and land them all safely. Sounds good isn’t it? The game offers multiple airfields, 10 aicrafts including jets, helicopters and stat-tracking.

Try it and enjoy. (Thanks Ricky @ FB)

[Show as slideshow]

2. Scooter Hero

Scooter Hero is another game which is quite fun on the tablet. It’s quite simple and a very addictive game which claims that it has more than 2.6 million players. You start as a guy on a scooter and you just need to jump from different platforms. Jump by tapping the screen; the longer you tap, the longer you will jump. Watch out and don’t fall!

The game offers features such as four game modes : “Super Medal”, “Gas Plant” , “Skill School”, “Quick Hurdle”, bonus while performing stunts and much more.

Enjoy.(Thanks Parag @ FB)

[Show as slideshow]

3. Haypi Kingdom

Haypi Kingdom is one of the best massively multiplayer online games (MMOG) for android. In this game, you are a general that tries to direct an ancient kingdom in a great strategic game. You will have to boost resource production, explore wild lands finding legendary treasures, upgrade your troops with advanced abilities and fight against enemies. Goal? Become the strongest kingdom in the ancient world.

A great part of this game is that you won’t play alone. .”In this massive multiplayer online game you will be able to interact with thousands of players from all over the world in a competition for fame, power, wealth and glory. What’s more, there are plenty of possibilities to interact with others – Not only offense and defense, but also trade, alliance, mail system, chat system, etc. Haypi Kingdom will be a rewarding pastime on your mobile devices.”

Excited? Give it a try! (Thanks PJ M @ FB)

[Show as slideshow]

We welcome any other Games of the Week Suggestions on our forum!

Hi Everyone. Starting from today, every day of the week until Friday, every week we are going to offer you interesting articles that we hope will help you discover more for your Galaxy Tab. Monday is the day when we are going to post “Galaxy Tab Apps of the Week” with three apps recommended by you. To suggest more apps to be included in future articles, please post them on our Galaxy Tab Forum Apps of the Week Thread.

1. PULSE

Pulse is an elegant news reading application which incorporates colorful story bars with content from your favorite sources. If you see an article that you like on a website that you follow and it’s added in the application, tap on it and you will experience a nice way of seeing news on your Galaxy Tab. You can also share the latest stories via Facebook, Twitter or email.

Pulse provides features such as :

• easy browsing and news reading
• personalize your news and organize them by selecting up to 60 news sources across five customizable pages(tabs), share
• like and browse content from Facebook, Youtube, Vimeo, Digg, Reddit and Hacker News
• pre- loads news while you are online so that you can read them when you don’t have internet connection
• import your news via RSS feeds from Google Reader and you can refresh the news manually if you don’t want to wait for the application to do it for you.

Pulse has been featured in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Fortune, BusinessWeek, Techcrunch and more. A new way of reading news on you Galaxy Tab!

[Show as slideshow]

2. Vignette

One of the best camera replacement for your Galaxy Tab is Vignette. It transforms your tab into a camera device that can shoot professional-like pictures with amazing capabilities. It comes with the following filters and effects built in :

• Normal – generic film effect
• Vignette – focus attention at the center of the frame
• Porta – Smooth skin tones for flattering portraits
• Velvia – vivid colors for nature photography
• Ilford – Classic black and white
• Plus more like… Toy camera, Vintage, Colour Highlight, Tinted monochrome, Lens effects, Cinematic and even customize filters by combining them
• More more more…

You also get many frame effects like Polaroid photo borders, panoramic, rounded edges and more. It also offers Geotag to pictures by saving your location in the photos’ metadata, import and apply Vignette effects and up 10 digital zoom (at this zoom your pictures won’t look that great).

[Show as slideshow]

Waze is a community GPS navigation that uses real-time road reports from the other participants in traffic and nearby drivers in order to save you time and improve your daily driving. One of the most interesting parts of this app, aside of the free navigation feature, is the social aspect: drivers work together in order to share reports that are happening on the road at any given moment.

You can customize Waze as you like, using it as a navigation app while you drive and passively contributing to traffic road keeping the map 100% live but you can also get more involved by reporting road accidents, police traps and any other things that might come up on your way.

You can also get socially involved with localized driving groups, Foursquare, Twitter and Facebook implementations. And keep this in mind: this is user-generated app so if more people use it, more data is present on the map, better it gets and more fun it’s involved. There are already 3 million drivers out there so what are you waiting for? Join this app and its driving community.

These are the apps for our first category. To suggest more apps to be included in future articles, please post them on our Galaxy Tab Forum Apps of the Week Thread. Share and enjoy!

Exciting news for original Galaxy Tab owners :  Samsung started to roll out Android 2.3.3 update (Gingerbread) for the Samsung Galaxy Tab!

Reported first at Androidiani and confirmed by users from XDA-Dev, users of the Samsung Galaxy Tab from Italy can update their Galaxy Tab over KIES to Android 2.3.3.

An insider from SamFirmware also confirmed this,  stating that the tab is now getting updates to Android 2.3.3 and the rom should be online later today or tomorrow.

Here are more details :

The firmware version of KIES is : P1000XXJPZ.
This rom is running Android 2.3.3

Firmware Version: 2.3.3
Versione banda base : P1000XXJPZ Base-band version: P1000XXJPZ
Versione Kernel : 2.6.35.7 – se-infra@SEP-52 #2
Kernel Version: 2.6.35.7 – if infra-SEP-52 @ # 2
Numero build : GINGERBREAD.XXJQ1
Build Number: GINGERBREAD.XXJQ1

Hopefully this is not a joke and all the tabs will get updated to Android 2.3.3 (Gingerbread).  Stay tuned for more details.

UPDATE 1 : The firmware is already out and ready to download. Visit our Galaxy Tab Forum for more information.

UPDATE 2 :  VIDEO [How-To] Flash Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread on Samsung Galaxy Tab – For more details, instructions etc, visit our Galaxy Tab Forum . Enjoy

Via : Androidiani , XDA-Dev , Samfirmware

A new interesting feature for wireless TV streaming will land soon on Samsung’s Galaxy Tabs.

Previously announced at IFA 2011, users of the Samsung D7000 or D8000 HDTV’s will be able to stream wirelessly programs to all Galaxy Tabs. The software to receive the signal will come pre-loaded on Galaxy Tab 8.9 and Galaxy Tab 10.1 while users of the original Galaxy Tab will be able to download the app within a month from Samsung App Store.

So how does it work? The HDTVs will be able to stream channels by transcoding the signal and sending it to the Galaxy Tab wirelessly. The app is basically a remote control software with lots of interesting features where users will be able to watch TV from their devices through the “watch TV option”. It will also allow those interested to use the slate by watching a different program from the one showing on TV. By using this feature you will notice a bit of lag and this is because it takes time for the TV to transcode the live stream and send it to the Galaxy Tab.

The app will also be available on Android smartphones and will come pre-loaded on Galaxy Tab 8.9 and Galaxy Tab 10.1, while those who have a Galaxy Tab 7-inch will be able to download the app from the AppStore.

Watch the video attached and let us know what you think!

Via : AndroidCommunity

But the way I think of it, developers can not deny the existence of Galaxy Tab owners, we are large in numbers! That means there must be applications that are designed for tablets and yet, be compatible with our ancient software, Android 2.2. So without further adu, I present to you, Project AppTab.

Every week or so, depending on content availability, I will be doing reviews specifically on tablet-optimized apps. So join me as we embark on his adventure together; let the reviewing begin!

Apps Reviewed:

1) Unofficial BBC News

With all the recent catostrophes occurring around the world, the BBC news team does a great job of keeping me updated. The app is very simple; article snippets appear the left side of the tablet and tapping on it opens the full story on the right. Flash media such as videos and audio recordings are supported an play directly in the app. As I mentioned, the app is simple so don’t expect too much. The only feature missing that I believe should be included is the ability to share a story on twitter or whatever application you want. Hopefully we will see this and additional features added in the near future.

2) GoAruna

The perfect way to explain this app is by asking the question, what would happen if a ES File Explorer & Dropbox decided to have a baby? GoAruna would be the result! GoAruna gives us the best of both worlds. Its a very intuitive file manager with a twist. GoAruna provides you with 2 GB of free online storage and it allows you to upload files from your SD card to the GoAruna servers. Once uploaded, you can send links to your friends so they can download the file and you can access them anywhere using the GoAruna website. One cavet, you need to be online to use the app, period! Even with that little inconvenience, its definitely worth the grab and with the price of FREE, who could resist?

3) Twidroyd

Twidroyd is a twitter application with some pseudo-tablet-like features. The two paneled UI makes it more aesthetically pleasing and actually more efficient Twitter app. Unfortunately with the panels not being re-sizable it just makes makes the experience feel cramped. Nevertheless, for those itching for a tablet-like experience for Twitter, this is as close as it gets.

4) Dual Window Web Browser

Catchy name huh? Joking aside, DWWB (ya that’s right, I acronymed it!) is my favorite application this week. It fulfills my dream of being able to view two websites simultaneously! You can have your email opened on the left side of the screen and be reading an article written by yours truly on the right. Keep in mind that this beta so please do your best to report bugs and issues to the developer rather than leave them a 1-start and a bad review. Even with its current stature, this app is nothing more than just pure, “Winning!”-Charlie Sheen

Video Review:

Alright so I highlighted a few apps here but I go in depth with each on I my very long video. Yes its long, but informative! Check it out after the break:

Well that’s about it for the first official, AppTab Review. I want TheGalaxyTab (TGT) community to be as much a part of this as possible. So if you have suggestions or if you have an app that you think is worth reviewing then don’t hesitate to email me at ayman@thegalaxytab.com. If you are a developer and would like us to review your app, please contact us as well. Help us, help you! Till next time folks, keep tabbing!

PSA- If you would like to donate to the Japan relief, I have included links to a couple good places to donate. We are in no way affiliated, we are only doing our parts as human beings to help our friends. Our thoughts go out to them.

MeryCorp

Red Cross

-TheGalaxyTab Team

Image Source

One of the main reasons I decided to abandon my Nexus One and get the Samsung Galaxy Tab was because it offered a 1.3 MP front facing camera so I could video chat. So you can imagine my dismay when I found out that there were no apps that played nice with the Tab; they either didn’t use the front facing camera or just completely sucked. Well, it has been a few months since I got the Tab and as expected, some apps have emerged and I’m here to outline a couple of them. There are apps out there such as Tango, Fring & the official T-Mobile Video Chatting app (powered by Qik) that work well with the Tab but they only offer Android-Android video calling which was pointless for me. I know it may be shocking, but not everyone owns an Android phone (let alone one that has a front facing camera)! I was more interested in calling between a Mac/PC & the Tab. Here are my results:

Results:

If you didn’t have time to watch the entire video, here’s the gist of it. OoVoo offers a great video chatting experience but unfortunately the image captured from the Tab always appears on its side. This makes it difficult for the person on the other side to get a clear look at your mug and they basically have to tilt their head sideways for them to view you properly. This could cause for some neck pains after prolonged use! But hey, if they don’t care then I don’t either! And if that wasn’t bad enough, the person on the desktop/laptop needs to be using a Windows machine. Ya, I know. Bummer!

Lastly we have ClearSea. This app is the only one that works “perfectly”. It uses the front facing camera properly and it displays the images correctly. Of course, there’s always a catch. ClearSea is only a 10 day trial and requesting a demo account every time may seems cumbersome but its a great alternative. One thing to mention is that the desktop client software is compatible on Mac & PC wish is a pure win!

In the end, I still use Oovoo because when I’m not on my Tab (which is rare) and am using my computer, I like to use the video calling software they provide; it feels more polished. I got an email from oovoo today regarding this issue so lets hope we get a patch out there quick!

Apps mentioned but didn’t bother showing in the video (They don’t use the front facing camera):
-Video Chat
-ReelPortal
-Yahoo Messenger
-Fring
-SipDroid
-Radar

LogMeIn revealed a new version of their remote access app, LogMeIn Ignition, which is optimised for Android tablets such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab.

The new app ca be purchased and downloaded from the Android Market or from the Verizon V Cast app store and a single instance of the app can be used on any supported Android device. Among the capabilities the new app brings we can notice Wake-On-Lan, remote sound, multi-monitor and much more. LogMeIn Ignition will let the users to access and control remotely PCs and Macs directly from the Tab, “providing easy access to files, data and applications, from virtually anywhere with an Internet connection.”

“The growing popularity of tablets has introduced new demand for utilizing the capabilities of a user’s PC or Mac, while also benefiting from the mobility and flexibility benefits derived from tablets. LogMeIn Ignition for Android offers a best of both worlds approach, blending mobility with performance,” said Andrew Burton, LogMeIn’s vice president, Access & Management. “Our goal is simple: Give our users the freedom to access their entire digital world from virtually anywhere.”

The latest LogMeIn Ignition for Android update includes:

• Tablet Support
• Wake-on-LAN – Wake up sleeping computers to maintain productivity while reducing power consumption
• Remote sound – Listen to remote PCs running LogMeIn Pro2
• Multi-monitor switching – Switch between multiple monitors using a three-finger swipe

LogMeIn Ignition costs $29.99,  can be purchased from the Android Market and the above update is free for those who already own the app.

Source : LogMeIn

Samsung announced a few days ago several partnerships that will allow content from Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Hulu and Adobe to run on Galaxy Tab and Samsung internet-connected devices.

“Together, TWC and Samsung will give our customers all the channels they enjoy now as well as full navigation experience on Samsung smart TVs, without need for set-top box, and we’ll do it this year,” said TWC chief Glenn Britt.

Comcast and Time Warner Cable revealed that their content will come on the Samsung Galaxy Tab and Samsung Smart TVs by the end of this year (including live TV) ;  Hulu reported that Hulu plus subscription will be available soon on android phones and Adobe announced that Flash will be supported by Samsung’s Smart TVs.

Galaxy Tab will be capable of acting as a remote for TWC and Comcast subscribers in order to search TV content, change channels, program the DVR and also watch live TV directly on the tablet!

“We have the technology framework in place to deliver new features to Comcast customers faster than ever, including on connected TVs, tablets and multiple devices, which is core to our strategy and a key facet of the future of television,” said Comcast CEO Brian Roberts.

Hulu CEO, Jason Kilar, also announced that Hulu Plus will be available on android phones and tablets such as Samsung Galaxy Tab. Hulu revealed on their blog that an Android 2.2 app will be available in a few months.

“We’ll announce further details as soon as we have an official launch date and complete list of Hulu Plus-enabled Android phones,” Hulu said.

Source : TVcableuntagled , Comcast Via PCMag

Google has just released a video in which Android 3.0 Honeycomb is presented. There have been rumors that this Android version will be designed for tablets and now we have the confirmation : “Built Entirely for Tablet”.

The video presents some of the features that Android 3.0 will bring on tablets this year such as browsing (which looks almost the same like Android 2.2), Gmail app plus a very nice and interesting UI that you will love it.

This video has been uploaded on Youtube and made private but Engadget managed to grab it before! Are we going to see this OS on Galaxy Tab and Galaxy Tab 2? I  hope so! Enjoy.

Via Engadget

SMEStorage announced through a press released that their SMEStorage Multi Cloud File Manager Android Application, which allows users to work and use over 15 storage clouds and sync to phones, has received a new update to version 1.6 and now supports Samsung Galaxy Tab and other Android tablets.

The SMEStorage Android Application allows those who are registered users, depending on their account type, to use advanced file sharing, file syncing and to “manage several file clouds in one virtual view”.

Clouds supported include Amazon S3, RackSpace Cloud Files, Google Storage and Google Docs, Microsoft SkyDrive, Microsoft Live Mesh, MobileMe, GMail/Email clouds, plus WebDav file server and many other clouds.

Other updates to this version include :

• In-app registration
• Added support for large file downloads
• Enhanced sync and added support for background sync on login
• Added a simplified view option
• Changed folder navigation to make it easier for those without trackpads or thumbwheels (now double click supported)
• Adds support for DropBox and Google Storage Clouds
• Updated Notes to support categories

CEO Ian Osborne stated, “Android is a key part of our overall mobile strategy, both for our individual professional, and business customers. We are delighted to have updated the Android application and look forward to offering even further levels of sophistication in future.”

For more information, visit SMEStorage Android web-page.

Via : PR , SMEStorage

Popsci.com announced on Tuesday that they released a special edition of the Popular Science+ Top Tech 2010 magazine on the Samsung Galaxy Tab.

In order to format the magazin for a 7-inch display, Popsci had to “make the pages simpler and more hierarchical, as you have less room for multiple elements interacting in the same visible space”. In this way, they “can keep a beautiful, immersive presentation that doesn’t make the screen feel crowded.”

The orientation is locked to the horizontal, giving the articles and images more space while creating an interactive experience. The wide-screen will also facilitate viewing HD videos in the magazine, unleashing a new feeling that  is unique to Mag+.

Excited? Enjoy!

Source : PopSci

Google has finally released Google Maps 5.0 for Android and is available on the market (for some users). The new version of Google Maps includes :

• 3D Map Support – uses vectors which will allow you to see and manipulate maps in 3D. Two finger drag down/up to tilt; twist to rotate on supported devices.
• Use compass mode to rotate the map to where you’re facing. Center the map with My Location then tap again.
• Improved map caching and offline Navigation rerouting if you lose your connection.
• Note: Some require Android 2.0+

Some users are not able to update to the latest version yet, so here is a tutorial which shows you how to install Google Maps 5.0 on Samsung Galaxy Tab.

1) Download the APK file to your Android Phone

Click here to download

2) When it’s finished, click open the file or use a file manager (ex :  Astro, ES File Explorer, etc) and access download folder. The folder is situated on the root of your SD card.

3) Find the file named com.google.android.apps.maps-2.apk and click on it. If you are using Astro, click “open app manager”. If a pop-up question appears, click “Package Installer”.

4) Let the app install and after you are done! Click done and launch up the app and you will be able to access the new Google Maps 5.0

ClockworkMod Recovery for T-Mobile US Galaxy Tab version is now available! If you have a Galaxy Tab from T-Mobile only, you will be able to flash custom Roms, create backups and restore them. More Galaxy Tab versions will be supported soon. It’s important to note that the current version is in Beta at the moment.

The recovery is packaged as an update.zip that you run from a modified STOCK recovery. The update.zip unpacks Clockwork Recovery onto the ramdisk and restarts recovery. When you reboot, it reverts back to the original stock recovery. So, you will need to keep the recovery on the root of your SD card as an update.zip, and apply the zip every time you want to start Clockwork. However, ROM Manager handles this all pretty seamlessly for you.

Bellow we have a video which shows the ClockworkMod Recovery working on the T-Mobile Galaxy Tab :

For more details, follow Koush’s tutorial from XDA Dev or visit our forum, TheGalaxyTabForum.com .

Source : XDA Dev | Via : AndroidLife

The current version of Android (2.2 Froyo) that is running on Samsung Galaxy Tab is not fully optimised for tablets as Google stated a few weeks ago so we eagerly waited for the next version of the android os to appear on the market and here it is: Android 2.3 Gingerbread. Even though is the next Android OS, I don’t think that it deserves the title of “Android OS version for tablets” just yet. We also know that the Google team is working hard on the Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) which will be truly designed for tablets such as Galaxy Tab but we will have to wait quite a while…

Now that we all know that Google has officially announced Gingerbread, let’s take a look on what will Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) bring new to Samsung Galaxy Tab:

Extra Large Screen Support

According to an updated documentation for Supporting Multiple Screens, Android 2.3 will offer support for larger and bigger screens up to 10″.

Devices with extra large screens are tablet-sized or larger, so you should pay close attention to how usable your application is on such screens. You might want to design new layouts specifically for extra large screens, to address usability aspects such as the location and size of buttons in your UI. To test your application on an extra large screen, create an AVD targeted to Android 2.3 with a high resolution, such as 1280 x 800, and the default density of 160dpi. This AVD will use any resources you’ve provided with the xlarge resouce qualifier.

The supported resolutions have not been revealed but is likely that 1280×800 and 1024×600 will benefit from this new update. Now we can say that this Android version is more “tablet ready” and thanks to the close partnership between Google and Samsung, this will make the Galaxy Tab the first tablet to support Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

UI Improvement

Google didn’t redesign the whole UI but they have made a few changes and refinements for simplicity and speed giving the whole thing a cleaner look. Black is the new Gingerbread color and delivers a nice feel and contrast to the notification bar, menus and settings making it easier to control the features of the tablet.

New Keyboard

The new Keyboard that it’s delivered by Gingerbread has been redesigned and optimised for faster text input and editing. The keys have been reshaped and repositioned, making them easier to see and press, and the dictionary suggestion has been improved being displayed in a larger and more vivid style. The capability of correcting entered words from suggestions found in the dictionary has been added and the user can choose from the options displayed by the device and save the selection. Also a new multitouch key-chording is present which allows the user to quickly enter symbols by pressing Shift+<letter> and ?123+<symbol>, without having to manually switch between modes.

One touch word selection and copy/paste has also been introduced where the user can quickly select a word by press-hold and after adjust the selection as needed by dragging the bounding arrows to new positions.

Better Power Management & Apps Control

Android 2.3 will help managing better the applications that are CPU consuming or those which stay awake for too long in the background. This can be accomplished by closing them if appropriate in order to deliver better performance and maximum battery life. The user will also be able to monitor better the power consuming components and running apps, with information regarding the usage and the power consumed by each component and application.

A shortcut to Manage Application will appear in Options Menu in the Home Screen and Launcher in order to make it easier for the user to check and manage application activity.

Internet Calling

A new interesting feature supported by the stock OS will be Internet Calling! Users who have SIP accounts will be able to make voice calls over the internet by adding an internet calling number (a SIP address) to any Contact and call using Quick Contact or Dialer. Is important to note the fact that support for platform’s SIP and internet calling features on devices is determined by manufactures & carriers so hopefully we will get “all inclusive” on Samsung Galaxy Tab.

Camera

One more important point for those interested in using multiple cameras on the device, the new Android OS will support access to multiple cameras, including a front-facing camera, if available! That’s good news if you had problems accessing one or both cameras on your device.

So these are the main attraction points of the upcoming Android 2.3 Gingerbread. As we announced a few days ago, this version of Android will arrive on Samsung Galaxy Tab sometime in Q1 of 2011. In fact, we expect it to be available on Galaxy Tab even sooner thanks to developers who will try to port it as soon as the official roms/firmwares are out.

Excited?

UPDATE : The firmware is already out and ready to download, being released in Italy a few days ago. Visit our Galaxy Tab Forum for more information and for a video tutorial on how to add it on your tabs. Enjoy.

Most of us have been expecting a major UI overhaul in Android 2.3 aka Gingerbread. Unfortunately I was disappointed to find out that the overall UI of Android didn’t change much but rather “enhanced”. Well luckily one thing pertaining to Android did in fact get an overhaul, the Android MarketPlace. Thanks to the guys over at XDA, they managed to get the updated MarketPlace app and boy is it sexy! It looks great on the Galaxy Tab. Here’s how to get it!

1) Download the APK file to your Android Phone

Click here to download

2) After it’s done, either click to open the file or use your favorite file manager (ES File Explorer, astro, etc) and go to your download folder. This should be at the root of your SD card.

3) Find the file named com.android.vending_2.2.6.apk and click on it. If your using Astro, click “open app manager”. If your asked, what should you open the file with, make sure you click on “Package Installer”.

4) Let the app install. After that you are done! Click done and launch up the app and you will presented with the Gingerbread edition of the Android MarketPlace.

5) If for some reason you want to remove the new version just go to your homescreen>menu button>settings>Applications>Manage Applications>Running Apps> Find the market App and click on it>select uninstall.

Note: this will only remove the update and not the entire market.

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I am a tech centric student. I look for ways use technology to make my life easier especially when it comes to school. So I will highlight an app, not necessarily designed specifically for the tab, that has helped me become a textbook reading, PDF organizing machine!

Organizing & Reading PDFs: ezPDF Reader

Believe it or not, finding a great PDF reader is extremely difficult. It took me months to find one that does exactly what I want it to do. Because I am able to find most of my textbooks in PDF format and have to read a lot of chemistry journals it was important to find a great PDF reader. I will try to include alternative apps that Ive tried because, if your anything like me, you like to see what else is out there (and what didn’t work for me).

Alternative I’ve Tried:
Adobe Acrobat Reader
ThinkFree
Documents to go
Repligo Reader

Some of these apps offered great features seperately but there wasnt one that had everything I need.

Pros:
-Great user interface. It almost feels like it was designed with the tab in mind.
-Folder organization
-True multitasking. If you leave the app and come back you will be right where you left off. Surprisingly many other readers didn’t do this.
-Bookmarks
-Automatically scans SD for PDFs
-Beautiful animation when you switch pages (feels like like your flipping through a real book!…kinda)
-Text reflow
-Outline/Table of Content option
-Free PDF conversion software for both Macs PCs.
-Its only .99 cents!

Cons:
-No batch selection of files from the “Recent” tab nor the “All PDF” tab. I have to long press each file one by one to put them into the “My Document” THEN I can select multiple files to move into a specific folder. Very unintuitive.
-Main menu doesn’t rotate. Would be nice to be able to use the whole app in landscape mode.

So as you can see, there are a couple cons to this app but the pros definitely outweighs them. This a great app to keep all your PDFs organized. This will compliments the “one hand reading” capabilities of our Galaxy Tabs. Its hard to find good rock solid apps for under a buck so make sure you go pick this one up! Hey I rhymed!

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