Even though Samsung has their Galaxy Note devices that include a tablet with a 10.1″ screen, it seems they don’t want to let their Galaxy Tab line die quite yet. SamMobile has information from their sources that says the next iteration of the Galaxy Tab is coming in the near future and that Samsung will be utilizing AMOLED displays in 7 and 10″ inch devices.

Samsung already makes the Nexus 10 tablet with one of the best displays in the market at the moment, but it looks like they don’t want to stop there. They have reportedly received lots of positive feedback on their AMOLED displays and want to work that into a larger tablet size, which up until this point has been hard to do. The rumor states that we would end up seeing this new high resolution tablet unveiled at IFA this year alongside the Galaxy Note 3.

Via: SamMobile

Samsung Reportedly Planning on Large AMOLED Screen for Their Next Galaxy Tab is a post from: Droid Life

Ever since the original Kindle Fire was released last year there has been some controversy about whether or not to consider Amazon’s tablets to be Android tablets. While Amazon has always admitted that the products run a forked version of Android and Android apps, the Android community was quick to distance themselves from the product despite its record sales. While Amazon likes to talk about Fire apps and doesn’t talk about the version of Android running underneath the Fire interface in any of their official documentation, I believe the Kindle Fire should be considered an Android tablet.

The first reason the Kindle Fires should be considered Android tablets is that they run Android. This may seem a bit obvious, but hear me out. Many Android enthusiasts want to discount the Fire because the interface it runs is so wildly different than stock Android. Since the interface on HTC, Samsung, LG, Motorola, and Sony products are also very different from stock Android, should we not consider them Android? Did anyone ever accuse the Nook of not being an Android tablet? Yes, the Fires run a forked version of Android, but it is still Android.

The second reason that the Kindle Fires should be considered Android tablets is that they run Android apps. While the Kindle Fire lacks access to the Play Store, every Fire that has been released has been rooted and therefore able to install the Play Store. Even if a Fire isn’t rooted, every app that is available in Amazon’s Appstore is an Android app.

The argument might be made that Linux can run Windows applications with Wine, but no one would call Linux Windows. While that is true, no one would say that the applications that come preloaded with Ubuntu, a more popular Linux distribution, are Windows applications. Perhaps most importantly, applications designed for Linux don’t run on Windows machines without a virtual machine to run Linux on top of Windows. Applications that run on the Kindle Fire will run on other Android tablets and vice versa. The Linux/Windows comparison is clever, but ultimately inaccurate.

The third, and certainly most meta reason, to consider the Kindle Fires to be Android tablets is that Amazon is to date the most successful Android tablet manufacturer. As of the time of this writing Google has not released sales or activation numbers for the Nexus 7. While I hope it has out-performed the Fires, at this point the only numbers we have are that the Fire has 22% of the tablet market. That is a huge chunk of the market when you remember that Apple has 68%. About 1 out of every 5 tablet owners have a Kindle Fire based on the latest numbers we have. As difficult as it may be to admit, the Kindle Fire did what no other Android tablet maker was able to do: gain significant market share in the market.

I think a lot of Android enthusiasts’ antagonism towards the Kindle Fire stems from two issues: Amazon has changed the way that Android looks and works on the Fire, and Amazon was successful. It didn’t bother anyone to call the Nook Color and Nook Tablet Android tablets because they came before Honeycomb was released (and shortly after the original Galaxy Tab was released). When Amazon was successful with a forked version of Android while other tablets like the Xoom and Galaxy Tab failed in the market, I think many Android enthusiasts turned against Amazon. We know how powerful and useful Android is, but the only products that have been successful in the market have been Amazon’s forked version. That is not the Android we want to see succeed, so we want to discount the Fire.

I really want Google to succeed in the tablet space, but I have to admit that Amazon got there first. Hopefully Google has been able to play catch up with the Nexus 7 and will be able to compete with the Fire HDs, iPad, and Surface with the rumored Nexus 10. Even though I want Google to do better than Amazon, however, I have to admit that Amazon beat Google to the punch and was successful in the market with an Android tablet before anyone else. We may not like what Amazon is doing with Android, but that doesn’t mean the Fires aren’t Android tablets.

Three Reasons Why the Kindle Fires Should Be Considered Android Tablets [Opinion] is a post from: Droid Life

The second version of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 may have launched with Ice Cream Sandwich, but many owners of the original are still wondering where their update is. If the rumors are right, Samsung will be sending out updates to most of their old line of tablets starting next month. That includes the:

• Galaxy Tab 10.1 WIFI/ 3G
• Galaxy Tab 8.9 WIFI/ 3G
• Galaxy Tab 7.7 WIFI/ 3G
• Galaxy Tab Plus 7.0 WIFI/ 3G

The original Samsung Galaxy Tab seems to be a bit too aged to get the bump to ICS, but it’s good to see that Samsung is committed to all these other devices. Other than all the upgrades the ICS brings, the update is said to improve battery life and overall speed of the tablet. There are no dates set in stone yet, but it sounds like it will be sooner rather than later.

Via: SamMobile

Samsung Upgrading the Whole Galaxy Tab Line to Android 4.0 Next Month? is a post from: Droid Life

If you have been searching the internet for that perfect deal, then look no further. The folks over at Best Buy are selling a refurbished Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 bundle, complete with keyboard dock, case, headset, and more for only $300. The 8.9 Tab is perfect for people who enjoy simplistic portability and don’t need a whole 10.1″ device for their mobile gaming and business. It’s not a bad deal, so definitely consider it if a tablet was in your purchasing future.

Buy

Cheers Bryan!

Best Buy Offering Refurbished Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 Bundle for $300 is a post from: Droid Life

You can imagine that there were some unhappy people after hearing that Samsung was planning to leave out the original Galaxy S and Galaxy Tab lines from its Ice Cream Sandwich update plans. Apparently there were enough that Sammie is now revisiting the idea to see if they can somehow make it happen. This is good news for the millions of folks that bought Galaxy S phones across the globe, but we’ll have to recommend that you not hold your breath, hold on for dear life, or cross any appendages as it could be a while. With TouchWiz reportedly the blame for the initial “No,” and also knowing that Gingerbread took almost a full year to rollout, it could be a while.

Via:  The Verge

Samsung Revisiting Idea of Ice Cream Sandwich for the Galaxy S and Galaxy Tab is a post from: Droid Life

Come on folks, you didn’t actually believe the original Galaxy S series would see Ice Cream Sandwich, did you? Whenever you put “update” and “Samsung” in the same sentence, you should know how that situation is about to go down. While I’m a huge fan of the Galaxy Nexus and the newest versions of the Galaxy Tab series, the original Galaxy S line of phones took how long to see Gingerbread? The Fascinate just received Android 2.3 on December 1…as in 3 weeks ago. The original Galaxy Tab was about a month sooner than that, but with single-core processors, TouchWiz, and a focus on the future from Sammie, you should have expected this news. Not that that makes it good or “OK” news, but just that the world’s jaw would have dropped if they had announced that they would receive ICS.

Don’t worry though, if the original DROID can see an Android 4.0 port, I’m sure these phones and tablets will as well. Go developers, go!

Via:  SammyHub, Samsung Tomorrow

Samsung: Galaxy S Series and Original Galaxy Tab Will Not Receive Ice Cream Sandwich is a post from: Droid Life

The dinosaur lives! If you own the original Samsung Galaxy Tab 7″ with a Verizon 3G radio tucked deep inside, you will want to start hammering your system updates button over the next few days to check for a Gingerbread (Android 2.3.5) update that should be on the way. It’s roughly 68MB and will make your device feel like new again. There is just something extraordinarily stable about Android 2.3 that can take a device from the grave to at least the walking dead.

In the update, you will find the new GB download manager, better front facing camera support, security patches, and more power management options. No telling yet if the UI will change much or if it will keep that semi-stock launcher look. And not that I love TouchWiz, but it would add to the feature set of this long lost tablet.

More info.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 7″ on Verizon to Receive Gingerbread Update is a post from: Droid Life

A mysterious Samsung device made its way into Bluetooth SIG on Monday with a model number of SCH-I815 that looks straight out of Verizon’s naming scheme.  Whenever we see “SCH-” in a Sammie device, we almost always assume that it’s coming to Big Red (which it usually does).  US Cellular sees an SCH device from time to time, but with this being new, we wouldn’t expect them to see it first over the nation’s biggest carrier.

So what could it be?  Well, we are thinking tablet.  The original Galaxy Tab 7 was SCH-I800 which could mean this is a follow-up to it.  Within the last couple of months, Samsung unveiled both 8.9″ and 7.7″ Tabs without carrier-specific plans, so this could easily be one of those.

My question is, do we really need another carrier-branded tablet?  Have any of them succeeded thus far?

Via:  Bluetooth SIG, Ameblo

Samsung SCH-I815 Passes Through Bluetooth SIG, New 7″ Verizon Tablet? is a post from: Droid Life

What happens when you drop a Samsung Galaxy Tab, an iPad2, and a Moto XOOM? Some people would cringe, some would laugh, some would even cry. Well the lovely people over at ElectronicsBreak decided to see what would happen when you drop these tablets waist high onto a marble looking sidewalk. Unfortunately, there are no winners in this match up. Let’s just say I won’t be walking around with my XOOM in hand downtown anytime soon after watching this. Who would have known this would be a great way to sell warranties for your tech. Great video after the “break”! (See what we did there, again?)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Cheers Jeph!

Drop Test Of The Galaxy Tab, iPad2, And Motorola Xoom – Prepare To Cringe is a post from: Droid Life

Admit it Galaxy Tab owners, that picture above is quite beautiful.  Honeycomb, booted up and looking as pretty as you would have expected?  Now, if only it was available to everyone, we’d be having one hell of a Friday.  We’re getting close though, according to XDA member spacemoose1 who is leading the charge to get Android 3.0 on a device that may not see it otherwise.  Sure, Samsung claimed back in 2010 that it would be updated to something at some point, but I’m willing to bet Fascinate owners have an opinion on that.

We’re definitely getting close, although there are still some things to be worked out on this attempt including wi-fi.  So don’t expect to have it up and running on your device today, but instead applaud a great step towards HC goodness.  

Follow this XDA thread to find out the latest on HC for the GTab.

Cheers Tom!

Honeycomb Quickly Becoming an Unofficial Reality on the Samsung Galaxy Tab is a post from: Droid Life