Kobo’s Vox eReader Gets Full Access To Google Play

TechCrunch reports that Kobo's Vox eReader has gotten full access to Google Play, which makes all 500,000 Android Marketplace apps available to the Vox. Google had previously only given access to its Marketplace to one Android 2.X tablet, the original Samsung Galaxy Tab. It appears (although the article doesn't say) that Kobo has received Android certification for the Vox from Google. Google may have loosened its requirements for Kobo in response to the success of the Kindle Fire, which has helped to create a viable competitive Android app marketplace, and Barnes & Noble's deal with Microsoft, which will almost certainly lead to a Windows RT-based Nook tablet.

Samsung gets it right--announces prices and release dates for new Galaxy Tabs

Regular readers of this blog (both of you) know that I've given Samsung (and Motorola, RIM, HP, etc.) a hard time for announcing tablets without announcing firm prices or release dates. I can understand the problem when mobile operators are involved, because they control their own pricing and release schedules. However, for Wi-Fi-only products, that shouldn't be an issue.

Yesterday, Samsung announced firm prices and release dates at the CTIA conference for its new Galaxy Tab 10.1 Android tablet, and firm prices for its Galaxy Tab 8.9 Android tablet, with a release date in "early summer". The Wi-Fi-only version of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 will go on sale on June 8th in the U.S., priced at $499 for the 16GB model and $599 for the 32GB model. The Wi-Fi Galaxy Tab 8.9 will go on sale in early summer, priced at $469 for the 16GB model and $569 for 34GB. Samsung redesigned the Galaxy Tab 10.1 since it was last shown at the Mobile World Congress; both it and the Galaxy Tab 8.9 are now slightly slimmer than the iPad 2.

Samsung deserves a lot of credit for announcing firm prices and availability dates, as well as for redesigning the Galaxy Tab 10.1 "on the fly" to better compete with the iPad 2. I hope that announcing prices and ship dates when new products are introduced becomes common, not only for Samsung but for its competitors as well.

Verizon to ship Samsung's Galaxy Tab Nov. 11th

According to Computerworld, Verizon will ship the Samsung Galaxy Tab starting on November 11th for $599.99. The Galaxy Tab is a 7" tablet that runs Android 2.2, and it includes both WiFi and 3G CDMA wireless interfaces. Verizon will sell the Galaxy Tab without a contract, with month-to-month data service starting at $20 for 1GB.

I can understand why Verizon is following the same unsubsidized model as Apple uses for the iPad, but the Galaxy Tab is a poor value at $600. Consider that the 16 GB 3G iPad is only $30 more--$629--and it has a bigger screen and access to a much bigger catalog of apps. Also, Google itself says that Android 2.2 isn't designed for tablets, and only gave Samsung access to the Google apps and Android Market through a "special dispensation". The Galaxy Tab will be able to be upgraded to Gingerbread, Android 3.0, which will support tablets, but not until next year.

Verizon would sell a lot more Galaxy Tabs if it offered the same model for $399.99 on a 2-year data-only contract as well as $599.99 unsubsidized.

Piecing the Android tablet story together

I'm trying to clarify a few things about Google's plans for Android and what they mean for future devices. I've written a couple of entries about Samsung's Galaxy Tab, a 7" Android tablet that runs Android 2.2, also called Froyo. At IFA, Samsung demonstrated access to the Android Market using the Galaxy Tab. However, TechRadar.com reported the following quote:

"Android is an open platform. We saw at IFA 2010 all sorts of devices running Android, so it already running on tablets," said Hugo Barra, director of products for mobile at Google. "But the way Android Market works is it's not going to be available on devices that don't allow applications to run correctly. Which devices do, and which don't will be unit specific, but Froyo is not optimised for use on tablets. If you want Android market on that platform, the apps just wouldn't run, [Froyo] is just not designed for that form factor. We want to make sure that we're going to create a application distribution mechanism for the Android market, to ensure our users have right experience."

The Galaxy Tab runs Froyo, yet it had access to the Android Market at IFA. Other vendors have claimed that their tablets have access to the Market, only to back away from the claim once they start delivering products to reviewers and customers. I find it difficult to believe that Samsung would announce something as important as support for Android Market without confirming it with Google.

The key seems to be that the Galaxy Tab can work as a conventional, albeit huge, smartphone. That's how Samsung can make the Android Market available to Galaxy Tab users. However, if you take Mr. Barra's comments at face value, Froyo isn't optimized for tablets. At IFA, Samsung said that the Galaxy Tab will be updated with Gingerbread, the next major version of Android, when it's available. However, previous experience shows that it can take a good deal of time for manufacturers to update products with the latest version of Android.

The Galaxy Tab might be a safe purchase, but for risk-adverse consumers, the best course of action might be to wait until vendors are shipping tablets with Gingerbread already installed.