BendDesk: This could be your future workspace

Do all touchscreen table tops have to be flat like the Microsoft Surface? This is what the folks at Media Computing Group have recently re-defined with their latest technology BendDesk. This is truly cutting-edge stuff. BendDesk is a multi-touch desk environment that seamlessly combines a vertical and a horizontal touch surface with a curve into one large interactive workspace. Before you start wondering whether this is just another never-to-see-day-of-light concept, we can tell you its not only just an idea anymore.

As you will see in the video below, the BendDesk workspace can be used to display any digital content like documents, photos, videos or even play games. The multitouch technology in the BendDesk allows users to interact with the entire surface of the desk using direct physical manipulation as it follows and recognises your multi-touch gestures. Check out the video demo below, might you picture yourself in something like this in the next ten years or so?

iPad vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab

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AppleApple iPad

So
when I was recently given the chance to not only check out an Apple
iPad, but also the new Samsung Galaxy Tab, I was in gadget heaven.

Unless
you’ve been living under a rock , you’ve heard of the iPad thanks to
the mighty juggernaut that is Apple’s public relations department. The
Galaxy? What’s that? And I must confess that I immediately went into the
comparison of the two gadgets assuming that the iPad would be superior
in every way.

But,
surprisingly, the Galaxy gives Apple a bit of competition in the tablet
computer wars, and after playing with both of them for a week, I have
to say both offer some mighty cool and useful features.

The
iPad did it all first, so the Galaxy comes off initially as just an
iPad clone, and since the Galaxy is about two-thirds the size of the
iPad, you might be tempted to call this clone a “Mini-Me” … or in this
case a “Mini-i.”

In
the end, it was really hard for me to decide which device I liked
better because both have so many similarities. The Galaxy runs on the
Android operating system, so being a Droid phone user, that had quite a
bit of appeal for me. It was tough to say which tablet was ultimately
superior, so I’m going to run down some of the pros and cons for each
device and let you — and Santa — decide.

SIZE MATTERS — OR DOES IT?

SamsungSamsung Galaxy TabThis
comes down to a matter of preference. The iPad has a 9.7-inch screen
while the Galaxy’s screen is only 7 inches. But the resolution on both
are so close that it might actually come down to pure psychology. Both
screens are so crisp, that only the weakest eyes would have a problem
with the Galaxy’s smaller display. The iPad also weighs about half a
pound more than the Galaxy as well. But it’s bigger, so you’d expect
that.

WI-FI
If
you’re wanting to surf the Web when there’s no Wi-Fi around, then you
will be out of luck with the iPad. The Galaxy has an integrated Mi-Fi
which turns the tablet into a mobile hotspot. Verizon offers a separate
Mi-Fi with the iPad, but who wants to lug around yet another device? The
caveat with mobile hotspots is, of course, data usage. And that can run
your bill up quickly. You can opt out of the Mi-Fi altogether if you
want. Both tablets are pretty speedy when picking up a standard Wi-Fi
connection.

CAMERAS
Sorry,
no camera for you, iPad. But the Galaxy offers a 3 megapixel camera in
the back as well as a 1.3 megapixel camera in the front for video
conferencing using Skype. This is an obviously absent feature on the
iPad that left everyone scratching their heads when it debuted. My guess
is this won’t be a minus for Apple for long, but why it was left off to
begin with will always be a mystery to me.

MEMORY
The
iPad comes in three standard memory sizes: 16 gigabytes ($499), 32 GB
($599) and 64 GB ($699). The Galaxy comes standard with 2 GB of internal
memory and a 16 GB of external. Unfortunately, you can’t add more
memory to the iPad, but you can add more to the Galaxy with an SD card.
Of course, more memory comes with a bigger price tag, and if you add the
external 3G Mi-Fi to the iPad, the 64 GB model will run you $829. The
Galaxy is $599. Unfortunately, the external capacity for the Galaxy
maxes out at 32 GB.

The
pricing for me is the only deal breaker in the comparison wars. With
the Galaxy being so much smaller, I would expect the price to be at
least $100 below the iPad’s lowest price option.

You
can get the Galaxy for as low as $400, but that involves a two-year
contract that would probably include data usage for the 3G network.

APPS
Apps
for the iPad are as abundant as they are for the iPhone. But since the
Galaxy uses the Android operating system, the ever-expanding app store
for that tablet is growing exponentially.

So,
it all boils down to a matter of taste and preference. If you think
Steve Jobs hung the moon, then it’s doubtful that your eyes will ever
lose sight of the iPad. But the Galaxy has a lot of things going for it,
too. My advice is: Before you buy, give both of them a test drive. No
doubt you may come away from the experience as much of a fence-sitter as
I am.

gadget today | Samsung Galaxy Tab Released – Are UK Price Tariffs Good Enough To Buy This Android Tablet?

Samsung Galaxy Tab Released – Are UK Price Tariffs Good Enough To Buy This Android Tablet?

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Wait, you didn’t think we’d let the Samsung Galaxy Tab UK release go unnoticed did you? It just so happens that you can now buy the Galaxy Tab in the UK from a host of different retailers, so we’re going to run down all the options that you have if you’re considering the world’s newest tablet device!

Just in case you’d forgotten, the Galaxy Tab is smaller than Apple’s iPad, at 7″ compared to the 9.7″ iPad display, although some may say that this is an advantage as you can use it more comfortably with just one hand on the screen at a time.

It runs the latest version of Android, which is ‘Froyo’ or 2.2, meaning that you can view the web in all it’s glory, Flash included. You’ll be able to make the most of both a front and rear facing camera when using the device, and utilise the 1GHz CPU that drives this whole machine in the background. Tempted? Ready to see some prices and data plans? Let’s go!

Talk Mobile

Talk Mobile (Carphone Warehouse’s Vodafone-based network) has three deals for the Galaxy Tab at the moment, each with different contract lengths and tariffs. If you don’t want to be tied down to yet another mobile contract, then you can opt to purchase it on a rolling monthly contract deal, which gives you 1GB of data every month for £10. Don’t forget you need to pay for the tablet too, which is £499.99 on this deal.

Unfortunately, as the contract length increases, the data plan doesn’t. At all. If you opt for an 18 month contract, you will again be paying just £10 a month, but the 1GB of data allowance seems pretty fixed. If you want to sign off on an 18 month deal, be my guest, but you’ll still be paying £479.99 for the tablet. Ouch!

The 24 month contract will put you back £20 a month, and allows you to buy the tablet for a lower price of £399.99. Unfortunately, you still have 1GB of data, although for some reason you also have 100 network minutes and 500 texts. I couldn’t even keep a straight face making a phone call on the Dell Streak, this is just ridiculous.

Vodafone

Unlike Talk Mobile, Vodafone has a better idea of what consumers want to do with an Android tablet, and you can opt to pay for 1GB, 3GB, or 5GB of data each month, on a rolling monthly contract each time, costing £10, £15, and £25 respectively. For each of these plans, the Tab will cost you £529.99, but at least you’re getting a bit more data for all that Flash content you’ll be using!

Orange

I feel obliged to mention that Orange also carries the Galaxy Tab in the UK, but quite frankly they aren’t worth much of your time. £500 for the tablet, and a one year contract offering 500MB (yes, megabytes) of data for a fiver a month.

Round-up

Well there you have it! The Galaxy Tab in all of its UK carrier glory right before your eyes. If none of the carriers offers suit your fancy, you could always stick it out on your own (I mean, who needs mobile network contracts anyway?!) and buy the Galaxy Tab SIM-free for £529 and then get a free PAYG sim card to suit your data requirements – which now seems quite reasonable after the initially much higher quoted prices on Amazon of £799 which then quickly dropped to £680, but now it’s even cheaper!

What do you think to these prices for this Android tablet running Froyo? Are you planning on getting a Samsung Galaxy Tab yourself? If so, which price/tariff option most appeals to you and why?