Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 and Tab 2 7.0 officially priced for the US, release dates unveiled

Samsung has officially announced that it would bring its new Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 and Tab 2 7.0 to the US market, in partnership with various retailers (including Best Buy, Amazon, and Tiger Direct). The Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 (pictured below) will be launched on April 22 for $249.99 - a surprisingly low price for an Android 4.0 ICS tablet with a dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM. Also running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, the larger Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 will cost as low as $399.99 (8GB version) , and is expected to hit the US starting May 13.

POV announces ProTab 2 Android 4.0 tablet for $400

Sometimes a decent tablet does not necessarily have to come from one of the major manufacturers, and based on the spec sheet of European manufacturer POV's ProTab 2, this might be one of them. Featuring a 9.7" IPS display with a resolution of 1024×768, the ProTab 2 will sport a 1.2GHz Cortex A8 CPU with a Mali-400 GPU under its hood. It will also come with 1GB of DDR3 RAM, 8GB of internal storage and a microSD card slot that will support memory expansion of up to an additional 32GB. Other specs of the tablet include dual cameras, a 2MP rear-facing camera and a 0.3MP front-facing camera, a mini USB port, a mini HDMI port, and both Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity options. Best of all it will come with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich preinstalled, a welcome feature by Android users who'd rather not sit around waiting for an update to arrive. While it does boast some decent low-mid ranged specs, unfortunately its price is on the high side at €393 (~$400) and will be available in the European market.

eGlide Prism tablet from Ematic comes with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, 3D glasses

Ematic has jumped headlong into the tablet market with their eGlide Prism tablet that runs off the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system, making it sound like an attractive proposition right out of the box. The thing is, even with a sleek design, will it be able to overhaul the other more established players around? Let us take a closer look at the 7" eGlide Prism to find out right after the jump. Roy Rayn, General Manager of Ematic, says, "The eGlide Prism is packed with the latest technology designed for an improved user experience. It's also slim in size which makes it the perfect tablet for people who are always on the move." He is not that far off, and I find it interesting that the press release claims that the eGlide Prism's HD video player is capable of supporting up to 2160p resolution for 3D HD videos. Now that is definitely a notch above the standard 1080p resolution even in Full HD videos, so will my eyeballs scream for joy when I check out 2160p? Other than that, this 9mm thin tablet tips the scales at a mere 0.6 pounds, featuring 8GB of internal memory and an additional 5GB of cloud storage space to augment it. Connectivity options of the eGlide Prism include Wi-Fi and USB, while the rest of the hardware specifications comprise of a front facing camera, an integrated speaker and a microSD memory card slot. For just $157.16 at the moment (slashed from the regular $216 price point), the eGlide Prism will ship with a pair of 3D glasses to get you started right out of the box. [Press Release]

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7″ Unboxing

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7″ has landed in the office, and we are now working on the full review, but in the meantime, here is a photo gallery to show what the device looks like, fresh out of the box. When we played with the Galaxy Tab 2 (10.1 and 7.0) at Mobile World Congress, it was clear that the suffix “2″ wasn't meant as a technological leap. Instead, Samsung has worked on improving the user experience and making the tablets for affordable to all. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7″ is a good example: after looking at how people use their tablets (from the couch), the company has decided to integrate an Infra-Red module that can turn it into a universal remote control. They have also pre-loaded Peel, which is a great remote control software for Android. It also comes with the latest Android 4.0. In terms of design, it is a hair thicker than the higher-end 7″ tablet with the AMOLED display, but I suspect that most people won't notice. The screen resolution is only 1024×600, which is the most noticeable difference with high-end products, along with the 8GB of internal storage (there's an empty microSD slot too). However, with a price of $250, this is a real contender for the casual users, and frankly, I don't see any reason to buy the Kindle Fire which is inferior in just about every way. This tablet will be available on April 22. Stay tuned for the review! Specifications Android 4.0 / Ice Cream Sandwich 1GHz Dual core processor 3 Megapixel  rear camera, 0.3 Megapixel front camera microSD slot (32GB max) Infra-Red blaster 7″ 1024×600 LCD display 8GB of internal storage $249.99 MSRP

Samsung Espresso 10 and Espresso 7 tablets coming in June?

Samsung has a lot of tablets on the market right now (or coming soon). The Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus, Galaxy Tab 2 7.0, Galaxy Tab 7.7, Galaxy Tab 8.9, Galaxy Tab 10.1, Galaxy Note 10.1… and let's not forget the versions with different built-in connectivity of the aforementioned products. Those are a lot of SKUs. But apparently they may not be enough for the Korean company. Samsung could be prepping to introduce two more tablets in June. They will both run Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and will apparently launch alongside the Galaxy Note 10.1 (since last we heard, that's been delayed until June). At least that's what the image above says. This apparently is an internal Samsung document outlining the company's new Smart TV range. Samsung's Smart View Android app connects your mobile device to your Samsung TV, and in the box regarding it, we can see that two new tablets are mentioned: the Espresso 10 and the Espresso 7. The Espresso 10 is due to launch in June, and the Espresso 7′s release time frame is currently TBD. As you'd expect with a leak coming from such an unusual place, there are unfortunately no more details about these tablets at this time. One could, however, speculate that they'll be sporting the quad-core Exynos processor that Samsung is currently working on (and which may also show up in the upcoming Galaxy S III smartphone), and probably a Full HD (1920×1200) resolution touchscreen for the Espresso 10. Wishing for it to be a Super AMOLED panel is probably taking things too far right now, but the Espresso 7 could get an AMOLED 1280×800 touchscreen. If these things do happen (and that's a big if), Samsung will get closer to Apple in the new PPI (pixels per inch) race. But it's all speculation at the moment. Also keep in mind that the image above could easily be a fake. That said, Samsung pretty much has to launch some fresh high-end tablets (especially a 10-incher), since its current offerings aren't the cream of the crop, hardware-wise, anymore. The Galaxy Note 10.1 may get a new processor while it's being delayed, but some people will still be turned off by that stylus. Furthermore, because of the wealth of stylus-specific premium bundled software on that tablet, the price is likely to be a tad steeper than what we're used to seeing in the Android world. So Samsung may need another 10″ device to be its ‘mainstream' PPI-leading tablet for the remainder of this year.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 delayed for revisions

While we may finally have pricing and release dates for a majority of Samsung's updated Galaxy line of music players and tablets, launch details for the Galaxy Note 10.1 that debuted at Mobile World Congress in February has remained a mystery. A company spokesperson told The Verge on Wednesday that Samsung has no release date to announce for the device yet, but the slate that was revealed in February may not match the final product that will will ship to end users. The “original” Galaxy Note 10.1 featured a 10.1-inch 1280 x 800-pixel display and was equipped with a dual-core Exynos processor clocked at 1.4GHz, 1GB of RAM and a 3-megapixel rear camera. Earlier rumors have suggested that Samsung may upgrade the slate to a quad-core Exynos 4412 processor clocked at 1.5GHz.

Samsung Espresso 10 and Espresso 7 tablets arriving this June

Yes, we have heard plenty about the two models of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 which are touted for an April and May launch (while unboxing the Galaxy Tab 2 7″ model already), but here is more news on yet another two tablets from the South Korean conglomerate – the Samsung Espresso 10 and Samsung Espresso 7. This bit of news will certainly jolt you like a shot of caffeine, and it seems that both Espresso tablets will be released this coming June. They will run on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich right out of the box, and apart from that, we do not know anything else apart from the speculative bits which can be read after the jump. For starters, word on the street has it that both Espresso devices will feature the quad-core Exynos processor that Samsung is currently developing, and will most probably boast of a Full HD (1920x1200) resolution touchscreen display for the larger Espresso 10, while the Espresso 7 might end up with an AMOLED 1280x800 resolution touchscreen display. Either way, it would clearly place Samsung within touching distance of Apple's new iPad in the PPI (pixels per inch) race.

Asus Eee Pad MeMo benchmarks come out fighting, other slates take note

It's been a long and winding road for the tongue-twisting Asus Eee Pad MeMo ME171, and though we did get a first-hand look back at CES it's finally available to call your own. The team over at Netbook News decided to take the 7″, 1280 x 800 display totin', 1.2GHz Snapdragon powered slab and give a good benchmarking — which always piques our interest. NenaMark and NenaMark 2 landed at 34.5- and 24-fps respectively. Quadrant, on the other hand, came in around the 1,800 mark, about the same as the Transformer TF101. If you're more into Antutu or Vellamo, then the numbers you are after are 4,377 and 975 (compared to the Transformer Prime's 953). Last in the list was SunSpider, which drops in at 2,546.5 — a nose ahead of the Note's 2,902. Check the video after the break if you want the full unboxing.

Meopad AQUA a new Waterproof Android Tablet

Here you are a new Android Tablet, the Meopad AQUA from TAXAN in Japan. Unlike your average Android Tablet, the Meopad AQUA has been tailored to fit a rather unique purpose: A Multimedia Bathroom tablet! Indeed, beside the usual functionalities found in most Android 2.3 tablet including a 5Mpix rear camera and a 1.3Mpix front facing one, WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth... The Meopad AQUA comes with a unique IP54 Waterproof body a 1Seg TV tuner as well as being MobacomHQ Video compatible (DRM Video sold on Memory Card). Made to enjoy videos anywhere anytime, the Meopad AQUA comes with a nice 7x1024×600 screen and a HDMI mini output. Other specs includes a 1GHZ CPU, 512MB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage, with a battery capacity announced for up to 6h of battery life for a total of just 580g Finally, the Meopad AQUA is set to hit Japanese store by the end of this month and if you can't wait for this tablet to reach your shores make sure to visit GeekStuff4U.com that will most probably carry this tablet very soon!

Meopad AQUA waterproof tablet

When you look at the image above, what do you see? Oh, did you notice that there is a tablet resting at the edge of the bathtub? I suppose that the lady who is smiling wistfully while looking at the Meopad AQUA waterproof tablet was thinking about how nice it would be to spend some time by an actual beach instead of just viewing it via a 7″ display at 1024 x 600 resolution. Ah well, at least if she is a klutz and knocks the Meopad AQUA into the bathtub by accident, all is not lost, since the Meopad AQUA is waterproof, conforming to the IP54 standards. Other hardware specifications of the Meopad AQUA waterproof tablet include a 5-megapixel camera at the back, a 1.3-megapixel shooter in front, a 1Seg TV tuner, a 1GHz processor to run proceedings from underneath the hood, 512MB RAM, 8GB of internal memory and a battery life of approximately half a dozen hours. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, GPS, and Bluetooth, although we do wonder why is it still running on Android 2.3 Gingerbread instead of Ice cream Sandwich.

ASUS reportedly to release Transformer Pad 300 on April 22nd

The ASUS Transformer Pad 300 is getting closer to bringing its watered-down Prime flavor to store shelves, as PC Worldreports a spokesperson confirmed it will begin shipping April 22nd. What they could not confirm was the price, although there are preorders out there for $399 already. In case you've forgotten, the 300 brings the same Tegra 3 processor as the Prime, but matches it with a standard IPS display, optional LTE and only 16GB of built-in storage, as well as 10 hours of battery life. We'll let you know when we hear more, but for now feel free to pencil in a note on your Earth Day calendar entries.