Saturday, October 1, 2011

Samsung to Release 5-Inch iPod Touch Rival on Oct. 16 (ContributorNetwork)

Maybe "rival" is too strong a word for any device that competes with the iPod Touch. It dominates the personal media player market, and is even eating into Nintendo's profits because of its game-playing abilities.

On the other hand, if you're an Android fan -- or wouldn't mind a tablet somewhere between the iPod Touch and the Nook Color in size -- then the Samsung Galaxy Player just might be worth checking out.

Show me the specs!

Spoken like a true Android enthusiast. According to Samsung's news release, the Galaxy Player is being released in two models, which are identical except for size and battery capacity. They're called the 4.0 and the 5.0, and are 4 and 5 inches across, respectively.

Both have access to the Android Market, unlike competing Android media players from Archos. Both run Android 2.3 Gingerbread and have front- and rear-facing cameras, the rear-facing one being able to record 720p HD video. And both have 8 GBs of RAM, plus a microSD slot for up to 32 GBs more flash memory. All in all, not bad for the price tag: $229 for the 4-inch Player, or $269 for the 5-inch one.

On the downside

First, Samsung hasn't posted details about RAM or processor speeds. Guess what? That probably means something south of dual-core 1.0 GHz and 1 GB of RAM.

Second, both Galaxy Players have identical screen resolutions. So with the 5-inch Player, you're not paying extra for more pixels, you're paying extra for bigger ones.

And third, pretty much the only things that these gadgets have over the iPod Touch is their screen size, unless you really like expandable memory (or stuttery Flash in your web browser). They'll probably be powerful enough to run most games and apps in the Android Market. But when you're buying what is, in essence, an app player as opposed to a smartphone, the number and quality of games and apps available for it is a big deal.

The Upshot

Not only does the iPod Touch win when it comes to games and apps, it also wins when it comes to a streamlined music experience. Maybe you don't like iTunes, but Google Music is still in beta, and Apple's already made it easy to get your songs on an iPod.

Google might be able to create a worthy new experience, but I don't trust Samsung not to ruin it, hide it, or forget that the Player even has it. And while the iPod's a major product for Apple, the Galaxy Player just seems to be Yet Another Android Gadget. If that's what you've been waiting for, then have at it.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personaltech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20110928/us_ac/9529699_samsung_to_release_5inch_ipod_touch_rival_on_oct16

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