Refresh Roundup: week of July 16th, 2012

Refresh Roundup week of July 16th, 2012

Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!

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Refresh Roundup: week of July 16th, 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 22 Jul 2012 21:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 review

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When we review a second-generation product there are certain things we tend to take for granted: this new thing, whatever it is, will be thinner, faster, longer-lasting, maybe even with more bells and whistles in tow. With Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1, though, it's a little less obvious why its sequel is here. It offers near-identical specs, including a 10-inch, 1280 x 800 PLS display, dual-core 1GHz chip, 1GB of RAM and a minimum of 16GB of internal storage. What's more, this generation is slightly thicker and heavier, and sheds the LED flash that used to sit on the back side. But there's one detail we haven't mentioned yet: in addition to softening the specs, Samsung dropped the price by about hundred bucks, so that it now starts at $400.

Clearly, then, the 10.1 has evolved into a mid-range tablet, whereas it used to be the best Samsung had to offer. That's good news for penny-pinching shoppers, but Samsung has a bit of a problem on its hands: it's jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire, dodging direct competition with the new iPad, only to find itself competing with a raft of affordable tablets made by Acer, ASUS and even Apple. So how does Samsung's warmed-over 10.1 compare? Can it be a winner in the mid-tier category, at least? Let's see.

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 review

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 review originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 May 2012 13:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PSA: Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1, Galaxy Player 4.2 now available online

PSA: Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1, Galaxy Player 4.2 now available online

Not willing to give up your old dumbphone, but still need something to feed your Android addiction? You're in luck: Samsung's serving up two devices today rocking Google's dessert themed OS, the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 and the Galaxy Player 4.2. Sammy's latest slate rings in at $400, buying 16GB of internal memory (expandable to 32GB via microSD), a 1GHz dual-core processor and a serving of Ice Cream Sandwich. The Galaxy Player 4.2, on the other hand, can be found munching Gingerbread for a mere $200. If you're looking for a new Galaxy that makes phone calls, however, you'll have to wait for the Galaxy S III.

PSA: Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1, Galaxy Player 4.2 now available online originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 May 2012 19:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 and Galaxy Player 4.2 come stateside on May 13th

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 and Galaxy Player 4.2 come stateside on May 13th

The last we heard, Samsung's Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 was in pre-order limbo at Office Depot. Now we have official word that the slate will launch at that outlet -- and also at Amazon, Best Buy, Tiger Direct and others -- on May 13th. As expected, the 16GB WiFi version will go for $400, and if you've followed our coverage, you'll know it's a solid dual-core slate that nonetheless doesn't make huge spec improvements over the original Tab 10.1 (barring that Ice Cream Sandwich OS, of course). The Galaxy Player 4.2 will also make its debut this Sunday, for an asking price of $200. Android-loving moms: rejoice.

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 and Galaxy Player 4.2 come stateside on May 13th

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 and Galaxy Player 4.2 come stateside on May 13th originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 11 May 2012 17:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung releases… Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 and 10.1 source code

Samsung releases... Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 and 10.1 source code

Did you hear the news? Y'know, about Samsung's latest release? No, not the Galaxy S III -- that's officially yesterday's news. No, today's story is all about tablets, Galaxy Tab 2's more specifically. The Korean tech giant has released the source code for both the seven- and ten-inch varieties, effectively handing developers the keys to the customization kingdom. So if you love the technology, but the interface less so, you might not have to wait all that long for a better option. The exact models that have been opened up are: GT-P3100, GT-P3110, GT-P3113, GT-P5100, GT-P5110, and GT-P5113. Got a feature you'd really like to see? Better get poking the fine chaps at xda-developers with your requests.

Samsung releases... Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 and 10.1 source code originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 May 2012 12:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung reportedly axes Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 production to add quad-core CPU (update: not true)

Samsung reportedly axes Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 production to add quad-core CPU

This is, well, a little strange. The fine folks over at Netbooknews are reporting that Samsung has ended production on the GT P5100 -- better known as the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1. The story comes courtesy of an unnamed "Korean Samsung insider" who claims the device is getting upgraded to a quad-core CPU. Whether the chip in question is the much lauded 32nm Exynos 4412, which packs not only four Cortex A9 cores, but four Mali 604 GPU cores as well, is unknown. It's also not clear how this is going to affect US launch plans. Rumors are the Galaxy Note 10.1 will be getting a similar brain transplant before hitting the market. Sadly, all we can do right now hold our breath and wish real hard that both will hit shelves sooner rather than later and with an extra pair of cores in tow. Sammy better get a move on too if it's gonna have to give Uncle Sam another crack at this slate.

Update: Samsung reached out to us to confirm that the above report is not true. The US version of this tablet will still have a dual-core CPU and it's still shipping on May 13th, with pre-orders starting on May 4th.

Samsung reportedly axes Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 production to add quad-core CPU (update: not true) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Apr 2012 22:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung prices Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 at $400, rings up a fresh pair of Galaxy Players for $150, $200

Samsung prices Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 at $400, rings up a fresh pair of Galaxy Players for $150, $200
Sammy's gone ahead and priced the latest in its Galaxy Tab and Player series, affixing monetary stickers to not only the 7-inch slate we just took for a spin, but to its 10-inch brother and a pair of handheld cousins. $250 nabs you the aforementioned Galaxy Tab 2 7.0, but an extra $150 will afford you the Tab 2 10.1's three-inch advantage. Of course, if you'd rather keep that 7-inch beauty and pocket a spare device, that same $150 will buy a Galaxy Player 3.6. If that's too small, Sammy will let you pick up a 4.2 variant for $200 square. Care to read that straight? Mosey on past the break for Samsung's official press release.

Continue reading Samsung prices Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 at $400, rings up a fresh pair of Galaxy Players for $150, $200

Samsung prices Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 at $400, rings up a fresh pair of Galaxy Players for $150, $200 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Apr 2012 20:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung’s Galaxy Tab(s) 2 delayed by, you guessed it, Ice Cream Sandwich

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Since the calendar clearly says April, we can take it as read that Samsung missed the promised March release window for both the seven and ten-inch versions of the Galaxy Tab 2. The company conceded that it was because both it and Google needed more time to tailor the software to the new hardware. Now both slates will arrive with a fully tweaked and revved version of Android 4.0 towards the end of this month.

Samsung's Galaxy Tab(s) 2 delayed by, you guessed it, Ice Cream Sandwich originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Apr 2012 07:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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