Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 preview: First look

The 10-inch form factor is the corridors of power in tablet terms, but the ones that won't turn your wallet inside out are hard to come by. In the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1, Samsung seem to have a reasonably-spec'd Android tablet, which might be the answer to that particular problem.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 official pictures

The Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 isn't a radical departure from the original Tab 10.1, but builds on the company's tablet know-how (they must have redesigned the original a dozen times) and launches with Google's latest Android version, Ice Cream Sandwich.

Let's go over the specs before moving on.

Form factor: TabletDimension: 256.6 x 175.3 x 9.7 mmWeight: 588g Display: 16M-color 10.1" PLS LCD capacitive touchscreen of WXGA resolution (1280 x 800 pixels)OS: Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, TouchWiz UIChipset: 1 GHz dual-core processorCamera: 3.2 MP autofocus camera with 1080p video recording; VGA front-facing cameraMemory: 16/32GB of inbuilt storage, expandable via a microSD card slotConnectivity: Voice and data connectivity with quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE and quad-band (850/900/1900/2100 MHz) UMTS, 21 Mbps HSDPA and HSUPA 5.76 Mbps support, video calls, dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, Assisted GPS, Bluetooth 3.0, 30-pin connectorBattery: 7,000mAh Misc: Gyro sensor, accelerometer sensor for automatic UI rotation, ambient light sensor, Adobe Flash Player 11 support, DivX/XviD support, TV-out (adapter required), USB host (via an adapter)

If you were expecting the Tab 2 10.1 to take charge of Samsung's Android tablet lineup, you'd probably be disappointed, but there's little to cast doubt on its ability to handle daily tasks with ease.

Samsung have also enabled 1080p video recording (like in the Tab 2 7.0), but to us photography on a tablet shouldn't be a priority.

Things like web browsing, watching videos, gaming and document editing are well within its reach, the only area where the Tab 2 10.1 is likely to fall short (besides synthetic benchmarks) is high-end gaming.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 live pictures

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Sony Xperia S preview: Game on

In staging their grand return, Sony Mobile could've done a lot worse than the Xperia S. The fresh divorcees are back on the market, their new Xperia flagship kindly supplying the bang. And while the HD screen and dual-core processor are not exactly breaking news, there's an extensive set of features to make a geek's heart flutter.

Sony Xperia S official photos

The Sony Xperia S aims for camera excellence with 12MP still photography and 1080p video recording. It has an HD screen and a microHDMI port, not to mention a dedicated TV Launcher that lets you control the phone with your TV remote.

The Xperia S is a high-performance phone too - while quad-core phones will soon hit the shelves, the dual-core 1.5GHz processor and Adreno 220 GPU show good results in early benchmarks.

We'll do a first round of benchmarks later, but let's have a closer look at the specs of the Sony Xperia S first.

General: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, UMTS 900/2100 MHz or 850/1900/2100MHz, 14.4 Mbps HSDPA, 5.76 Mbps HSUPAForm factor: Touchscreen bar phoneDimensions: 128 x 64 x 10.6 mm, 144 gDisplay: 4.3" 16M-color TFT capacitive touchscreen, 720 x 1280 pixelsCPU: Qualcomm MSM8260 chipset, dual-core 1.5 GHz Scorpion CPU, Adreno 220 GPUOS: Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), planned 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich updateMemory: 32GB of storage, 1GB of RAMCamera: 12 megapixel auto-focus camera with LED flash, face detection and touch focus; 1080p video recording at 30fps; 1.3MP front-facing camera with 720p video recording, sweep multi-angle shots for lenticular print effectConnectivity: Wi-Fi b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA; Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, standard microUSB port, GPS receiver with A-GPS, 3.5mm audio jack, microHDMI portMisc: Sony Timescape UI, TV launcher, built-in accelerometer, proximity sensor, Sony Mobile Bravia engine, multi-touch input, scratch-resistant surface, microSIM only

Not quite like the Sony Ericsson Xperia arcs, is it? The Xperia S is better in almost every respect, save for thickness. Still, considering how thick those old 12MP shooters were (especially around the camera), 10.6mm sounds great.

The screen on the Xperia S deserves praise too. The 4.3" BRAVIA LCD of 720p resolution is up there with the best screens on the market. At 342ppi, it's definitely one of the sharpest.

Sony Xperia S live pictures

There's a lot to test on the Sony Xperia S, but we'll only have time to cover only some of the aspects in this preview. Let's not waste any more time and jump straight to the hardware.

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