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Samsung Canada bringing Ice Cream Sandwich to nine Galaxy devices

All eyes are on Samsung this week as it unveils what has arguably become the company's most anticipated Android smartphone to date.

First, however, Sammy has a bit of software business to tend to. Indeed, Samsung Canada today announced that it is making Android 4.0 available to a number of smartphones and tablets in the Galaxy series.

Starting today and rolling out over the remainder of the quarter, Ice Cream Sandwich will deploy to notable devices north of the border, including the Galaxy S II, Galaxy Tab 10.1, and Galaxy Note. Though the exact dates for the … Read more

Firefox beta moves closer to SPDY

Firefox 13 has moved to the browser's beta channel today, bringing with it default support for SPDY, some elbow grease on default landing pages like the Home page, and better memory management for open tabs.

Firefox 13 beta can be downloaded for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Having SPDY active by default means that, for sites that support it, they will appear in your browser faster than before. SPDY is also a more secure protocol than HTTP, which it's the successor to, because it uses SSL encryption for all sites.

The new Home page, available at about:home, puts … Read more

Is the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 a better Kindle Fire than the Kindle Fire?

The greatest thing about the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 is its price. The Tab 2 7.0 strikes a balance between features and performance that allows the tablet to be sold for as low as $250.

If the tablet's price had been higher -- say, $350 -- it wouldn't be worth the money. Don't get me wrong, it's a very good tablet, but at the end of the day, it's a depowered version of Samsung's own $350-$400 Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus.

Getting its price down to $250 puts it right smack-dab in front of the Kindle Fire, its gauntlet tossed between the two. The Tab 2 7.0 is a full Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) tablet with dual cameras and expandable memory. The Fire was designed to deliver to users Amazon's books, video, and music services in the simplest and most straightforward way possible.

Given that, can the Tab 2 7.0 hope to match the Fire as an Amazon consumption device? Let's be honest, the chances are slim, but it doesn't mean it won't be fun finding out just how close it can get.

Quick note, though: this is not a prizefight or a dual review. I won't be comparing these tablets based on everything they can do (see the conclusion of the Tab 2 7.0 review for that). I will however focus on each tablet's strengths as Amazon media consumption devices with an emphasis on books, video, and music. End over-explained disclaimer.… Read more

Tech that matters: Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 and 2012's best Blu-ray player

Every week at CNET, we test dozens of gadgets. Not every device stands out as amazing or wonderful, and we've seen our share of failing storage drives or -- shudder -- candy bar "feature phones." (That's what the industry calls a cell phone that's not quite a smart phone.)

But not a week goes by without at least a few standout gadgets. Sometimes, these gems shine in a crowded field. Sometimes, they break the mold. Occasionally, we review a high-quality device from an older category that does its job so well, we fall in love … Read more

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 review: The anti-Kindle Fire?

The Kindle Fire. Sure, it's low-priced and has a built-in Amazon content ecosystem that conveniently delivers movies, music, books, and apps through a simple, if stripped-down, interface, but there are quite a few things it doesn't do that have stopped you short of actually buying one.

If you find yourself being hesitant about the purchase, then you've probably at one point or another asked yourself some of the following questions: "Is 8GB of storage enough?" or "I want to access the full Android store. Why won't the Kindle Fire let me?" and "I feel comfortable taking pictures with my tablet in public. Why won't the Kindle Fire allow me to do that?!"… Read more

Making a great cheap Android tablet

Ematic entered the Android tablet fray yesterday when it announced the inexpensive eGlide Prism.

Priced as low as $157, the device runs Android 4.0 and features a 7-inch 800x480-pixel resolution display. Powered by a 1GHz processor, it also brings 8GB flash memory, 512MB RAM, and a front-facing Webcam. While it's certainly not the type of hardware to contend with a Galaxy Tab 2, it's in that interesting space between a Kindle Fire and a "real" tablet.

I typically cringe when I hear the word "value" associated with mobile tech -- Ematic proudly call themselves a "leader in value tablets" -- since the word conjures images of creaky plastic and poorly lit, low-resolution displays. That's why I'll pass on this model and recommend that others save a few bucks on something else. … Read more

Samsung Galaxy Tab 7-inch only $50 with new Verizon contract

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 will be available on April 22, and now Verizon is offering fire-sale pricing on the original 7-inch Galaxy Tab. Order one from the carrier now before the Galaxy Tab 2 hits stores and it'll cost you only $49.99 with a new mobile broadband plan.

The Galaxy Tab retails for $499.99 and Verizon normally sells it for $229.99 with a new two-year contract, so the discount announced today amounts to a $180 markdown. Of course, with the pricing for the Galaxy Tab 2 falling in line with the Nook Tablet at $250, it's hard to imagine many folks plunking down $230 for the older tablet -- especially one running Android 2.2.… Read more

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 hands-on

SAN FRANCISCO--The announcement that Samsung's follow-up to its Galaxy Tab 10.1 would be receiving some downgrades from the previous entry, filled me with a mixture confusion and disappointment.

I just couldn't wrap my head around why the sequel to one of the premiere Android tablets would launch with a less impressive spec list than its predecessor.

Today, Samsung revealed that the Tab 2 10.1 would be released on May 13 for $400. That's $100 lower than the original Tab 10.1's list price and it fills the logic hole I believe Samsung was falling … Read more

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 hands-on

SAN FRANCISCO--Going into today's Samsung media event in San Francisco, there was one device that I was having trouble wrapping my head around: The Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0.

The 7.0 Plus released last year was quite a good tablet and not four months later, here was Samsung showing what it called the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0. Surely this device would be thinner, sexier, and more powerful than any Samsung tablet before it right? Wrong.

Samsung announced that the Tab 2 7.0 would house a 1GHz CPU (down from 1.2GHz on the 7.0 … Read more