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    7-Inch Tablets Competing with Apple's iPad

    By Jared Spurbeck | Yahoo! Contributor Network – Tue, Feb 14, 2012
    This story comes from the Yahoo! Contributor Network, where individuals publish their unique perspectives on some of the world’s most popular websites.
    Do you have a story to tell? Become a Yahoo! contributor

    To tablet buyers, size matters: The top two best-selling tablets behind Apple's iPad have 7-inch screens, making them roughly half the size of the iPad. This form factor makes them easier to hold in one hand, when reading or watching videos for extended periods of time ... and in fact, both tablets are marketed as e-readers.

    Not all of the 7-inch tablets out there are strong iPad competitors. One has been in the news lately for its abysmal sales performance, while another is a mostly generic Android tablet that's seen several iterations now. It's getting a new Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0) version soon, though. It's ...

    The Samsung Galaxy Tab

    The original 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab was, for awhile, basically the only "Android tablet" out there. It was released before Google made the Honeycomb version of Android especially for tablets, and basically worked like a giant smartphone ... it could even make phone calls.

    In March, Samsung will release an upgraded version, "starting from UK" and presumably coming to the United States afterwards. It will feature basic smartphone-esque specs, but will run the latest Ice Cream Sandwich version of Android, letting it run apps designed just for tablets.

    The Nook Color and Nook Tablet

    Barnes and Noble's first color e-reader tablet, the Nook Color, came out in 2010, around the time of the first Samsung Galaxy Tab. It took awhile for an app market to be added, and it still has only a couple thousand titles or so. It had full multitouch web browsing from the start, though, and a recent software update added Netflix support.

    The new Nook Tablet was introduced late last year, with basically the same design but a Hulu Plus app and more powerful innards. When it was released, the Nook Color's price was dropped to $199, the same as ...

    The Kindle Fire

    The Kindle Fire was Amazon.com's bestselling item for months in a row. And according to Flurry Analytics, it's now besting all other Android tablets for market share. Its slow software has been panned by reviewers, but it's extremely cheap -- according to iSuppli it's sold for less than it costs to make. It also has tens of thousands of apps in the "Amazon Appstore."

    The BlackBerry PlayBook

    Marketed as a more professional alternative to Apple's iPad, the BlackBerry PlayBook has gathered a reputation among app developers as being extremely hard to write for, thanks in part to Jamie Murai's open letter "You Win, RIM!" It's also been in the news on account of RIM having $485 million worth of unsold PlayBooks.

    The upcoming PlayBook OS 2.0 update, however, will be available this month. It will add new features like a native email client that doesn't require you to connect it to a BlackBerry smartphone, according to Jacob Schulman of The Verge. It will also feature select Android apps in its BlackBerry App World.

    Jared Spurbeck is an open-source software enthusiast, who uses an Android phone and an Ubuntu laptop PC. He has been writing about technology and electronics since 2008.

     

    11 comments

    • Rayvyn
      Rayvyn  •  Santa Rosa, California  •  2 mths ago
      I remember when some company put out a 7 or 5 inch tablet and people said it was stupid for a phone. I also remember people saying that if Apple had done it first, it would be called genius. Well now Apple is gonna put out a smaller iPad to compete in a market that is overtaking them.
    • Hamad
      Hamad  •  Dubai, United Arab Emirates  •  2 mths ago
      No matter what the competitors come up with, Apple will still be a leader in the world of tablets. This is simply because of the fact that whatever they do, Apple can do better. They will always find a way to be ahead of the competition and that is because of the vision that Steve Jobs has left them with.
    • Bogyi Bogyi
      Bogyi Bogyi  •  3 mths ago
      now lawsuit began .. Apple will sue Samsung, Nook, and Kindle soon.
    • RK10
      RK10  •  3 mths ago
      No way can they even be considered 'competition'.
    • Zeeb
      Zeeb  •  Edmonton, Canada  •  3 mths ago
      "2010 was the year of the iPad, 2011 is the year of the copycats" - Steve Jobs. Apple got burned by Microsoft (biggest copy cats on earth) in the 80s/90s and was almost forced out of business until Steve returned to Apple for $1 ... then returned the company to its former glory. Apple is suing all these knock off companies to make #$%$ sure it doesn't happen again. Go Apple!Oh ... and before you trolls start up with the whole Xerox thing, Apple did not steal from Xerox, that is just a myth to give comfort to the PC masses.The graphic user interface technology was GIVEN to Apple from Xerox. Xerox didn't know what to do with the new invention, so they GAVE it to Apple, who then hired the employees from Xerox who invented it.Apple's Lisa came out in 1982. Apple's Macintosh came out in 1984. Micro$oft's Windows came out in 1985. Do the math.
      • Cap10H8Red
        Cap10H8Red 3 mths ago
        HA!, justify the rediculous restrictions/price any way you like, the fact is, you pay WAY more for the same hardware, and you do so willingly just because your too afraid to learn a little about the device/software. In mac-world your locked into doing things the way Jobs has decided, in PC-land I can do whatever my clever little mind can think up, i just have to figure it out. In mac-world there's no way around itunes, in PC-land there are countless peices of software to listen to music or watch movies, each with thier own benefits/features..... in short Apple=do what your told, PC=do whatyou want
      • Rayvyn
        Rayvyn 2 mths ago
        Actually when Win 95 came out Apple started to copy Microsoft Windows. After the crappy System 7, Apple started putting a task bar at the bottom of the screen. Now it's called the dock. Then Apple copied all the innards of PCs and now the Mac is a PC inside.
    • A Yahoo! User  •  Mt Prospect, Illinois  •  3 mths ago
      7" is way too small. If anything I would rather see a larger screen on the iPad3.
      • Vader
        Vader 3 mths ago
        Why not just carry a real computer. I still use my Net-book and it kick's #$%$ on the Ipad for compatibility and capability. With the new batteries it also has the staying power.
    • GUESTOFROOM2002
      GUESTOFROOM2002  •  Daly City, California  •  3 mths ago
      Im buying the playbook because the bestbuy outlet refurbished one is a great deal! For only 169? Are you women kidding me? If you pass this deal up they you are a crazy woman!!!!
    • Billy
      Billy  •  Encino, California  •  3 mths ago
      Competitors? More like losers... there is only one tablet... the iPad... anything else, youre just fooling yourself into thinking its as good as an iPad...its iPad or nothing... getting the iPad 3 when it comes out! :)
      • Rayvyn
        Rayvyn 2 mths ago
        I'm getting an ASUS EEE Transformer Prime. It's a Quad-Core and it can do Flash.
    • Cap10H8Red
      Cap10H8Red  •  Downers Grove, Illinois  •  3 mths ago
      HA!, justify the rediculous restrictions/price any way you like, the fact is, you pay WAY more for the same hardware, and you do so willingly just because your too afraid to learn a little about the device/software. In mac-world your locked into doing things the way Jobs has decided, in PC-land I can do whatever my clever little mind can think up, i just have to figure it out. In mac-world there's no way around itunes, in PC-land there are countless peices of software to listen to music or watch movies, each with thier own benefits/features..... in short Apple=do what your told, PC=do whatyou want
    • Bogyi Bogyi
      Bogyi Bogyi  •  3 mths ago
      shhhhh.. guys. don't say it loud. Apple is stealing 7" tab idea...
    • TonkaToy
      TonkaToy  •  3 mths ago
      Love the INEXPENSIVE little tablet I picked up for under $150, stupid to pay 5-600 to be locked in Ipad jail.
     Post a comment
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