I'm really curious to see whether these smaller 7-8 inch tablets end up being closer to the sweet-spot than the iPad-sized 10-12 inch screens. Is the lighter, one-hand form factor more mobile and appealing? Or is it just a pain not to have the bigger screen on the device?
I'm more inclined to go with larger sizes since my SmartPhone covers ultra-portability and one-handed usage. I think tablets might mimic laptops with a broad range of sizes being popular for different needs. Maybe anywhere from 7" all the way up to 17" as more of a tablet-top device.
I think it will be beneficial for most people to wait for 3.0-based tabs, which should also ship with such auspicious future features as Google Music & Google Me (presuming they're working on an Android app to display/interact with the activity stream). Apps will also be better prepared to support higher resolutions and I suspect we'll start seeing different form factor tabs... with dual-core CPUs, more accessories (BT keyboard, for one), and an even better UX.
It'll be interesting to see if these catch on or go the way of so many "iPod killers". The iPad depends more on 3rd-party apps than a phone, and apps have been a weak point for Android so far. They'll also have to compete without the huge marketing campaigns funded by the telcos that gave Android phones traction.
In using the iPad I do constantly feel the lack of Flash. It's my biggest gripe about it. I'm not sure this device will stack up, but Flash is a big competitive edge.
With Google saying Android not quite ready for tablet purposes (http://news.cnet.com/8301-31021_3-20016085-260.html) and Samsung not actually announced the tablet, this is such an empty "article", except for the tornado warning bit (I'm currently away from the city so that was interesting).
You say Samsung did not announce the tablet in comments about the article which was liveblogging of the announcement?
And how come that samsung.com has promotional videos on the first page, if they did not announce anything?
BTW, I find it interesting how little interaction is shown in those videos. Sliding the stocks, typing in some comment, and that's about it. I guess work is not yet done in UI department there…
If they price the wifi version at $300 it will be hugely popular. If they price it higher I think people will likely just spend the extra money to get an iPad. It has to be cheaper than an iPad since it's smaller in my opinion.
