Well it looks like Samsung have finally got the green light to release the new Samsung Galaxy 10.1″ Tablet down under after Apple’s efforts to block the release failed.

After months of Apple’s senior staff calling Samsung engineers copy cats, the Sydney High Court denied Apples request to block the tablet hitting stores. In the end this turned out to be some free publicity for the guys over at Samsung who are about as popular among the iSheep crowd as Microsoft.

Many claims that this tablet is an iPad killer are yet to be put to the test. My personal opinion is that even though mac iOS is more “restricted” in use than Android it is simply a better platform for the average user. Many people complain that Apple restricts use of the tablet and for this reason Android is better, but in reality what doesn’t the iPad do that you need it to?

Anyway lets take a look into the specs of the Galaxy 10.1″ Tablet.

The battery life of the unit is sufficient, not amazing, but OK. You should be able to check your emails while 0n the toilet and still have enough power to check how much flour to use when making pancake batter. As you can see, with specs like this you shouldn’t see any lag during a fast paced game of solitaire or catapulting birds into wooden structures containing pigs.

One of the things I won’t fault with this unit is the video playback. The large screen on the unit is nice, it is large and videos look good on it. I’d recommend using it for Youtube videos or watching Tv series on the train, don’t go replacing your home theatre system in place of this tablet as you won’t exactly be thrilled sitting on the couch huddled around a 10.1″ tablet with your family.

The end result is a wildly mediocre “competitor” to the iPad. Think of it as a bigger, faster and better version of the bargain basement Optus (ZTE) tablet. Hardware comparable to iPad? Yes. Software? No it’s not iOS…

… Might as well buy a kindle.

Installing Android CyanogenMod 7.1 Android Alpha 3 on the HP TouchPad!

Did you mange to score yourself one of the few HP TouchPads which Harvery Norman decided to clear out earlier this year?

If you did you’ve probably found out by now that, for a well polished piece of technology, the HP TouchPad and it’s WebOS software is fairly useless for anything other than browsing the web.

That is… until now!

After several months of hard work from these developers, the HP TouchPad can now install/port Android CyanogenMod onto it, through the Android CyanogenMod 7.1 Alpha 3!

If this is the one you’ve been waiting for, simply following the steps outlined below and get your HP Android Tablet up and running with Android CyanogenMod in no time!

Source: http://liliputing.com/2011/11/how-to-install-cyanogenmod-7-1-android-alpha-3-on-the-hp-touchpad.html

1. Download update-cm-7.1.0-tenderloin-a3-fullofbugs-signed.zip from the RootzWiki forum. You can either download it directly on your tablet or on your computer and then copy it to your tablet.
2. Make sure the ZIP file is located on your SD card.
3. While running Android on your TouchPad, press and hold the power button and then select the “reboot” option.
4. Tap the option to “Reboot to Recovery.”
5. Your tablet should reboot to ClockworkMod Recovery.
6. Use the volume buttons to navigate to the option that says “install zip from sdcard.”
7. Press the home button to select.
8. Use the home button to select “choose zip from sdcard.”
9. Use the volume keys to navigate to the file you want. If it’s in the root directory of your SD card, just scroll down until you find it and then press the home button. If not, navigate to the folder you want, press home to enter the folder, and then press home to select the update-cm-7.1.0-tenderloin-a3-fullofbugs-signed.zip file.
10. Once you’ve selected the ZIP file, scroll down with the volume buttons until you get to “Yes.”
11. Press the home button to apply the update.
12. After Alpha 3 is finished installing, you can use the volume buttons to scroll down to “Go Back” and keep pressing it until you see the option to “reboot system now” and press the home button to reboot.

You should also be able to set the HP TouchPad up as a dual boot tablet, allowing you to select the Android or WebOS features at start-up.

Expect some changes and improvements over the coming months but as of right now, us lucky few have scored an Android touchpad for only $99.

Stay tuned for a video of the install, which we will be doing shortly.

Enjoy!
Adam.