Our sister blog Gadgetell reports that Samsung has started to sell the Galaxy Player 4.0 and 5.0 directly through its website, for $229.99 and $269.99 respectively. Both devices have similar specs: 800 x 480 resolution on 4” or 5” screens (just a bit less than the current iPod Touch’s 960 x 640 at 3.5”, but certainly better than its prior 480 x 320), 8 GB internal memory with a microSD card slot for expansion, front-facing camera and 3.2 megapixel rear camera (compare that to the iPod Touch’s 1 MP camera), Bluetooth 3.0, 802.11 b/g/n wifi, and Android Market access. They run Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread.
As I mentioned back in April, there have not yet been any serious contenders to knock the iPod Touch off its throne as best pocket-sized mini-tablet, but the specs on the Galaxy Player 4.0 and 5.0 look impressive at least on paper. Will they make good pocket-sized e-readers, though? I would be interested to hear from anyone who’s had the chance to play with them. Who knows…perhaps my next pocket-sized device won’t be an iPod Touch after all.
