Another ruling from a European court on the Apple vs. Samsung lawsuits over the Galaxy Tab’s design has come in, and it doesn’t bode well for Apple. An appeals court in The Hague, Netherlands dismissed Apple’s patent-infringement attempt to get the Galaxy Tab banned from sale in the country, following up on Apple’s appeal after a lower court’s similar decision in August. The court made its decision based on at least two pieces of prior art for each of Apple’s claims, determining that Apple’s claims were therefore narrow enough that they had not been infringed. Next week, a German...

A while ago I wrote about the paucity of Android equivalents to the iPod Touch, and suggested that Samsung’s Galaxy Player might be such an equivalent. Shawn Ingram at our sister blog Gadgetell has just gotten its hands on the Galaxy Player 4.0 and 5.0, and also the Galaxy Tab 8.9, and has posted some first impressions. In fact, first impressions are just about all it has of the two Players. (Ingram got his hands on a review unit of the Tab 8.9, and will review it more fully later, but apparently not for the Players.) It does note...

Ars Technica reports that Apple is again stepping up to the plate to defend its developers from patent troll Lodsys, stating in its most recent filing that it has every right to intervene in Lodsys’s lawsuits against its developers. Apple contends that its licenses to Lodsys’s technology extend to developers, who would not have the resources necessary to represent Apple’s interests in the suit. An interesting note in the piece is that Apple’s defense acknowledges Lodsys’s patents as valid, and is based on the doctrine of “exhaustion”, that its license extends to third-party developers. However, others are insisting...

In his latest column for the Guardian, nerd blogger/novelist extraordinaire Cory Doctorow reviews the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and finds it to be lacking in features for a putative iPad replacement. In particular, he dislikes the way that it uses a proprietary docking cable just like Apple, lacks the micro-SD card reader in the wi-fi version, and requires a proprietary application for file transfer rather than acting like a USB hard drive when connected the way most other tablets do. Doctorow mentions that he had high hopes for the Galaxy Tab because it was based on Android, and Google allowed...

Rich Adin at An American Editor says he won't buy a tablet in the near future, partly because of the walled garden approach enforced by Apple, and partly for utilitarian reasons: My “no” came about for various reasons, not least of which is that I really dislike Steve Jobs telling me what compromises I have to make. For me, the lure of the PC/Microsoft world has always been that, with the exception of the operating system, I have choices — and lots of them. [...] I do know someone who bought a tablet and loves it. But when I asked him...

Wednesday, Apple Insider reported on an investor report from J.P. Morgan, which indicated that tablet manufacturers competing with Apple's iPad have reduced their future build plans for their devices after experiencing lackluster sales. J.P. Morgan analyst Mark Moscowitz called the poor sales an "early dose of reality". The tablets in question include Asustek’s Eee Pad Transformer, Motorola’s XOOM, RIM’s PlayBook, and Samsung’s Galaxy Tab. Overall planned production numbers have declined by 10%, from 81 million units to 73 million units. It's not surprising that these competitors’...

And speaking of tablet deals, Woot has a refurbished Samsung 7” Galaxy Tab Android tablet for $259.99 + $5 for shipping. Of course, you can buy the same tablet for $199.99 with a two-year contract from Sprint, but the refurb is entirely contract-free meaning you can stick with wi-fi or pay for 3G if you want. The Nook Color has been favorably compared to this tablet, albeit with considerably less processing horsepower; this is the chance to own a Tab with no strings for only $10 more than a new Nook Color costs. Like many such deals, it only...

EBookNewser has reported that Samsung has lowered the price of the 7” Galaxy Tab Android tablet from $600 to $299 with contract from Sprint. Our sister blog Gadgetell reports that T-Mobile is going even further and throwing in a $50 mail-in rebate, making the price $249.99 with contract. The Android 2.2 device will naturally have access to a lot of e-book apps and stores, including Kindle. Of course, the question is whether a tablet that requires a locked-in broadband contract is really worth it even at those prices—especially if you’re paying for smartphone service already. Still, Samsung recognizes...

The Consumer Electronics Show is on, and the RSS feeds are being flooded by scads of posts about this or that new tablet or e-reader. If I tried to cover all of them, I could be here all night. In fact, PC Magazine reports that over 80 tablets are going to be shown at the CES this year, many of them using Google’s new “Honeycomb” version of Android. But how many of those tablets are going to be around by the end of the year? If you’ll recall, 2010’s CES showcased about a zillion e-readers, the majority of which...

Jason Davis has a video of the Samsung Galaxy Tab. You can read his hands-on article here. His verdict: This is the best tablet other than the iPad. Having said that, it’s definitely in second place, but Android’s more open nature can only help. Needs to be priced at under $A500 to compete in Australia. ...

Bottom line? The Tab will be a real contender in the "small" end of the tablet market. It looks nice, feels nice, is fast, has a great display, does Flash and, even without the phone functionality, will have access to the Android Market, and will come with Android 2.2. A WiFi-only version will be available later this year. Pricing: Samsung, like with the Galaxy S, refused to comment on pricing. "Its a carrier decision." Like the Galaxy S, the Tab will be available through AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile. I recorded the presentation for you. I...

Samsung's press conference is at 6:30pm EDT this evening and I'll be there covering it for you. Report should be up late tonight or tomorrow morning - depending on how late I get back from New York. Stay tuned....