Tablet Or No Tablet?

I have been using the iPad for a while now and I can say with certainty the iPad isn't simply a bigger iPod Touch. There is s lot of details that went into the UI, design, squeezing out as much battery life as possible, and making the mobile experience "just works".

So bringing out an Android tablet isn't simply making a bigger Nexus One or Droid with a 10" screen. Nor it is simply installing Android on top of existing hardware as it appears Archos did for the Archos 5. Even now, Archos 5 is still on 1.6 while Android 2.2 is already out.

So when will we see a real Android tablet? I am not sure. As a mobile fan, I appreciate the kind of details and attention Apple put into creating the iPad. They didn't create a bigger iPhone or iPod touch and push it onto the market.

So I am hoping the lack of an Android answer means that Google is working to create a viable alternative in the tablet market to the iPad.

Today, Engadgetwas able to sneak out to the world a Marvell tablet created for a client based on the Snapdragon chip running Android 2.1.

How well does it run? We won't know until it's finally turned on. I hope it is Marvell bring careful about what they revealed and not another case of an HP Slate vaporware.

I think we are likely to see a few tablets later this fall and much more in the first quarter of 2011. For now, there are a whole lot of Android-powered smartphones.