Mobile Computing News

Photo: LG

As we hear about more and more tablets being prepared for release, most everyone carries on playing with their iPads. You can now add LG to the growing list of manufacturers preparing their own Android tablet, set for release in Q4 2010.

LG, say hi to Samsung and Cisco

LG’s announcement regarding the tablet pretty much started and stopped there, with the company revealing no concrete information other than its planned release date of Q4 2010. A behind closed doors reveal of the Windows 7 powered 10-inch LG UX10 back in June at Computex could be a hint at what the South Korean company has in mind, likely swapping the bloated Windows for the slimmer Android – likely Android 2.2 aka Froyo – and adding some form of 3G connectivity. Sure, that’s pure guesswork, but it is pretty educated guesswork based on the tablet archetype.

Whatever the company does reveal, though, it will find itself launching in the throngs of an absolute glut of other Android tablets, let alone tablets in general. Companies to recently reveal they had Google Android tablet devices planned were Samsung, with their Galaxy S tablet announcement, and Cisco, with their Cisco Cius aimed at the enterprise market. And all the while, Apple continues to sell iPads as fast as it makes them.

The uncomfortable prospect

Photo: Android

While our excitement for the potential of Android tablets is pretty much equal to our excitement for Android mobile phones in their battle against the iPhone, its getting difficult to not ignore how much ground other hardware manufacturers are losing to Apple. Not only does the Apple tablet have the first move over the incoming Android tablet, Steve Jobs and co are doing a good job of eating up a large chunk of this newly solidified market very fast. And, the fear for reactive companies who launch late into the year is that they will soon find themselves getting lost in the news of the next iPad, likely to debut early next year.

It’s time to stop announcing, announcing, announcing, and rather launching, launching, launching! And in launching, somewhere steal the media attention Apple has become so good at hogging by changing the game. No one is so dumb as to bet against remarkable companies like Cisco, Samsung or LG, but they’re up against a company that pulled a phoenix act a decade ago to usurp its largest competitor. A company that has this knack for commanding attention (even if at times undeserved). We hope they all bring the big guns, making the tablet war everything the competition for the personal music player space was not (a non-event).