Android Tablet PC: Samsung Galaxy Tab shows its advantages (in comparison to iPad) in a video on YouTube

Right now, Samsung is promoting Galaxy Tab, the expected tablet of the company which has been scheduled to hit the stores in Europe and United States in a few weeks. Also, it will roll out to more regions of the world before the end of the year (for example some countries of Latin America). The announcement of the launch of Galaxy Tab has received an excellent reception from the press and an unexpected interest from potential users.

Everything began with the Apple iPad, which was first announced in January 2010, receiving mixed reactions. There was positive opinions focused on three aspects: The product quality that Apple always offers, the Apps platform which had already a growing number of developers of iPhone and iPod Touch applications, and the effectiveness of Apple when the company introduces new products. On the other hand, with the negative opinions, the usefulness of the product was put in doubt; iPad attracted criticism due to the lack of support for Adobe Flash (that is a real problem if you want to browse some websites), and the lack of cameras which makes impossible the implementation of several functionalities (such as video call).

At this time, Samsung is getting ready  to launch the major competitor of the iPad, and this company has made a decision that apparently would be the right decision according to some analysts: Its Galaxy Tab is smaller than iPad and comes with a 7-inch screen (the iPad has a 9.7-inch screen); for that reason, the Samsung tablet would be carried in a more easy way and would be grasped with only one hand, which is something difficult with the Apple product.

The rest of the features include several missing features in the iPad: Adobe Flash to browse the web without restrictions, two cameras with video call functionality, and Android 2.2 as operating system, which is the OS that is growing faster than any other in the market today.

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Google testing higher-quality video chat in Gmail

Google has added a new option in the labs section of Gmail that lets users pump up the quality in video chats.

The new setting, dubbed "video chat enhancements," ups not only the size of the video chat window, but its resolution too. The difference in size between the old and the new is considerable, both in the window of the person you're talking to, and the preview of your Webcam that appears in the bottom right-hand corner.

Here's a before and after:

On the left is the older, standard video chat in Gmail. On the right is the newer, high-quality feed, which is properly widescreen. Click to see in its native resolution.

(Credit: Screenshots by Josh Lowensohn/CNET)

Here also is a taste of the difference in the quality, courtesy of Google:

(Credit: Google)

Besides Gmail, the enhanced video chat feature works in iGoogle and Orkut.

In its blog post announcing the feature, Google says that the enhanced version of the chat "frees up valuable resources on your computer" during conversations. It does this by making use of hardware-accelerated video decoding to take some of the work off a user's computer processor--the same thing Adobe's been baking into the latest versions of its Flash video player.

In a chat with CNET, Christopher Vander Mey, a senior product manager at Google said that the decoding itself is still software based, though the new version uses hardware acceleration for the rendering. "We use a form of H.264 codec called scalable video coding (SVC)," he said. "Instead of sending a single image for each frame, it sends layers of images. So a single picture is composed of four lower quality images composited together to make a high-quality image." Vander Mey explained that this technique results in a very good looking video that can adjust more gracefully depending on the user's bandwidth.

On that note, the newer version of the video chat technology can take better advantage of a user's connection to push video all the way up to 640x480 (VGA) resolution. "It will work pretty well from 256 kilobits per second up to 1 megabyte per second," Vander Mey said. "We were going up to 500kb in the previous version." That extra bandwidth and aforementioned codec change are the two things that have made the higher-resolution video possible.

Vander Mey also echoed a similar statement to Gmail's product manager, Todd Jackson, who last January told CNET that the video architecture was capable of HD video, though mostly dependent on bandwidth speeds going up. "We want to see higher and higher resolutions available," Vander Mey said.

In May, Google acquired Global IP Solutions for $68.2 million for its Internet telephony and videoconferencing efforts, though Vander Mey said that the enhanced version of the video chat was not using any specific technologies from that pick-up. "The Google plug-in API that enables this to work is some software from our O3D project on code.google.com." Google launched O3D early last year in a bid to beef up what Web apps could do by making use of local hardware. "That enables us to provide much higher quality," said Vander Mey.

For Linux users, the higher-quality video is currently the default; otherwise, using the new feature requires that both parties have it enabled from within Gmail's labs settings, though according to Vander Mey it won't be that way forever. "Ultimately this will be available to all our customers as the default," he said.

Google snaps up user-generated video startup

Google's buying spree continued Monday with its purchase of Quicksee, a company blending home videos with geolocation services.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported the deal would cost Google around $10 million. Quicksee allows users to upload videos they have shot of buildings or public places and tag them on Quicksee's site so that others can watch a video walkthrough of the area shot on tap layered over a Google Maps implementation.

It's a natural fit for a number of Google projects, including Street View and business listings within Google Maps, and Quicksee's founders confirmed they will be joining Google's Geo team following the completion of the deal. The prospect of putting video inside Street View will undoubtedly raise eyebrows among privacy advocates, although allowing businesses, hotels, or real-estate agents to easily upload video of their private buildings could be a pretty easy win for Google's local-business listing services.

Google continues to purchase companies at a dizzying rate, although most of its purchases of late have focused on either social-media or search. Quicksee is the second company out of Israel that Google has purchased this year, following LabPixies in April, Haaretz said.

Zeiss adapts lenses to video SLR era

Carl Zeiss, a venerable German maker of camera lenses, is showing new ambitions by trying to tap into the market of video SLRs and by expanding into the realm of accessories.

The company has announced two new lenses in its Compact Prime CP.2 line, a second generation of hybrid lenses designed for use either on cinema cameras or on newer SLRs that can shoot video.

The new CP.2 models are a 50mm f2.1 macro with 0.24-meter close-focus distance and a 100mm f2.1 with a 0.7-meter close-focus point. The new products debuted at the IBC Conference for the media and entertainment industry.

The CP.2 models are notable for an adapter ring that makes it possible to fit the lens to a variety of camera bodies--initially those using Canon's EF mount and the PL (positive lock) mount used in filmmaking circles. Now Zeiss has released an adapter that lets the lenses attach to the F mount of Nikon SLRs as well. That helps with photographers or videographers who might have a variety of cameras in use.

In addition, Zeiss "soon" plans to expand to the Micro Four Thirds lens mount used by new Panasonic and Olympus cameras and to the Sony Alpha mount. One point worth mentioning: it's easier to span all these camera body styles because because cinema users rely on manual focus; Zeiss's CP.2 lenses don't have the electronic links necessary for autofocus and other camera communications.

The CP.2 lenses use the same optical formulas as the company's other lenses, but are particularly suited to cinema purposes. For example, all the models except the new 100mm macro lens have the size lens barrel for easier interchangeability when mounted in a camera rig. And they have a higher-precision focusing ring that travels 300 degrees, a silently changing aperture setting, a 14-blade aperture for more pleasing bokeh in out-of-focus areas, and gearing for attachment of follow-focus equipment and other external apparatus.
The CP.2 line isn't cheap, with an average price of $3,900, but the lenses are less expensive than the other cine lenses of Zeiss' Ultra Prime and Master Prime lines.

Zeiss also has expanded beyond its core lens products to accessories. First up are polarizing and ultraviolet filters with diameters of 58mm, 67mm, 72mm, and 82mm. Second is a padded camera strap with quick-release buckles.

Also, earlier this month, Zeiss announced a new member of its more photography-oriented lenses, the Distagon T* 1,4/35 ZE, a 35mm f1.4 lens with a cost of about $1,700. It has a close-focus distance of 0.3 meters (11.8 inches), 11 lens elements, and a weight of 850g (1.9 pounds).(by:stephen Shankland)

Skype versus Google Voice: Prizefight!

Skype or Google Voice? Both are communication powerhouses that bring you free or cheap phone calls over VoIP services, but only one can win this Prizefight. 

Will it be Skype, the longtime superstar of video chatting, or Google Voice, Google's upstart that can replace your mobile phone number?

Find out in this week's battle extraordinaire!

YouTube tests live video streaming

We've been expecting this for a long time, but now YouTube is really and truly ready to give live video streaming a try in a test Monday and Tuesday with four partner sites.

Next New Networks, a producer of series programming for the Internet, said Monday that it is among four alpha testers of the new YouTube live-streaming platform, with three of its series joining the live stream over the two-day period.

Web entertainment company Young Hollywood said Monday it will present live celebrity interviews, starting with skateboarder Tony Hawk. YouTube's other partners on the project are Rocketboom and Howcast.

"Online video continues to grow in popularity around the globe, and so it is thrilling to be among the alpha testers of this new chapter in original Web programming," Vanessa Pappas, vice president of audience and strategic partnerships at Next New Networks, said in a statement.

"We think of live as the next chapter in online video," YouTube product manager Joshua Siegel told USA Today ahead of the launch.

But as with all trial runs, things may not go smoothly. "Bear with us as we test this new platform as there may be some bumps along the way," Siegel said in a blog post.

Siegel further describes the testing:

 This new platform integrates live streaming directly into YouTube channels; all broadcasters need is a Webcam or external USB/FireWire camera. Included in the test is a "Live Comments" module which lets you engage with the broadcaster and the broader YouTube community. For the purpose of the trial, this offering will only be available today and tomorrow. Based on the results of this initial test, we'll evaluate rolling out the platform more broadly to our partners worldwide.

YouTube has experimented with live video in the past. Just last week, it Webcast the Google press conference unveiling Google Instant. But this appears the first test of a full-fledged live streaming platform the likes of Ustream and Livestream, TechCrunch pointed out.