CES 2011 Preview Samsung Galaxy Player Rivals iPod Touch

CES 2011 Preview: Samsung Galaxy Player Rivals iPod Touch

Samsung Hub, one of the leading purveyors of reliable Samsung news and rumors, broke this week that Samsung had confirmed that it’d be showcasing the Samsung Galaxy Player at CES 2011. The Samsung Galaxy Player, an Android-powered music player, steps directly into the territory of the iPod Touch, Apple’s MP3 player that runs iOS, the same mobile operating system that powers the iPhone and iPad. Likewise, the Samsung Galaxy Player will initially ship with Android 2.2 Froyo, the latest version of the mobile operating system designed by Google for smartphones and tablets. The Samsung Galaxy Player is, in essence, a Samsung Galaxy S minus the cellular connectivity, just as the iPod Touch is essentially an iPhone without the ability to make calls and access the web via 3G.

The Samsung Galaxy Player will feature a 1 GHz CPU, a 4-inch Super Clear LCD screen with a resolution up to 800x480, T-DMB, WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0, GPS, microSD card slot, support for HD videos, a 3.2 megapixel camera on the back and a VGA camera on the front for video calling. Like other Android devices, Samsung Galaxy Player users will be able to purchase and download apps from the Android Market and Samsung Apps. This represents an exciting development in the rivalry between Apple and Google over the mobile computing space. The iPod Touch has long been a hot seller favored by those who wanted the multimedia playback and mobile app capabilities of a smartphone without the costly monthly voice and data plans and cumbersome 2-year service contracts. Before the Samsung Galaxy Player was announced, no comparable personal multimedia players running smartphone platforms existed on the market. Now, Samsung is bringing an Android equivalent to the iPod Touch to the market, which may significantly impact the market share of the iPod Touch.

Those who opted for an Android phone over an iPhone will likely be swayed by the same selling points of Google smartphones. Apple’s proprietary approach to the App Store and app development has often been criticized as overly restrictive, making room for Google Android’s open source API to fill a niche for users seeking a more inclusive app development environment. iPhones are also conspicuously devoid of removable media, such as microSD cards, and are limited to the AT&T network. Of course, choosing a cellular network is a non-issue for those purchasing a Samsung Galaxy Player, but it’s possible that the Samsung Galaxy Player may even woo prospective 3G iPad (which uses AT&T’s data network) customers as well.

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