Samsung Galaxy Note

Samsung predicted the time was right for the 5-inch form factor and has found a surprisingly large audience for its Galaxy Note. The device combines a 5.3-inch high-definition Super AMOLED (active-matrix organic LED) display with a dual-core processor and a reimagining of the stylus.

With the S Pen, users can add a handwritten touch to documents and use the display to express themselves—drawing, painting and circling attention-needing details to bring to the attention of colleagues.

On Aug. 15, Samsung introduced an improved Note with a 10.1-inch display and a more feature-rich S Pen. The new S Pen has ridges, so it doesn’t roll off a table, it can drag and drop and cut and paste content between documents, and it’s pressure-sensitive, more like a real pen.

At an event to introduce the Note 10.1, Samsung brought out filmmaker Baz Luhrmann and designer Zac Posen, who showed off how they’d used Samsung’s apps for the S Pen to help them in their media-rich creative endeavors.

The Galaxy Tab is the most iPad-like of the current tablet options—or so Apple has been arguing in court—though it comes in 7-, 7.7- and 10.1-inch form factors. Shown here is the 7-inch Galaxy Tab 2.

At its I/O developer event, Google put on its hardware hat and introduced the (Asus-made) Nexus 7, a 7-inch tablet with a $199 price tag.

The New York Times’ David Pogue called the Nexus 7 “sweet,” its price an “eye popper” and its user experience “Applesque in its fluid touch.”

Microsoft jumped the line on its hardware partners when it introduced the Surface tablet in June. But what surprised and delighted an industry used to iPad copycats was the tablet’s kickstand and pressure-sensitive cover that doubles as a keyboard and track-pad.

It has since been reported that—much like Google with the Nexus 7—Microsoft plans to offer a version of the Surface for $199, taking a hit on the hardware end for the long-term value proposition of familiarizing users with its upcoming Windows 8 operating system.

On Aug. 8, Microsoft partner Lenovo introduced the Tablet 2, an enterprise-centric tablet with a 10.1-inch display, a stylus and full USB port.

The Tablet 2 will run Genuine Windows 8 Pro, weigh 1.3 pounds, feature an 8MP camera on the back and a 2MP camera up front, work with a variety of keyboard and dock accessories, and come in WiFi-only and LTE-enabled (Long-Term Evolution-enabled) options. A Lenovo executive introducing the device called it “the tablet the industry has been waiting for.”

The iPad Mini is expected to more closely resemble the iPod Touch than the iPad. In addition to the smoothness of its user experience—which Google took pains to reproduce with the Nexus 7—and Apple’s extensive app library, the iPad, with its Retina display, set a new standard for all that follows.