Weekly high-tech product releases: iPods, Galaxy Tab, Viewpad 7, 3D TVs

High-tech product releases announced the week ending September 8 include Samsung's Galaxy Tab, new iPods from Apple, ViewSonic's ViewPad 7 and ViewPad 100, Philips Cinema 21:9 Platinum Series 3D TV, Toshiba's Folio 100, Microsoft's Arc Touch Mouse, the Motorola Milestone 2, and ultra-fast SDHC memory cards from Toshiba.

A sophisticated tablet packed full of features
The Galaxy Tab is Samsung's first tablet and this year's IFA "it" device. The tablet runs Android 2.2, comes with a 7 inch 1024x600 pixel display, a 3MP camera with flash (plus a forward-facing camera for video conferencing), 3G and WiFi connectivity, and has a Cortex A8 1GHz processor. The tablet will be launched in the fourth quarter of 2010. No official price has been announced however Samsung officials assure it will be "competitive" with the iPad.

Iconic iPods get redesign and updated features
Apple took the wraps off its brand new lineup of iPods this week, introducing redesigned versions of the iPod Shuffle, iPod Nano and iPod touch. An even slimmer iPod touch was upgraded with a Retina display, FaceTime video calling, HD video recording and the addition of Apple's new Game Center. The already tiny iPod Nano was shrunk to almost half its previous size. It also gained a 1.5 inch touch screen, a built-in radio, pedometer, built-in clip, and extra features for people with disabilities. The iPod Shuffle was given back its big, clickable control pad. It also packs in a new VoiceOver button for vocal controls, support for 25 different languages and Apple's Genius Mixes. The iPod touch is priced from $229, the iPod Nano from $149 and the iPod shuffle from $49. All models are available now.

A 7" tablet that doubles as a phone
ViewSonic's ViewPad 7 is not just a 7" Android 2.2 tablet, it also packs in full phone functionality (with standard voice calls, text messaging, and VOIP) multi-tasking, front- and back-facing cameras, and 3G, WiFi  and Bluetooth connectivity. The device will arrive in early October and is expected to be priced at around £350 (€420).

The world's first tablet to run both Windows 7 and Android software
ViewSonic's ViewPad 100 is the first dual-boot tablet in the world. It runs both Microsoft's Windows 7 Home Premium and Google's Android 1.6 OS, enabling users to have the flexibility of an application/internet driven tablet experience while also being able to fall back on the traditional experience of a portable PC computer. The tablet will be available in October at an estimated price of £549 (€660).

A 3D TV that turns your living room into a cinema
Philips Cinema 21:9 Platinum Series is the world's first cinema-proportion 3D TV. The 58" display is designed to provide a superb "cinema-like" viewing experience thanks to its 21:9 ratio. Philips claims the TV is the fastest LED TV currently available in the world with a refresh rate of 0.5ms. The Cinema 21:9 Platinum Series 3D TV will be available in Europe and Brazil from September priced from €3999.

A thin, light Android tablet
Toshiba's IFA tablet entry is a 10.1 inch 1024x600p capacitive touchscreen Android 2.2 device called the Folio 100. It has around 7 hours of battery life, a 1.3MP web cam, a next-generation Nvidia Tegra 2 processor, 16GB of built-in storage and support for Flash 10.1 (but no access to the Android Marketplace). The Folio 100 is expected to be priced at around €399 with a Q4 release date.

A touch sensitive mouse that changes shape
Microsoft's newest mouse, the Arc Touch Mouse, is a flexible touch sensitive peripheral that changes its shape according to need. The Arc Touch Mouse is thin (15mm at its widest point) and flexible, making it ideal for on-the-go consumers who need to conserve space in their bags. It has a "touch strip" that facilitates slow and fast scrolling with the touch of your finger, BlueTrack Technology so you can use the mouse on almost any surface, and it will last for up to six months on two AAA batteries. The Arc Touch is priced at $69.95 and will be available in early December.

A smartphone superstar gets an upgrade
More power, 720p HD video capture and playback, more storage, and more connectivity are just a few of the major enhancements Motorola has made for the second edition of its European-bound smartphone, the Milestone 2. Additional features found on the Milestone 2 include an improved and more spacious QWERTY keyboard, the latest version of Motorola's social networking solution MotoBlur, a 1GHz processor, the ability to connect up to five other WiFi devices using the handset's 3G mobile hotspot, Adobe Flash Player 10.1, a 5 MP camera with dual LED Flash, up to 40GB of memory and Android 2.2 OS. The Milestone 2 will hit stores in the beginning of Q4. No pricing has been announced.

The world's fastest SDHC memory cards
Toshiba's new 8GB, 16GB and 32GB SDHC UHS-I cards (product names THNSU008GAA21J, THNSU016GAA21K, and THNSU032GAA21L respectively) are capable of offering consumers blazing fast speeds, two times as fast as the company's existing top-end SD memory cards. Sample shipments of Toshiba's THNSU032GAA21L will be available from November while mass production of the 16 and 32GB SD cards THNSU008GAA21J and THNSU016GAA21K will start in December.