Desktops and Notebooks: Samsung Galaxy Player: Android Multimedia Tablet in Two Flavors

Samsung is challenging the Apple iPod's dominance of the portable multimedia player market with its new Galaxy Player franchise, which includes the tiny Galaxy Player 50 and the full-size Galaxy Player. The latter resembles Samsung's Galaxy S smartphone in the same way that Apple's iPod Touch resembles the iPhone: essentially the same device, capable of playing apps and video and music, but with no 3G connection. The smaller Samsung Galaxy Player 50 runs Android 2.1 on a 3.2-inch screen, while the regular-size Galaxy Player relies on Android 2.2 to power media on its 4-inch screen. After spending a few minutes with each, your first impression is that, yes, this is basically an Android device lacking 3G capability. The second is that the devices are versatile in a way one would expect of an iPod Touch killer: capable of playing music, downloading apps and even (in the case of the Galaxy Player) making a video conferencing call over WiFi. But can Samsung break Apple's hold on that market? That, of course, remains the question.