Every day, another consumer device manufacturer tries to launch an "iPad killer" ... but I think Samsung and Verizon have created the first, real formidable challenger to Apple's tablet with the Galaxy Tab 10.1. 

I received one as part of a demo program in LA, and let me tell you ... this device is out of this world (pun definitely intended). It's sexy, powerful and it runs on the best mobile OS out there: Android. So why all the accolades? Let's dive into the details: 

Form

The #SamsungGalaxyTab10.1 is sleek and lightweight. It's 565 grams, which equates to just about 1.25 pounds. It's light enough to throw into your backpack or handbag, but it doesn't feel flimsy or delicate. The screen is 10.1" diagonally, meaning that it won't quite fit into a small purse, but the brilliant display makes up for it. (I definitely want to get a case, since cracking the screen would be sacrilege). 

It's gunmetal grey with a black rim around the face, though Samsung says a white version is slated for release very soon. If you look closely in the picture above, you can see the reflection of me taking a picture of the tablet. That's how glossy this thing is, and yet I haven't had any issues with fingerprints clouding the screen. 

Funny enough, it feels very much like an iPad. (When I unboxed it, I instinctively looked for that round square button on the face that would clear the screen or take me back to the homepage.). I don't think it's a bad thing, though. I don't personally like Apple products (with the exception of my iTouch, because I've had iTunes forever), but I understand why they have such widespread appeal. They're gorgeous and they work. Simple. Thankfully, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 meets the same criteria. 

There's no external camera button (my own pet peeve), and the only way to really "orient" yourself is to know that the camera lens should be at the top when you hold the tablet horizontally. The display auto-rotates seamlessly, so there's no real need to know which way is "up," but that's a functionality detail, which leads me to the next bullet ...  

Functionality 

The Galaxy Tab 10.1 is pretty, but a gorgeous device is worthless if it can't deliver. So how does it fare in terms of performance? I've been able to run multiple applications -- Seesmic, Gmail, the Android Market, the Media Hub -- simultaneously without memory lags or freezes. 

The touchscreen is responsive, though not quite as sensitive as my Droid Charge. This may be an anomaly because I haven't had much experience with a touchscreen this big, so I have to get more comfortable figuring out the right amount of finger pressure. In the same vein, I had to download the Swype 3.0 beta so that I could use the keyboard fluidly. I'm just not a tapper (which I learned with the Droid Charge).

If you're going to use the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 for writing emails, documents, or even just FB status updates, I'd highly recommend getting Swype 3.0. It's currenly not in the Android Market, so you'll need to enable your tablet to download non-Market apps, but it's absolutely worth it. (Great blog post about how and why Swype 3.0 works here: http://blogs.computerworld.com/18463/swype_android_honeycomb_tablets)

The tablet has both forward and backward-facing cameras, and with the right lighting, pics come out great. See below: 

The first is a shot of me from the forward-facing cam.

The latter are two shots of dinner I made ... (Note the detail down to the char on the roasted chicken!) 

Images come out very crisp. It will be interesting to see if developers create on-the-fly photo editing apps (like Instagram or Hipstamatic) for Honeycomb (the Samsung Galaxy Tab's OS), because I'm sure that would appeal to real photo enthusiasts. If there's a caveat, it's that you're taking pics with a tablet -- not a mobile phone -- so it's more awkward to use. 

Whew! I'm breathless already, and we haven't even tackled Coverage/Service (and all the pricing concerns), Battery Life, or the Availability of Apps/Content for the device. That's to come in the next blog post, after I've had another day to play with the tablet (and maybe ... just maybe, test it to see how much abuse it can take). But my first impression remains: So far, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is out of this world!

 

Facebook’s influence now reaches far beyond the “digital” world of status updates, tagged photos and virtual farms. In addition to employing more than 2,000 people worldwide, Facebook supports an ecosystem of companies – from brand and agency partners like Buddy Media and appssavvy, to mobile and social game developers, to startup incubators like Seedcamp – that otherwise wouldn’t exist.

Experts predict that Facebook’s display ad revenues will top $2 billion this year. All told, the ecosystem of companies thriving around Facebook is likely worth a few billion as well. Call it the “Facebook Economy.” So how did this economy develop, and what kinds of companies are being pushed out of the market because of it? Are there really that many well-funded social game companies? And how, specifically, is Facebook influencing the way that investors evaluate other verticals like e-commerce, advertising technology and content management?

SocialTimes Pro set out to answer these questions. Using data compiled by Petsky Prunier, a leading investment bank, we examined transactions over three years (Q1 2008 – Q1 2011) and uncovered the following trends:

•Social media deals (investments, mergers and acquisitions) have dominated transactions in the Digital Media/Commerce market segment since 2008.

•The evolution of Facebook’s platform caused shifts in investor interest over the past three years. The first wave (2008-2009) focused on social widgets and apps. The second wave (2009-2010) focused on social games, and the most recent spike has been in social technology.

•Looking ahead, investors and analysts are most interested in new categories of Facebook-related companies: Ad networks tailored to social games and apps, social commerce platforms, and social media content management tools.

 

Get the full scoop in my new SocialTimes Pro report: The Facebook Economy: Tracking Startups and Investments from Q1'08-Q1-11 Available for download with a subscription!

Facebook developers have a ridiculous number of revenue-generation options to choose from. There are display, mobile and video ad networks offering CPM, CPC, cost per engagement and even offer-based options. But since early March, one of the biggest names in online advertising has been taboo: Google. The company failed to comply with Facebook’s Terms of Service (TOS) for ad providers, keeping it off the list of “approved” ad partners.

Facebook hasn’t explicitly forbid developers from using Google AdSense, but the company made it clear that developers using unapproved ad providers risk having their apps banned. Concerned about lost revenue, developers filled 12 pages in the Facebook Developer Forums with questions about which ad networks could compare to Google’s in terms of potential revenue, brand recognition and ad quality.

With those questions in mind, I dug into Facebook’s list of 90+ approved ad providers from the developer’s perspective. With all the options, how does a developer choose which networks to work with? Should a developer give up control over all of its inventory, or try to sell some traffic directly? Does geography matter? What about the different monetization options; for example, is cost per engagement (CPE) inherently better than CPM?

We reached out to all of the providers currently on Facebook's “preferred” list with a survey and roughly a third responded. They answered questions about average CPM pricing in apps, the strictness of the Facebook ad compliance process, as well as how "hands-on" Facebook is in terms of their product roadmaps.

Full results are in my new report, Facebook Ad Networks: A Guide to Monetizing Facebook Games & Apps, but I wanted to share what I think will be one of the most game-changing trends over the next 12-24 months:

• A decision by Facebook to "tax" ad providers with a revenue-sharing agreement, much in the way it "taxes" game developers that use Facebook Credits.

Facebook declined to participate in this month’s report, so there’s no official word from them on whether the “tax” is coming down the pike, but many of the ad providers we interviewed think that it will ultimately happen. Two other trends we discuss include:

• Facebook ad marketplace consolidation (mergers and acquisitions)
• Increased regulation from Facebook

Subscribe to SocialTimes Pro for the full scoop!

And I’m in LOVE. The combination of the phone and the amazing service from Verizon makes it a win-win. If you’re in the market for a new phone, new plan and new carrier, I’d highly recommend this one.

Functionality:

The Droid Charge just works. As you may know, I'm not an iPhone fan, but for the most part, the majority of Android devices haven’t really been able to compete with the newest iPhones in terms of battery life, features, or just cool factor. I think Samsung and Verizon have won with the Droid Charge.

The touchscreen is so responsive. I thought I’d have a hard time shifting from using the keyboard (on my Samsung Moment) to a touch-screen, but after a few days, I was Swyping like a pro. That’s one thing to note. I am not sure that I’d be so proficient with the touch-screen if it wasn’t for Swype.

Form:

This phone looks, sounds and feels awesome. The screen is so big and clear, yet it’s not super-heavy. The camera takes excellent, sharp pictures. (Although I’d like if there were an external camera button to make it easier to take pics).

Videos also load with a snap. Check out these clips from the UCLA Jazz Fest last weekend, as well as brunch at Stacks in San Francisco:

Great quality.

Coverage/Service:

I spent five days in SF, one of the most tech-congested cities possible, and there was only one time that the phone shifted out of 4G (and I dropped a call). I was in Cole Valley, nudged in a rental car between an apartment building and a mountain. My call was garbled and dropped twice. Annoying, because it was the one time I really needed coverage, but it was the only time it happened.

I also used the Droid Charge as my navigation device when the rental car's GPS went haywire. Totally accurate directions and traffic coverage.

Battery life:

EPIC. Just epic. I can talk for an hour, send texts, check emails, read documents, tweet, facebook and use the navigation for hours and the battery didn’t run down. It took two days of heavy usage, with no intermittent charging, for me to get the Droid Charge to conk out. It’s incredible, particularly because my Samsung Moment is terrible with battery life.

The Cons:

The pricing. With Sprint, I get unlimited text, web and talk for $99 per month. No extra fees for anything. On Verizon, there are tiered data plans, and you don’t even get visual voicemail for free. WTF?

I’d also like it if the standard ring tones were less … ringtoney and more like actual ringers. Everyone doesn’t want their phone to sound like a song when it rings.

As I mentioned before, I’d also like it if the Droid Charge came with an external camera button, because it’s pretty awkward to hit the screen to take pics. 

And of course, it comes loaded with bloatware (apps that I don’t want or need, and can’t remove). I guess it’s a rev-sharing deal with most of the carriers, but it would be great to not have a mobile device I buy come with apps installed that I don’t really want. (Or make them easier to uninstall).  

Next up:

Two things I haven’t tested yet: Using the Droid Charge as a mobile hotspot and downloading/watching a movie or TV show. (I'm not really a mobile video content "consumer," but I'll try it to be sure). I’ll follow up with my thoughts on those options later this week. But seriously, if you’re in the market for a new phone – I would say run, don’t walk, to the Verizon store and grab the Droid Charge.

It’s freakin’ SWEEEEEEEEET!

 

Anyone who knows me, knows I'm a die-hard Android. (No iPhones here ...). So I was super-psyched when Christian Borges (@christianborges) from Deep Focus reached out and offered me the chance to try out the new Droid Charge. (Built by Samsung, running on Verizon's 4G LTE network, pictured below).

The standard "sampling" disclaimer applies, of course: Test the phone, use it like it's your own, jot down the thoughts (positive or negative) you have and share them with your social circle. 

First Impressions: 

The handset arrived yesterday. It's very sleek. A little wider and longer than my current Samsung Moment, but much lighter. (I think it's because there's no keyboard). The casing is also black vs. my Moment's grey. I dig it. 

Powered the phone up and was shocked by the weird "Droid" sound it makes when it comes on. It's extra. Then I remembered that Verizon has been marketing the line of Droid phones as "men-friendly," tough devices. Let's not forget that chicks are techies, too. 

Love the fact that it has a front and back camera, and so far, the touchscreen is super-responsive. (There are times when my Moment feels like I have to scrape the screen to get a response). Activating the phone later today and then I'm headed to SF for a few days, so we'll see how well the navigation and 4G hold up in the most tech-centric (and tech-crowded) city of all. 

 

 

Here are the slides from my presentation on Tumblr, Quora and other emerging social platforms for mediabistro's Social Media Marketing Boot Camp. They should be a great intro to anyone who's unfamiliar with these sites, and is thinking about dabbling a bit. (Go ahead, launch a Tumblr, I did!)

I had so much fun presenting to the virtual class. Thanks much to mediabistro's Carmen Scheidel and Jennifer Neeley for inviting me to teach the session. 

 

Tomorrow I host my training session during mediabistro's first (but surely not the last) Social Media Marketing Boot Camp. 

It's Week 6 of the program, and attendees have learned how to do a social media audit, create a compelling Facebook Page, and even turn Twitter conversations into conversions. But is there life outside of these "core" social networks?

There certainly is! 

My presentation will explain why 8 platforms: Foursquare, Tumblr, Quora, Plancast, Intstagram, Kickstarter, TripAdvisor and Yelp should be considered as part of a company's social media marketing mix. 

The presentation will also be archived for Boot Camp attendees -- but I'll see if mediabistro is comfortable with me posting a few slides here. 

Whether e-commerce will flourish on Facebook is a moot point. It’s already happening. By some accounts, Facebook users already have well over $3 billion worth of merchandise available for purchase.

So with the Facebook user base nearing 650 million, Facebook Credits gaining traction as a virtual currency, and everyone from Warner Brothers, to JC Penney, to Brooks Brothers setting up shop, 2011 appears to be the year that social commerce reaches the tipping point.

This month, I dug into the data behind the hype to give subscribers a first look into this emerging market for retailers of all sizes. Research yielded the following trends:

Social commerce is inclusive of Facebook storefronts, but the larger revenue opportunity extends beyond the social network to retailers’ own sites, mobile devices, as well as startups launching new content and commerce platforms.

Facebook sales represent less than 10 percent of monthly revenue for a majority of retailers currently operating storefronts on the platform. There are still significant risks and barriers that will prevent that percentage from reaching double-digits within the next 12 months.

Industry experts suggest that the volume of transactions for physical goods on Facebook will top $250 million in 2011.

Projections for retail revenue generated from Facebook commerce in 2011 are closer to the $75 million to $100 million range.

The most bullish estimates of 2011 consumer spending on physical goods on Facebook go as high as $1.2 billion.

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Learn more in my new report from SocialTimes Pro, Social Commerce: Shopping on Facebook (and Beyond)

Subscriptions start at $149 per month, and you get two reports (mine, as well as reports on virtual goods and social games from Wagner James Au). . 

 

Forget The Social Network ... Find out why Tinseltown has a hard time understanding Facebook in my new report: Facebook & Hollywood: It's Complicated. 

Find out some of the strategies and tools behind the promotion of films like Inception, as well as the challenges Hollywood needs to overcome if it (as an industry) wants to use Facebook more effectively. 

Includes commentary from leading entertainment and content marketing companies like Participant Media, CitizenNet, Sharethrough and Flixster.

Check out the executive summary below: 

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Single. In a Relationship. It's Complicated. If the Hollywood movie studios had to list their "relationship status" with Facebook, it would definitely fall into the latter category.

Facebook has become an integral component of the marketing plan for some studios, but others seem less convinced that Pages and Facebook Ads can contribute to real box office success. Others are just confused about how and when to use Facebook to engage movie-goers.

SocialTimes Pro set out to understand why the relationship between Hollywood and Facebook is so tumultuous. After all, if legacy consumer packaged goods (CPG) and automotive brands can figure it out, why is it so hard for these entertainment-based companies? Research and analysis of the promotion of movies like Inception revealed these major trends:

• Facebook is primarily being used to rally communities around upcoming films. The studios prefer to use more established platforms like Fandango and Moviefone to drive ticket sales.

•The most common tools studios use for their Facebook efforts are Games, Ads and video assets. Facebook is serving as a proxy for TV in all three cases.

•Companies would be better served to not follow the studios’ examples and create a culture of idea-sharing, keep social out of the silo, and pay attention to the data insights Facebook can provide.

 

 

Facebook has a number of different revenue sources -- from Credits, its virtual currency, to location-based deals, to the new "Sponsored Stories" ads -- but its biggest revenue driver is its self-serve ad platform.

So what's making this self-serve platform so successful? Check out my latest report from SocialTimes Pro to find out more.

It includes insights from execs from Webtrends, Bulbstorm, Attention Span Media and Compass Labs.

See the executive summary below.  

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When Facebook introduced its newest iteration of “social advertising,” in 2007, many ad industry execs were skeptical. Display and search ads had been performing poorly on other social networks like MySpace, and Facebook itself had tried and failed with a number of interest-based targeting products.

But the company kept upgrading its ad platform, and the continued development has paid off. Facebook’sad revenue reached nearly $1.9 billion in 2010, double what it earned in 2009. Per eMarketer principal analyst Debra Aho Williamson: “2010 was the year that Facebook firmly established itself as a major force not only in social network advertising, but all of online advertising.”

Much of that revenue growth is being fueled by Facebook’s self-serve ad platform, as it gives marketers the ability to target very specific users in a low-cost way. But what makes the self-serve option so attractive? SocialTimes Pro’s research revealed the following trends, as well as Best Practices:

• Small and medium-sized advertisers are increasingly flocking to Facebook’s ad platform, setting up Facebook for future revenue growth akin to Google’s.

• Facebook’s targeting platform is increasingly proving to be more effective than search and display for both brand and direct response advertisers.

• The platform may be easy to use, but Facebook ad optimization is evolving into a unique discipline, with growing opportunities for in-house specialists, agencies and tech firms.

• Best practices (only available by ordering and downloading the report!)