(Image Source: Android Community)

JIM FLINK

MEGAN MURPHY

Who’s the apple of your eye? Samsung hopes -- coming in early 2012 -- you’ll say -- it is.
The race for your retina could come down to a battle of days.
Samsung is on track to beat Apple to the retina-resolution tablet marketplace.
Boy Genius reports on the impressive specs, including a high-rez 11.6 inch screen.

“The tablet will use a dual-core Exynos 5250 CPU clocked at 2GHz. Samsung’s tablet will also feature Android Beam for easy syncing of media with a Galaxy Nexus, and a special wireless docking mode for gaming on HDTVs that will help Samsung compete with Apple TV, AirPlay and more...”


And BGR says -- it’ll run on the new Ice Cream Sandwich OS.
TIME’s techland says, that’s a great story … not all that surprising -- maybe even not all that reliable -- but a good story.


“At this point, the idea that tablet makers are trying to double the resolution of their displays is no surprise. We’re already seeing 720p smartphones, which have the same resolution as high end tablets, so tablet displays are overdue for a pixel density upgrade.  The question, as always, is timing. Industry analysts don’t have great accuracy with rumors, and neither does BGR ... I wouldn’t count on a February arrival unless more rumors start piling up.”

Of course, the battle for your affection has become quite personal on the other side.
The Telegraph notes, this is an odd race between partners and rivals.

“Apple and Samsung have been locked in a battle over patents and any revisions to the Samsung product range are likely to make it less similar to the iPad 2. Samsung, however, also supplies chips for the iPad 2 itself.”


Which may be why the race is so close...
Still, Computerworld cautions -- all of this is, for now, rumor and speculation.
The winner may not be the first entry in the door.  But the one who outpaces its rival across the spectrum.


“Ultimately victory in the Samsung v. Apple tablet battle will be won through user experience and satisfaction, product features, and, given the economic realities of today, price.”