IFA - Day 1 - Samsung shows off tablets, 3D and connected TVs

Much like last year, 2011 is the year of the tablet. With this in mind, Samsung dedicated a huge portion of its already rather large stand to one tablet in particular, the Galaxy Tab 7.7.

Oddly enough, at present the Samsung Galaxy Tab isn't being sold in Germany. This is due to some patent issues and a court order that it be removed from sale. Still, this hasn't stopped Samsung showing off its latest tablet, the new 7inch Galaxy Tab here at IFA.

Running on Android 3.2, Samsung has modified the interface slightly and added its own apps and widgets. We particularly liked the Live Panel on the tablets home screen, which showed the latest time, weather and news. It was also easy to customise and change. Another unique feature on the Galaxy Tab is 'mini-apps', which are stored in a pull-out 'folder' at the bottom of the tablet.

The screen quality of the Galaxy Tab 7.7 is hugely impressive. Due to its size it is also very light. It is also very thin and unlike a lot of Android tablets we've seen over the last few months, really well designed. It certainly has the 'quality' feel of the iPad.

It certainly seems like a potential challenger to the iPad's title of 'best tablet' and its greater portability really sets it apart from Apple's tablet.

Elsewhere on the Samsung stand we took a look at the Samsung 'smart' TVs. Smart TVs have been around for a while now; they connect up to the internet and work a bit like a computer. There is software installed on the TV allowing you to download films, stream content over the internet and also browse through Facebook and YouTube.

The problem with these sorts of TVs has always been content and Samsung wasn't able to confirm what it might be bringing to the UK in the future. Still, the interface was clear enough and from our time spent playing around with it, Samsung has done a pretty decent job.

3D TV has been something that we've always been a bit uncertain about. Once again, the halls of IFA are dominated by it. Samsung was also showing low-energy TVs that automatically adjust LED brightness depending on what is on screen. According to Samsung, this can significantly reduce the amount of power a TV uses.

We'll have more from IFA over the next couple of days, so keep checking back for updates.