Nook and Samsung kick-off autumn stage of tablet wars

The release of the Samsung Galaxy Tab and, in the US , the “NookColor”,  has re-started the tablet computer wars.

After getting off to an explosive start with the release of the iPad, things had slowed down over the course of this year, which had initially been dubbed “the year of the tablet”.

The main source of pressure on Apple’s iconic piece of tech had been from the e-reader market – Amazon’s Kindle and Barnes & Noble’s Nook took many of the headlines.

The new colour Nook incorporates tablet computer capabilities, including (limited) access to apps, while the Samsung Tab is a true rival to the iPad and even includes Flash.

Android’s marketplace still has to cover a lot of ground to catch up with the range and innovation of Apple’s apps, but has made a good start with the new app from free/cheap phone call provider Skype (although there is much controversy about the functionality on the Samsung Galaxy Tab in the US).

Another great new app on the digital landscape is Raileasy. As described in this week’s Shortlist, Raileasy offers the busy commuter the chance to “purchase a ticket…without being kicked on to a payment portal” – allowing them to buy last-minute tickets on their device and simply “saunter over to a self service machine” to collect.

Lastly, and appropriately for chilly late October,  Chillingo and Rovio have launched a Halloween version of their hugely popular “Angry Birds” game, allowing them to reclaim their spot at the top of the UK app store chart.

With the launch of Blackberry’s possibly game-changing device looming, Steve Job’s rather mocking insistence that Apple will not go down the Samsung – 7inch screen- route, and Microsoft not yet fully committed to the battle, the direction that this fight will take is uncertain, but will definitely get bloodier.