Finally the suspense over the Samsung’s tablet PC comes to an end after company has spilled the details about its first tablet computer: “Galaxy Tab”. The new baby from Samsung inherits some of the great features which are either similar or missing in its nearest competitor “iPad” from Apple. In a press conference at Berlin, company has announced its roll out plan with Vodafone.
As company calls its tablet computer as “Smart Media Device”, Galaxy Tab definitely have the specification to back it up. With latest technology support of Android 2.2, a Cortex A8 1 GHz processor, 512 MB of RAM and 16/32 GB of internal memory with the possibility of upgrading through microSD memory cards.
Furthermore, there’s a 7 inch TFT-LCD display with 1024×600 pixel resolution, a 3 megapixel camera with autofocus and LED Flash plus an additional fron 1.3 megapixel camera for video chats (that’s got to hurt iPad owners at least a little bit) as well as WiFi and 3G connectivity. The dimensions of the device are 190.09 x 120.45 x 11.98mm, with 380 grams of weight, and the battery should last through 7 hours of movie playback.
In other words, the iPad got a worthy competitor, not only because of the capable hardware the Tab is sporting, but also because it has the latest and greatest version of Android. Although it’s smaller than the iPad, whose screen measures 9.7 inches, Galaxy Tab does a lot of things the iPad cannot do: it has two cameras, it supports Flash and a wide variety of multimedia formats, including DivX, XviD, MPEG4, H.263, and H.264.
Samsung has partnered with Vodafone for the launch, and the Galaxy Tab will start selling in October in the majority of Vodafone’s European markets and later this year in the U.S and other markets.
But the future roadmap is not going to be easy for Samsung either. With lots of plans, announcements and high expectations, other technology companies like Microsoft, LG and RIM are also gearing up to reserve their share of tablet PC market. Recently a blunt & straight statement from LG clearly indicates the level of their upcoming tablet device. Microsoft’s undercover development on MPad with the help of Intel and RIM’s announcement of Blackpad in October is enough to worry for Apple and Samsung both.
With such straight and tight competition, it would be interesting to see which company finally emerge as the clear winner in technology and product reliability in tablet market. Market will heat up in next 2 months when cards of all companies will be on table for fair comparison.
