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Samsung has slimmed down its Galaxy Tab 10.1, but is it enough to compete with the iPad?

Samsung has already superseded its own inadequate 10-inch Galaxy tab with a brand-new tablet that is thinner than the iPad 2. The company has also announced a tweener-sized 8.9-inch tablet.

This upgrade to the cheap-feeling Tab 10.1 we saw at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, measures in at 256.6 x 172.9 x 8.6 mm and weighs 595g. Compare that to the iPad 2, at 241.2 x 185.7 x 8.8 mm and 601 g for the Wi-Fi only model.

The new tablet, announced at the CTIA show in Orlando, Florida, also has a 1280 x 800 multitouch display, a 1-GHz dual core processor, stereo speakers, Flash support (note — like the previous Tab 10.1 it appears to come without Flash pre-installed) and a new TouchWiz UI built on top of Android 3.0 Honeycomb. It also has a 3-MP camera at the back, and a 2-MP up front.

Price wise, Samsung has got this one dead right, making it the exact same price as the iPad: $500 for the 16-GB Wi-Fi-only model, and $600 for the 32-GB Wi-Fi version. The smaller Tab 8.9 will cost $470 and $570 for the same capacities.

And none of this will matter. There will be a few people who buy the Tab, but the “regular” non-geek person doesn’t go to the store to buy a “tablet.” They go to the store to buy an iPad, just as they used to go buy iPods, not MP3 players.

It may still be too early to call this one, but I have a feeling that Apple already has this market sewn up, and while there will be plenty of other tablets on display at your local big box store, the iPad will be the only one that sells in meaningful numbers. Just like the iPod.

The full press release is pasted below.

See Also:

• Galaxy Tab
• Samsung's Galaxy Tab: iPad's First Solid Contender
• Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Hands-On: A Plastic Toy With a Gorgeous …
• Samsung Chief Calls Galaxy Tab 10.1 'Inadequate'

Samsung Unveils GALAXY Tab 10.1 and GALAXY Tab 8.9,

World’s Thinnest Mobile Tablets

Samsung GALAXY Tab 10.1 and GALAXY Tab 8.9

to feature the first customized Android™ 3.0 experience

ORLANDO, March 22, 2011 – Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., the global leader in Android™ mobile devices, announced two new additions to its family of GALAXY Tabs, the GALAXY Tab 10.1 and GALAXY Tab 8.9, the world’s thinnest mobile tablets, measuring just 8.6 millimeters.

The GALAXY Tab 10.1 and 8.9 feature Samsung’s own TouchWiz user interface implemented on the Android™ 3.0 (Honeycomb) platform, offering superior multi-tasking and enhanced user interaction and navigation.

“The GALAXY Tab 10.1 and 8.9 are remarkable examples of Samsung’s constant innovation and show our dedication to designing premium tablets that fit the unique needs of consumers around the world”, said JK Shin, President and Head of Samsung’s Mobile Communications Business. “By combining Samsung’s innovations in design and display with

our exciting new user experience, we’ve created a new class of products that will lead the tablet market.”

Thinner & Lighter

The GALAXY Tab 10.1 and 8.9 are the thinnest mobile tablets available. The GALAXY Tab 10.1 weighs 595 grams and 8.9 weighs 470 grams. Combining the GALAXY Tabs’ ultra-thin form factor with a lightweight design adds to the outstanding mobility of these two products.

Super Fast

The new GALAXY Tabs will support HSPA+ network speeds of up to 21Mbps as well as Bluetooth® and Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n connectivity to deliver rapid mobile download speeds and reduce data transfer times. Also, the GALAXY Tab 10.1 and 8.9 include a 1GHz dual core application processor for a powerful multimedia and web browsing experience.

Customized User Experience “Samsung TouchWiz UX”

Samsung’s TouchWiz user experience is designed with a Live Panel menu users can customize to display a variety of content on the home screen including digital pictures, favorite Web sites and social network feeds.

In addition, the interface includes an application tray of commonly used features such as task manager, calendar and music player which can be launched while other major applications are also in use, including large file downloads and document editing. This Mini Apps Tray provides a mixture of convenience and flexibility previously unheard of with tablet devices.

The Ultimate Entertainment Hub

The GALAXY Tab 10.1 and 8.9 are pre-loaded with Readers Hub and Music Hub giving consumers instant access to more than 2.2 million books, 2,000 newspaper (49 languages), 2,300 magazines (22 languages), and 13 million songs. The devices are also designed with Samsung’s Social Hub, which will aggregate email, instant messaging, contacts, calendar and social network connections into a single interface.

The GALAXY Tab 10.1 and 8.9 feature a 3 megapixel rear camera and a 2 megapixel front camera, providing smooth transition and seamless 1080p HD video and Flash playback for a rich entertainment experience.

Ready for Business

The GALAXY Tab 10.1 and 8.9 will include an industry leading suite of solutions designed to give enterprise customers and IT managers more security. Developed in collaboration with industry-leading partners such as Cisco, Sybase, SAP and Citrix, Samsung’s enterprise mobility solutions will provide flexibility and connectivity for mobile workforces, ensuring that users are able to operate more efficiently on–the-move.

GALAXY Tab 10.1

GALAXY Tab 10.1, with its WXGA TFT LCD display (1280 x 800) powered by 1GHz dual core AP, is 8.6mm thin and weighs only 595g. It is the perfect device for sharing and enjoying media content with family and friends. In addition, with its surround-sound stereo speakers and support for Flash 10.2, the GALAXY Tab 10.1 will deliver premium entertainment experience whether watching videos, movies or playing games.

GALAXY Tab 8.9

At just 8.6mm thin and weighing only 470g, the GALAXY Tab 8.9 is the perfect device for today’s mobile professional. Whether writing emails on a trip or reading an eBook on the couch, the GALAXY Tab 8.9 provides the ultimate tablet experience without compromising mobility.

The GALAXY Tab 10.1 and 8.9 now join the original 7-inch GALAXY Tab to provide consumers with an unmatched array of choices to select the mobile tablet experience that fits their needs the best.

Samsung’s entire line of GALAXY Tabs will be on display at the Samsung booth (#2440) at CTIA Wireless 2011, March 22 through March 24.

You know who took the iPad 2 launch pretty seriously? Samsung, that’s who. Just as we had heard, the company’s executives were impressed by Apple’s ability to slim down its tablet and, well, it turns out that it took it as a challenge to come up with some thinner tablets of its own. That’s right, in addition to the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 that we have seen repeatedly teased over the last few weeks the company’s announcing a totally revamped Galaxy Tab 10.1, and both slates are incredibly thin yet very well spec’d. On top of that, both will be the first Honeycomb tablets to stray from the pure Android 3.0 experience and add what Samsung’s taken to calling its TouchWiz UX or TouchWiz 4.0. We’ve got all the details and some hands-on impressions waiting below, so hit the break!

Updated: Samsung came clean with the pricing at its press conference this morning. The WiFi 10.1 will hit on June 8th — the 16GB version will cost you $499 and the 32GB $599. The 8.9 is $469 and $569 for 16GB and 32GB, respectively.

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 and new Galaxy Tab 10.1 hands-on: thinner than the iPad 2, dual-core power, TouchWiz 4.0

Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 and new Galaxy Tab 10.1 hands-on: thinner than the iPad 2, dual-core power, TouchWiz 4.0 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Mar 2011 11:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We told you it was coming, and now it’s here: the 11.6-inch little brother to Samsung’s ultrathin 9 Series laptop. As we expected, the 900X1A sports a Core i3-380UM processor, 2GB of RAM, and 1366 x 768 resolution, but instead of the anticipated 64GB of memory, it’s rocking the same 128GB SSD as its older sibling. We’ve yet to hear when the new 9 Series will make it across the pond, but it should be available in Europe starting April 1st for €1,200 — and, if you like ’em small and skinny, you can check out a video of the 900X1A after the break.

[Thanks, Marco]

Continue reading Samsung’s ultrathin 11.6-inch 9 Series laptop appears in Italy, gets hands-on treatment (video)

Samsung’s ultrathin 11.6-inch 9 Series laptop appears in Italy, gets hands-on treatment (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Mar 2011 06:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumors about this started swirling last week, but Sprint and Samsung have just made it official that the Epic 4G and Galaxy Tab will both be getting firmware updates this week that add Sprint ID, the carrier’s Android skin / theme platform first introduced on the Transform, Optimus S, and Zio last year. For the Epic, the update will also mark the return of Android 2.2 — Froyo had already made a brief official appearance for Epic owners several weeks back, but bug woes led to a quick pull and a temporary return to Eclair. Looks like the updates start rolling out today, with all current owners having access to the updates by this Thursday, the 24th. Follow the break for the full press release.

Continue reading Sprint Epic 4G, Galaxy Tab get Sprint ID this week, Epic’s Froyo update makes triumphant return

Sprint Epic 4G, Galaxy Tab get Sprint ID this week, Epic’s Froyo update makes triumphant return originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Mar 2011 09:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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RootMetrics found Verizon's 4G upload and download speeds significantly higher than other carriers'.

Have you been wondering if that new 4G smartphone you purchased is really getting 4G speeds? Wonder no longer.

RootMetrics performed an extensive study to determine how each network’s 4G speeds are holding up to their claims. The testing was performed across the Seattle area.

Their findings showed that Verizon’s LTE network performed at a 100 percent data-success rate. Its average data speeds were between four and 14.5 times faster than competitors, and average upload speeds were between 4.7 and 49.3 times faster.

The phone models tested included the HTC Thunderbolt (Verizon), HTC Inspire (AT&T), HTC Evo (Sprint) and Samsung Galaxy S (T-Mobile). RootMetrics’ CEO Paul Griff said that the smartphone model and its hardware had very little to do with 4G performance — that performance is almost all network related.

Wired has previously broken down what each carrier means by 4G, and what speeds should be expected from each service. Verizon’s LTE network promises speeds of 5-12 Mbps down and 1-5 Mbps up; AT&T’s HSPA+ network should provide 6 Mbps down (and they plan to upgrade to LTE in 2011); Sprint’s WiMax technology promises an average of 3-6 Mbps down and 0.6-1.4 Mbps up; and T-Mobile’s HSPA+ is supposed to provide 5-10 Mbps down. AT&T has reportedly been capping 4G speeds on Android handsets, but this has not been definitively verified.

Over in Oakland, California, the folks at TechnoBuffalo decided to perform a 4G speed test of their own using the HTC Inspire and Thunderbolt.

Using SpeedTest.net’s services and the phones’ Wi-Fi hotspot modes, they discovered median speeds of 8.85 Mbps down and 3.68 up on Verizon’s LTE network, and 2.16 Mbps down and .16 up on AT&T’s HSPA+ service — on par with RootMetrics’ results.

RootMetrics was careful to point out that merely achieving high data speeds doesn’t mean much unless it happens on a regular basis, though. It found that Verizon’s 4G download speeds were greater than 10 Mbps about 90 percent of the time, and their upload speeds were between 5 and 10 Mbps 100 percent of the time.

And Verizon’s average upload speeds were faster than every other carrier’s average download speeds by 37 percent.

A graph of how often each 4G service achieved a certain range of download speeds (from 0-500 Kbps to greater than 10 Mbps) shows Verizon dominating the high end, AT&T spending most of its time in the lower half, and Sprint and T-Mobile’s services ranging widely throughout.

How will AT&T and T-Mobile’s recently announced merger affect their 4G services? That’s yet to be seen.

“Our results stand alone and provide interesting context around consumer data experience for both carrier’s networks in the Seattle area,” said a representative from RootMetrics.

Until it is known how and if the two carriers will combine their networks, it’s difficult to say how the merger will affect their future 4G service. But it’s safe to say, unless it’s LTE, it won’t hold a candle to Verizon’s network.
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Comparing the Carriers: 4G Data Speed Study (.pdf) Thanks Julie!