Samsung Galaxy Tab to take on Apple's iPad via all 4 US carriers

Posted:
in iPad edited January 2014
Samsung's Android-powered Galaxy Tab will be coming to all four major U.S. wireless carriers in the coming weeks and months, as the company hopes to compete with Apple's iPad in the booming touchscreen tablet market.



This week, Samsung held an event in New York City to show off its device with a 7-inch screen. Pricing has not yet been made available, but the tablet will be sold by Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile, as well as AT&T, which also offers data plans for Apple's iPad with 3G.



Like the iPad, the Galaxy Tab will also be available in a Wi-Fi-only model, Samsung said. Details on when that model will become available -- or its price -- were not announced.



AT&T, in a press release, said that the Samsung Galaxy Tab would go on sale for the holiday season. No date was given, but the carrier, which is the exclusive carrier of the iPhone in America, said it would sell Samsung's tablet in its own retail stores, as well as on its website, "in the coming months."



"We're looking forward to expanding our computing device portfolio and giving our AT&T customers more great choices with this innovative device," said Glenn Lurie, president of AT&T's emerging devices. "By teaming with Samsung Mobile to deliver the Samsung Galaxy Tab, we're equipping our customers with new and exciting ways to connect to the nation's fastest mobile broadband network."



Verizon, the largest wireless provider in the U.S., said it would launch the Galaxy Tab on its network "in the coming weeks." The carrier also plans to install a number of exclusive applications on the device, including V CAST Music with Rhapsody, V CAST Video on Demand, V CAST Song ID, VZ Navigator, and games "Let's Golf" and "N.O.V.A."



"The Samsung Galaxy Tab is an exciting addition to the Verizon Wireless Android portfolio," said John Stratton, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Verizon Wireless. "Coupled with the nation's largest 3G network, the Galaxy Tab is a powerhouse that will be as exciting to use as it is practical for both consumers and business customers."







The Galaxy Tab sports a 1GHz Cortex A8 ARM processor and a WSVGA display with a 1,024x600-pixel resolution screen. It has a rear-facing camera with a 3-megapixel camera and camcorder, as well as a forward facing 1.3-megapixel camera, which will allow video conferencing.



The device comes with 2GB of memory built in and has a 16GB microSD card pre-installed. The Galaxy Tab can be expanded to 32GB of storage through the microSD slot.



Samsung's tablet also weighs less than a pound, compared to the 1.5-pound weight of Apple's iPad. Given the device's weight and screen size, its e-reading capabilities have been highlighted by Samsung and its carrier partners.



Unverified rumors have indicated that Apple has shown interest in developing its own, small version of the iPad, allowing for greater portability and a lighter weight. In August, it was alleged that Samsung knew of plans for a "mini iPad" and was taking aim at that model with its Galaxy Tab.



Another report suggested Apple's 7-inch iPad would have a weight of 500 grams, reduced from the current hardware's 700 grams.



However, AppleInsider has been lead to believe that Apple will maintain the 9.7-inch screen size of the iPad with a forthcoming update that is expected to add a forward facing camera for FaceTime video chat. It is believed that Apple intends to aggressively push its FaceTime standard, and would like to put a compatible iPad on the market as soon as this holiday season.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 241
    Man, this looks great. I look forward to the WiFi-only models.
  • Reply 2 of 241
    This link suggests that the price will be 799€ (or about $1040).



    http://armdevices.net/2010/09/02/sam...b-at-ifa-2010/



    I'm very interested in the iPad, but the Archos 101 (with a 10.1" screen) seems more reasonably priced at $299 --



    http://armdevices.net/2010/09/02/arc...yo-299-tablet/

    http://www.archos.com/products/ta/ar...try=us&lang=en
  • Reply 3 of 241
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by nonimus View Post


    I'm very interested in the iPad, but this seems more reasonably priced at $299 --



    http://armdevices.net/2010/09/02/arc...yo-299-tablet/





    Archos makes truly great products. But they have no ecosystem at all, making other choices more attractive.



    And they nickel and dime you for codecs. That's better than Apple's method of simply denying users the codecs they desire, but nevertheless I find it distasteful.
  • Reply 4 of 241
    paxmanpaxman Posts: 4,729member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Newtron View Post


    Man, this looks great. I look forward to the WiFi-only models.



    Have you seen how fat this thing is http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim//20..._1_610x457.jpg
  • Reply 5 of 241
    saareksaarek Posts: 1,520member
    Nice looking unit, if they can get the software right and have some decent apps available at launch it could do quite well.



    I don't think Apple and the iPad needs to worry too much though, not for the moment at least.
  • Reply 6 of 241
    I wonder what service they will promote for video calling. And btw how in the hell does this thing not infringe on some of the ipad's patents. I mean it's pretty sad that these other companies can only copy instead of come up with something at all original.
  • Reply 7 of 241
    Maybe in advertised features. But Android is not a good OS for a tablet device. Maybe it will be down the road, but this really will hold up to the 'big iPod Touch'-like accusations people threw at the iPad before they used it.
  • Reply 8 of 241
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by paxman View Post


    Have you seen how fat this thing is http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim//20..._1_610x457.jpg





    Why does that matter? It is not a pocket device. Being comfortable to hold is the proper criteria, not some spec.
  • Reply 9 of 241
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by saarek View Post


    Nice looking unit, if they can get the software right and have some decent apps available at launch it could do quite well.



    It has access to the Android store, so all the popular mobile apps are already available for it.
  • Reply 10 of 241
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by paxman View Post


    Have you seen how fat this thing is http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim//20..._1_610x457.jpg



    Huh thats really fat. I guess it's all the additional connectivity that comes with a price.
  • Reply 11 of 241
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bcahill009 View Post


    I mean it's pretty sad that these other companies can only copy instead of come up with something at all original.



    Cheer up. That is not true.
  • Reply 12 of 241
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bcahill009 View Post


    I wonder what service they will promote for video calling. And btw how in the hell does this thing not infringe on some of the ipad's patents. I mean it's pretty sad that these other companies can only copy instead of come up with something at all original.



    I believe it has Qik built in for video calling..
  • Reply 13 of 241
    boogabooga Posts: 1,082member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Newtron View Post


    Why does that matter? It is not a pocket device. Being comfortable to hold is the proper criteria, not some spec.



    It's a phone. It's really competing against the iPhone, as it's too small to really be an iPad competitor. Thus, the form factor should feel like a phone, and it doesn't.



    And if you're not going to use it as a phone, you're going to feel kind of silly paying the monthly phone charges for it.
  • Reply 14 of 241
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by xian zhu xuande View Post


    maybe in advertised features. But android is not a good os for a tablet device. Maybe it will be down the road, but this really will hold up to the 'big ipod touch'-like accusations people threw at the ipad before they used it.



    google even admitted froyo is not optimized for tablets..
  • Reply 15 of 241
    daharderdaharder Posts: 1,580member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Rabbit_Coach View Post


    Huh thats really fat. I guess it's all the additional connectivity that comes with a price.



    Really?



    Then I guess the iPad is even 'fatter' given that the Galaxy Tab measures 190.09 x 120.45 x 11.98mm at .38kg yet the iPad comes in at 242.8 x 189.7 x 13.4mm at .73kg.



    Personally, I find the Galaxy the perfect size/weight for this kind of device as it's much easier to hold with one hand, and considerably lighter than my iPad.



    I'll be comparing both extensively the minute I purchase my GalaxyTab upon its release.
  • Reply 16 of 241
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Newtron View Post


    Man, this looks great. I look forward to the WiFi-only models.



    Anything over $300 and it will be a rough sell.
  • Reply 17 of 241
    It will be interesting to see if they incorporate FaceTime (as it is supposed to be an open standard).
  • Reply 18 of 241
    daharderdaharder Posts: 1,580member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Wurm5150 View Post


    google even admitted froyo is not optimized for tablets..



    The key word being 'optimized', which was much the same case as iOS on the iPad, given that it really is just a 'reworking' of the iPhone/Touch OS rather than a completely new mobile OS... effectively making it an iPad 'optimized' version of Apple's mobile OS.



    See How That Works?
  • Reply 19 of 241
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Booga View Post


    It's a phone. It's really competing against the iPhone, as it's too small to really be an iPad competitor. Thus, the form factor should feel like a phone, and it doesn't.



    And if you're not going to use it as a phone, you're going to feel kind of silly paying the monthly phone charges for it.



    Hence my comment about waiting for WiFi-only models.
  • Reply 20 of 241
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bcahill009 View Post


    I mean it's pretty sad that these other companies can only copy instead of come up with something at all original.



    True. Imagine what it would have looked like, had the iPad not been released half a year ago. Even Samsung admits they're aiming to copy a rumored 7" iPad. (Which I'd love to have myself... ;o) The WiFi-only Samsung Tab won't have access to the Addroid app store BTW (according to restrictions by Google).
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