Samsung Galaxy tablet reportedly ready for 2010 launch
Forget the Dell Streak, which received lukewarm reviews from critics last week. The Android tablet to beat this year might just be the Galaxy Tab, a sleek new tablet computer from the team at Samsung. According to PC World, which quotes the tech site Samsung Firmware, the Samsung Galaxy Tab will ship with Android 2.2. OS, 16GB of internal memory, expandable to as much as 48GB, and a snappy 1.2GHz A8 processor.
PC World says the Galaxy Tab could be unveiled at the IFA 2010 consumer electronics show in Berlin, presaging a holiday launch – and a headache for Apple, which has managed to dominate the tablet market since the Apple iPad hit the market. Apple, of course, managed to unload a million iPad computers in less than a month, and sales have reportedly remained stellar.
Tony Bradley of PC World says Samsung is wading into the tablet game in exactly the right way. "Launching the Galaxy Tab tablet in the fall is brilliant," Bradley writes. "It is far enough away from the original iPad launch, or the coming next-generation iPad to be the focus of attention, and – assuming it lives up to the demand – it could provide a capable Android-based tablet to take on the iPad during the 2010 holiday season."
Last week, Sprint confirmed that the Samsung Epic 4G – an iteration of the Galaxy smartphone line – would hit store shelves by the end of August. The Epic 4, which is priced at $249 with a 2-year contract and a $100 rebate, is equipped with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, a 4-inch Super AMOLED screen, and the Android 2.1 operating systems. It is the second phone to run on the Sprint 4G network (the HTC EVO 4G was the first).
It's been a good month for Android, which is currently the fastest growing mobile operating system in the country. Only a few tablet computers currently run Android, but the market is expected to explode in the next year.
