Samsung will launch the new line-up of its Android tablets, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the Galaxy Tab 8.9, in India on the 10th (coming Wednesday).
The company will launch the two models — acclaimed as the best Android tablets on the planet right now — at a glittering ceremony in Delhi, according to sources.
Prices have not been announced, but are likely to be in the same price band as the recently launched Motorola Xoom, between Rs 32,000 and Rs 38,000.
The Samsung Galaxy Tabs are considered the most technologically advanced tablets, even more than Apple’s iPad2, because of the cutting-edge engineering employed in them. The two tablets are Samsung’s second shot at the tablet market.
Samsung had been the first big brand to introduce a tablet into India, its Galaxy Tab 7 inch model. The product was initially priced at around Rs 35,000, but later came down to around Rs 25,000, at which price it continues to stay.
The biggest attraction about the new Galaxy Tabs from Samsung are the bigger sizes, they come in 8.9 inch and 10.1 inch form-factors, and the design.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is actually thinner than the anorexic iPad2.
They are also considerable lighter than other models available in the Indian market, such as the Motorola Xoom. Being easy on the wrists is an essential consideration for many who want their tablets to double as a reading device as well.
Motorola Xoom, which has a sturdy metallic build, for example, weighs 730 gm while the ultra-slim iPad2 weighs 607 gm. Both are 10 inch tablets, like the bigger of the two models to be unveiled in India on Wednesday.
In comparison, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 weighs just 565 gm and the 8.9 inch model weighs just 470 gm.
In still pictures, Xoom scores the highest with a 5 megapixel camera, while both the Samsung models have only 3 Megapixel ones and the iPad fares even worse.
In addition, the Samsung Tabs come with 21 Mbps 3G, unlike its competition which mostly run on slower speeds. Of course, it is another matter that there are very few cities in India where the 3G speed exceeds 5 Mbps in practice. But most of the 3G networks in India are at the 21 Mbps standard.
Another important factor is that unlike the iPad2, which has a 0.77 megapixel display, both Galaxy Tab 10.1 and 8.9 have an HD (1 megapixel) screen, or about 33% more pixels on the same area. As a result, the screen gives a sharper feel than the iPad2. The Xoom too has an HD screen.
Battery life is estimated at around 8 to 10 hours, in line with those of other tablets, while the processor too runs at a speed of 1 GHz (times 2), like in the iPad2 and the Xoom. However, Samsung’s NVidia graphics processors may just have an edge over the competition.
The two have Android 3.1 Honeycomb, the most advanced version of Android available. Xoom too has recently been upgraded to this version.
The only possible downsides to the new Samsung models are:
1) Price: There is a chance that the 10 inch version may be priced at a much higher price than the competition, in the Rs 40,000 to Rs 42,000 price range.
2) Fragility: In an effort to cut down the weight, Samsung has constructed the tablets (especially the big one) with careful users in mind. The downside is that the instrument is unlikely to take as much rough handling as for example, the Xoom.
But all in all, the new Tablets are likely to be blow the others out of the water, at least for those who consider the Apple iOS and the Android as equal platforms.
See the comparison chart below:
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