Thinner, lighter, higher resolution screen, higher resolution cameras, and starting at lower prices.
Samsung unveiled their answer to the iPad 2 today and it certainly looks impressive. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and its smaller, letter-boxier sibling, the 8.9, were unveiled at CTIA in Orlando this morning. Both devices will run Google’s (GOOG) Android 3.0 Honeycomb software and have 1GHz dual-core Hummingbird ARM processors.
Samsung has said the 10.1-inch device will be available on June 8. The 16 gigabyte Wi-Fi version will cost $499 and the 32 gigabyte version will cost $599. That is on par with Apple’s (AAPL) iPad 2 offering. However, the Tab 10.1 offers a slightly larger, 1280×800, pixel display compared to the iPad 2’s 1024×768. The Samsung tablets have a 3 megapixel rear camera and 2 megapixel front facing, while the iPad’s are both sub megapixel. The Tab is 8.6mm thin vs. iPad 2’s 8.8mm and weighs a few grams less than the iPad 2. The Galaxy Tabs also offer double the RAM of the iPad 2 at 1GB.
Samsung manufactures key parts of Apple’s iOS products, including the A5 CPU, so they likely have a good idea of what their rival is offering before it comes to market.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtqXLGPzVMk&w=600&h=375]
The 1280×600 8.9 inch Tab version will cost $469 for 16 gigabytes, and $569 for the 32 gigabytes, but the models do not have an official launch date beyond “summer.”
Sure, we’ll have to wait to find out how well these tablets perform with Android 3.0, but as far as Speeds and Feeds, Samsung has matched, if not surpassed, the iPad 2. No word on whether it’s magical, though.
Full specs below:
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Specs
More on Fortune.com:
- Motorola XOOM Wifi available March 27th for $599
- Twelve minutes with the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1
- The $200 name-brand Android tablet
