14 DAY TRIAL // South Korean mobile phone maker Samsung Electronics is reportedly gearing up for the release of a new Android-based tablet in the near future, one that would complement the Galaxy Tab slate.
Not that near in the future, that's true, since the slate is expected to land on shelves during the first half of the next year, but near enough to make us want to learn more on it, that's for sure.
Gary Twohig, Ireland General Manager for Samsung Mobile, is the one who broke the news, a recent article on Silicon Republic states, while also unveiling the fact that the new device would come with Android and a V8 Javascript engine.
Undoubtedly, the mobile phone maker is readying this device with Google's upcoming Android 3.0 on board, since that platform version was announced as including optimizations for the larger screens that tablet PCs pack.
We should also note that this is not the first time we actually learn that Samsung would plan a new Android-based tablet, one that would be able to compete better against the Apple iPad.
Rumor has it that the 10-inch slate would come to the market as a larger version of Samsung Galaxy Tab, just as the latter arrived as a larger version of the Galaxy S smartphone.
This would not come as a surprise, that's for sure, or the fact that Samsung is waiting for Android 3.0 to land before making the slate available on shelves, especially since other companies are making a similar move.
As for the currently made official 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab Android-based tablet, Twohig confirmed that it should arrive in Ireland via all wireless carriers, as well as via Carphone Warehouse.
“We think there’s great space in the market for a product like this, especially an appetite for products built on the Android platform. The Samsung Galaxy Tab is an opportunity for this company to bring our heritage in terms of high-definition screen technology and multimedia devices,” Twohig said.
Even if sporting a smaller screen, the tablet PC is still considered as a great competitor against the Apple iPad, it appears.
“Because it has a 7-inch screen it fits in one hand, which is a natural way to read a book or read online. We don’t envisage it being mass market in term of a mobile phone, but in terms of the tablet space, yes, we believe it will be a major rival to the iPad,” Twohig continued.
According to the handset vendor, a number of more than 10 million Galaxy Tab units are expected to be sold by the third quarter of 2011.