Samsung hasn’t announced a price yet for the Galaxy Tab.

Since Apple launched the iPad in April, almost every major consumer electronics maker has said it is working on a slate of its own. Yet only a few have yet made it to the market.

Earlier this month, Dell launched the Streak, a device with a 5-inch display that has been billed as a tablet but is priced and acts like a phone. Dell plans to introduce more tablets. BlackBerry maker Research In Motion and HP are also reportedly developing tablets. The JooJoo tablet, launched in March by a former partner of TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington, debuted to negative reviews, has not sold well and is embroiled in legal wrangling.

Meanwhile, Apple has sold more than 3 million iPads.

The Galaxy Tab has a smooth, slab-like design that’s similar to the iPad. It packs in a powerful Cortex A8 1.0GHz processor and supports HD video. The device has a 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera for video telephony over 3G and a 3 megapixel rear-facing camera to capture images and video. It will offer 16 GB or 32 GB internal storage and will have microSD expansion for up to 32 GB of additional storage.

The Galaxy Tab will support 3G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, along with push e-mail. It will not offer voice calling features (except via VoIP apps).

Android OS fills out a smart hardware package

Hold the Galaxy Tab and the first thing that strikes you is how compact the device is. The Galaxy Tab has a smaller screen than the iPad and that translates into a lighter device.

The tablet’s smaller size also makes it easier to hold it in just one hand as you would with an e-reader like the Kindle or the Nook. The 7-inch display means the device is small enough to slip into the pocket of a suit or a purse.

The Galaxy Tab runs Android, an operating system that so far has done best on smartphones.

But Samsung seems to have done a good job of making the Android OS work on the tablet form factor. Samsung has an attractive calendar app for the Galaxy Tab and the email app on the tablet is comparable to that on the iPad.

The Galaxy Tab also includes an e-reading application powered by Kobo–the e-reader sold at Borders. The tablet has a ‘Media Hub’ for video clips and movies, which Samsung hopes to offer as rentals or downloads that users can buy.

Almost all independent apps in the Android Market will work for the Galaxy Tab, says Samsung. So users can buy the tablet and immediately have apps they can download and play with. But we will have to test this to see if it will work for all apps in the Market.

Samsung plans to launch the device in Europe in mid September, and in the U.S. and Asia shortly thereafter.

See Also:

• Samsung to Launch 7-inch Tablet in September
• Video: Samsung Tablet Looks Like a Strong iPad Rival
• Samsung Enters Tablet Race With the Galaxy Tape
• First Look: ELocity’s Android Tablet Makes Great Media Player …
• Attack of the Pads: Tablets Take On Apple

Photos: Samsung

Authors: Priya Ganapati

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