10″ Samsung Galaxy Tab to take on iPad

Last week Samsung gave a hint to its future plans to offer tablet devices by revealing a picture of a 7″ device called the Galaxy Tab via Twitter. Effectively a big version of the Samsung Galaxy S smartphone, a 7″ version seemed like a nice middle-ground between phone and iPad form factors.

Samsung’s plans don’t stop at just one tablet, though. News is starting to spread that Samsung is going to take Apple head on with both 8″ and 10″ models of the Galaxy Tab. The 8″ version appearing in October, and the 10″ version coming this December. Both tablets will run Android with the TouchWiz UI overlaid.

For the moment, Samsung is declining to comment as you would expect. Such a range is thought to be Samsung’s move into the same markets as Apple, putting the two companies in direct competition for smartphones, laptops, and now tablet devices.

Read more at The Korea Herald and Samsung Hub, found via ZDNet

Matthew’s Opinion

The only thing that makes me suspicious of this rumor is the mention of the 8″ model. Why would you release 7″ and 8″ models? Surely they are too close together in size? It’s possible a 7″ model is being released shortly, and then the 8″ model will replace it in October, but that’s a strange plan.

Competing with Apple in the tablet market is something a lot of companies will have to do over the coming months. Apple selling millions of iPads shows the market exists and therefore needs to be catered to. Although companies like HP, Asus, and now Samsung are clearly planning products, I suspect even HTC will consider pushing out larger screen devices in the future. HTC is Apple’s number one competitor in the smartphone space in terms of producing devices that match or exceed the iPhone on looks, performance, and functionality. The same will probably be true with tablet devices, or at least I hope it will.

Regardless of how many tablets appear on the market Apple still holds a couple of big advantages. The first is the App Store with its huge range of apps no one else can match. The second is price point. Apple is using custom silicon, has sourced the best components, and is making a profit on the sales of iPad. Can anyone else produce a similar tablet, at the same price point, and still be profitable?

http://www.geek.com/articles/chips/10-samsung-galaxy-tab-to-take-on-ipad-2010067/