The Samsung Galaxy Tab has been available for a few months now, but customers that would prefer a model without cellular connectivity are still waiting for their device to arrive. Today Samsung confirmed that, yes, the WiFi-only Galaxy Tab is still coming, and that it'll arrive on store shelves some time in the first quarter of 2011. There will be 16GB of memory built into the WiFi Tab, but if you were hoping for a color change or some sort of other cosmetic change to differentiate the WiFi and cellular Galaxy Tabs, you're out of luck. No word on a concrete launch date or any sort of price (we've heard $499.99 in the past), but I'm sure we'll learn more soon. Check out the full press release below.
It's great to see the WiFi-only Galaxy Tab finally confirmed, but with Honeycomb and tablets like the XOOM on the horizon, you have to wonder exactly how well the WiFi Tab will fare. If it launches sometime in the next couple of weeks, it could certainly pick up a few sales, but any longer than that and Sammy is going to face serious competition from products running Android 3.0, especially since there's a chance that the Tab won't even get updated to Honeycomb. Would any of you consider picking up a WiFi-only Galaxy Tab, or has the allure of upcoming Honeycomb tablets stolen your heart?
SAMSUNG MOBILE ANNOUNCES UPCOMING AVAILABILITY OF WIFI-ONLY SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB™
LAS VEGAS, January 5, 2010 -Samsung Telecommunications America (Samsung Mobile), the No. 1 mobile phone provider in the U.S.1, today announced the WiFi-only Samsung Galaxy Tab™ will be available for purchase in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2011.
The Galaxy Tab runs on Android™ 2.2 (Froyo) and features a 7-inch TFT display with 1024 x 600 WSVGA resolution. The lightweight and sleek device weighs only 13 ounces, is 12 millimeters thin and easily fits in a jacket pocket or purse. The Galaxy Tab includes 16GB of internal storage and has microSD expansion for up to 32 GB of additional storage. The Tab also supports Adobe® Flash® Player 10.1 to deliver an enhanced content experience with access to thousands of Web sites packed with complex Flash-based applications and content. The Galaxy Tab's Flash content support includes games, animations, rich Internet applications (RIAs), data presentations and visualizations, ecommerce, video, music and more. The Galaxy Tab is also designed with a rear-facing 3 megapixel camera for taking pictures on-the-go, as well as a front-facing 1.3 megapixel camera and camcorder for video chat.
"Samsung has always taken great pride in giving consumers the most choices when deciding which mobile device to make their own," said Omar Khan, chief strategy officer for Samsung Mobile. "The Galaxy Tab's compact and convenient design makes this device a true mobile tablet perfect for watching a movie, video chat, reading e-book content or emailing while on-the-move or relaxing at your home or office. We're very excited that the Galaxy Tab recently passed the 1.5 million global shipments milestone."
Powered by Android 2.2, the Galaxy Tab offers services like Google Maps™ with Navigation (Beta) and Google Goggles™, as well as access to more than 100,000 applications currently available for download on Android Market™. Just like the Samsung Galaxy S smartphone portfolio, the Galaxy Tab keep users connected with Samsung's Social Hub application. Social Hub works with the user's Messaging and Contacts to initiate the sending and receiving of information, whether it is e-mail, instant messaging, social network updates or SMS messages. Information from portal calendars, such as Google Calendar ™and social networking services are merged into a single interface for easy organization.
Additional features of the Galaxy Tab include:
• Daily Briefing: Offers instant access to weather, news, stocks, and schedules.
• Impressive Expandable Memory: Galaxy Tab can add 32 GB of external memory to store and manage your favorite video content and pictures.
• AllShare DLNA Technology: Take video or pictures shot with Galaxy Tab and send the original content wirelessly to other DLNA-enabled devices (HDTVs, laptops, PC monitors, etc.)
• Document Viewer & Editor: Open and make changes to any Word, Excel, Powerpoint or PDF document
• 4,000 mAh Battery: Super-sized battery provides ample power to watch movies, share content and surf the Web
1 Number one mobile phone provider in the U.S claim for Samsung Mobile based upon reported shipment data, according to Strategy Analytics Q3 2010 U.S. Market Share Handset Shipments Report.
Android, Google Maps, Google Goggles, and Android Market are trademarks of Google, Inc.
About Samsung Telecommunications America
Samsung Telecommunications America, LLC, a Dallas-based subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., researches, develops and markets wireless handsets and telecommunications products throughout North America. For more information, please visit www.samsung.com.
About Samsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies with 2009 consolidated sales of US$116.8 billion. Employing approximately 174,000 people in 193 offices across 66 countries, the company consists of eight independently operated business units: Visual Display, Mobile Communications, Telecommunication Systems, Digital Appliances, IT Solutions, Digital Imaging, Semiconductor and LCD. Recognized as one of the fastest growing global brands, Samsung Electronics is a leading producer of digital TVs, memory chips, mobile phones and TFT-LCDs. For more information, please visit www.samsung.com.
