The Samsung Mobile Unpacked 2011 CTIA event was meant to introduce the world to just the Galaxy Tab 8.9, but Samsung had a surprise in store – a completely new Galaxy Tab 10.1 than it had shown off at MWC 2011, with a fancy new slim design that’s thinner than Apple’s latest iPad. Admittedly, the iPad 2 is the device to beat, and this isn’t the first time Samsung has taken a pill from Apple’s diet designs – the MacBook Air openly inspired the Samsung 9 Series laptops after all.
The two Honeycomb tablets have been given competitive prices pegged to the iPad 2, with the 16GB WiFi-only 10.1-inch model priced at $499 and the 32GB model at $599, while the 16GB WiFi-only 8.9-inch model will retail for $469, and the 32GB model for $569. For now, only WiFi models of the two tablets have been announced, though 3G and 4G HSPA tablets were detailed. The WiFi-only Galaxy Tab 10.1 is scheduled to hit shelves in the U.S. on June 8th, and the WiFi-only Galaxy Tab 8.9 has been given an ‘early summer’ or July-August arrival.
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Find specifications in the Samsung released spec sheets above. While Samsung has still not revealed exact nature of the 1GHz dual-core application processor that powers both tablets, it’s still assumed to be Nvidia’s Tegra 2 offering. Both tablets are thinner than the 8.8mm thick iPad 2, measuring just 8.6mm. The large 6000 mAh and 6860 mAh batteries that power the devices are expected to give about 10 hours of video playback. Both tablets also pack Wi-Fi a/b/g/n connectivity, will support Flash 10.2, and have dual speakers for stereo surround sound.
[RELATED_ARTICLE]As confirmed in yesterday’s leak, both the 10.1 and 8.9-inch tablet have an impressive WXGA 1280×800 resolution screen, and both feature Samsung’s TouchWiz 4.0 UI onboard. While this last fact has bothered many, Engadget reports that a few additions and features were actually quite useful, such as the ability to resize widgets, both its own Live Panel and Google’s native widgets. The Mini Apps Tray was also deemed useful, but redundant in the fact of Google’s app launcher. Samsung has also thoroughly customized the native apps in the Galaxy S-style. The CTIA event also showcased some TouchWiz 4.0 features like Readers Hub, Social Hub, and Games Hub. Some regions can expect vanilla versions of the tablets however.
Image courtesy: Engadget.com