IFA 2010: Samsung Galaxy Tab now official

The first tablet of the Korean electronics giant was showcased during IFA 2010

The Galaxy Tab

Putting an end to all the speculations that have been doing round of the internet, Samsung finally showcased their first tablet called the Galaxy Tab. The 7-inch toy was unveiled during the ongoing IFA at Berlin as promised. This is probably the first tablet that will be able to make phone calls apart from browsing net and enjoying multi-media for you. Weighing only 380gm, Samsung would rather call this baby a Smart Media device – as mentioned by Thomas Richter, Samsung's head of product portfolio, in a press conference.

Screen and storage

The 7-inch screen of G Tab has a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels, which should be a pleasure to look at knowing that this resolution is generally found on the much larger 10-inch screen area of the netbooks. The accelerometer should allow it to use it both portrait and landscape mode, apart from other usual functions it lets a Smartphone do. The tablet will be sold with 16GB and 32GB internal storage, expandable up to another 32GB with the help of external memory card.

Connectivity

There are two cameras – one on the back for clicking photographs and recording videos, and the front one should facilitate video calling. There will be the usual connectivity options like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, HSDPA and HSUPA. The battery promises to last for up to seven hours of continuous video playback, so I assume it will see one through the whole day of office work.

Android

The G Tab is expected to run Froyo aka Android 2.2, which is a great news as most of the tablets in the market right now, including the Streak, runs 2.2 or lower. But expect a similar TouchWiz interface on top of Froyo that we have seen in the Galaxy S Smartphone. That’s not all, Samsung announces that Gingerbread (Android 3) will be made available as soon as the OS becomes commercial.

Browsing and reading

The tablet will support both HTML5 and Flash, as opposed to a rumor before that the built-in browser may not support Flash. There is an e-book store that will compete against Kindle.

Other specifications

There is a unique voice call facility Samsung plans to provide, in which the operator will be providing two SIMs to the customer for the G Tab and his/her Smartphone, so that one number can be used on both devices.

Pricing and availability

Both are not known yet, but I expect it to be available before the end of the year. In fact Samsung promises more models of various screen sizes in near future to appeal to a wide range of audience.