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Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Galaxy S II unveiled in Barcelona
Daniel Carey
Mobile World Congress officially kicks off today in beautiful Barcelona, Spain. However, without hesitation (and a day early), Samsung announced two new devices. As a follow up to their popular Galaxy S line, Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S II, a faster, larger variant to previous models. Along with their newest smartphone, Samsung also announced their follow up tablet, the Galaxy Tab 10.1. Much like the Galaxy S II, the Tab is a larger, faster variant of the 7-incher launched late last year.
Galaxy S II
Samsung’s Galaxy S smartphone line has been widely successful both in the United States and in overseas markets. Following such success, the Korean manufacturer is poised to launch their latest Galaxy S device. As to be expected following current trends in the market place, Samsung has upgraded the S II’s display to 4.3-inches, up from 4-inches on previous models. According to the company though, this increase in size leaves Galaxy S II devices “comparable with its predecessor” in terms of sheer physical volume. Achieving this involved some serious engineering prowess, but somehow Samsung has managed to slimline the Galaxy S II down from 10mm deep to 8.5mm — and I’m guessing, this overall ‘slimming’ has helped keep physical volume on par with previous models.
Physical size aside, the Galaxy S II has also received brand spanking new internals: Previous models made use of a snappy single core Cortex A8 1GHz Hummingbird, but now, Samsung’s upped the ante with a dual-core 1GHz Samsung branded processor. Factoring in the speed of a device isn’t just achieved via a trail blazing CPU — although rest assured Samsung’s latest smartphone is indeed ‘trail blazing’, it’s also a testament to Google Inc.’s Android 2.3 aka Gingerbread. As each iteration of Android becomes more and more optimised for current market hardware, we can expect to see an influx of devices running quicker than Usain Bolt.
The Galaxy S II will join the ranks of ‘fake 4G networks’ the world over when it launches thanks to its HSPA+ compatibility. And should you feel the need to be part of a melodramatic niche market, the S II will also come equipped with NFC for those awkward ‘tap & go’ moments.
Galaxy Tab 10.1
Lets face it, 2011 was always going to be the year of Honeycomb based tablets. Joining the prestigious bunch, Samsung unveiled its newest tablet, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 — the figures refer to its display size. Real original naming convention, right? Nevertheless, its newest tablet is certainly promising with a dual-core 1GHz Hummingbird CPU and drop dead gorgeous display clocking in at 1280 x 800 pixels.
When it first goes on sale it’ll be headed to “Vodafone customers in over 20 markets around the world… this Spring,” said Patrick Chomet, Group Director of Terminals for Vodafone.
With Samsung recently undertaking some heat in relation to tablet sales, more specifically it’s told several white lies lest we judge, I can’t help but think that this second generation tab won’t captivate the market as once thought. My reasoning behind this is simple, it’s too large a device. As an iPad and quasi-Galaxy Tab user, I’ve noticed that for me personally (and others that I’ve talked to) the 7-inch form factor of the original Tab hits the sweet spot. Sure, it may be nice to have that extra screen real-estate that larger devices such as the iPad offer, but on a day-to-day basis it doesn’t necessarily add much value — on an aeroplane sure, or even when watching content you’ve purchased, but as I said, that extra space is hardly utilised.
With that said, Honeycomb does attempt to utilise the resolution of displays further than say iOS, so perhaps that extra space will be useful after all? Either way, it’s nothing but speculation on my part, that is, until some hard evidence (sale figures) become available later this year. Yep, only consumer sales will tell whether Samsung’s created a winner or not.
