Samsung takes aim at Apple's iPad, iTunes

Samsung's latest tablet device the Galaxy Tab is on display at the 50th edition of the IFA on September 2 in Berlin.

Photo: AFP

WASHINGTON - South Korea's Samsung took aim at Apple's iPad and iTunes on Friday with the US launch of its new Galaxy tablet computer and an online entertainment hub for movies and television shows.

Samsung said US wireless carriers AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon will sell the Galaxy Tab, which was unveiled at the IFA electronics trade fair in Berlin, Germany, in early September.

Samsung said the Galaxy Tab would be available in the US in the "coming months" but did not provide pricing details of the touchscreen device seen as its answer to the iPad.

The South Korean electronics giant said the Galaxy Tab will offer access to "Media Hub," a new content service at Samsung.com.

MTV Networks, NBC Universal and Paramount are among the partners in Media Hub, which Samsung said will offer a "robust library" of movies, including new release films, next day television episodes and full TV show seasons.

Movies and TV shows can be rented or purchased and shared with up to five devices including Galaxy S smartphones, Samsung said.

"The new site further shifts the company from a product and technology provider to providing an overall digital experience," Samsung said in a statement.

Releasing the Galaxy Tab in the US, Samsung sought to emphasize its differences with the iPad, which has been a hot seller for Apple since it hit stores in April.

Samsung noted that the Galaxy Tab has front- and rear-facing video cameras, allowing for video chat, and runs the popular Flash video software from Adobe.

The iPad does not have a camera and Apple has banned Flash from the device.

"With support for Flash Player 10.1, the Galaxy Tab delivers an enhanced content experience when compared to other tablets currently available in the US," Samsung said.

The Galaxy has a seven-inch (17.8-centimeter) touchscreen, smaller than the iPad's 9.7 inches, weighs 0.8 pounds (380 grams), almost half the iPad's 1.5 pounds, and is powered by Google's Android operating system.

"The Samsung Galaxy Tab is designed for people who want a premium mobile entertainment experience on the go, but don't want to be weighed down by a bulky device," Samsung said.

The Galaxy Tab provides access to the more than 80,000 applications available on the Android Market, Samsung said.

The Galaxy Tab is one of a number of tablet computers slated for release in a bid to challenge the iPad.

US computer maker Dell offers the "Dell Streak," an Android-powered device with a five-inch screen, and Japan's Toshiba unveiled its "Folio 100" at the IFA in Berlin.

US handset maker Motorola said this week it hopes to release a tablet computer powered by Android early next year and South Korea's LG Electronics has promised to release an Android-based tablet computer before December.

US computer giant Hewlett-Packard is pinning its hopes on its Slate.

Glenn Lurie, president of AT&T's emerging devices, welcomed the arrival of the Galaxy Tab.

"We're looking forward to expanding our computing device portfolio and giving our AT&T customers more great choices with this innovative device," Lurie said.

AT&T is the exclusive provider of 3G cellular service in the US for Apple's iPhone and iPad.

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Samsung, Toshiba take on Apple with 'iPad killers'

Photo: Photo Courtesy of Toshiba

BERLIN - Competition to Apple's highly successful iPad heated up on Thursday as Samsung and Toshiba unveiled rival tablet PCs that they hope will steal some of the Californian giant's thunder.

Samsung's Galaxy Tab, presented at the IFA electronics trade fair in Berlin, Germany, has a seven-inch (17.8-centimeter) touchscreen, slightly smaller than the iPad's 9.7 inches, and uses Google's Android 2.2 operating system.

"Samsung recognizes the tremendous growth potential in this newly created market and we believe that the Samsung Galaxy Tab brings a unique and open proposition to market," said mobile communications unit head JK Shin.

The Galaxy Tab, weighing 0.8 pounds (380 grams) -- almost half the iPad's 1.5 pounds -- launches in Europe in mid-September, and in other markets including the US, South Korea and elsewhere in Asia in the coming months.

But the South Korean firm gave no indication however of whether the Galaxy Tab will undercut the iPad on price, which retails from $499 in the US -- or 499 euros in Europe -- for the basic model.

Reports in the trade press said that the Galaxy Tab will be more expensive, at 799 euros ($1,025) in Germany and 699 euros in France.

Toshiba meanwhile lifted the lid in Berlin on its Folio 100, which boasts a slightly bigger screen than the iPad -- 10.1 inches -- and which will reportedly sell for a competitive 399 euros.

The Japanese firm aims to have the Folio 100 hit the shops in Europe in the fourth quarter. And in another blow to Microsoft, the gadget runs off Android.

Apple sold more than three million iPads in the 80 days after they went on sale in the US in April, with demand so strong that some US customers had to wait several weeks to get their hands on one.

Since then, the device, which uses Apple's own MAC iOS operating system, has gone on sale in more than a dozen other countries and is poised to hit the shelves in China, the world's largest Internet market, later this month.

The success caught California-based Apple's competitors on the hop and they have been rushing to respond with their own tablet PCs, or "iPad killers" as they are collectively known.

Samsung's South Korean rival, LG Electronics, has promised to release a tablet PC using Android before December. Microsoft is also said to be about to unveil the Courier while Hewlett-Packard is pinning its hopes on its Slate.

Another rival is Dell's Stealth -- with a five-inch screen more smartphone than tablet, however -- while Lenovo of China, Motorola of the US, Archus of France, Germany's E-noa and Taiwan's Asus are others to watch out for.

Tablets are smaller both in size and in memory than a desktop, notebook or netbook computer, but are bigger than smartphones, offering users video, music, games, Internet and electronic books -- all with touchscreen.

Apple has a year's head start, according to Joerg Wirtgen from German tech magazine c't.

"The biggest market (for tablets) is for leisure. The iPad is becoming the main computer, the first to be switched on in the morning and the last one at night," Wirtgen told AFP.

"But you can't do everything, only the pleasurable stuff. For lots of tasks you still need a PC or a notebook."

He also said they were more versatile than electronic book readers like Amazon's Kindle, which are however considerably cheaper. Amazon unveiled two new versions in late July, including one that sells for just $139.

Gadget website T3 said the Galaxy Tab is "coming for the iPad and it means business," saying it was on "everyone's 'must see' list" for this year's IFA, which opens to the public on Friday.

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South Korean firms prepare to fight Apple onslaught

The 4-inch Samsung Galaxy S smartphone (left) and the 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab tablet PC (right)

Photo: www.engadget.com

South Korean firms said Thursday they would soon release tablet PCs to contend with the imminent arrival of Apple's iPad after the roaring success of the American firm's smartphones.

Top mobile phone operator SK Telecom said it would launch the Galaxy Tab, a seven-inch touchscreen tablet from Samsung Electronics that is smaller than the 9.7-inch iPad.

"We are aiming for a September release. We are also considering diverse tablet PCs at the moment," SK spokesman Kim Dae-Woong told AFP, adding that pricing and the exact release date had still to be decided.

Global computer and handset makers have scurried to respond to the success of Apple's tablet PCs, released in April. The US company sold more than three million iPads within less than three months of the product's release.

Apple's local distributor, KT Corp, said it had been in talks with the US company to offer the iPad in South Korea. Spokesman Lee In-Won said the release could be around early September.

The Galaxy Tab will be unveiled on September 2 at a trade show in Germany. Its local rival, LG Electronics, has promised to release an Android-based tablet PC before December.

Tablet PCs feature bigger screens than smartphones and have no keyboards, instead employing touchscreens or stylus pens as input devices.

Apple distributor KT plans to introduce a low-end tablet PC before bringing the iPad into the tech-savvy country.

KT said it had sold one million iPhones, including about 880,000 of the iPhone 3 and 3GS, since their debut nine months earlier.

It has also received 212,000 pre-orders for the iPhone 4, reflecting its "through-the-roof popularity", spokesman Jin Byung-Kwon said.

South Korea's mobile phone market is one of the world's most vibrant, with 45 million users in a population of 49 million. But smartphones have a relatively small share, implying huge growth potential. Since its launch in June, Samsung has sold more than 900,000 Galaxy S smartphones.

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