Samsung launches low-cost Android 4.0 tablet with bigger screen

IDG News Service - Samsung Electronics has added a second tablet to a new Galaxy Tab 2 family of low-cost tablets, but this time with a 10-inch screen, the company said on Sunday.

The Galaxy Tab 2 (10.1) will use Android 4.0 just like the recently announced Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0).

The two tablets have a very similar hardware specification, including a 1 GHz dual-core processor, two cameras and a storage of 32 GB plus a MicroSD card slot for added capacity.

But the resolution on the screen has been increased to 1280-by-800 pixels on the 10-inch model. Also the weight has increased from 345 grams to 588 grams, but that is the price you pay for the bigger screen. The original Galaxy Tab 10.1 weighed 565 grams.

The battery has grown from 4,000 mAh to 7,000 mAh, as well.

The smaller tablet is an "on-the-go device," while the Galaxy Tab 2 (10.1) is better suited for home use, Samsung said.

Users will again be able to choose between a 3G version and a Wi-Fi version. Starting in the UK, the Galaxy Tab 2 family will be launched globally from March.

Samsung did not release pricing information for the U.K., but said that when the tablet reaches Sweden the Wi-Fi version will cost 3,120 Swedish kronor (US$470), excluding taxes.

The company is pitching the tablet as having an attractive price that will allow more people to buy a tablet. In Sweden, the iPad 2 costs $531, excluding taxes.

Just like with the Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0), Samsung hopes to attract a larger audience to its tablets. Sales of Android-based tablets more than tripled during the fourth quarter of 2011, but Apple still dominates the market, according to a recent report from Strategy Analytics. The Android camp had a 39.1 percent share of global tablet shipments, compared to 29 percent a year earlier. Apple's share dropped from 68.2 percent to 57.6 percent, Strategy Analytics said.

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