The long-anticipated Samsung Galaxy Tab is now official. Samsung unveiled the 7 inch Android tablet at a press conference in Berlin today. There’s still no official word on pricing, but we do know that it will start shipping in Europe in September, with Korean, US, and other Asian ship dates set to follow. Some sites are reporting that the tablet will run a whopping 799 Euros, but I suspect this is the unsubsidized price. The Galaxy Tab will likely be much cheaper if you purchase it from a wireless carrier along with a service contract.

We also finally got some detailed specs. The tablet will be able to make voice calls and send text messages. Essentially it’s an oversized phone, which Samsung is positioning as a tablet that can take on both the Apple iPad and the iPhone 4. Thanks to the integrated phone capabilities, the tablet has full access to the Android Market. The Galaxy Tab also has Samsung’s content market, called the Samsung Readers Hub for eBookks, magazines, and newspapers.

Update: Retailer Expansys is taking pre-orders for £679.99, or about $1047 US, but I wouldn’t put too much stock in that price tag. Expansys is known for jumping the gun on product pre-orders and setting prices based on expected costs instead of official ones. via CoolSmartphone

Here are some more specs:

  • Display: 7 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel capacitive touchscreen
  • OS: Google Android 2.2
  • CPU: 1GHz Samsung Cortex A8 Hummingbird
  • RAM: 512MB
  • Storage: 16GB or 32GB of flash storage, plus a microSD card slot for expansion
  • Connectivity: 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi, Bluetoth 3.0, 3G (HSUPA, GSM/EDGE), A-GPS
  • Camera: 1.3MP front-facing camera, 3MP camera on back, 720p HD video recording
  • Video support: DivX, Xvid, MPEG4, H.263, H.264
  • Sensors: Accelerometer, Geo-magnetic sensor, Gyroscope, light sensor
  • Battery: 4,000mAh for up to 1000 minutes of talk time
  • Dimensions: 7.5″  4.7″  0.5″
  • Weight: 0.84 pounds
  • Optional Accessories: Keyboard, stylus, TV-out cable, car dock, covers

The tablet can also handle Adobe Flash Player 10.1 and comes preloaded with the Swype keyboard and Samsung’s TouchWiz 3.0 user interface. ThinkFree Office is also included for viewing, creating, and editing office documents.

You can check out more photos below, as well as several hands-on videos courtesy of Samsung, Engadget, Android Central, and Android.HDBlog.

Update: Vodafone has announced plans to sell the Galaxy Tab in Europe starting in October.

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4 replies on “Samsung launches Galaxy Tab Android tablet”

  1. Wow – here’s hoping that pre-order price isn’t for real, I won’t be buying if it is!!

    I’ve been interested in tablets since I first investigated buying a netbook back in 2008. Back then they didn’t seem to offer the functionality or battery life that I felt would be a necessity.

    I love the idea of having a handy, easy to use device in the living room. Great for passing round and making the web social when amongst friends, great as a media hub at home and on the move.

    I don’t see it replacing my netbook but I am pretty sure I “want” one ;)!

  3. This price is irrelevant. I remain convinced that people don’t want “tablets”. They’re not a lifestyle device.

    For most people, their attention on the slate form factor coincided with the iPad hype. The mobile slate form factor as a computing paradigm, has ALWAYS BEEN designed for people who are:

    a). on their feet most of the day
    b.) away from the office most of the day

    Don’t believe me. Do your research.

    It remains true. A laptop/notebook/netbook is a shockingly useless device if you’re standing and holding the computer. It needs to be resting on something. You need your hands free. A slate has no such limitation. They are designed to be held in the hand or cradled in the arm. This is also why they have a touchscreen, so that the free hand can provide input. This is also why Microsoft has designed their OS to be COMPLETELY controlled via voice (you don’t NEED a touchscreen on a Microsoft tablet).

    This just isn’t how I see the status seekers in my area sporting their iPads. They’re always using it seated, in their lap, or on a table. It eliminates ALL of the advantages of a mobile slate, which implies to me that they must want it for a reason other than its form factor. I know it feels different and cool to use a tablet in a context where you would have otherwise used a more traditional mobile computer, but that novel feeling wears off. Trust me. Ultimately, it’s about getting the most out of the time that you’re giving over to these devices, but these “tablets” offer no such functionality.

    Perhaps when we see slates come out with hybrid digitizers (capacitive and active), we’ll have a better way of determining the value of actual tablets in the market place. As it stands now, people don’t want “tablets”. They want iPads, but that’s because they’re much more closely related to the iPhone, which the same people also want, than to any actual tablet, which the same people also don’t want.

  4. 799 Euro’s is 1024.32 USDollars. It is alot to pay for a tablet. Even if it is subsidized, it will be – IMO – be alot to pay for a tablet even with phone capabilities.

    Does it have an LCD screen or a super AOLED screen? If it has the latter, it could explain the high cost.

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