Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 Release Date Announced

NEW YORK -- Samsung Electronics Co., Apple's biggest competitor in the market for iPad-sized tablet computers, is updating its line to include a feature that lets a tablet act as a universal remote control for an entertainment center.

The storage space on the new Galaxy Tab 2 will also be expandable with small memory cards.

The tablets will come in two sizes. The 7-inch version will cost $250 and goes on sale April 22. The 10-inch version will cost $400 and goes on sale May 13.

Apple Inc.'s competitors are experimenting with different tablet sizes and features as they try to come up with a way to challenge the iPad's commanding lead in sales. Toshiba Corp. this week revealed a tablet with a 13-inch screen, essentially putting a laptop-sized screen in a tablet. The iPad has a screen that measures 9.7 inches diagonally.

IPads accounted for nearly 60 percent of the tablet computers sold last year, according to research firm IDC.

Apple's closest competitor in the overall tablet market is Amazon.com Inc., but its Kindle Fire is half the size of the iPad and less than half the price, putting it in a somewhat different category. Of the manufacturers that make tablets in the same size range as the iPad, Samsung has the largest share.

The iPad doesn't have expandable memory or the infrared diode that will let the Samsung's models control a TV set or cable box. Instead, the chief new feature of Apple's new iPad, released last month, is an ultra-high-resolution screen.

The updated Samsung models won't have higher-resolution screens, even though analysts believe Samsung is one of the sources for the new iPad screen.

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Comments

[elicourey]

12:41 AM on 04/15/2012

I control my TV with my iPad, but I don't use infrared because it's not the 90s anymore....I use WiFi.

[Steele361]

09:39 AM on 04/14/2012

I have a blackberry playbook that is better than the fire in many ways for the same price, but I will be getting a 7" samsung tablet, I love gadgets.
Thanks and have a good day.

[David LS]

01:26 PM on 04/13/2012

The UHD screen technology and manufacturing capability was developed by Samsung 4 years ago.

[andrewlgm]

07:34 AM on 04/13/2012

Apple spend millions in advertising. Advertising a great product that nobody needs. The competition has got no chance, even win superior products.

[KPinSEA]

06:16 AM on 04/13/2012

Nobody with the slightest awareness of the respective hardwares puts Kindle Fire in the same category as genuine tablet computers, and it's a shameless piece of marketing fluff to do so.

I hope Amazon paid you well for the gesture.

[ResearchtheFacts]

09:11 PM on 04/12/2012

How hard is it for HP to say Samsung has a new tablet that is a rival to the kindle Fire?

[mairs]

09:55 PM on 04/12/2012

They won't because then you'll have the information and may not click on the article to find out who it is. Common tactic.

[RecreationalPilot]

06:41 PM on 04/12/2012

Was there some kind of update gone awry on the Kindle Fire.

We have 2 Fires, under separate Amazon Accounts and over the past week, the battery life dropped down to 1 hour before the unit dies. Calls to Amazon were met with denial.

What's the chance of getting an update and then having both then Fires die after 1 hour?

[mairs]

09:58 PM on 04/12/2012

Uh-oh.

Mine isn't doing that but I haven't checked for updates lately. That is strange.

[J0E1]

03:05 PM on 04/12/2012

New Kindle Fire Rival Announced

Did I just read this right?  A Kindle Rival?  Not an iPad rival?  *pinches self*

[elicourey]

12:38 AM on 04/15/2012

I think everyone quit trying to compete with the iPad

[garumphul]

02:55 PM on 04/12/2012

The iPad and Kindle Fire work because they are built to work within their respective ecosystems. Amazon's video, music, and book markets are all front-and-center on the Kindle, ditto for Apple and the iPad. Those devices exist primarily to drive customers to the marketplate. This is how Amazon sell the Fire so cheaply, and how Apple makes such a ton of money.

Samsung have none of those advantages. Where the Fire and iPad have seamless interfaces for their media, any other manufacturer's tablet requires a hodge-podge of dissociated apps. That's a huge differentiator for most buyers.

[vorykua]

04:10 PM on 04/12/2012

well, you can use google play for that. for apps, music and movies. kindle books and apps are also available on the samsung

[garumphul]

04:27 PM on 04/12/2012

That would be the hodge-podge of applications I referred to. On the Kindle and the iPad those application are first-class citizens, designed to blend seamlessly into the GUI. That is a huge deal when branding the device and keeping the user within your own marketplace... which is, in the end, what these devices are for.

[k-watanabe]

01:25 PM on 04/12/2012

Now if they have the Note 10.1 at $400...

[Cael]

04:21 PM on 04/12/2012

to bad there is no chance of that. the note seems interesting but I get a feeling its going to be 600

[RayWes]

01:06 PM on 04/12/2012

I wondered what happened to Pavel Chekov, (Star Trek) nice to hear him do demos for Samsung.

[theveggiedude]

12:48 PM on 04/12/2012

If they can't match the Kindle Fire eco-system then they have no idea what they are doing.

[RecreationalPilot]

06:50 PM on 04/12/2012

Did you notice a short battery life over the past week? Our families 2 Fires went from 3-4 hours down to 1 hour per charge after the last update. (Perhaps this post won't get deleted.)

[jayded]

10:10 AM on 04/12/2012

I'm gonna sell that playbook i bought at christmas like ASAP....

[Gravenstein]

10:13 AM on 04/12/2012

Good luck with that.

[PhillyKing]

11:07 AM on 04/12/2012

give u $10 :)