Samsung Electronic Co.’s 7-inch Galaxy Tab have sold more than half a million since being release in Italy in mid-October. The latest tablet PC device is in direct competition with Apple Inc.’s 9.7-inch iPad.
“We believe tablet PCs will take over a bigger portion of the market next year,” Samsung’s mobile division head Shin Jong-kyun said at the IFA gadget expo in Berlin in September. “For this year, we’re projecting to sell up to 1 million units.”
A total of 600,000 units of the Galaxy Tab have been sold worldwide to date, and the device is being marketed to over 30 countries in North America, Europe, and Asia. In Korea alone there have been 30,000 units sold since Nov. 14 and more than 40,000 South Koreans have preordered the popular tablet PC according to a spokesperson from the wireless operator KT.
The Galaxy Tab shares the same operating system as the Samsung Galaxy S smartphone, which is powered by Google Inc.’s Android platform, often highlighted for its open source ability. In the third quarter, Samsung’s smartphones for the first time achieved a double-digit share of the Western European smartphone market with a 10.9 percent stake, putting it just 3 percentage points behind third place Canadian Blackberry maker Research In Motion, which trails Apple in second and Nokia which holds the top spot.
Given the market response to the Galaxy Tab, the Korean tablet PC appears targeted at consumers who are not pre-existing Apple fans or who are not in favor of Apple’s philosophy of restricting users to its own branded hardware and software. Reviews on CNET, the popular technology website, have suggested Samsung’s latest release to be the first serious competitor to Apple’s iPad, and one CNET blog headline reads, “Samsung Goes Where Apple Won’t.”
There are many similarities shared between Samsung’s Galaxy Tab and Apple’s iPad, such as the ability to read books, browse the Web, consume music and video, as well as the absence of physical keyboards, and use of glass touch screens. However, the Galaxy Tab is slightly lighter and has a smaller screen size with a footprint very similar to the Amazon Kindle. This allows the Galaxy Tab to be held comfortably with one hand or put in a back pocket, a feature differentiating it from the iPad. Other advantages the Galaxy Tab has over the iPad include a front facing webcam and backside camera with flash, a micro SD card slot, as well as the ability to play Adobe Flash video.
According to a report by AFP, the global tablet PC market is expected to expand to 30 million units next year from 13 million this year, based on industry data. Other players that will be releasing tablet products in upcoming months include Research In Motion, Hewlett-Packard, and Motorola.
“We believe tablet PCs will take over a bigger portion of the market next year,” Samsung’s mobile division head Shin Jong-kyun said at the IFA gadget expo in Berlin in September. “For this year, we’re projecting to sell up to 1 million units.”
A total of 600,000 units of the Galaxy Tab have been sold worldwide to date, and the device is being marketed to over 30 countries in North America, Europe, and Asia. In Korea alone there have been 30,000 units sold since Nov. 14 and more than 40,000 South Koreans have preordered the popular tablet PC according to a spokesperson from the wireless operator KT.
The Galaxy Tab shares the same operating system as the Samsung Galaxy S smartphone, which is powered by Google Inc.’s Android platform, often highlighted for its open source ability. In the third quarter, Samsung’s smartphones for the first time achieved a double-digit share of the Western European smartphone market with a 10.9 percent stake, putting it just 3 percentage points behind third place Canadian Blackberry maker Research In Motion, which trails Apple in second and Nokia which holds the top spot.
Given the market response to the Galaxy Tab, the Korean tablet PC appears targeted at consumers who are not pre-existing Apple fans or who are not in favor of Apple’s philosophy of restricting users to its own branded hardware and software. Reviews on CNET, the popular technology website, have suggested Samsung’s latest release to be the first serious competitor to Apple’s iPad, and one CNET blog headline reads, “Samsung Goes Where Apple Won’t.”
There are many similarities shared between Samsung’s Galaxy Tab and Apple’s iPad, such as the ability to read books, browse the Web, consume music and video, as well as the absence of physical keyboards, and use of glass touch screens. However, the Galaxy Tab is slightly lighter and has a smaller screen size with a footprint very similar to the Amazon Kindle. This allows the Galaxy Tab to be held comfortably with one hand or put in a back pocket, a feature differentiating it from the iPad. Other advantages the Galaxy Tab has over the iPad include a front facing webcam and backside camera with flash, a micro SD card slot, as well as the ability to play Adobe Flash video.
According to a report by AFP, the global tablet PC market is expected to expand to 30 million units next year from 13 million this year, based on industry data. Other players that will be releasing tablet products in upcoming months include Research In Motion, Hewlett-Packard, and Motorola.
