After months of rumours and speculation Korean giant Samsung have announced the launch of the first leap into the tablet market. The announcement came at the IFA in Berlin (the world’s largest consumer electronics trade fair) on 3rd September hot on the heels of news of new devices from LG, Archos and Viewsonic.
The new Samsung Galaxy Tab runs on Android 2.2 and promises to bring PC-like web-browsing and multi-media experiences which you can use anywhere when it goes on sale in the next few weeks. The Tab joins the stable of other Galaxy products such as the Samsung Galaxy smartphones.

Galaxy Tab Specification
The specification of the Samsung Galaxy Tablet includes a 7 inch touch-screen, which is a perfect size for handheld movie watching, reading documents or browsing the web. It is powered by a 1 Ghz Coretex A8 processor, which supports lots of formats including Divx, Xvid, MPEG4, H.265 and many more . This enables playback of HD video content.

Unlike Apple’s iPad, the Galaxy Tab also includes Wi-Fi and 3G in the same device, as well as supporting Bluetooth 3.0.

Samsung have also included a front-facing 1MP camera so that you can make video calls and a rear-facing 3MP camera that can shoot videos and take photos.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab has full Adobe Flash 10.1 support so you can watch YouTube videos and view the internet like on a normal PC. The Tab comes pre-loaded with Readers Hub, which is Samsung’s e-book application and Media Hub for access to music and movies. Other added value items include Thinkfree Office, Swype and Hybrid Widget.

Tech Specs:
Network
2.5G (GSM/ GPRS/ EDGE) : 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz
3G (HSUPA 5.76Mbps, HSDPA 7.2Mbps) : 900 / 1900 / 2100 MHz

OS
Android 2.2 (Froyo)

Display
7.0 inch TFT-LCD, WSVGA (1024 x 600)

Processor
Cortex A8 1.0GHz Application Processor with PowerVR SGX540

Connectivity
30 pin connector
WiFi 802.11n / Bluetooth® 3.0

Sensor
Gyroscope sensor, Geo-magnetic sensor, Accelerometer, Light sensor

Memory
16G / 32G internal memory with up to 32G external memory slot
RAM: 512 MB

Size
190.09 x 120.45 x 11.98mm, 380g

Battery
4,000mAh (7 hour movie play)

Is the Samsung Galaxy Tab an iPad Beater?
Well there are certainly a number of key features that will mean the Galaxy Tab will give Apple a run for its money.

• It supports adobe Flash which the iPad doesn’t.
• The Samsung device has cameras that can be used as a webcam and will make the most of the imminent inclusion of Skype for Android to allow video calling.
• The Galaxy Tab screen. Yes, the iPad has a bigger screen but the Galaxy’s aspect ratio is better: it is 16:10 widescreen which is better optimized for video playback.
• It supports Micro SD memory cards up to 32GB. The iPad has been severely blasted for its lack of USB plugs and is limited by the size of its internal memory. With the Galaxy you will be able to take your memory card from your digital camera and upload the photos with ease.
• Swype. Samsung has introduced a new input technology called Swype, developed by the creators of T9 – you just have to sweep the on-screen keyboard from letter to letter in order to type the words you want. This technology was introduced in Samsung’s Galaxy S smartphone and is said to make typing really easy.

One thing that counts against the Samsung product though is that it doesn’t have the same uber-cool branding that Apple have managed to inject into their products. It will be interesting to see how Apple responds when they launch the inevitable improved iPad.