After last night’s launch of Samsung’s new premium tablets, you might never look at your current tablet the same again, yes including the iPad users as well. The new Galaxy Tab S, available in 8.4-inch and 10.5-inch sizes are thinner, lighter, and faster than all their earlier tablets thanks to the new Super AMOLED displays that Samsung are far better than LCD displays. All we took from this presentation was that the Korean mobile phone maker is very much still trying to beat the iPad. The tablets will cost $399 (8.4-inch) and $499 (10.5-inch) tablets putting their prices head-to-head against Apple’s iPad mini with Retina display and iPad Air.
Both tablets come with an incredibly ultra thin profile at just 6.6 mm thick, something we have seen on the Sony Xperia Tab Z. The cheapest models have 16GB of internal storage (with support for microSD cards up to 128GB in capacity) and Wi-Fi connectivity, though LTE-equipped and larger capacity models will be available later this year. They will be available next month.
What a beautiful screen
Just like on the Galaxy S5, the new tablets carry the same design language, as part of Samsung’s efforts to improve its designs. The Galaxy S5s, comes complete with the same dimpled finish on the back and fingerprint scanners on the front. They will be available in “Dazzling White” and “Titanium Bronze”. We prefer the white looks, but neither color looks hugely different from the several other tablets Samsung has released this year.
Same old TouchWiz UI on Top
Running on Android 4.4 KitKat, Samsun has still stuck with the familiar custom TouchWiz interface on top. You will find all dual-screen multitasking features, though it’s limited to just two windows here, as opposed to the four windows on the Tab Pro line. There is a new electronic magazine service called Papergarden with the Tab S, that will have interactive articles and magazines from top publishers . Finally, the Tab S debuts Samsung’s new SideSync 3.0 service, you will be able to make and receive phone calls on the Tab S through a Galaxy S5 paired over Wi-Fi direct. After you done pairing, the S5’s screen is mirrored in a window on the Tab S’ display, and you can use all the phone’s apps and features without ever touching it. Cool it’s it?
Samsung is offering a folding Book Cover and a basic Simple Cover, each available in a variety of colors in their accessories department. The covers snap to the back of the tablets through a unique cringle system. The folding Book Cover supports the tablets in three different angles, and there is also a Bluetooth keyboard case for the 10.5-inch Tab S, which turns the tablet into a smallish netbook or laptop.
Too Many Samsung Tablets This year
Samsung has long been picked apart for selling too many versions of the same basic products, and this year it has gotten worse. There is the low-end Galaxy Tab 4 line, Galaxy TabPro and NotePro lines, the Galaxy Tab S line and other unknown tablets. With over 9 tablets in a period of less than 6 months, we are yet to see if this strategy will pay off for Sammy. Now with a new new flagship tablet product, the Tab S, What will happen to its TabPro line?
Images Courtesy of Samsung Mobile & The Verge
