Samsung unveils Galaxy tablet

REUTERS

SAMSUNG GALAXY: The would-be iPad competitor runs on Google's Android 2.2 operating system..

Relevant offers

Gadgets

Review: Acer Aspire S3 Review: Sony Ericsson Xperia arc S 3D printing: saviour or piracy tool? Apple in talks on iTV Get ready for the Apple ... Treadmill? What's USB 3.0? Review: Dell XPS 14z notebook Robots bring beer but Rosie still takes cake Duck for cover, here comes the laser-guided bullet Angelic 'Jobs' loves Android in Taiwan ad

Samsung's Apple iPad rival and worst kept secret after it was spotted on a Sydney train, the Samsung Galaxy Tab, has been unveiled officially by the South Korean company.

The tablet features a 7-inch LCD display and will run the latest Google Android 2.2 operating system, Froyo, at launch. It will be able to store up to 16 gigabytes of data internally and has a microSD slot that allows for an additional 32 gigabyte SD card.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab will also make use of both Wi-Fi and 3G technologies, allowing for internet access on the go. It will also feature a front and rear-facing camera.

The rear-facing camera, which utilises an LED flash and auto-focus, is 3 megapixels, while the front-facing camera, used for video calling, is of a lower quality - 1.3 megapixels.

The tablet will come in one model and weigh 380 grams, half that of its rival, the Apple iPad 3G with Wi-Fi.

No pricing has been announced and it's not yet known if it will be sold outright as opposed to being tied to a telecommunications company like Telstra or Optus on a subsidised plan.

McGee said the pricing would be "competitive" to Apple's iPad.

"At this point in time the [telcos] are still reviewing how we're going to bring it to market," McGee said. "In four weeks time we hope that [telcos] will have settled down with their plans and we should have something else to share then."

There was the option to "look at more traditional retail channels with an outright price", but no decision had been made on that.

As for applications, the tablet uses Google's Android operating system, which can access the thousands of apps on the Android Marketplace. Samsung will also have its own store available for developers to create apps specifically for the tablet.

Notable features:

- Can make telephone calls.
- Has the ability to SMS and MMS.
- Supports video calling.
- You can use an SD card to upgrade the storage.
- It runs Google's Android 2.2 operating system.
- It can load Flash items in its web browser.

- © Fairfax NZ News