Sales of the new Galaxy Tab begin today.
This device is Samsung's big bet to compete with Apple's iPad.
247 – The 10.1-inch Galaxy Tab arrives in Brazil this Saturday. It's Samsung's big bet to compete with Apple's iPad. Read below the report published in the newspaper O Globo about the launch.
RIO - While Europeans and Australians are prevented from buying the new 10.1-inch Galaxy Tab due to a legal dispute between Samsung and Apple, the South Korean company's new tablet arrives for Brazilians this Saturday.
Vivo announced that it will exclusively sell the device from Saturday (August 13th) until the end of August. According to the operator, the Samsung tablet will be available in the 16GB version in stores in Rio and São Paulo and will come with exclusive content, such as two free months of the NetMovies virtual movie rental service, magazines, and a demo version of the game "Need for Speed Shift".
Without an internet plan, the device will cost R$ 1.999. With a 2GB data plan, the price drops to R$ 1.399 for cash payment. In 12 installments, the tablet costs R$ 229,80 – with R$ 139,90 for the device itself, bringing the total cost to R$ 1678,80 after the installments. After 12 months, the customer only pays the plan fee of R$ 89,90.
Equipped with the Android Honeycomb 3.0 operating system, the Galaxy Tab was announced in late March and launched in the United States in June. The Galaxy Tab had already been available since last year in a seven-inch version.
The device has Bluetooth connectivity, Wi-Fi, USB and microSD card slots, and a dual-core processor. It also features two cameras: a 2MP front camera and a 3MP rear camera, capable of recording HD video (720 lines).
In the US, the Galaxy Tab 10,1 sells for $499 and $599 (16GB and 32GB versions, Wi-Fi only) and for $530 and $630 (with data plan).
Read also the 247 report on the patent dispute between Apple and Samsung.
247 – The patent battle between Apple and Samsung has finally reached a market consequence. The Korean company's new tablet, the 10-inch Galaxy, has had its sales halted in Europe, where it has just arrived. The decision was made by a court in Düsseldorf, Germany, which sided with Steve Jobs' company, which accuses Samsung of "blindly" copying elements of its new tablet, the iPad 2. The Galaxy manufacturer may appeal the decision.
The first tablet model launched by Samsung was 7 inches, slightly smaller than Apple's iPad, which dominates 70% of the European market. The second version was slightly larger, at 10 inches, more similar to Apple's product. "It's no coincidence that Samsung's latest products look so much like the iPhone and iPad, in aspects ranging from hardware to user interface and even the packaging itself," said an Apple spokesperson, as reported by the Spanish newspaper El País.
Samsung stated that it had not received notification of the court decision and therefore could not defend itself. In a statement, the company assured that it will take all necessary measures to ensure that "the innovative communication devices" are available to customers in Europe and worldwide. This month, the company reached an amicable agreement with Apple not to sell the device in Australia until the patent dispute is resolved. "There is no doubt that the court's decision will have an adverse effect on Samsung," commented Lee Seung-Woo, an analyst at the Korean firm Shinyoung Securities, to El País. "The decision could lead to a drop in sales and increased costs for the company to deal with the litigation."