The iPad 2 is a modest update — faster processor, more RAM, FaceTime cameras jammed in a thinner body. Even with a much more powerful tablet, Samsung is already shaken. It's sending the recently announced 10.1-inch Galaxy Tab back in-house for re-tweaking and reevaluation.
After feasting his eyes on the new iPad 2, Samsung's mobile division VP Lee Don-Joo went ahead and called his company's 10.1-inch Galaxy Tab "inadequate" and that "Apple made [iPad 2] very thin."
On paper, Samsung's 10.1-inch Galaxy Tab looked unmatchable: 1280x800 resolution screen, dual-core 1GHz processor, 2-megapixel front and 8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, 32GB of storage and Android 3.0 Honeycomb. It's probably the beefiest tablet we've ever heard of.
Despite receiving huge praise, the 10.1-inch Galaxy Tab in its current form simply would have outpriced itself against the iPad 2. With specs like those, the 10.1-inch Galaxy Tab would easily start at a minimum of $700-800. And with the rate at which electronics are used and disposed of today, we'd say a tablet doesn't really need an 8-megapixel camera if people are just going to buy a new one within a year or two.
Samsung is on its toes here, "The 10-inch (tablet) was to be priced higher than the seven-inch but we will have to think that over," said Lee Don-Joo.
It looks like Apple's caught everyone off guard again. Although the 10.1-inch Galaxy Tab still looks excellent, we think going thinner and cheaper can only help Samsung sell more units. We promise we won't be surprised if the tablet ends up dropping quite a few features.
