As scheduled during their launch in January, the GALAXY Nexus (S$948, Black and White) and GALAXY Tab 7.7 (S$898) are available in Singapore from today. All prices include GST but exclude line contract.
Samsung GALAXY Nexus smartphone,S$948, available from today.
Samsung GALAXY Tab 7.7 tablet, S$898, available from today.
The Coral Pink version of the Samsung GALAXY S II smartphone will be available in Singapore on 18 February 2012, at S$888 (incl. GST, excl. line contract).
Coral Pink Samsung GALAXY S II Android smartphone will be available in Singapore from 18 February at S$888.
Also, the GALAXY Nexus (S$948, Black and White) and GALAXY Tab 7.7 (S$898) are available in Singapore from today. All prices include GST but exclude line contract.
The GALAXY Tab 7.0 Plus tablet from Samsung will be available in Singapore in January 2012 at S$768 (incl GST).
Update (6 January 2012): The GALAXY Tab 7.0 Plus will be available for purchase in Singapore starting from 7 January.
The GALAXY Tab 7.0 Plus tablet from Samsung will be available in Singapore in January 2012 at S$768 (incl GST).
The GALAXY Tab 7.0 Plus is finally arriving in Singapore, although a display unit was still not available yet during the Samsung launch event at Clarke Quay. It is already available in Malaysia.
Samsung GALAXY Tab 7.0 Plus
The 7” tablet weights 345g and is 9.96mm thin. It is slightly smaller than its S$898 cousin – the GALAXY Tab 7.7.
Like its predecessor, it offers voice and video call support, without the need for a headset, allowing users to catch up with friends and family from anywhere.
Samsung is pitching this tablet as a portable tablet which not only fits in a lady’s handbag or a man’s clutch bag, but also doubles up as a backup phone.
If you don’t fancy holding up the tablet to the ear when making calls, use it with a pair of earphones or Bluetooth headset.
Here are the main technical specifications of the Samsung GALAXY Tab 7.0 Plus tablet.
Samsung ushered in the new year in Singapore with a slew of new products. Two new tablets (GALAXY Tab 7.0 Plus and GALAXY Tab 7.7) and three new smartphones (GALAXY Nexus, GALAXY W, Omnia W) will be available in the first two months of 2012.
Update (6 January 2012): The GALAXY Tab 7.0 Plus, GALAXY W and Omnia W will be available for purchase in Singapore starting from 7 January.
Here are the prices and availability.
| Tablet | Price | Availability |
|---|---|---|
|
GALAXY Tab 7.7
S$898 |
Feb 2012 |
 |
GALAXY Tab 7.0 Plus
S$768 |
7 Jan 2012 |
| Smartphone | Price | Availability |
|
GALAXY Nexus
S$948 |
Feb 2012 |
 |
GALAXY W
S$498 |
7 Jan 2012 |
 |
Omnia W
S$498 |
7 Jan 2012 |
Samsung launched five new mobile devices in Singapore today at Aquanova in Clarke Quay. The prices listed above includes GST but excludes line contract.
The Galaxy Tab 8.9 is now available in Singapore, with the 3G (16GB) model retailing at S$768.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 Android Honeycomb tablet at S$768 today.
The GALAXY Tab 8.9 now joins Samsung‘s 10.1 and 7-inch GALAXY Tab to provide consumers with an array of tablet sizes, depending on their needs and preferences.
At just 8.6mm thin and weighing only 453g, the GALAXY Tab 8.9 is targeted at today’s mobile professional, from writing emails on a business trip to reading an trashy eBook in bed.
Key highlights of the GALAXY Tab 8.9
Detailed specifications of the Galaxy 8.9 are tabulated below:
| Display | 8.9” WXGA 1280×800 |
| OS | Android 3.2 (Honeycomb) |
| Processor | 1GHz Dual Core application processor |
| Memory | 16 GB |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth® technology v 3.0 USB 2.0 WiFi 802.11 (a/b/g/n) |
| Camera | Main(Rear) : 3.0-Mega Pixel Camera AF with LED Flash Front : 2.0-Mega Pixel Camera |
| Video | Format : MPEG4/H263/H264, Divx/Xvid Playback : 1080p Full HD Video @ 30fps Recording : 720p HD Video |
| Audio | MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, OGG, MIDI, AMR-NB/WB 3.5mm Ear Jack, Stereo Speaker |
| Enterprise Solutions | Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync Polaris Office |
| Value-added Features | Android Market |
| Google Mobile Services : Google Talk Video Chat, Google Maps, Books, etc |
|
| Samsung TouchWiz UX | |
| Samsung Mini Apps Tray | |
| Social Hub, Readers Hub *Availability differs by region |
|
| Adobe Flash Player 10.3 | |
| Sensor | Gyroscope, Accelerometer, Digital Compass, Ambient Light sensor |
| Size | 230.9 x 157.8 x 8.6 mm, 453g |
| Battery | 6100mAh |
| Network | HSPA+ 21Mbps 850/900/1900/2100 EDGE/GPRS 850/900/1800/1900 |
| Price | 3G (16GB) at S$768 |
The 3G (16 GB) tablet is priced in Singapore at S$848 (incl GST) without contract.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1
Samsung, the global leader in Android mobile devices, launched the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Singapore today. The 10-inch tablet is the world’s thinnest tablet at only 8.6 mm thick and weighs only 560 g for the WiFi version and 565 g for the 3G version.
Powered by the Android 3.1 Honeycomb platform, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 features a 1GHz dual core application processor and HSPA+ network speeds of up to 21Mbps. Equipped with surround-sound stereo speakers, 1080p HD video, and support for Adobe® Flash® Player 10.3, the tablet computer has a three-megapixel rear camera and a two-megapixel front camera.
Galaxy Tab 10.1, only 8.6 mm thick.
It also offers multi-tasking and enhanced user interaction and navigation on Samsung’s own TouchWiz user interface. Designed with a Live Panel menu for users to customise and display a variety of content on the home screen including digital pictures, favourite Web sites and social network feeds, the interface also includes an application tray of commonly used features such as task manager, calendar and music player for easy access.
The main specifications are included below:
| Network | HSPA+ 21Mbps: 900/1900/2100 EDGE/GPRS: 850/900/1800/1900 |
| OS | Android™ 3.1 Honeycomb |
| Display | 10.1” WXGA 1280×800 TFT |
| Processor | 1GHz Dual Core application processor |
| Camera | Main(Rear) : 3.0-Mega Pixel Camera AF with LED Flash Front : 2.0-Mega Pixel Camera |
| Video | Format : MPEG4/H263/H264 Playback : 1080p Full HD Video @ 30fps Recording : 720p HD Video @ 30fps |
| Audio | MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, OGG, MIDI, WMA 3.5mm Ear Jack, Surround Sound Stereo Speakers |
| Enterprise Solutions | Microsoft® Exchange ActiveSync® |
| Polaris™ Office | |
| Value-added Features | Android Market™ |
| Google™ Mobile Services: Google™ Talk, Google™ Maps | |
| Samsung TouchWiz UX | |
| Samsung Mini Apps Tray | |
| Social Hub Game Hub (upcoming) Readers Hub (upcoming) *Availability differs by region |
|
| Adobe® Flash® Player 10.3 | |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth® 3.0 + EDR USB 2.0 WiFi 802.11 (a/b/g/n) |
| Sensor | Gyroscope, Accelerometer, Digital Compass, Ambient Light sensor |
| Memory | RAM: 1GB; Storage: 16GB / 32GB / 64GB |
| Size | 256.7 x 175.3 x 8.6 mm |
| Weight | 560g (WiFi)
565g (3G) |
| Battery | 7000mAh |
Samsung has agreed not to sell its latest Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet computer in Australia until Apple’s patent lawsuit against it in Australia is resolved.
Apple told the Federal Court in Sydney yesterday that the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 infringes ten Apple patents, including the “look and feel,” and touchscreen technology of the iPad.
The Cupertino, California-based company sought an Australian injunction to stop Samsung from selling the tablet in Australia because Samsung has had “announcements of an imminent launch of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 device ongoing since July 20,” Bloomberg quoted Apple’s lawyer, Steven Burley, as saying. It also wants to prevent Samsung from selling the tablet in other countries, although Burley did not name the countries.
Samsung has agreed to stop advertising the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia and will not sell the device until it wins court approval or the lawsuit is resolved. The accord between lawyers from both companies were reached during a break in the hearing.
If Apple eventually loses its patent infringement lawsuit, it has agreed to pay Samsung unspecified damages.
Apple first sued Samsung in the U.S. claiming that the Galaxy tablets “slavishly” imitated the designs and technologies used for its iPad and iPhone. Samsung retaliated with lawsuits in South Korea, Japan, Germany and the U.S. The Suwon, South Korea based company supplies memory chips to Apple.
As part of the agreement submitted in court, Samsung will provide Apple three samples of the Australian version of the tablet computer at least seven days before any plans to launch it in Australia so Apple could review it, according to the agreement submitted in court. This was because Apple’s claim in Australia was based on a U.S. version of the Galaxy tablet, which is different, Neil Murray, the lawyer representing Samsung disclosed.
The Federal Court Justice Annabelle Bennett has scheduled a hearing for August 29 to review the status of the case and set a trial date if necessary.
The first day sales number of 50,000 includes pre-sales and was estimated by an analyst at RBC Capital Markets. This appears to surpass the equivalent first day sales for Motorola’s Xoom and the Samsung Galaxy Tab.
Analyst Mike Abramsky’s staff checked 70 retails stores and found 11% of the locations that stocked the device had sold out, according to Matt Hamblen from Computerworld.
This may come as a surprise to many observers in view of the negative reviews that have bombarded Research In Motion (RIM) over the launch of the tablet computer.
Punters feel the software for the PlayBook was not ready yet because native support for email, contact and calendar apps were not available. Such support may only be provided as an over the air update in summer.
In the meantime, only those who own a BlackBerry smartphone can enable the PlayBook to access these basic apps via a Bluetooth connection. The tablet is only available in WiFi configuration with 3G available only in summer.
It is still too early to tell whether the PlayBook will be able to grab any market share from a tablet market seeing an influx of competitors to Apple’s iPad.
This is hardly surprising since the iPad has been the only tablet around for most of last year, until Samsung’s Galaxy Tab.
According to data from ABI Research, of the approximately 4.5 million tablets sold in the third quarter of 2010, about 93 percent were Apple iPads.
The original iPad went on sale on 3 April 2010. Reports anticipate the announcement of the iPad 2 next week on 2 Mar 2011.
Samsung’s well-received Android-based Galaxy Tab was launched late last year, while Motorola’s Xoom Android-based tablet became available yesterday. Research In Motion plans to release four versions of its Playbook this year.
Earlier reports from Taiwan-based Yuanta Securities had surmised that the iPad launch might be delayed to June this year because of production bottlenecks at the China production line of Hon Hai – Apple’s Taipei-based contract manufacturer.
Indulging in my own bit of speculation, both schools of thought may not be untrue. We might actuallly see an iPad announcement on March 2 followed by the taking of orders, with deliveries only materialising in June, probably staged out based on country.
What with the legion of Android tablets being unveiled by the day, with specs that trounce the year old iPad, any delay in unveiling the upgraded specs of iPad 2 could create a negative impression in people that the iPad is inferior to Android tablets.
The announcement of iPad2 with all the specs that has been rumoured to ship with it should maintain its aura of invincibility that over challengers.
Apple certainly won’t want to announce the iPad 2 in June only to have people yawn at its specs, since by then it may already have been featured on the Android tablets out there.
Samsung’s Android-based Galaxy Tab was launched last year and was well-received. Motorola’s Xoom Android-based tablet goes on sale today, while Research In Motion plans to release four versions of its Playbook this year.
The original iPad went on sale on April 3. Announcing the iPad 2 on March would mean that it will follow an annual cycle of updates like the iPhone and iPod.
