Tablet Competitors In a Bind After Seeing iPad 2
Already tablet-makers are beginning to react to Apple's announcement of the iPad2 and its price points. Samsung, which makes the Galaxy Tab 10.1, is already talking about an overhaul and price reassessment. Speaking through the South Korean Yonhap News Agency, Lee Don-joo, the executive vice-president of Samsung's mobile division, said, "We will have to improve the parts that are inadequate. Apple made it very thin."
The price is another problem. Samsung's soon-to-be-released 10.1-inch screen, running Android 3.0, was going to be priced higher than the current 7-inch Galaxy tab. But Apple's iPad 2, which starts at $499 for the Wi-Fi edition (with the most expensive model costing $829), is forcing Samsung to "think it over." The far smaller 7-inch Galaxy Tab was a $900 without a two-year contract from mobile operators. Samsung did not announce pricing details for the 10.1-inch tablet.
Even with all the second-guessing going on, Samsung is still planning on releasing the 10.1 this summer with 16 and 32 MB models. They will have forward- and rear-facing cameras (2 megapixels on the fringe and 8 on the back) and a dual core processor. No word as to how they are going to make their product as thin as the iPad.
Although no one over at Motorola is saying a word, they also have to be worried. Their Xoom, now on sale at Verizon stores, costs $800 (but less if you get the Verizon 2-year contract), is definitely not as thin as the iPad, and has been found by many reviewers to be rushed to market. One reviewer said that many features have notices that say a specific game or productivity device will become playable when an update is relayed in the coming months. Even though the Android Honeycomb processor seems to work just fine, there is not that much available to work with on the Xoom, making the Xoom a sitting duck for the completeness of the iPad 2 experience.
We're sure to be hearing more about the tablet wars as the iPad 2 actually hits the marketplace on March 11.
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