Samsung Galaxy Tab at AT&T, Sprint, Verizon and T-Mobile

We finally received all the data concerning Samsung’s first tablet. It seems we were right to assume that the Galaxy tab would reach Verizon, Sprint and AT&T, but we weren’t sure if T-Mobile was on board also. It is now official. On September 16^th, in Dallas, Samsung announced the coming of their tab to AT&T, Sprint, Verizon and T-Mobile stores starting this October. Moreover, at the press conference Samsung also laid out some specs of the upcoming tablet, confirming most of our suspicions.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab keeps most of the powerful characteristics of the smartphone that bears the same name which was released this summer. The device will be powered by a 1 GHz Cortex A8 (“Hummingbird”) Application processor that supports 3D graphics and smooth Web browsing and it will run the Android 2.2 Froyo operating system which is supposed to have an upgrade to Android 3.0 in a near future. The flash internal storage of 16GB or 32 GB can be expanded using a microSD card and the RAM memory consists of 512 MB. The tablet comes with 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0, GPS and also 3G connectivity through HSPA and HSUPA networks.

The 7 inch screen is a WSVGA TFT display that delivers a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels. The Android 2.2 offers support for Flash Player 10.1 and access to more than 80,000 applications that are currently available on the Android Market. Many services provided by the tablet will be scalable for fitting the 7 inch screen, meaning that applications like the e-mail, calendar or contacts will be able to rotate from portrait to landscape view using the accelerometer and then open as a split-screen creating the impression of a PC or laptop view. Also many apps from the Android Market will have the ability to open in full screen mode. The non-scalable applications will appear centered on the Galaxy Tab’s display.

The comfortable dimensions of the tablet make the writing process very easy. The virtual keyboard of the Samsung Galaxy Tab can be used either with both thumbs or just as easily with only one hand due to the Swype technology that makes one continuous finger motion across the keyboard possible. If you have problems or you simply don’t like using the touchscreen keyboard, you can purchase a keyboard dock from Samsung.com but with the cost of $100. This external keyboard comes as a full-size keyboard with 7 inch Galaxy Tab replaceable inserts and also stereo audio output jack for connecting your speakers or home stereo.

The tablet is equipped with two cameras ideal for One-on-One video chatting. The 3 megapixel rear-facing camera is designed for taking pictures on-the-go while the 1.3 megapixel one that faces the front of the device and which is also a camcorder is specially designed for video conferencing. Using the Wi-Fi connection you can also align your Galaxy Tab with video chat clients such as Qik or Fring for social purposes as well.

The Android platform offers all Google Mobile Services of which it is worth mentioning Google Maps Navigation and Google Goggles. The navigation using Google Maps is a lot faster now and can be performed while on-the-go as easily. End users can search locations either in Standard English or even using the search-by-voice feature. The Google Goggles application is a powerful visual search tool that can really come in handy. Using the tablet’s camera you can access relevant information about different places such as description or history. Samsung’s Social Hub application is present on this device as well. You should know that calendar information from portal calendars, like Google Calendar, will be displayed along with social networking services in one calendar with two-way synchronization.

Since we are at the applications chapter let’s mention that you will be briefed daily about the weather, stocks, schedules and obviously news. The AllShare DLNA technology enables you to send content wirelessly from the tab to other DLNA-enables services such as HDTVs, PC monitors, laptops and so on. The Samsung Galaxy tablet allows you to make changes to any Word, Excel, Powerpoint or PDF document using the Document Viewer & Editor. The tab will also provide access to Samsung’s Media Hub, a lineup of critically acclaimed films and TV programs that will be available for rent or purchase.

You will be able to enhance the experience on your Galaxy Tab by completing it with different accessories designed specifically for this tablet and available at Samsung,com. The Keyboard Dock will empty your pockets of about $100, the Desktop Dock that features a Micro USB wall adapter and a HDMI output will cost around $50 and finally the car/GPS Dock which offers turn-by-turn GPS navigation and traffic updates is worth $100.

Samsung Galaxy Tab’s dimensions of 190.09mm x 120.45mm x 11.98mm make the device pocket fitting and its plastic body weighing just 380 grams makes it even unnoticeable in your pocket. The 4000 mAh battery is supposed to last for up to 10 hours of talk time or 7 hours of video playback. The Samsung Galaxy Tab will be available starting October and while no specific price was revealed at the conference in Dallas, it was hinted that every carrier would announce its own pricing.

[Source : BGR]