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Finally. After months of waiting and watching Apple’s iPad 2 dominate, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is ready for the UK, delivering robot-hungry Brits a sweet, dripping spoonful of Android Honeycomb goodness.
The Galaxy Tab 10.1 starts at £399 for the Wi-Fi only 16GB model from Currys and PC World, who have it exclusively for the rest of the month. The 32GB version is £480 and the 64GB £560, but aren’t expected to go on sale until next week, with the 3G versions expected on 23 August. All are available in black or white.
The Tab 10.1 is Samsung’s second stab at an Android tablet — last year it released the splendid Galaxy Tab, a 7-inch tablet running Android version 2.2 Froyo. The Tab 10.1 is a much more mature effort, however — impressively slim and 10.1 (duh) inches on the diagonal, this tablet runs on Android version 3.0, aka Honeycomb, which is built specifically for tablets.
We first saw the Tab 10.1 back in February, but since then it’s undergone some revisions. After Apple unleashed the iPad 2, Samsung went back to the drawing board, crafting a slimmer tablet to compete with Apple’s effort.
But Apple continues to stick in Samsung’s craw — the Cupertino tech giant has sued its Korean rival, saying it’s flagrantly copying its own products, right down to the packaging. In fact, Apple is trying to block the sale of the Tab 10.1 in the US.
Having finally squeezed out the Tab 10.1, Samsung isn’t resting on its laurels. There’s an 8.9-inch version planned for later this year — called, with flabbergasting originality, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9.
We’ve already reviewed the Tab 10.1, and we liked it. Sort of. We loved the screen and the design, which help make it the best Honeycomb tablet yet. But Honeycomb is still in its infancy, and a lack of tablet-specific apps and a slightly geeky interface mean that for most people, Apple’s tablet will probably be more appealing, at least for now.
Are you going to nab the Tab? Or do you prefer the iPad 2? Let us know in the comments section below, or over on our Facebook page.
