Samsung this morning finally and officially showed the Galaxy Tab, its first tablet and the first major competitor to the iPad. The device has a seveninch, 1024×600 LCD and is Samsung’s first handheld to ship with Android 2.2 and Flash 10.1 out of the box. Only traces of Samsung’s TouchWiz are evident, most customizations have been for apps tailored to the larger screen size. One such program set is Media Hub which serves as a video portal, Music Hub handles audio, and a Readers Hub.
Samsung outfits the Galaxy Tab with a rear three-megapixel camera for typical and a 1.3-megapixel front camera for video chat. It also carries full HSPA 3G by default and has either 16GB or 32GB of storage built-in anlong with a microSDHC for evenmore storage. also in the mix in Bluetooth 3.0 and 802.11n Wi-Fi.
The Tab can play 720P, including newly added DivX support. There’s a 30-pin dock connector, al-la the iPad, in place of USB or video output; the port is the sole point of entry for add-ons which include HDMI and keyboard docks.
Samsung is launching its tablet first in Europe, where it will be available by the middle of this month. Launches in the US and other countries are due in the “coming months.”
