Not keen to get left behind, Samsung will be bringing no less than five Galaxy phones and one tablet this year, including updates to both the Samsung Galaxy S2 handset and Galaxy Tab mobile computer.
First up is the Galaxy S2, the update to last year’s Galaxy S mobile phone. Samsung will be making the S2 the first handset to feature a Super AMOLED plus screen, offering better colour and power performance, as well as a thinner size. Our brief play of the Galaxy S2 revealed a very thin and light device, so thin that it has to be felt to be believed. Android 2.3 “Gingerbread” is there bringing with it a slightly different user interface, better voice-to-text, and notable speed performance.
The pre-production Galaxy S2 also included Samsung’s “Reading Hub”, an app that offers electronic books, newspapers, and magazines on the device. We’ve been told that the Galaxy S2 will also include free turn-by-turn navigation provided by Navigon, no doubt continuing the trend set in motion by the Galaxy Tab.
Next up was the Galaxy Tab 10.1, a new version of the Galaxy Tab that offers a larger screen size (10.1 inches compared to 7 inches), dual-core processor, 8 megapixel rear camera, 2 megapixel front camera, and Google’s made-for-tablets Android 3.0 “Honeycomb” operating system.
Different from last year’s very glossy Galaxy Tab, this model feels more stable in the hand, thanks in part to the textured surface on the back.
As for pricing and availability on both of these, no idea yet. Samsung assured us that both will make it down here, but we’ll probably see a release sometime by the end of Q2 2011 (May to June). For the Galaxy Tab 10.1, Vodafone looks like it has the exclusive rights, at least for the moment, while the Galaxy S2 could see several carriers.
