OMEN
11-11-2010, 11:19 PM
Other U.S. carriers offer it, but analysts predict sales will lag behind Apple's iPad
http://imagevader.com/out.php?i=198185_samsung-galaxy-tab-338.jpg
Computerworld - T-Mobile USA kicked off sales of Samsung's 7-in. Galaxy Tab tablet computers today, with other U.S. carriers soon to follow suit.
While several carriers plan to offer the Galaxy Tab, analysts generally believe the touchscreen device won't offer much competition early on for Apple's popular iPad, which has a larger, 9.7-in. touchscreen. The iPad went on sale in April and has already grabbed 95% of the global tablet market.
Apple has sold an estimated 8 million iPads since the tablet's launch.
"I think it's going to [take] a long while for the Galaxy Tab to catch on," said Carl Howe, an analyst at Yankee Group. "It has a long way to go to gain the same level of acceptance and viability [as the iPad]. That said, I also think it has one of the best shots at being a viable iPad competitor, simply because of Samsung's manufacturing and distribution prowess and its ability to work on [a variety] of networks."T-Mobile, the fourth largest wireless carrier, featured the tablet on its Web site today for $399.99 after rebate with a two-year service contract; it also offered two data plans.
Verizon Wireless plans to begin selling it tomorrow, with Sprint Nextel beginning sales on Sunday. AT&T also plans to sell it, but hasn't announced a sales date or pricing.
In addition to online sales, T-Mobile has the device in its stores nationwide. At the largest Framingham, Mass., T-Mobile store, a sales rep said in a phone call that his store had just four Galaxy Tabs in stock and urged buyers to act quickly before stock is depleted.
T-Mobile seems to be positioning the device as a multimedia access tablet for consumers; the carrier's online promotion says, "Say hello to big entertainment on the go.... Announcing our first touchscreen tablet with Android-power entertainment for the whole family."
Verizon, meanwhile, has focused on both consumer and business uses.
Sprint is offering the Galaxy Tab under terms similar to those from T-Mobile: $400 with a two-year contract. Verizon plans to sell it for $600 with no long-term contract and four monthly wireless access plans. Those plans start at $20 for 1GB of data per month and range up to $80 for 10GB of data. Verizon's data plans for the Galaxy Tab are the same as the ones it offers for its package of a Wi-Fi iPad with a MiFi mobile hot spot device, which it first offered on Oct. 28.
Verizon has begun airing TV ads for the iPad-plus-MiFi bundle, but it's unclear how committed it or any of the carriers will be to heavy TV marketing for the Galaxy Tab.
Analysts believe that the iPad will still be the top choice of consumers for many reasons. One is price: The 16GB iPad with 3G access from AT&T is $630, just $30 more than the Galaxy Tab from Verizon. (The Galaxy Tab has 2GB of onboard memory and comes with a 16GB microSD card pre-installed.)
Gartner analyst Ken Dulaney said that with the pricing so close, it's easy to imagine two people opening presents Christmas morning: "One gets an iPad and the other a Galaxy Tab," he said. "I can see the second one saying, 'Oh, thank you, I was really counting on an iPad.'"Aside from the iPad's cachet, Dulaney said its 9.7-in. screen is preferable to Galaxy's smaller screen. "We are not big believers in the 7-in. form factor," he said, given all the multimedia content and reading that a user would want to do on a tablet. He noted that mini-notebooks started out with seven-inch screens and "quickly" moved to 10 inches, and he predicted that tablets will follow the same pattern.
Both tablets offer similar screen resolutions. The Galaxy Tab's resolution is 1024 by 600 pixels; the iPad's resolution is 1024 by 800 pixels.
Dulaney also said that buyers are tired of signing up for two-year contracts, since many are already tied into such agreements for smartphones. "People cannot afford more," he added.
Howe said another factor that will curb users' enthusiasm for the Galaxy Tab will be the availability of applications. Although the number of Android Marketplace apps now totals more than 100,000, Apple's App Store offers more than 300,000 apps for the iPad.
Fans of the Galaxy Tab note that it has two cameras, while the iPad currently has none. Polycom has signed an agreement with Samsung to add high-definition videoconferencing to the Galaxy Tab in coming months, although that capability won't be available at launch.
http://imagevader.com/out.php?i=198185_samsung-galaxy-tab-338.jpg
Computerworld - T-Mobile USA kicked off sales of Samsung's 7-in. Galaxy Tab tablet computers today, with other U.S. carriers soon to follow suit.
While several carriers plan to offer the Galaxy Tab, analysts generally believe the touchscreen device won't offer much competition early on for Apple's popular iPad, which has a larger, 9.7-in. touchscreen. The iPad went on sale in April and has already grabbed 95% of the global tablet market.
Apple has sold an estimated 8 million iPads since the tablet's launch.
"I think it's going to [take] a long while for the Galaxy Tab to catch on," said Carl Howe, an analyst at Yankee Group. "It has a long way to go to gain the same level of acceptance and viability [as the iPad]. That said, I also think it has one of the best shots at being a viable iPad competitor, simply because of Samsung's manufacturing and distribution prowess and its ability to work on [a variety] of networks."T-Mobile, the fourth largest wireless carrier, featured the tablet on its Web site today for $399.99 after rebate with a two-year service contract; it also offered two data plans.
Verizon Wireless plans to begin selling it tomorrow, with Sprint Nextel beginning sales on Sunday. AT&T also plans to sell it, but hasn't announced a sales date or pricing.
In addition to online sales, T-Mobile has the device in its stores nationwide. At the largest Framingham, Mass., T-Mobile store, a sales rep said in a phone call that his store had just four Galaxy Tabs in stock and urged buyers to act quickly before stock is depleted.
T-Mobile seems to be positioning the device as a multimedia access tablet for consumers; the carrier's online promotion says, "Say hello to big entertainment on the go.... Announcing our first touchscreen tablet with Android-power entertainment for the whole family."
Verizon, meanwhile, has focused on both consumer and business uses.
Sprint is offering the Galaxy Tab under terms similar to those from T-Mobile: $400 with a two-year contract. Verizon plans to sell it for $600 with no long-term contract and four monthly wireless access plans. Those plans start at $20 for 1GB of data per month and range up to $80 for 10GB of data. Verizon's data plans for the Galaxy Tab are the same as the ones it offers for its package of a Wi-Fi iPad with a MiFi mobile hot spot device, which it first offered on Oct. 28.
Verizon has begun airing TV ads for the iPad-plus-MiFi bundle, but it's unclear how committed it or any of the carriers will be to heavy TV marketing for the Galaxy Tab.
Analysts believe that the iPad will still be the top choice of consumers for many reasons. One is price: The 16GB iPad with 3G access from AT&T is $630, just $30 more than the Galaxy Tab from Verizon. (The Galaxy Tab has 2GB of onboard memory and comes with a 16GB microSD card pre-installed.)
Gartner analyst Ken Dulaney said that with the pricing so close, it's easy to imagine two people opening presents Christmas morning: "One gets an iPad and the other a Galaxy Tab," he said. "I can see the second one saying, 'Oh, thank you, I was really counting on an iPad.'"Aside from the iPad's cachet, Dulaney said its 9.7-in. screen is preferable to Galaxy's smaller screen. "We are not big believers in the 7-in. form factor," he said, given all the multimedia content and reading that a user would want to do on a tablet. He noted that mini-notebooks started out with seven-inch screens and "quickly" moved to 10 inches, and he predicted that tablets will follow the same pattern.
Both tablets offer similar screen resolutions. The Galaxy Tab's resolution is 1024 by 600 pixels; the iPad's resolution is 1024 by 800 pixels.
Dulaney also said that buyers are tired of signing up for two-year contracts, since many are already tied into such agreements for smartphones. "People cannot afford more," he added.
Howe said another factor that will curb users' enthusiasm for the Galaxy Tab will be the availability of applications. Although the number of Android Marketplace apps now totals more than 100,000, Apple's App Store offers more than 300,000 apps for the iPad.
Fans of the Galaxy Tab note that it has two cameras, while the iPad currently has none. Polycom has signed an agreement with Samsung to add high-definition videoconferencing to the Galaxy Tab in coming months, although that capability won't be available at launch.