Jumping into the exploding tablet market with both feet, Verizon Wireless is believed to be on the verge of offering Samsung’s Tab, essentially a blown-up version of its successful Galaxy smartphones.
The Galaxy Tab runs Google’s Android 2.2 (Froyo) and sports a seven-inch screen, a one-gigahertz ARM Cortex A8 processor, front- and back-facing cameras, and enhanced Swype input for text. It will be equipped with both Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity. With Skype reportedly developing an app for Android, the Tab could soon enable video chatting with anyone who has a desktop camera, giving the Tab a leg up over Apple’s no-camera iPad. The Tab is also Flash-compatible, something Apple has barred on the iPad.
Crowded Field
The Tab will likely be unveiled by Samsung Thursday at the IFA Consumer Electronics Conference in Berlin. Verizon did not confirm reports in numerous tech media that the device, seen in leaked photos, will soon be on its shelves. The company did not respond to our requests for comment. But one blog found the device listed on the company’s internal computer systems. The Tab is compatible with Verizon’s CDMA network.
The Tab will face a crowded tablet market now dominated by Apple’s iPad, with new devices planned by Hewlett-Packard, Motorola, Sharp and others. Motorola is also expected to have an Android-based tablet on the market through Verizon, and HP has announced separate devices that will run Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 for business users and the Palm webOS for consumers.
Leaked photos of the Tab show a device very similar to the iPad, but with a screen smaller than Apple’s 9.7 inches, and with twice as many cameras. The rear-facing Tab camera is said to take shots at 3.2 megapixels, and a slot for microSD memory expansion allows storing and transferring photos.
Better Apps Needed
While AT&T offers service for the…