Samsung’s 10-inch Tablet to Ship as Announced, Despite Apple’s iPad 2 Announcement

Written by Ina Fried - From All Things Digital : The gadget press was ga-ga on Friday after a single English-language report out of Korea seemed to indicate Samsung was going back to the drawing board after Apple’s iPad 2 announcement.

Translations, though, aren’t always what they seem. A follow-up story by the same publication on Saturday indicates that Samsung is continuing with plans to release the 10.1-inch tablet it announced last month in Barcelona. The product is expected this summer, according to the updated report.



“We will continue to make every effort to provide the most powerful, well-designed and productive mobile device to customers,” Executive Vice President Lee Don-Joo is quoted by Yonhap as saying.

A Samsung spokesman told the outlet the release plan for the Android-based Galaxy Tab 10.1 has not been affected, but declined to say when the device will ship.

Those without short-term memory problems will remember that there was also some kerfuffle regarding translated comments out of Korea about how well the original Galaxy Tab was selling to consumers, with initial reports quoting Samsung as saying the sell-out had been slow and later reports contradicting that. (That didn’t stop Apple CEO Steve Jobs from using the original quote in his slideshow at this week’s iPad 2 event, however.)



Of course, no matter what Samsung says, Apple has certainly made life more difficult for all rivals, including Samsung. Apple has made its device super thin, even according to Samsung and, of course, it has managed to keep prices the same. So, while Samsung may be going ahead with plans to release the 10.1-inch Galaxy Tab as scheduled, it may well have to rethink just how it will price the device.

Samsung certainly isn’t giving up on tablets. Indeed, the company hinted on Friday that it will soon add another member to the Galaxy Tab family, which already includes the 7-inch model that has been on sale since last year. An invitation to journalists for an event at the CTIA show in Orlando later this month suggests that an 8.9-inch model is also on its way. The invite makes several references to “78910″ and since Samsung has 7-inch and 10-inch models, it seems logical the “89″ part refers to an 8.9-inch model. A Samsung representative declined to comment on that interpretation of the invite.