Last night at Madison Square Garden, consumer electronics powerhouse Samsung (News - Alert) hosted its Galaxy Premiere event announcing a flagship tablet for consumers; the Galaxy Tab S.
With Samsung tablet sales growing exponentially year over year, and competitor tablet sales flattening, Samsung believes they can move into the number one position in tablet sales, displacing the iPad as king of tablets. How are they going to do it? By providing multiple form factors ensuring a tablet for every consumer type. With multiple colors, screen sizes, input options (stylus or no stylus), weights, and display types, Samsung is doing to the tablet market exactly what they did in the smartphone space to capture the number one position.
At an “Analysts Only” exclusive event Wednesday at the Warwick Hotel in Manhattan, I got a hands on demonstration of the new 8.4 and 10.5 inch devices. The Tab S devices are heavy on media rich features and are sure to make others take notice.
From the moment I turned it on, until the event ended I was spellbound by the device.
Like all high-end tablets, the Tab S features a fast processor, ultra-thin and light weight design, decent camera and a sexy design. But where it blows the competition away is with the ultra-sharp Super Amoled display. Big, bright, and beautiful is the only way to describe the device.
I’ve never seen a screen as beautiful as the Tab S. Most laptops have a 1000:1 contrast ratio. The Tab S sports a 100,000:1 contrast ratio. With 20,000 more colors than a traditional LCD display, the Tab S gives users a brighter, thinner, lighter experience than anyone else. While great for video, the Tab S won’t blind you when reading documents as it will auto-switch to a softer resolution making reading easier.
Taking a play from the Galaxy S5, Samsung integrated a fingerprint scanner into the device making it more secure while easy to use.
Samsung loaded up the features on this device. Sharing content between a Galaxy S5 and the Tab S a cinch with SideSynch. Payments with Paypal integrated through the fingerprint scanner will make transactions for users easier. Content partnerships with Galaxy Gifts, Papergarden – Samsung’s magazine collection, and child friendly Kid Zone are all great features making this the premiere go-to tablet for content consumption.
In speaking with the Samsung team, I asked about product and target segmentation. To serve entry level consumers, they have the Galaxy Tablet line. To serve those who create content, they have the Note line which includes a stylus (the S pen).
The only noticeable feature I feel the Tab S lacks is the S Pen. But I’m a Note guy and I’m not quite sure how the market will view the need for a stylus with this device. My gut tells me that the Note crowd will receive a brighter display sometime in the future.
And for content creation, Samsung does offer a great Bluetooth keyboard and I believe uptake for this accessory will be strong.
I’ve got to be honest, I’m not quite sure where this device falls in their product line. It’s a premium product for sure, but with pricepoints of the 8.4 and 10.5 inch units at $399 and $499 respectively, it’s not priced at a premium.