Widely regarded as the closest iPad competitor on the market (hey at least you can buy this one), Samsung have announced Australian pricing for the Galaxy Tab. So with a smaller screen than the iPad (7” vs 9.7”), less battery life and a platform with lots less applications, how much would you expect to pay ? Sure it does have a 3MP camera with LED flash on back, 1.3MP cam on front for video conferencing, SD card slot and some other features the iPad doesn’t, but how much is that worth ?
The entry into an iPad starts at A$628, but that’s Wi-Fi only, the better comparison is the 16GB Wi-Fi/3G model that costs A$799. So Samsung please try and justify the the A$200 difference in price, cause it’s not apparently clear why people would opt for the Tab over the iPad. Sure there’s the device provides an alternative to those anti-Apple people, but even they must be asking, why not just get a laptop for $1,000.
Samsung may have had a chance at charging an exorbitant premium if they were first to market, but they aren’t. Apple’s iPad has been on the market for months and had very strong sales. This means developers have been making iPad apps for months, together with iOS4.2 due in just over a month, means the experience and maturity of the platform is already well developed.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab is playing catch-up and their price should have reflected that by undercutting the iPad to increase user adoption. Sadly they’ve decided to go for a premium price, which may be the products greatest downfall. Also don’t forget that while Android is coming on strong in the phone market, even Google said its not designed to be a tablet OS.
Update
Engadget are reporting that Samsung have promised a 10” version of the Galaxy Tab in 2011.. at what price ?
More @ LifehackerAU and Samsung
