Consumer technology giant Samsung expects to sell 10 million units of its new Galaxy Tab Android-based tablet by the third quarter of 2011.
To reach 10 million sales, the tablet computer will have to be just as successful as the Apple iPad, which achieved 3 million sales in its first three months.
The Galaxy Tab will debut in Europe in mid-September and elsewhere across the world not long after.
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Samsung product executive Hankil Yoon said the device will sell just between €200 and €300, significantly undercutting the iPad which varies in price from €500 for the basic Wi-Fi model up to €800 for the 64MB 3G/Wi-Fi model.
The Galaxy Tab’s sister product, the Galaxy S smartphone, was named the European Smartphone of the Year at the recent European Imaging and Sound Association (EISA) Awards 2010-2011, while the Samusung Wave HD won the European Social Media Phone of the Year award.
The EISA judges commented that the Galaxy S is “a ‘jewel in the crown’ for demanding users wanting to be connected, entertained and updated on the move. It’s a well made device that should capture the attention of every mobile phone lover.”
Google’s Android operating system is tipped to prevail in a key battleground in the smartphone wireless wars with Apple, with Android’s share of the smartphone market forecast to surpass that of Apple’s iPhone iOS.
Tech industry analyst iSuppli predicts that Android will be used by 75 million smartphones by 2012, up from 5 million in 2009.
Meanwhile, iOS usage will amount to 62 million in 2012, up from 25 million in 2009.
This will give Android a 19.4pc of the global market for smartphone operating systems in 2012, up from 2.7pc in 2009.
