Samsung reveals ‘Wi-Fi only’ version of Galaxy Tab

6 Jan 2011

LAS VEGAS – Having succeeded in selling close to 1.5m Galaxy Tab tablet computers in the first three months of release, Samsung has revealed it will bring out a Wi-Fi only version of the device, as well as a Galaxy Player media device.

Addressing journalists ahead of today’s Consumer Electronics Show, Omar Khan, chief strategy officer at Samsung Mobile, said the success of the Galaxy smartphone and tablet families can be measured in its popularity as a Media Hub in people’s digital lives.

“The average user of these devices downloads a piece of premium content every week,” he said, adding Samsung has reached an agreement with major US broadcaster CBS to bring premium content like CSI and Survivor to Galaxy S and Tab devices.

“Samsung apps for mobile are now available in 118 countries and we want to follow up this success with new devices. The Galaxy Tab is now provided by every wireless carrier in the US and we have passed 1.5m device sales of the Tab.

“We are now expanding our options with a Wi-Fi-only version of the Tab in 2011.

“Our next edition of the Galaxy family – the Galaxy Player – will be an Android 2.2-based player, based on our smartphone technology but differentiates through access to 120,000 content markets,” he said, adding the mysterious new device will come with a 4-inch screen.

“We are the No 1 Android provider in the US – our Google Nexus S smartphone is based on Android 3.0 – Gingerbread – and comes with a faster user interface, better power management and near field communication (NFC).

Samsung Infuse 4G on AT&T

Khan revealed that at CES, Samsung will also unveil a new 4.5-inch device called the Samsung Infuse 4G which will be sold first by AT&T. The new smartphone will boast new Super Amoled Plus display, runs on Android 2.2 and will be powered by a 1.2 GHz processor from Samsung and comes packed with an 8-megapixel camera.

He said that at CES, the company will be announcing new partnerships that will underscore new ways of accessing mobile content via the cloud. “The Galaxy Tab and our smartphones will play a really important part,” he said.

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com