Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 Will Battle iPad Mini
The Apple vs. Samsung tablet race will be accelerating. Now that the iPad mini has been a flagship product for Apple, Samsung Mobile President, J.K. Shin, announced on Jan. 21st that Samsung will also have a tablet that rivals the same form factor. In a brief interview with News1 and other reporters in Korea, Shin announced that a Galaxy Note 8.0 will be shown at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February (Feb. 25-28). Shin also noted that the Galaxy S4 will soon be announced although he declined to mention the specific venue. Samsung’s market maneuvers to be a fast follower to Apple have become even faster (see Chart below).
The Galaxy Note 8.0 is likely to feature WiFi and cellular versions with 16GB and 32GB options in addition to a microSD slot. According to a preliminary report from SamMobile, other features that will likely be included are Android version 4.2 (Jelly Bean), a 4600mAh battery, a 1280x800 TFT LCD, two cameras (5MP front and 1.3MP back) as well as Bluetooth 4.0 and 802.11 a/b/g/n connectivity.
Last December, Mary Meeker (Kleiner Perkins), “Queen of the Internet”, predicted that the installed base of smartphones and tablets will exceed the total PC installed base by 2Q of 2013 (see chart). How fast is the adoption? For Apple alone, the iPad growth rate has been nearly 3X the iPhone growth rate. Neither Apple nor Samsung intend to leave money on the table. The other mainstream tablets competing in this category include the Nexus 7 and the Amazon Kindle Fire HD. Apple continues to lead in tablet market share although we will know more about Apple’s position after earnings are reported on January 23. With Samsung continuing its global market leadership in smartphones, the launch of the Galaxy Note 8.0 shows that Samsung will seek an unrelenting effort to achieve tablet supremacy as well. Technorati will have more details via Mobile World Congress on pricing and availability.
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