Samsung takes on Microsoft with 2-in-1 Galaxy Book

[Shawn Knight]

Microsoft is no longer the only game in town with a Book-branded hybrid as Samsung at Mobile World Congress this weekend unveiled its own take on the genre which it’s calling the Galaxy Book.

The Galaxy Book will initially come in two flavors, a 12-inch model and a 10-incher.

The larger model packs a 12-inch AMOLED HDR display operating at a resolution of 2,160 x 1,440 that’s powered by an Intel Kaby Lake i5 processor, up to 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB of solid-state storage in a chassis that measures just 7.4mm thick.

It’ll also support the new S Pen (as will the smaller model) which offers 4,096 levels of pressure and a 0.7mm tip, includes a 39-watt hour battery that’s good for around 10 hours of usage between charges and the option for an LTE radio in addition to Wi-Fi. There’s also a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 5-megapixel shooter up front.

The smaller model, meanwhile, gets a standard 10.6-inch full HD LCD panel, an Intel Core M3 processor, 4GB of RAM and up to 128GB of eMMC storage. A single 5-megapixel camera handles video chat duties while the 30.4-watt hour battery is also good for 10 hours of uptime. Although smaller, the 10-inch version is a bit chunkier with a thickness of 8.9mm.

Both machines run Windows 10, are expandable via microSD card slot and offer USB Type-C connectivity (one port on the smaller system, two on the 12-incher) and fast-charging features. The keyboard docks feature improved key travel and a larger trackpad, we’re told.

Pricing and availability aren’t yet known.

Lead and secondary image via Zach Epstein, BGR

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https://www.techspot.com/news/68303-samsung-takes-microsoft-2-1-galaxy-book.html

 

[texasrattler]

10 inch looks like garbage. They only made it so that they will have a cheap version like MS surface did. Unless it's cheaper than the Surface no one will care. It will likely get over looked.

The 12 inch looks good but unless it's cheaper than the Surface, again why would anyone care. Samsung would have to price it better than MS not the same for anyone to take notice. Otherwise MS would clearly still be the best hybrid out there.

 

[Uncle Al]

Will also be interesting to see if they come up with an even larger unit later on as they have with tablets, etc. And as mentioned, price point is going to be a very big deal, particularly when you can buy a pretty impressive laptop for what these units are going for ..... Nice to have them, but necessary?

 

[SirDigby]

I am now starting to keep an eye out for a replacement for my Samsung Tab S 10.5, but it will have to be under £400 for a tablet, and decent specs

 

[Teko03]

A comparable Surface Pro 4 ran for about $1,299 (without TypeCover) at its release. I'd say they should want to keep this device priced around $999-$1,099 with the keyboard included. Otherwise you might as well go with the Surface Pro 4, considering the Core i5 / 8GB RAM / 256GB model is now just $1,199. Microsoft purposely keeps their prices high to be the "premium flagship" brand and to not stop on the toes of their OEM partners....it would be silly for Samsung to price it as high.

 

[DukeD]

Heh... absolutely best small format piece that I have ever bought is an Asus 13" Chromebook... $120.00 a number of years ago... still fast and veryy useful IMHO

 

[Mikitukka]

Surface has no LTE. That is a huge negative.

 

[texasrattler]

Surface has no LTE. That is a huge negative.

That haven't had that in years and yet it continues to sell despite that option. There is a thing called a hotspot, gets you wifi wherever you go.