Despite an increased presence in multiple electronics categories as of late, Samsung has openly admitted to a poor showing in the tablet market. During a media roundtable meeting at Mobile World Congress, Samsung product strategy executive Hankil Yoon told reporters that his company wasn’t doing very well in the tablet market.
As noted by CNET, the admission from Yoon is refreshing in a world where marketing hype and corporate speak dominate the landscape. Yet even without the statement, it’s no secret that Samsung has failed to make a noticeable splash when it comes to tablets; an industry currently dominated by Apple and Amazon.
Samsung isn’t throwing in the towel, however, as they have introduced the Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet at MWC. Billed as a version of the Galaxy Tab 2, the Korean giant is seemingly hoping to piggyback on the success of the Note branding.
As the name suggests, the Note 10.1 includes a 1280 x 800 pixel 10.1-inch PLS TFT display powered by a 1.4GHz dual-core Exynos processor running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Other features include a 3MP rear camera, 2MP front shooter and front-facing speakers that channel audio directly at the user.
But perhaps the most interesting aspect of the Note 10.1 is the inclusion of an S Pen stylus similar to the one found on Samsung’s Note smartphone. Many questioned why it was included with the phone as, even at 5.3 inches, it’s still not really large enough for proper stylus use.
Look for the Note 10.1 to be available in Wi-Fi only and AT&T-compatible HSPA+ models in the second quarter of this year starting around $600.
