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LAS VEGAS-Samsung executives confirmed that the company will release the long-awaited WiFi-only version of the popular Samsung Galaxy Tab in the United States in the first quarter of this year.
No launch date or pricing has been determined for the WiFi-only Tab.
Samsung Mobile Chief Strategy Officer Omar Khan unveiled the device and showed off the Samsung Galaxy Player and the Samsung Infuse 4G smartphone at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show here Jan. 5.
The WiFi-only Tab comes months after Samsung launched the Android 2.2-based tablet with both 3G and WiFi capabilities, countering Apple’s own WiFi+3G on AT&T.
The Tab has sold more than 1.5 million units to date, Khan said, a revision over the 1 million-unit shipment number Samsung offered just a few weeks ago.
However, the high price point-Verizon Wireless and AT&T began selling the device sans contract for $599 and $649, respectively-caught off-guard some experts expecting a device that would cost less than the $499 base price for the WiFi-only iPad.
The WiFi-only option will certainly come at a sub-$500 price point. “Consumers and enterprise want different options,” Khan said. “We’re giving consumers the most choice.”
Khan proceeded to unveil the Galaxy Player as the “first Google-certified Android-based smart player.” That is to say, it’s another rival for Apple’s market-leading iPod.
The device, like the Samsung Galaxy S smartphones that sold 10 million units worldwide, sports a 4-inch LCD screen and runs on Android 2.2. The player will offer access to 120,000 apps on Google’s Android platform.
The Galaxy Player, first introduced in Korea, will launch worldwide in 2011, Khan claimed.
Also, Samsung will offer a super-thin new Android 2.2-based 4G smartphone called the Infuse 4G on AT&T’s network, The device will sport a 4.5-inch Super-AMOLED Plus touch-screen display powered by a 1.2GHz processor.
The gadget will boast an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera with LED flash and HD recording and a 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera.
No pricing is available, though AT&T said the gadget will come out in the second quarter of 2011.