(Reuters) –
Samsung launched a second tablet computer on Sunday, with a bigger
screen and more processing power than the original Galaxy Tab that is
seen as the only real rival to Apple’s iPad.
The Galaxy Tab 10.1 is intended
to be a multimedia hub for afficionados of games, electronic books and
social media, with a 10.1 inch (25.7 centimeter) screen, dual
surround-sound speakers, and front- and rear-facing cameras.
The
tablet, with two core processors to better handle media, is based on
the latest Google Android platform, Honeycomb — which has been
optimized for tablets.
It will be sold by Vodafone in more than 20 countries before being released to other carriers.
Samsung,
now the world’s second-biggest phone maker after Nokia, also launched a
new premium smartphone, the ultra-slim Galaxy S II, designed around
hubs for social networking, reading, games and music.
South Korean
electronics giant Samsung, whose telecoms division accounted for nearly
half its profit last quarter, has sold around 10 million Galaxy S
smartphones since its June 2010 debut, and 2 million Galaxy tablets.
It
still has a long way to catch up with Apple, which sold more than 7
million iPads and 16.2 million iPhones last quarter alone, but is
gaining ground on Nokia, which announced a crucial tie-up with Microsoft
on Friday.
"If I were (chief
executive) Stephen Elop heading up Nokia, I would be looking over my
shoulder at Samsung and feeling extremely nervous," said Ben Wood, lead
analyst at telecoms research firm CCS Insight.
Samsung
also announced a range of enterprise services compatible with its two
new devices, to address some of the security concerns that have held
Android phones back from a serious challenge to Research in Motion’s
<RIM.TO BlackBerry.
(Reporting by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Greg Mahlich)