Galaxy Tab 10.1, Galaxy S II unveiled

SINGAPORE — Samsung proudly announced here this week its new Android-based smartphones and tablets from its Galaxy product line that boast of better speed, screen and content.

The new Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Galaxy S II are among the show-stealers during this year’s Samsung technology forum for the Southeast Asia, Oceania and Taiwan markets.

The new Galaxy Tab 10.1 runs on Google’s Android 3.0 operating system called Honeycomb and uses a 1GHz dual-core processor.

Compared to its predecessor, the new Galaxy Tab is bigger with a 10.1-inch display but thinner at 10.9 millimeter. It literally packs more weight now at 599 grams — the first edition was only 380 grams — and figuratively heavier with its beefed-up features that include an eight-megapixel AF rear-facing and two-megapixel front-facing cameras, dual surround-sound speakers, HD video recorder, and support for HSPA+ 21Mbps connectivity, among others.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is the company’s opening salvo for tablet computing for 2011, which company officials said is the year of smart mobile devices.

The new Galaxy S II has a 1GHz dual-core application processor for fast Web browsing and multi-tasking comparable to a PC-like performance.

Meanwhile, Samsung is also taking advantage of the significant market momentum around its Galaxy S smartphone by quickly introducing its second iteration.

The new Galaxy S II has a 1GHz dual-core application processor for fast Web browsing and multi-tasking comparable to a PC-like performance, Samsung officials say.

In fact, Samsung also sees the Galaxy S II becoming an enterprise tool and so it loaded it with enterprise-class software for data encryption, virtual meetings, and mobile device management from industry partners like Microsoft, Cisco and SAP.

Running on Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS, the Galaxy S II also includes access to four new content and entertainment hubs that are seamlessly integrated to provide instant access to music, games, e-books and social network sites.

The 4.27-inch screen is now using Super AMOLED Plus which officials say is the most advanced mobile visual display that does not compromise battery performance.

It has also been fitted with better eight-megapixel (rear) and two-megapixel (front) cameras. At present, the Galaxy S II is considered the thinnest smartphone at 8.49 mm.

Samsung officials said they have sold around 10 million units of Galaxy S globally, making it the number one Android-based smartphone in the market.

The Galaxy family of smartphones also added four new members, namely the Galaxy Ace, Galaxy Fit, Galaxy Gio, Galaxy Mini, and Galaxy Pro with screen sizes ranging from 2.8 inches to 3.5 inches.

These products are supposed to target different types of users, mainly from the young set, with different needs for connectivity and entertainment tools.