We’ve been playing with the special edition of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 that Google gave away during the I/O conference earlier this month for some time now, and we’re quite impressed with the tablet. The Tab 10.1 currently runs on Android 3.0.1 Honeycomb, but according to Sammy the tablet will ship with Android 3.1 out of the gate.
We’re definitely glad to hear this from the horse’s mouth, as Samsung has a history of not updating its handsets in a timely fashion. What would make it update tablets any quicker? Oh yeah, Samsung is offering the first desirable Android Honeycomb tablet to the world, so shipping with the latest and greatest is a must. Luckily, Android 3.1 isn’t a radical shift from 3.0 and likely wouldn’t take long to throw into the tablet.
Samsung is becoming the Android king and those who question that title likely haven’t gotten their hands on the Galaxy S 2 or Tab 10.1 yet. Expected to launch on June 8th at a competitive price, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 could receive traction that Motorola only wishes it saw with the Xoom. And let’s not forget about the 8.9 inch version of the super thin tablet that will likely come with Android 3.1 when it ships, too. Motorola may have the first-mover advantage when it comes to Honeycomb tablets, but it’s Samsung that brought the real challenger to market.
It’s an interesting time to be in the market for a tablet right now. There’s not too much available, but that’s set to change in the next couple of months. Even then, we may want to put our wallets back into our pockets and wait for the Kal-El quad-core processor from NVIDIA before we pull the tablet trigger. If you don’t feel like waiting and want an Android tablet sometime soon, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 may be your best choice. That’s to say the rumored Nexus tablet never materializes.
Be sure to check out our hands on with Android 3.1 on the Motorola Xoom here!
[Via: Samsung]