Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 aims straight at the heart of the iPad

Ovum principal analyst Tony Cripps:

AUSTRALIA: Certainly, the Galaxy Tab 8.9 trumps the iPad 2 in two key areas of hardware specification touted by Apple: slimness and weight. That said, the weaker content and application potential of the Tab 8.9, compared with iOS devices, continues to expose the main weakness of Android devices in general. That may well be the determining factor in the device's ultimate success rather than pricing.

Samsung no doubt believes that the 8.9 can emulate or exceed the success of the original 7-inch display Galaxy Tab, which sold over two million units in its first three months. Overtaking the iPad 2 in volume shipments in its own right, however, is unlikely to be on Samsung's list of expectations for the 8.9.

There's no doubt that Samsung held back on officially introducing its latest tablet device, the 8.9-inch-display Galaxy Tab, until after Apple's launch of the similarly sized iPad 2. This way Samsung gets to ride the wave of excitement around Apple's second-generation product rather than being swamped by it.