Samsung has just launched their newest tablet, the Galaxy note 10.1, and its timing is no accident. The tablet has been released in the middle of a patent trial, which involves Samsung and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), and on which we have previously reported here at ValueWalk.
The new Android based tablet features several distinguishing marks, which isolate it from Apple’s iPad. They include a stylus, and a super sensitive screen, which can measure 24 levels of pressure sensitivity.
In adition to keeping the look they introduced last year, by placing wider bezels along the 2 sides of the device, Samsung has also incorporated a split screen mode, which will allow 2 apps to function at the same time. The wider edges were temporarily banned as an added feature in Germany, due to a judges ruling that it infringed on Apple’s tablet designs.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is seeking damages in the U.S. based trial in California, by claiming that Samsung had copied some of its design features. Samsung has countered this claim, by sayin that Apple’s U.S. design ,patent showed “little more than a black rectangle”. They said it would go against legal precedent to allow Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) to hold a monopoly on the shape of a tablet.
The release of the Galaxy tablet is an obvious attempt to boost market share by Samsung. They hope that by beating Apple to the Punch, they can win over more customers, simply because their new model is available first.
It should be interesting to see what Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) does in the next few months, as their iPhone 5 and iPad mini are rumored to be nearing launch dates.
