CES 2014: Samsung Targets Enterprise With New Galaxy Tablet Line
Samsung Monday unveiled four new business-focused Galaxy tablets at the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show, kicking off what it says will be the year it "truly establishes its leadership" in the global tablet market.
The four new devices include the 12.2-inch Galaxy NotePro and three new Galaxy TabPro tablets, which come in a 12.2-, 10.1- and 8.4-inch design.
All four tablets in the new Pro line seem to be targeted primarily at enterprise users. They deliver a range of productivity apps and tools, such as a multiwindow feature that lets users split up the screen into four different windows, along with a virtual keyboard.
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"It perfectly mimics a real keyboard for much faster typing," said Nanda Ramachandran, vice president of Samsung Telecommunications America, during the Samsung press conference Monday.
The 12.2-inch NotePro and TabPro also come pre-loaded with Cisco's WebEx Meetings platform, and all four devices include other business-focused apps, such as LinkedIn and Dropbox. What's more, the Pro line comes with a remote PC functionality that lets users access and control their office PCs directly from their tablets, making it easier to edit and save files remotely, Samsung said.
The new Galaxy line represents one of several steps taken by Samsung recently to grow its presence in the enterprise market. In 2013, the company introduced Samsung Knox, a division of Samsung dedicated to providing security and mobile device management services for Android devices in the workplace. In November, Samsung also launched a reseller program specifically around Knox.
All four new tablets run Google Android 4.4, but Samsung has personalized the look and feel of the operating system, creating what it calls its Magazine UX. The change makes for a more graphical, widget-heavy appearance and, according to Samsung, makes access to applications much more seamless and "immediate."
Customizing the Android OS is emerging as a theme at this year's CES; Huawei's new Ascend Mate2 smartphone, unveiled Monday, also runs tweaked, or customized, versions of the Google operating system.
In terms of specs, all four tablets feature at WQXGA, or 2,560-by-1,600 display, along with an 8-megapixel camera. All four devices also come with options for Wi-Fi, 3G or LTE.
The Galaxy NotePro 3G model runs Samsung's own Exynos 5 Octa 1.9GHz quad-core processor, whereas the LTE model is powered by a Snapdragon 2.3GHz chip. The device measures 12.2 inches, weighs 1.6 pounds and is 0.3 inches thick.
The new Galaxy TabPro line, meanwhile, offers a 12.2-, 10.1- and 8.4-inch option for screen size. The specs for each vary by size, with one of the biggest differences being that the 12.2-inch version includes 3 GB of RAM, while both the 10.1- and 8.4-inch models include 2 GB of RAM.
Samsung said the Galaxy NotePro comes with a Samsung S Pen stylus, whereas the Galaxy TabPro line doesn't.
Samsung hasn't disclosed official pricing for the tablets yet, but said they will be available globally starting in the first quarter of 2014.
PUBLISHED JAN. 7, 2013