Samsung Partners Think New Galaxy Tab S Tablet Can Give Apple's iPad A Run For Its Money

Samsung's unveiling of its Galaxy Tab S tablet has many of its channel partners impressed and excited.

The Galaxy Tab S, unveiled Thursday at Samsung's Tab into Color Event in New York City, is more than capable of taking on Apple’s iPad, with comparable features, competitive pricing and a high quality display, partners told CRN.

"If any company can overtake Apple, it’s Samsung, but it’ll be tougher to overtake them in the United States," said David Ruchman, CTO at powersolution.com, a Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J.-based Samsung partner. "They have name recognition. They have the devices, specifically the phone. If they carry it over to the tablet, I don’t see why it wouldn't catch on."

[Related: Head to Head: Samsung Galaxy Tab S vs. Apple iPad Air ]

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Since Apple launched the iPad in 2010, its tablet has dominated the market, both for consumers and in the enterprise.

In the first quarter, Apple owned a 32.5 percent share of the tablet market, compared to Samsung’s 22.3 percent, according to International Data Corporation (IDC)'s Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker.

Apple sold 16.4 million units in the first three months of this year, compared to Samsung’s 11.2 million units, according to IDC.

During the holiday quarter of 2013, Apple sold 26 million units, accounting for a 33.8 percent share of the tablet market, while Samsung sold 14.5 million units, for 18.8 percent market share, according to IDC.

Samsung’s new Galaxy Tab S tablet is billed as the thinnest and lightest Galaxy tablet yet, and the vendor claims it's the only tablet this small to feature a super AMOLED display with 2560x1600 resolution.

The sharp display is a major selling point for Samsung, as it is said to have 30 percent more pixels than its main competitor. Samsung has competitively priced its new tablet, which starts at $399 for the 8.4-inch model and $499 for the 10.5-inch model.

Apple’s iPad Air, with a 9.7-inch retina display, starts at $499.

’It could give the iPad a run for its money,’ Ruchman said of the Galaxy Tab S tablet. ’When you compete with Apple, it’s tough. Even when there is a superior product, the Apple brand name gives it an advantage.’

NEXT: Why it might be tough for Samsung to catch Apple

Another advantage Apple may have is that its product portfolio is smaller and more focused. While Samsung sells many different tablets, Apple sells just four. The same can be said for each vendor's smartphone lineup.

Samsung also releases devices far more frequently than Apple, which has been criticized for its lack of innovation of late.

"That’s a great selling feature for Samsung and others in their competition over at Apple," Douglas Grosfield, president and CEO of Xylotek Solutions, Ontario-based solution provider, told CRN.

Grosfield said Apple's approach it to take its time with products and allow hype and excitement to build as customers wait for their release.

The Galaxy Tab S, besides its impressive display, features a choice of powerful processors in both models with a Exynos 5 Octa 1.9 GHz QuadCore and 1.3 GHz Quadcore processor or a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 2.3 GHz Quadcore processor.

Both tablets have an 8 megapixel rear-facing camera and a 2.1 megapixel front-facing camera and run on the latest version of the Android Kitkat operating system.

Some partners are skeptical of Android devices in the enterprise, and feel that this is what holds Samsung back from trumping the iPad in the tablet market.

"Samsung can certainly build beautiful hardware that users covet, but the enterprise has yet to show an affinity for the Android OS," said Ira Grossman, CTO of end user and mobile computing for MCPc, a nationwide partner of both Samsung and Apple, told CRN.

"We're seeing growth and regular improvements in the [user interface], security and parity in the app store. Google and Samsung have the power to close the gap with Apple, but Apple isn't stopping."