Telecom Lead Asia: Samsung Electronics has launched a new
version of its Galaxy Note smartphone in Germany and the United Arab Emirates.
The Galaxy Note 10.1 is almost twice as wide as its
predecessor and is almost the size of a tablet.
The new Galaxy Note will be officially released in the US
on August 15 and sometime next week in Britain and South Korea.
Samsung competes with Apple to strengthen its presence in
smartphone and tablet segments.
The Galaxy Note 10.1 — powered by Google’s Android
software — features a touchscreen which is 10.1-inches (25.6 centimetres)
measured diagonally, considerably wider than the 5.3-inch screen of the
previous Note.
Like its predecessor, it comes with a stylus called the S
pen to write notes or draw on the screen. The new version allows users to split
the screen in half to view two programs at once.
The new device is equipped with a quad-core processor
that allows users to run multiple applications at a faster speed than the
previous version, which had a dual-core processor.
JK Shin, the chief of Samsung’s mobile unit, said that
the advanced technology and features included in Galaxy Note 10.1 give users
the power to produce, create and customize communications.
In November 2011, Samsung introduced the first version of
its Galaxy Note, a device positioned between the firm’s flagship Galaxy S
smartphones and Galaxy Tab tablet computers.