Samsung-Apple tablet war to define industry standard

By Kim Yoo-chul

Apple has been thumping Samsung Electronics in the lucrative smartphone market, but the Korean technology giant has vowed to keep the competition close in tablet computers, and touts its seven-inch Galaxy Tab as a smarter and more compact alternative to Apple’s iPad.

However, it remains to be seen whether Samsung’s decision to deliver something different will backfire and eventually render its products an endangered species, as rivals appear to side with Apple boss Steve Jobs, who claims Samsung’s touch-screen computers might be too small.

LG Electronics, Samsung’s bitter domestic rival and a late arrival to the tablet party, is one of the companies that prefer to design their products closer to the iPad mold than that of the Galaxy Tab.

LG, which plans to unveil its first tablet during the first half of next year, says its gadget will be bigger than the Galaxy Tab, although not as big as the 10-inch iPad.

``The tablet will run on the Google-backed Android mobile operating system and the size of the screen will be somewhere between 7 inches and 10 inches,’’ said an LG official, who didn’t want to be named.

LG believes that screens 7 inches or smaller severely limits the wealth of content that can be featured on the slate-like devices.

Although LG officials decline to comment on the exact size of the screens of its upcoming tablets, a clue is perhaps provided by LG Display, the liquid crystal display (LCD) unit of LG Group, which sources say is readying to provide 9-inch panels to its sister firm.

LG Display also happens to be the company that is providing Apple with flat-screens for iPads.

Jobs not impressed by Samsung tablet

Samsung claims that the Galaxy Tab will prove to be a worthy competitor to the iPad in the battle for supremacy in the tablet market.

Jobs, however, appeared to be rather unimpressed by Samsung’s first attempt at an ``iPad killer.’’

During a recent conference call, Jobs offered a dreadful forecast to the future of 7-inch tablets, saying they will be ``dead on arrival.’’

In the technology industry, screens are measured diagonally, so the size difference between 10-inch screens and 7-inch screens is rather significant. To put it bluntly, the surface of a 7-inch screen measures about 45 percent of that of a 10-inch screen.

``No tablet can compete with the mobility of a smartphone, its ease of fitting into your pocket or purse, its unobtrusiveness when used in a crowd. Given that all tablet users will already have a smartphone in their pockets, giving up precious display area to fit a tablet in our pockets is clearly the wrong tradeoff. The 7-inch tablets are `tweeners,’ too big to compete with a smartphone and too small to compete with an iPad,’’ Jobs said.

Industry watchers are divided on whether Jobs’ harsh words are an indicator of confidence or reflect a sense of urgency as Apple’s rivals continue to flood the market with ``me-too’’ products that duplicate what the iPad offers.

The chief executive of Research In Motion (RIM), the Canadian maker of the immensely popular BlackBerry smartphones, accused Jobs of creating a field of ``distortion,’’ and claimed that even Apple fans are growing tired of his high-horse comments.

Obviously, Samsung officials are hoping for the same thing.

``Jobs’ attacks on Samsung just reflects his edginess, as he continues to witness that the market shares of iPhones and iPads are not as dominant as they first were,’’ said one Samsung official.

During July and August, Apple sold around 4.19 million iPads, a performance that was somewhat lower than the market expectations of around 5 million.

Samsung’s Galaxy Tab debuts in the U.S. in November, and will be eventually sold in 120 countries.

Samsung plans to sell 2 million of them by the end of the year.

Samsung will continue to boost its tablet lineup next year, when it will introduce 10-inch and 6-inch models equipped with active matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) screens that work better in sunlight, according to Shin Jong-kyun, the head of Samsung’s mobile devices division.

삼성, 애플 테블릿 경쟁에 업계 판도 달렸다.

현재까지의 스마트폰 시장에서 애플은 삼성전자를 압도해왔다. 그러나 삼성은 태블릿 컴퓨터 시장에서의 격차는 이보다 작을 것이라 예상하며 최근 출시한 7인치 갤럭시탭 태블릿을 애플의 아이패드보다 작고 똑똑한 기기로 마케팅하고 있는 상황이다.

그러나 스크린크기에 있어서 애플과의 차별화를 택했던 삼성의 전략이 오히려 갤럭시탭이 주류제품으로 자리잡는데 있어서 악영향을 미칠 것이라는 우려도 있다. 애플의 보스인 스티브 잡스는 삼성의 터치스크린 컴퓨터가 너무 작다고 주장하는데 그의 주장에 동조하는 테크놀러지 기업들이 많다.

그 중 하나는 바로 삼성과 국내외에서 치열하게 경쟁하고 있는 LG전자다. 태블릿 출시가 라이벌들보다 늦어졌던 LG전자는 내년 상반기중 첫 태블릿을 출시할 예정인데 그 제품의 스크린 크기는 갤럭시탭보다는 크고 10인치 아이패드보다 작을 것이라는 게 회사관계자들의 설명이다.