Big news comes from Samsung today at the IFA Electronics Consumer Show at Berlin. It is the launch of Samsung’s first tablet; the Galaxy Tab. Its portability is the main value proposition here.  With a battery life of 8 hours and handy, small sized 7-inch touchscreen, Galaxy Tab, is promoted as the tablet to use on the go.

The other main features include phone call ability, GPS system, internet connectivity, e-book reader, support for various movie formats, a 1.3 megapixel front camera and a 3 megapixel back camera with LED Lamp.  Other  specifications are a 1GHz Cortex A8 processor, 16 GB internal memory and 32 GB extend-able MicroSD storage, Galaxy Tab is sure to make some noise in the tablet market.

This product is powered by the latest Android OS offering (Froyo 2.2), and will receive an update for Android GingerBread later this year. This means you can use any killer app off the Android Market–another breakthrough feature for Android-powered tablets.  The screen resolution difference from smart phones can cause compatibility issues for some applications, which would be resolved soon.

The price is yet to be disclosed but most probably it would sell with monthly plans and subsidies through operators. As ComputerWorld reports,

Users can connect to the Internet using HSPA (High-Speed Packet Access) at up to 7.2Mbit/sec (download) or 5.76Mbit/sec (upload), or at even higher speeds over 802.11n Wi-Fi networks.

When not surfing the Web, users can watch movies in a number of different formats, including DivX, Xvid, WMV and MPEG-4.The fact that the Tab is based on Android version 2.2 means it also has Adobe Flash 10.1. Other software onboard includes Samsung’s TouchWiz 3.0 addition to the Android user interface and Social Hub, an application that collects messages from different social networks in one place. Samsung developed TouchWiz and Social Hub for its smartphones.

The Tab also will come with Hubs for accessing e-books, magazines, newspapers, music and movies. The latter will only be available in the U.S. Samsung will install Layar, an augmented reality application, and Swype, which allows users to input text on a touchscreen by gliding their finger from one letter to another on a virtual keyboard, as well. For users who don’t like virtual keyboards, Samsung will also offer a hardware keyboard as an accessory.

This launch comes right after yesterday’s announcements from Apple, with a redesigned lineup and other new product offerings, though none were related directly to its iPad tablet. So, there is definitely tough competition awaiting Galaxy Tab.  The advantage over other products is mainly the phone capability.  The question then arises; how many people would be really willing to replace their phone with a tablet that can also make calls? I think, not many.

Only time will tell how GalaxyTab holds up to the cutthroat competition, but Samsung seems anxious for the challenge.  The electronics manufacturer has a good amount of experience working with the Android platform, and its Galaxy S smart phone has been among the top-sellers in the market.