UPDATED 03:01 EST / AUGUST 27 2015

NEWS

Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 preorders now open: Prices and where to buy

Samsung Electronics America Inc. on Wednesday opened preorders for its new Galaxy Tab S2 consumer tablet. The Galaxy Tab S2, Samsung’s “thinnest, lightest, ultra-fast tablet,” is available for preorder online via Samsung.com, Amazon.com, and Best Buy. It will be available in-store at select U.S. retailers and carriers beginning September 3.

Unveiled in July, the Galaxy Tab S2 is availably in four versions: 9.7-inch Wi-Fi only; 9.7-inch Wi-Fi and LTE; 8.0-inch Wi-Fi only and 8.0-inch Wi-Fi and LTE.

Samsung has released pricing for the Wi-Fi only versions, with the 9.7-inch version coming in at $499.99 and the 8.0-inch version retailing at$399.99. Pricing and availability for the LTE-enabled versions will be confirmed by carriers, said Samsung.

The Wi-Fi only version is available in Black, White, and Gold. Color options for the LTE-enabled versions are limited to Balck and White and will depend on which carrier you buy from with AT&T, Sprint, US Cellular and T-Mobile stocking the Black and Verizon getting exclusivity on the White.

In terms of specs, the Galaxy Tab S2 range features a 2048×1536(QXGA) Super AMOLED display, Samsung’s Exynos 5433 octa-core processor with four cores running at 1.9GHz and four running at 1.3GHz, 3GB of RAM, an 8-megapixel rear camera, a 2.1-megapixel front camera, fingerprint scanner and multitasking capabilities to run two apps side-by-side on the screen.

Onboard storage is 32GB for all versions, expandable via microSD up to 128GB. The Galaxy Tab S2 is ultra-thin, measuring just 5.6 millimeters with the Wi-Fi only models weighing in at 9.4 oz. for the 8.0-inch and 13.8 oz. for the 9.7-inch version.

Samsung also announced a pending “limited time tablet bonus trade-in offer” that could reward customers with $100 or more off the Galaxy Tab S2 sticker price when they trade-in existing, “qualifying tablets.”

While Samsung did not list qualifying tablets for the trade-in offer, it is highly likely that its main competitor, Apple’s iPad will be on that list – especially as Apple is preparing to unveil updates to its iPad range, including a new iPad mini 4.

Including the iPad range in such a trade-in offer will also align with Samsung’s most recent tactic to get Apple users to switch. Last week Samsung announced it would give iPhone users the opportunity to test drive its Galaxy S6 edge+ and Note 5 smartphones for 30 days for only $1 and with no obligations.

Image via Samsung

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