Samsung gets competitive with Galaxy Tab 8.9, 10.1

Samsung has officially launched its extension to the Galaxy Tab line with the expected 8.9-inch and 10.1-inch models. Cleverly named the Galaxy Tab 8.9 and 10.1, the two tablets will carry on the line started last year with the original 7-inch Galaxy Tab. The Tab 8.9 will be priced starting at $469 and the 10.1 at $499, each with 16 GB of storage for the starting price. Samsung has taken the desire to compete with the iPad seriously, as the new tablets are priced less than the Apple tablet, and are thinner.

The new Galaxy Tabs will ship with the Honeycomb version of Android that is optimized for tablets, but will have Samsung's TouchWIZ interface enhancements on top of it. This may not appeal to those who prefer leaving Android devices with a stock interface, but early photos show it may not be a bad thing.

The new Tabs will be available starting June 8 (10.1 model), and will be available configured as follows:

Galaxy Tab 8.9: WiFi only, 16GB $469; 32GB $569; 64GB (price unconfirmed)

Galaxy Tab 10.1: WiFi only, 16GB $499; 32GB $599; 64GB (price unconfirmed)

Both the Tab 8.9 and 10.1 sport a dual-core processor running at 1 GHz, and displays offering resolution of 1280x600. The smaller of the two weighs in at just over a pound and the larger is 1.3 pounds, making them very light for the screen size. Samsung has not announced carrier partners for the 3G (or 4G) enabled versions of the Tabs.