Samsung is bringing its Galaxy Tab Active3 to the US in a move that rounds out its rugged device lineup for businesses.
The Galaxy Tab Active3 rides along with Samsung's XCover Pro as the consumer electronics giant targets the B2B market and frontline workers. As Samsung targets various B2B industries it is competing with incumbents such as Zebra Technologies in mobile computing as well as Dell, Lenovo, Panasonic and others.
Saurabh Shah, senior B2B product manager for Samsung's rugged device portfolio, said the Galaxy Tab Active3 is designed to address the "customer looking for a semi-rugged device that's just business enough."
Shah said the tradeoff in the B2B market has revolved around business use vs. the everyday core features workers enjoy with their personal devices. In other words, Samsung is looking to thread a needle in the market and create its own space.
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Shah outlined how Samsung's rugged devices aim to occupy the middle ground between consumer devices and ultra-rugged gear.
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Here's the rugged device conundrum:
- Consumer devices aren't rugged enough for business and have breakage, limited B2B features and a fixed battery.
- Rugged devices are over-engineered and pricey.
- Shared devices don't really work well given health concerns.
- Frontline workers are often using PCs instead of mobile devices in the field.
Samsung targeted the rugged space in 2017 with the Galaxy Tab Active 2 and has followed up with the Tab Active Pro, XCover FieldPro and XCover Pro. These devices can be tailored for specific industry use cases in sectors like public safety, manufacturing and supply chain and are designed to be managed easily in fleets.
Shah added that Samsung is aiming for a 3-year life cycle with security updates regularly.
Among the key points about the Tab Active3:
- It has MIL-STD 810H certification.
- Replaceable battery.
- Ruggedized S Pen.
- Enhanced Touch for use with gloves.
- The Enterprise Edition is available with 1 year of Knox Suite, 3-year product cycle and 5 years of security and maintenance updates.
- The device supports Samsung Wireless DeX, features a programmable key.