Samsung said Wednesday that its Wi-Fi-only Galaxy Tab will hit a wide range of retail stores by April 10 at $349.99. Carrier-free retail distribution may give this old iPad rival some more life.
First, Samsung will garner more carrier free distribution that could boost market share.
Rival tablets such as the Motorola Xoom have had limited success.
The Galaxy Tab supports Adobe's Flash.
And the price $349.99 may be right.
However, the Galaxy Tab'sweaknesses are fairly well known. For starters, it has a 7-inch screen, which appeal to some but is often viewed as inferior to a 10-inch screen used by Apple's iPad.
The Galaxy Tab also runs the Android 2.2 operating system. A few months ago, this point would be viewed as a weakness, but given Android 3.0's problems with third party apps and crashes, it's possible that consumers will take the working OS over the newfangled one.
More than anything though, the Wi-Fi Galaxy Tab is really an exercise in price elasticity. At $349.99 the Galaxy Tab will get a few more looks. At $250, the Wi-Fi Galaxy Tab may do some damage. My guess is you'll see $250 sooner than later.
