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Samsung's 7" Galaxy Tab 2 tablet coming to US in April, 10" version in May

Samsung is looking to provide an update challenge to Apple's iPad on its home turf with the U.S. release of the 7-inch Galaxy Tab 2 on April 22 and the 10-inch Galaxy Tab 2 on May 11.

The South Korean consumer electronics manufacturer announced on Wednesday release dates for its 2012 tablet lineup, MacNN reports. Samsung had previously teased the devices at the Mobile World Congress in February.

The Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 has been stripped down to compete with Amazon's Kindle Fire for the low-end market. The 7-inch tablet will cost $250 and includes dual-core 1GHz processors, Android 4.0 and a three-megapixel rear camera. Preorders for the device begin on Thursday ahead of an April 22 launch.

An early review of the tablet notes that the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 "performs gracefully" while costing half as much as the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus, while doubting whether consumers will choose the device over the Kindle Fire.


Samsung's Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 | Credit: MacNN

The Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 will cost $50 less than its predecessor when it arrives on May 13. Both 7-inch and 10-inch tablets will function as infrared remote controls by way of the Smart Remote Android app by Peel.

Galaxy Tab 2 10.1
The Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 | Credit: MacNN

Samsung is also set to release the Galaxy Player 4.2 on May 13. The $200 iPod touch competitor will utilize a single-core processor and feature 8GB of storage, a two-megapixel rear camera, FM radio and GPS.

Galaxy Player 4.2
Galaxy Player 4.2 | Credit: MacNN

Though the Galaxy Tab series was one of the earliest competitors to Apple's iPad, it has seen limited success. Even in Samsung's home market of Korea, where the company has traditionally enjoyed high brand loyalty from consumers, the iPad has outperformed the Galaxy Tab. Some estimates have pegged the iPad's market share in Korea between 70 and 80 percent.

Apple specifically targeted the Galaxy Tab in its legal battle against Samsung and succeeded in winning injunctions against the device in some regions. Samsung subsequently tweaked the device and re-released it as the Galaxy Tab 10.1N.

Samsung has also responded by turning the lawsuits into a selling point for its tablets. Late last year, advertisements for the Galaxy Tab began billing it as "the tablet Apple tried to stop."