3 Reasons the Samsung Galaxy Tab Could Fail

The Samsung Galaxy Tab might have emerged as the strongest competitor to the Apple iPad but there are still some major issues it must contend with. What are these things that might prevent the Galaxy Tab from becoming the first big success among Android tablets?

1. Tablet apps? What tablet apps?

The major impetus that the Apple iPad received upon launch was the presence of many apps from big developers like Popular Science, Wall Street Journal and Marvel Comics. On the other hand, the Galaxy Tab may have some apps that have been specifically designed by Samsung but thrid party app support is negligible. Yes, most apps from the Android Market will work on the Tab but its going to be a hit and miss affair especially if you consider scaling and compatibility.

2. Is the price right?

On its launch in the U.S., the Galaxy Tab will be subsidised by carriers and the price is expected to be somewhat on par or slightly below the 3G versions of the iPad ($629-16GB, $729- 32GB and $829- 64GB). However, whenever the Tab launches in markets where carrier subsidies aren't the norm (like India), the pricing can't be on par with the iPad. The two main reasons for this are the smaller screen size and equal internal memory storage and it will be difficult to ask people to pay more than Rs. 30,000 for a 7-inch tablet when they can get a 10-inch iPad at about the same price.

3. Not all fun & games

The Galaxy Tab might be powered by the PowerVR SGX540 graphics processor, but seriously, apart from the games that Samsung themselves provide, where are the high quality games in the Android Market? Unlike the iPad where developers are regularly showcasing high quality games with excellent graphics, the majority of Android Market games still look basic. Plop in the scaling and compatibility issues and its clear that both Google and Samsung need to do some serious work to take care of this situation.