MWC: Galaxy Tab 10.1 will come to Vodafone in March

KOREAN ELECTRONICS GIANT Samsung unveiled its Galaxy Tab 10.1 at Mobile World Congress, citing a March launch with Vodafone.

While demonstrating the Galaxy Tab 10.1, the Samsung spokesman told The INQUIRER that not only will the device tip up in March but Vodafone will be the first mobile operator to have the device in the UK.

The Galaxy Tab 10.1 will feature a SIM slot, which the Samsung representative claimed will make it able to make calls and send text messages just like any other mobile phone.

Aside from running Android 3.0 Honeycomb, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 will feature HSPA+21 connectivity, with a theoretical bandwidth of 21Mbps. Just how useful and fast this turns out to be in reality will be determined by Vodafone's network and tariffs.

The Galaxy Tab 10.1 felt a whole lot more substantial than its predecessor, even though it weighs around 600 grams. The Android 3.0 operating system is impressive, even though Samsung has done relatively little customisation to it.

The success and usability of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 will depend a lot on just how aggressively Vodafone and other mobile operators subsidise the device. There's no doubt that both Samsung and Google now have the hardware and software in place to claim they have a true Android tablet.

Now let's just hope the mobile operators don't spoil it. µ