South
Korea’s Samsung Electronics said today it had launched a super-size version of
its Galaxy Note smartphone, the latest salvo in its battle with Apple for the
multi-billion-dollar handheld market.
The
Galaxy Note 10.1, which went on sale yesterday in Germany and the United Arab
Emirates, is almost twice as wide as its predecessor and is almost the size of
a tablet.
The
release comes as Samsung tries to make inroads in the tablet computer market,
which is dominated by Apple’s iPad, while the two electronics giants are also
engaged in a bitter court battle over patent infringements.
The
firm said the new Note would be officially released in the US on Aug 15 and
sometime next week in Britain and South Korea.
The
Galaxy Note 10.1 – powered by Google’s Android software – features a
touchscreen which is 10.1-inches (25.6 centimetres) measured diagonally,
considerably wider than the 5.3-inch screen of the previous Note.
Like
its predecessor, it comes with a stylus called the “S pen” to write notes or
draw on the screen. The new version allows users to split the screen in half to
view two programs at once.
The
new device is equipped with a quad-core processor that allows users to run
multiple applications at a faster speed than the previous version, which had a
dual-core processor.
“The
advanced technology and features included in Galaxy Note 10.1 give users the
power to produce, create and customise communications,” JK Shin, the chief of
Samsung’s mobile unit, said in a statement.
Samsung
– the world’s largest smartphone maker by shipments – in November introduced
the first version of its Galaxy Note, a device positioned between the firm’s
flagship Galaxy S smartphones and Galaxy Tab tablet computers.
“Size-wise,
the new product (Galaxy Note 10.1) is nearly a tablet PC,” another Samsung
spokesman told AFP.
Samsung
and Apple are embroiled in legal battles in 10 countries worldwide over patents
for smartphones and tablet computers.
At
an ongoing major hearing in San Jose, California, Apple is seeking more than
$2.5 billion after accusing the Korean firm of infringing designs and other
patents.
Samsung
denies this and counter-charges that Apple infringed its patents for wireless
communication.
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