Commentary by Patrick Avenell (Follow me on Twitter)
Samsung overnight unveiled its next generation mobile communications products, with new tablets and smartphones under its Android Galaxy sub-brand, and new Wave smartphones utilising Samsung's Bada operating system. Here is a look at the new products expected for release over the coming year:
Blurring the lines between a smartphone and a tablet, the Galaxy Note has a 5.3-inch HD Super AMOLED display. In a throwback to the earliest smartphones, there is stylus input via the S Pen, which can unlock "artistic freedom" by drawing on the screen. This is the most ambitious of Samsung's new mobile releases.
Under Samsung's new Galaxy naming protocol, there are five letters you need understand: S (super smart), R (royal or refined, Samsung hasn't decided yet), W (wonder), M (magical) and Y (young). Got that? Now you need to learn three more suffixes: Pro (full QWERTY keyboard), Plus (an upgrade from a previous model) and LTE (long term evolution, a 4G standard across suppliers). This new handset is the Galaxy M Pro. Samsung is clearly targetting the business user who prefers a full keypad but is dissatisfied with the limitations of BlackBerry's operating system.
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This is the Galaxy W. The 'wonder' of this model is its 1.4Ghz processor, HSDPA 14.4MBPS connectivity and 3.7-inch touchscreen. The W phones are positioned just below the S handsets, providing a lot of the desirable features, such as Samsung's Game, Social and Music Hubs, but at a more aggressive price point.
A more traditional tablet than the Note, the Galaxy Tab 7.7 is described as the world's first to feature the Super AMOLED Plus display that has made the Galaxy S II smartphone so popular. There will be 16/32/64GB models available, with a MicroSD card for expansion. There's also mobile network compatibility, so users aren't confined to Wi-Fi hotspots.
The world may have forgotten Bada, but Samsung hasn't. This is the new Wave M handset, the first to feature ChatON, whatever that is, and Samsung's Social Hub. This handset comes with what Samsung describes as NFC (optional).
Finally, this is the Galaxy Tab 8.9 LTE, which Samsung says offers "high-speed 4G connectivity in addition to power, portability and second-to-none screen technology". That's quite a compliment! All told, Samsung's new mobile communications range is very formidable. The new Android smartphones and tablets should be popular, though doubts remain about the viability of a 5.3-inch smartphone/tablet with a stylus. We look forward to seeing David Beckham playing with these gadgets.