Samsung launches flagship 'Tab S' in India

Korean electronics giant Samsung today launched its new tablet 'Tab S' for Rs 37,800 onwards, to further strengthen its position in the Indian market.

The device will be available in two screen sizes - 8.4 inch and 10.5 inch - priced at Rs 37,800 and Rs 44,800.

"Reports suggest that about 290 million tablets will be sold this year globally. Syndicated reports show that in India too, the market is expected to grow over 20% year-on- year and we are confident of topping that growth," Samsung India VP Mobile and IT Asim Warsi told reporters here.

According to IDC, Samsung is the second player in the global tablets market with 22.3% share in Q1 2014 compared to Apple's 32.5% share in the same period.

Unveiled at an event on June 13 in New York, Galaxy Tab S tablets compete with Apple's iPad range.

Both the variants feature Super AMOLED display and Exynos 5 Octa processor (1.9 GHz quadcore + 1.3 Ghz quad core). The devices have the latest Android Kitkat operating system, 8MP rear camera, 2.1MP front camera, 3GB RAM and 16GB internal memory (expandable up to 128 GB).

Warsi said: "The tablets are 3G enabled and also support FDD LTE. These will be available in second week of July and soon after that, we will introduce the TD LTE-supported version."

In India, Airtel is the only operator offering 4G services on LTE technology but it uses the TD LTE version. It offers services in seven cities including Kolkata, Bangalore, Pune, Chandigarh, Mohali, Panchkula, Ludhiana and Jalandhar.

Reliance Jio Infocomm is the only nationwide licence holder for offering the high speed Internet services (4G), which is expected to launch services next year.

Samsung has six tablets in its portfolio in India, priced between Rs 12,000-60,000. Warsi said the company has over 50% share of the market here.

Samsung and other players are confident of growth in the Indian tablet market even as market research indicates otherwise.

According to industry body MAIT, tablet PC witnessed a muted growth of 76% in 2013-14 compared to triple digit growth in the last two years as fewer entry-level models were introduced.

The sales for 2013-14 stood at 3.35 million units as against 1.9 million units in 2012-13. MAIT expects the segment to grow only by about 27% in FY 2014-15 as consumers opt for more higher screen sized smartphones.

"Tablets have just three% penetration (of total telecom subscriber base) and that to me is a huge opportunity. There is tremendous scope of growth and we will bring the latest technology across spectrum (of prices) to consumers," Warsi said.