Samsung launches Octa-core Galaxy Tab S tablets in India, prices starting at Rs 37,800

After unveiling the same last month, Samsung has now launched its Galaxy Tab S range of tablets in the Indian market. The tablets are available in 8.4 and 10.5 inch display screen sizes and according to the company, these are the thinnest and lightest tablets offered by it till date. Samsung has also provided a fingerprint scanner in the devices, which are available for Rs 37,800 and 44,800 for the 8.4 and 10.5 inch versions respectively.

Both the tablets come with WQXGA Super AMOLED displays that the company claims provide deeper and more realistic images by making blacks darker and whites brighter. The tablet's 'adaptive display' also intelligently adjusts gamma, saturation, and sharpness based on the application being viewed, the colour temperature of the viewing environment and ambient lighting. In addition, the tablet's outdoor visibility technology makes on-screen content look bright, natural, and easy to view.

Here is a look at the specifications of the devices.

Galaxy Tab S 8.4

The tablet sports an 8.4 inch WQXGA Super AMOLED touchscreen display (2560×1600 pixel resolution) and runs on the Android 4.4 KitKat operating system. It is powered by an Exynos 5 Octa (1.9GHz quad-core + 1.3 GHz quad-core) processor or 2.3 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor (depending on the region), and has 3GB of RAM. It comes with 16GB of internal memory that can be further expanded up to 128 GB with a microSD card.

Galaxy Tab S 8.4 has an 8 MP autofocus camera with LED Flash that can also record full high definition videos (1080p) at 30 frames per second, as well as a 2 MP front facing camera for video calling that can also record full HD videos. On the connectivity front, the device has Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi (with Wi-Fi Direct), 3G, as well as a microUSB port and a microSD card slot.

The dimensions of the device are 125.6mm x 212.8mm x 6.6mm and its weight is 294 gm (Wi-Fi) / 298 gm (4G). The company has provided a 4,900 mAh battery in the tablet, which also comes with GPS, and Infrared LED. It will be available in titanium bronze and white colours.

Galaxy Tab S 10.5

This one is identical to its kid brother in most respects, the only difference being the display, the battery and its overall size and weight. Like the name already states, it features a slightly bigger 10.5 inch WQXGA Super AMOLED touchscreen display (2560×1600 pixel resolution). The dimensions of the tablet are 247.3mm x 177.3mm x 6.6 mm and its weight is 465 gm (Wi-Fi) / 467 gm (4G). Samsung has provided a 7,900 mAh battery in the device.

Additional features/offerings of the tablets include:

Papergarden: Samsung's magazine service provides an optimised viewing environment for digital interactive magazines.

SideSync 3.0: Enables users to make and receive calls directly from their phone (with the call forwarding feature) to their Galaxy Tab S anywhere at home, no matter where their phone is kept.

Quick Connect: Galaxy Tab S quickly finds and connects to nearby devices for easy content sharing. The feature is available on both Wi-Fi and LTE versions of the tablet.

Multi User Mode: Enables users to create their own personal optimised profile that has safe and convenient access with a built-in 'fingerprint scanner'. The tablet also has an especially designed 'Kids' Mode' with its own dedicated interface and kid-friendly applications. In India, the tablets will primarily compete with Apple's iPad offerings that are available for a starting price of Rs 34,999 and Rs 42,990 for the 16GB iPad Mini with Retina Display (7.9 inch) and 16GB iPad Air (9.7 inch) respectively.