Samsung Electronics America has announced that the Samsung Galaxy Tab A tablet computers will be released to the United States market on May 1.
The Galaxy Tab A comes in two sizes, with one featuring an 8.0-inch screen and the other featuring a 9.7-inch screen, both of which are 1,024 x 768 PLS LCD screens. The available colors for both versions are Smoky Titanium, Smoky Blue and white.
In addition to the difference between the screen size and dimensions of the two versions of the Galaxy Tab A, the batteries of the devices are different. The 8.0-inch Galaxy Tab A features a 4,200mAh battery, while the 9.7-inch version features a 6,000mAh battery to be able to support the larger display.
Aside from these differences, the two versions are exactly alike. Both sizes of the Galaxy Tab A are powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor with a 1.2GHz quad-core Cortex A53, 400MHz Adreno 306 GPU. The tablet is also powered by 1.5GB of RAM with a memory capacity of 16GB, with an expandable memory option through a microSD card slot for up to 128GB. The rear-facing camera of the Galaxy Tab A is a 5MP one, while the front-facing camera is a 2MP one.
The Galaxy Tab A also ships with the latest version of Google's mobile operating system, Android 5.0 Lollipop.
The specifications of the Galaxy Tab A do not reveal the device to be an especially powerful one. However, what makes the device stand out compared to Samsung's previous tablet products is that the Galaxy Tab A features an aspect ratio of 4:3, which signals a departure from the 16:10 aspect ratio that previous Samsung tablets have used. The Galaxy Tab also features a chassis made of metal, which also signals the company's move away from using plastic in its devices as can be seen in Samsung's newest flagship smartphones, the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge.
Both versions of the Galaxy Tab A are now available to customers for preorders, with the tablets slated to start shipping on May 1 in the United States. The 8.0-inch version carries a price tag of $229, while the 9.7-inch version can be purchased for $299.
Samsung will also be releasing a version of the 9.7-inch Galaxy Tab A which will come with the company's S-pen for a price of $349.
Samsung's app partnership with Microsoft also means that the Galaxy Tab A will come with Microsoft Office for Android apps preinstalled, with customers also receiving a two-year OneDrive storage service for up to 100GB.
