Move over iPad: Samsung launches slick, well designed rival tablet

Yeah yeah, another contender to the iPad throne. Yawn. But with the launch of the long-awaited Galaxy Tab, Samsung could perhaps expect to give the iPad a run for its money, if the reviews are to be believed.

Launched today at a massive industry trade fair in Berlin, the Android-based Galaxy Tab finds its origins in Samsung's popular Galaxy S handset, but while it retains the Galaxy S's ability to make calls, the new kid on the block is going to go on to do much, much more. Weighing in at 380g, with a 7 inch display, the device is a similar size to Amazon's popular Kindle. It has multitouch capacity, Flash support and video calling, as well as an e-reader application - and support for Android apps means that the device will run any of the thousands of applications designed for the Android platform.

And initial reviews of the new device are very favourable. Many of the specs leaked out onto the web before today's official unveiling, but those who have had a chance to play with the Galaxy S report that it is very sleekly designed, and well thought out. Reviewers reviews rate it as having a large enough screen to watch films and TV, while still being handle-able, and relatively discreet. Running Android means that it's got a well-designed and well-tested OS, which Samsung hasn't felt the need to mess with too much, and the device's e-reader software also gets the thumbs up for being intuitive and easy to use.

Anyone can put together a tablet these days, but it seems that Samsung has taken Apple's acknowledged strengths -  the user interface and the sleek hardware design - and deliberately developed something which could compete in both arenas. With a release date for the UK next month, it only remains to be seen what the pricing, data tariffs and actual availability look like.