Google distributes 5,000 units of Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 free

Apple iPad 2 launch in China saw serpentine queues and a violent scuffle. How do you create a similar buzz around the iPad 2 look-alike Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1?

Google decided to ratchet up excitement around the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, which runs its tablet specific OS Android 3.0, by giving it for free to 5,000 attendees at the Google I/O conference and incurring about $499 per piece or $2.5 million in total.

CNET reported Hugo Barra, director of Android management who at the conference said: Thanks to Samsung, all 5,000 of you are getting one today.

Samsung launched its slimmer and lighter version of Honeycomb tablet, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Galaxy Tab 8.9, in March. Initially Samsung released its Galaxy Tab 10.1 at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February.

However, after Apple released its slimmer, lighter and faster version of iPad, the iPad 2, Samsung had to do some soul searching as it felt its Galaxy Tab offering was 'inadequate' in the light of iPad 2. In March Samsung vice president Lee Don-joo told Yonhap News Agency: We will have to improve the parts that are inadequate, Apple made it very thin.

The inadequacy was made up by releasing two ultra-thin and light tablets. In fact, Samsung bettered Apple's iPad 2 record in terms of thinness and lightness. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 weighs 595g (1.31 pounds) which betters iPad 2's 601g (1.32 pounds). Samsung slimmed down the Galaxy Tab 10.1, slashing the tablet's thickness from 10.6mm to 8.6mm (0.33-inch). Apple iPad 2 is 8.8mm (0.34-inch) thick.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 sports a screen resolution of 1280x800 compared to iPad 2's 1024x768. Galaxy Tab 10.1 is powered by a dual-core chip and comes in 16GB/32 GB/64 GB configurations. It also has a 3 MP rear-facing and 2MP front-facing camera. The tablet also has 1080p video playback.

Recently, Apple filed a lawsuit against its long-term supplier Samsung charging it of replicating its iPad, iPhone and iPod designs in Galaxy series of Android devices. The patent infringement case charges Samsung of infringing on patents related to the rectangular design of iPhone and iPad and the use of gestures on the touch-screen. The complaint includes ten charges of patent infringement.

The lawsuit targets the Samsung Captivate, Continuum, Vibrant, Galaxy S 4G, Epic 4G, Indulge, Mesmerize, Showcase, Fascinate, Nexus S, Gem, Transform, Intercept, and Acclaim smart phones and the Samsung Galaxy Tab tablet.

Bloomberg quoted Steve Dowling, a spokesman for Cupertino, California-based Apple as saying: It's no coincidence that Samsung's latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad, from the shape of the hardware to the user interface and even the packaging. This kind of blatant copying is wrong, and we need to protect Apple's intellectual property when companies steal our ideas.

Here are is a comparison of Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and iPad 2: