Samsung Galaxy Tab Sales Pass 1 Million

In less than two months from launch, Samsung says it reached 1 million units sold of its Galaxy Tab tablet computer. Samsung doesn't specify if that figure means the number of actual devices delivered to end users, or the number of devices that are in the channel. Either way, it's a significant milestone for what some analysts branded a failure.

It was only 11 days ago that Samsung announced 600,000 Tabs sold. The launch of the holiday sales season apparently gave Tab seekers an incentive to buy.

The device was launched globally in mid-October. It reached U.S. shores in mid-November, and is available from AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, and Verizon Wireless. Pricing in the U.S. ranges between $400 and $650 (depending on contract and data plan options chosen by customers). It is on sale from Sprint right now for $350 with a contract.

Samsung didn't offer a breakdown of Galaxy Tab sales in markets other than in Korea, where it says it has sold over 100,000 Tabs. None of the U.S. carriers has announced sales numbers for the Galaxy Tab, and likely won't any time soon.

Earlier this year, Samsung had predicted it would sell one million Tabs. Now that it has reached that number, it has bumped up estimate to a total of 1.5 million Tabs sold by the close of 2010. Samsung also indicated that it is working on a tablet with a 10-inch screen, which will debut at some point in the first half of 2011.

By way of comparison, since the iPad's launch in April, Apple has sold approximately 7.2 million tablet computers.

With Motorola and Research In Motion also looking to field tablets in the early months of 2011, the tablet market is suddenly starting to look a bit stronger. The real question will be, can Motorola, Samsung and RIM take on the second version of Apple's iPad, which is expected to also debut in early 2011.

For InformationWeek's full review of the Samsung Galaxy Tab, click here.

Source: Chosun Ilbo