Samsung brings Galaxy Tab 8.9 to the US, despite lawsuits

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Samsung brings Galaxy Tab 8.9 to the US, despite lawsuits

Samsung trots the Galaxy Tab 8.9, in 16GB and 32GB flavors. But Samsung has also drawn Apple鈥檚 ire 鈥� and that might affect its ability to do business.

Newscom

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 was unveiled in August. Here, a Samsung launch event in July.

By Jeff Ward-Bailey

Sept. 28, 2011, 11:54 a.m. ET

Lawsuits, what lawsuits?

Samsung鈥檚 ongoing legal battles with Apple apparently made no difference this week, as the former released its Galaxy Tab 8.9 tablet. The Galaxy Tab 8.9 arrives stateside on Sunday, Oct. 2, in two flavors: 16GB for $469, and 32GB for $569.

Before diving into the bad blood between Apple and Samsung, let鈥檚 take a quick look at the product on offer here. The 0.3-inch-thick tablet, powered by Android 3.1 鈥淗oneycomb,鈥� sports a dual-core processor, 8.9-inch display, a 3-megapixel rear camera, and 2-megapixel front camera. The new Tab can both record and play back video content in full 1080p HD resolution.

For right now, at least, the Galaxy Tab 8.9 is Wi-Fi only. No word on when (or whether) 3G or 4G versions of the tablet will become available. It鈥檚 worth pointing out, though, that Samsung offers a 4G version of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 through Verizon Wireless, so it鈥檚 not unreasonable to expect that its smaller sibling might get some 4G love, too.

Is Samsung trying to eat Apple鈥檚 lunch here 鈥� especially since its pricing on the Galaxy Tab 8.9 undercuts Apple鈥檚 16GB and 32GB models by $30? Well, that鈥檚 where the lawyers get involved. Previous iterations of the Galaxy Tab, as well as Samsung鈥檚 Galaxy S phone, have sparked lawsuits in 12 countries worldwide. Basically, Apple has accused Samsung of copying both its technology and its design. Maybe the 10.1-inch Galaxy Tab resembles the 9.7-inch iPad 2 just a little too closely?

US courts haven鈥檛 heard any Apple suits against Samsung yet, but a court date can鈥檛 be far off: InformationWeek that the International Trade Commission is looking at pending litigation concerning the Galaxy S, and that Apple has sued Samsung in California for 鈥渟lavishly copying鈥� its products.

Samsung apparently isn鈥檛 going to let its legal troubles stop it from releasing products, though. It鈥檚 announced plans to bring a 7.7-inch Galaxy Tab to the US, although it hasn鈥檛 said when. What happens if Samsung loses in court, though? Well, it could be prevented from selling 鈥� or even supporting 鈥� the devices that Apple names in its complaints. (A German court has already banned marketing certain Samsung devices in the European country pending further litigation.) We鈥檒l have to wait and see how the legal battle shakes out, but in the meantime, consumers can rejoice 鈥� there鈥檚 plenty of Galaxy Tab goodness to go around.

What do you think, readers? Are you considering buying a Galaxy Tab? Do you consider it an iPad ripoff? Maybe both? Let us know in the comments.