Given the leaked picture that as good as confirmed Samsung's move into the tablet market emanated from the firm's official South African Twitter feed, it was very unlikely the tech giant would be able to close down the chatter that followed.

Indeed, the company has now given in and confirmed the tablet's development, with a release planned – although not cemented - for later in the year.

"While Samsung is aiming to bring a device to market in the second half of this year, we have not yet confirmed the markets for launch or detailed product specifications," the firm said in an email to InformationWeek.

Android for all

The device, which was pictured next to Samsung's Galaxy S (below), will have a seven-inch touchscreen and run Android (we believe via Samsung's custom TouchWiz UI), but very little else is known about either is specs or its roll out.

At the time of the leak, a spokesperson for Samsung South Africa suggested the tablet had only been confirmed for release in that country, as ridiculous as that might sound.

Even its name is up for debate, with talk from tech blogs suggesting it will adopt Samsung's Galaxy brand and be dubbed the GalaxyTab, while gaming focused sources are – perhaps rather cynically - touting sPad as the most likely moniker.

Given iPad's userbase is predicted to hit ten million by the end of the year, being so direct in its pitching might not be such as bad idea.



InformationWeek