Samsung's fancy Galaxy Tab S3 costs just as much as an iPad Pro, but it comes with the S-Pen
Productivity tablet wars, begun they have.
When Samsung unveiled its new 9.7-inch Galaxy Tab S3 tablet last month, it was clear Samsung designed it to take on Apple's 9.7-inch iPad Pro, a tablet that can transform into a powerful productivity device with the addition of a Smart Keyboard and Apple Pencil. What wasn't clear, though, was how aggressive Samsung would be in the pro-tablet battle.
On Thursday, Samsung announced pricing (and availability) that puts Apple on notice.
Starting at $599 for a 32 GB model (Wi-Fi-only) with expandable memory up to 256 GB, the Tab S3 sounds, at least, competitive. Apple's 9.7-inch Apple iPad Pro also starts at $599 for a 32 GB Wi-Fi-only model. However, Samsung's price includes the S-Pen. Apple charges an additional $99 for its Apple Pencil. In addition, it will cost you another $100 for the 128 GB iPad Pro model. Tab S3 owners can upgrade the memory of their devices on their own; a 128 GB micro SD card costs as little as $17.
Samsung's Galaxy Tab S3 is a thin (6 mm), lightweight (slightly lighter than the iPad Pro) tablet with built-in pen and keyboard support (the Pogo keyboard is sold separately for $129.99).
It offers a Super AMOLED QXGA screen with 2048 x 1536 resolution (the same as the iPad Pro), USB-C fast charging, a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera (5-megapixel front) and fingerprint sensor. Inside is Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 processor and 4 GB of RAM.
Pre-orders start on March 17 and both the tablet and Pogo keyboard will be available in stores on March 24.
Lance Ulanoff was Chief Correspondent and Editor-at-Large of Mashable. Lance acted as a senior member of the editing team, with a focus on defining internal and curated opinion content. He also helped develop staff-wide alternative story-telling skills and implementation of social media tools during live events. Prior to joining Mashable in September 2011 Lance Ulanoff served as Editor in Chief of PCMag.com and Senior Vice President of Content for the Ziff Davis, Inc. While there, he guided the brand to a 100% digital existence and oversaw content strategy for all of Ziff Davis’ Web sites. His long-running column on PCMag.com earned him a Bronze award from the ASBPE. Winmag.com, HomePC.com and PCMag.com were all been honored under Lance’s guidance.He makes frequent appearances on national, international, and local news programs including Fox News, the Today Show, Good Morning America, Kelly and Michael, CNBC, CNN and the BBC.He has also offered commentary on National Public Radio and been interviewed by newspapers and radio stations around the country. Lance has been an invited guest speaker at numerous technology conferences including SXSW, Think Mobile, CEA Line Shows, Digital Life, RoboBusiness, RoboNexus, Business Foresight and Digital Media Wire’s Games and Mobile Forum.
