Samsung Introduces 8.9- and 10.1-Inch Galaxy Tabs Coming This Summer

Samsung wants customers to have a choice, and to that end, it unveiled two new tablets today at CTIA in Orlando.

What is the right size for a tablet–7 inches? 8? 9? 10?

Now, you don’t have to decide. Well, except that you do.

Samsung introduced the 8.9-inch and the 10.1-inch super-thin tablets, which will release this summer. The 10.1-inch tablet will be available June 8. A sixteen gigabyte Wi-Fi version will cost $499. The 32GB version will cost $599. The 8.9-inch version will cost $469 for 16GB, and $569 for the 32GB. No word on when this size will launch, except that it is coming this summer.

In the end, there will be a mind-boggling number of options.

Both models will also have the option of 4G connectivity, WiMax or LTE, which is promised to be priced very competitively, according to Samsung Mobile’s SVP Omar Khan.

The announcement, which was made at CTIA this morning in Orlando, included a few user videos, featuring ideal users for the different sized tablets. The filmmaker preferred the larger screen to view video, and the travel writer preferred the more portable size to stay in touch with friends while on the go.

The hardware, which is both insanely thin and lightweight, is also robust. Both Samsung Galaxy Tabs have a 1GHz dual-core processor, a long-lasting battery and cameras in the front and back.

The tablets will also come with Samsung’s entire array of software, including Readers Hub, Social Hub, Music Hub, and its Touchwiz 4.0 software overlay, which will include live panels that can be customized on the home screen. They both will be running Honeycomb, Google’s latest Android operating system.

The topic of tablet size can be quite polarizing since Apple believes that the iPad’s nearly 10-inch screen is the ideal size.

Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs went on a tirade back in October, saying that the seven-inch screens that Samsung and other Android vendors originally launched were going to be dead on arrival.

He went as far as to say that users will have to sand down their fingertips in order to use the touchscreen effectively. “Apple has done extensive testing on how close you can put elements on the touchscreen, and 10 inches is a minimum size to create great tablet apps,” he said.

It appears that Samsung took Apple’s user research to heart.

“Samsung has always been about choice, and building products that fit the unique needs of our consumers,” Khan said.