Rumors were wild and rampant this summer that when Apple CEO Tim Cook took the stage at this past September’s iPad event he would unveil a new 13″ iPad. We all know that didn’t happen, but many tech enthusiasts were hoping that it would. Many tablet users believe that a tablet between 12 and 13″ would allow them to ditch the laptop once and for all.
There are many manufacturers out there like Lenovo, Samsung and Acer who’ve build hybrid laptop/tablet computers running the Windows 8 software. These computers typically have a swiveling touch screen that can be placed on top of the keyboard and locked in place giving the tablet the power of a full laptop but that also comes with the weight of a full laptop.
It seems that every time a rumors bubble about potentially new Apple products, rival Samsung is submitting patents or sparking the rumor mill even more with full product renders. It also seems that Samsung actually gets these products to market. The most recent case would be the Samsung Galaxy Gear a smart watch meant to rival an Apple based smart watch that still hasn’t been announced or released. Galaxy Gear is on the market today.
Although not made by Apple, we also brought you the story of what could be Samsung’s rival to Google’s Google Glass. It seems there is some kind of eternal delay at releasing Google Glass to the public, word on the street is that Samsung will get to market with their version, possibly before Google does.
Now, on the heels of the iPad 13 rumors that didn’t come to fruition, BGR is reporting that Samsung has a 12.2″ tablet in the works. This very well could come true because we all know Samsung is not afraid of multiple size ranges on their tablets. They first introduced the Galaxy Tab in a 7″ form factor, moved to an 10″ form factor and then the following year went 7″, 8.9″ and 10.1. So could a 12.2″ tablet be that far off? Probably not.
Couple that with the fact that Android’s latest operating system is a fraction of the size of the last two previous iterations and it could mean we could see a dual boot tablet.
The Galaxy Tab is dwarfed in sales by the iPad, however it is still the second largest tablet line in volume behind a tablet running iOS. As the largest consumer electronics giant in the world Samsung isn’t worried about undercutting it’s laptop division with a high performing tablet. They are still waiting for a homerun.
BGR also cites reports from ETNews which suggest that Samsung isn’t only working on this 12.2″ giant tablet but a 13.3″ tablet as well. We could see one of them as early as January which actually makes a lot of sense with the 2014 International CES in Las Vegas occurring that month. This year’s CES is supposed to put a huge emphasis on mobile.
Samsung typically uses the stage at IFA the world’s largest consumer electronics show held in Berlin every September to launch big products in their mobile category but they may be switching to a US venue to get a favorable launch out of the western hemisphere.
Source: BGR
