Galaxy Tab Update Aimed at Boosting Business Sales (NewsFactor)

In an effort to differentiate its Android tablet from the other Android tablets trying to compete with Apple's category-dominating iPad, Samsung is releasing a software update for the 10.1-inch Galaxy Tab. The update is intended to enhance the interface and provide features that appeal to business users.

Some of the new features are for the Android 3.1 operating system, including Wi-Fi printing functionality and secure, remote network access. There's also a new user interface, called the TouchWiz UX, designed to make good use of the large screen, and to provide multitasking and customization.

'Enterprise Enablement'

Gavin Kim, Samsung Telecommunications America vice president of content, data services, and enterprise mobility, said in a New York press event that the updates further the promise to customers that "we were going to delight them by ensuring the experience" delivered helps "with work and play."

Other new features in the update are a media hub for playing movies and next-day TV content, and pre-loaded apps, such as Amazon's Music Cloud Player and Kindle. The update will be available via an over-the-air download beginning Friday. Once the tablet is updated, however, the new features can't be removed if the user wants to go back to the original Android operating system.

Kim told The Wall Street Journal that Samsung has done a lot of research about what users want, and the update addresses those needs -- ease of use, visual appeal, more fun, and "enterprise enablement."

Some of the new features are intended to appeal to business users and IT departments with security, work-group, and remote management functions. Other features include the ability to manage access to the Android Market, offer videoconferencing such as Cisco's WebEx videoconferencing and unified communications from Polycom, and real-time document sharing. The security features include support for Cisco VPN and Sybase Afaria.

'More Customer-Ready'

Sarah Rotman Epps, an analyst with industry research firm Forrester, said "pure Android-based tablets are not meeting the needs of businesses, so Samsung is trying to improve that experience" by layering software updates on top of Android.

She noted that Lenovo and other manufacturers are similarly trying to improve the appeal of Android tablets, none of which have yet emerged as a major competitor to the iPad.

The update, she said, will certainly "appeal to retailers, because it makes the Galaxy more customer-ready." But, Epps noted, it's still "not as polished as the iOS platform," while the price is essentially the same as Apple's.

She said Forrester's data shows "there is a significant appetite for tablets not made by Apple, but there is an expectation" that they will be available at a lower price. This is why, she noted, Samsung is going after the business market, where, the company hopes, it will be able to provide more business value than the iPad.

Epps said the risk for businesses "is buying a product that is not the top choice" in that category. "These software updates improve the Galaxy," she noted, "but we don't expect to see consumers or businesses lining up out the door to buy this tablet."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/software/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nf/20110804/tc_nf/79654

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