14 DAY TRIAL // IFA 2014 was the launching stage of a lot of new interesting products from the smartphone, phablet or Ultrabook category, but in one department innovations failed to appear.
What we’re actually talking about here is the lack of interesting tablet models at this year’s IFA 2014 tradeshow. Apart from the portable Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact, we didn’t see anything worth a second glance.
Major tablet vendor Samsung chose to focus on new smartphones, VR headset and smartwatch with 3G at the event, rather than on slates.
Samsung quietly slipped out the Galaxy Tab Active
However, the tech giant unveiled a product from the category at the event, which is basically a re-branded version of the Galaxy Tab 4 8.0 model.
Samsung just took the slate and outfitted it with a rugged case design and launched as its first tablet with rugged properties.
Last month, Samsung didn't say anything about the availability or the pricing of the tablet, but now the information has been made available and is pretty disquieting.
As seen on the Samsung official website, the tablet will be up for grabs for the whooping price of $699.99 / €552. That seems huge, especially considering the specs of the tablet and when compared to the other products offered by the Korean tech giant.
For those who aren't in the loop related to the tablet’s specs, we’ll remind you that the 8-incher boasts only 1280 x 800 pixel resolution and relies on a Snapdragon 400 quad-core processor fitted with 1.5GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage (expandable via microSD card).
The tab takes advantage of a 4,450 mAh battery, which is supposedly good enough to bestow a life of 8 to 10 hours of general use.
Android 4.4 KitKat is the default operating system onboard with your usual TouchWiz UX sprinkled on top. Sammy will be offering the Galaxy Tab Active in Titanium Green.
Samsung Galaxy Tab Active has a few extra feats
These specs are present in the normal version of the Galaxy Tab 8.0, but with the rugged version Samsung offers a little bit extra, adding NFC connectivity, C-Pen functionality and IP67 certification (meaning it’s dust-proof and waterproof).
Still we can’t help but feel the tablet is ridiculously overpriced. Take for example the Samsung Galaxy NotePRO 12.2, which sells for $649.99 / €512.
The tablet has a huge 12.2-inch display with 2,560 x 1,600 pixel resolution, a Samsung Exynos 5 processor, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage.
Did the implementation of rugged properties cost Samsung that much that it had to beef up the price of the Active tab to this extent?