Samsung Galaxy Note “coming soon” to RadioShack, hints tipster

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We are sure that the Samsung Galaxy Note, with its gargantuan 5.3-inch display and blazing fast 4G LTE connectivity, is a device that many of our readers would not mind owning. Some might have even waved $299 goodbye and pre-ordered theirs already straight from the carrier's online store. However, penny pinchers will most likely wait patiently and see how much third party retailers will be willing to sell them a Samsung Galaxy Note for.

One of the places that the Samsung Galaxy Note for AT&T will be offered may be RadioShack, if the information that an anonymous tipster just provided for us is to be trusted. Unfortunately, all we know is that the phablet is “coming soon” with its pricing and availability being a mystery for now. Still, since the Galaxy Note is launching on AT&T on February 19, it might not be long until we know further details on the matter.

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Galaxy Tab 2's Big Leap is Android 4.0

Samsung's first tablet running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, the Galaxy Tab 2 announced today, succeeds the original 7-inch Galaxy Tab with little change besides the latest software.

Don’t expect anything groundbreaking in the specs department: the Galaxy Tab 2 runs on a 1GHz dual-core processor, with 1GB of RAM and a 7-inch display with a 1024 by 600 pixels resolution. It has a 3-megapixel camera at the back and a front-facing VGA camera on the front for video calls. The Tab 2 is 0.41 inches (10.5 mm) thick and weighs 0.75 pounds (344 grams), compared to the iPad 2’s 0.34 inches (8.8 mm) thickness and 1.32 pounds (601 grams) weight.

Samsung said the Galaxy Tab 2 will come in 8, 16, and 32GB models (a microSD card slot allows for extra storage of up to 32GB), as well as Wi-Fi only and 3G varieties. The company didn’t give out pricing and availability for the U.S., but confirms the tablet will first release in the UK and Scandinavian countries in March, priced at around $450 for the Wi-Fi-only model, and around $550 for the Wi-Fi + 3G model -- hovering near the iPad.

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New Services

On top of Android 4.0, Samsung is adding its Hub line of services, including music, bookstore and newsstand, games and movies for purchase or rent. As usual, Samsung tinkered with the original Android 4.0 interface and added the Touchwiz skin, which includes S Suggest, an app recommendation service, and AllShare Play, which can live stream content from a PC to the tablet.

Since Samsung did not confirm the U.S. pricing for the Galaxy Tab 2, it’s unclear whether the company is targeting the best-selling Android tablet, the Kindle Fire; or the tablet market leader, the iPad. If international pricing is any indication, the Tab 2 has a price tag equivalent to iPad 2, although it offers a smaller screen for the same money. Compared to the Kindle Fire, the Tab is almost twice as expensive and very close in specs, aside from the cameras.

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