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Is Samsung fibbing about specs?

By Staff Reporter, ITWeb
Johannesburg, 31 Mar 2011

Samsung has possibly been stretching the truth on the specs of its second-generation Galaxy Tab, according to reports.

Die-hard Apple fans were quick to try and disprove Samsung's claim that the Galaxy Tab 10.1 was thinner than the iPad 2. Photos and hands-on experiences seem to refute the claim, and the Samsung offering may in fact be fractionally thicker than its Apple rival.

The iPad 2 measures 8.8mm, while the Galaxy Tab 10.1 was purported by Samsung to be 8.6mm thick.

A reporter at CTIA, in Florida, was able to get some hands-on time with the tablet and took some comparison photos with the iPad 2. It was reported that Samsung maintained its tab is 8.6mm, despite the visual evidence to the contrary.

However, it is possible the Galaxy Tab 10.1 that was on display at the CTIA was a prototype and the final product may still be the thinnest tablet to date.

While 0.2mm is unlikely to be a key differentiator in the highly-competitive tablet market, the media hype surrounding Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 specs served its purpose in garnering some limelight, despite the buzz surrounding the release of the iPad 2.

Samsung's marketing tactics have also come under scrutiny as a result of its “Interview Project” video that supposedly featured real every-day New Yorkers testing the tabs and waxing lyrical on Samsung's talking points.

It was only a matter of time before “freelance travel writer” Joan Hess and “independent film director” Karl Shefelman, among others, were identified as actors by the same names.

Samsung has had the fib-finger pointed at it before. Last year, Viewsonic lashed out at Samsung for claiming its new monitor had an “unprecedented” 27-inch full HD display with 1ms response time.

Viewsonic maintained its own VX2739wm was the first to market with those same specs.

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