Samsung may be the largest maker of Android-based tablets in the world but even that achievement is far short of the number of iPads that Apple has sold so far. However J.K. Shin, the head of Samsung"s mobile division, says in a new article in the Wall Street Journal that it plans to continue to make new tablets based on Google"s Android OS platform including new versions of its Galaxy Tab products.
Shin states, "We"ll continue to work with Android on future tablets." That includes new 8.9 inch and 10.1 inch versions of its Galaxy tab which at the moment is only available in a small 7 inch version. Both of the new and larger tablets will be released later this summer. Samsung also states that it will ship about 7.5 million units of its tablet products in 2011. That"s five times what it shipped in 2010. However that"s still much lower than the expected shipments of Apple"s iPad which is predicted to reach nearly 40 million units in 2011.
Samsung is also in talks to create a tablet that will run on 4G/LTE wireless networks with Shin saying, "The 4G race has already begun. All carriers are coping with high data traffic with the availability of tablets and without 4G service, it will become increasingly difficult to cope."
Samsung is also involved in a court battle against Apple. Apple filed the lawsuit first claiming Samsung"s products were copies of its iPad and iPhone products. Samsung filed a countersuit claiming that patents held by Samsung for cellphone transmissions were violated by Apple. Shin stated in today"s interview, "We have used many similar designs over the past years and it [Apple"s allegation] will not be legally problematic."