fernandejackson: Hands on with the Galaxy Tab 8.9

Samsung took the wraps off of its Galaxy Tab 8.9 tonight in New York City, the latest product in its ever-growing Galaxy line. Shoneel Kolhatkar, Samsung's Director of Product Planning, said that the 8.9 "hits the sweet spot ... between screen real estate and compact size," and we tend to agree. First thing you'll notice is that on paper, a little more than an inch doesn't seem like a whole lot of difference between the newest Galaxy tablet and it's big brother, the Galaxy Tab 10.1. However in your hand, the two products are radically different. The 8.9 will be the perfect product for those who find the 10.1 to be just a bit too large.

Other than its smaller footprint, there isn't much more to say about the Galaxy Tab 8.9, as it shares the same hardware and software as the already reviewed Galaxy Tab 10.1. Same Tegra 2 processor, same 1 GB RAM, same Honeycomb 3.1, and the same version of TouchWiz. If you've even peeked at anything that's been said about the 10.1, you'll know what to expect in the 8.9.

The Galaxy Tab 8.9 will be available nationwide on October 2: the 16 GB model will set you back $469, while the 32 GB model will cost $569. Some hands on photos, which include a comparison with the Galaxy Tab 10.1, are after the break.