With most of the tech media frothing over the high-resolution screen on the new iPad, Android fans can’t help but wonder what happened to the mythical Galaxy Tab 11.6. The rumored Samsung tablet has a supposed resolution of 2650×1600, a standard more often seen on 30-inch monitors (and, of course, soundly beating the new iPad by about a million pixels). We were somewhat surprised that the 11.6 didn’t show up at Mobile World Congress, but Pocket-Lint claims that Samsung will reveal it in a press conference on Friday, just two days after the Apple smorgasbord.

I’m going to go out on a limb and say that this isn’t going to happen. First of all, the source claims that the event will be held at South By SouthWest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas at 4PM Central time. It’s true that Samsung is present at SXSW and does have an announcement planned. But I’ve been to the conference in question in years past, and it’s focused on software and web properties ever since the original music festival was expanded. If you want to announce major new hardware from a major vendor, SXSW isn’t the place to do so. Second, there’s been no invitations sent to the hardware-focused sections of the technology media, whom Samsung would definitely try to woo to a major event that trumps their biggest competitor. Samsung knew about the Apple event just like everyone else: if they were planning a Galaxy Tab 11.6 reveal in Austin, they would have sent out invitations last week.

We definitely think that the Galaxy Tab 11.6 is coming, but not any time in the next few weeks. Samsung has shifted its announcement strategy for flagship devices; with both the Galaxy Nexus and the upcoming Galaxy S III, it’s hosting its own event (not unlike a certain someone) instead of showing them off at trade shows. We’ll be keeping an eye out for any Samsung news, as usual, but don’t hold your breath.

22 COMMENTS

    • me too, the “GT 10.1 2” is horrible compared to the original. Plus, did you notice it no longer has a flash on the back? i love you samsung but you HAVE TOO make the “galaxy tab 11.6” the beast and ipad’s closest rival like last year.

  1. I purchased a galaxy tab 3 months ago. It now crashes every other day and there are only 8 apps I can actually use. NEVER AGAIN SAMSUNG!!! Never again

    • I am a die hard Samsung/Droid fan, and I’m rocking the international i9000. But I won’t buy another Samsung device unless it’s also a Nexus one, or I can choose to run stock Android without third-party add-ons. Touchwiz basically ruined the i9000 and I hope like hell that this tablet is powerful enough not to be ruined by it as well. 

      • Samsung bootloaders come unlocked. It takes half a second to root and put in a custom Rom and custom recovery. Samsung devices have one of the biggest Dev followings in Android. Its not even a chore to dump Touchwiz…..which I think is one of the best manufacturer skins. Always owned Samsung and will never look back. Learn 2 mod.

      • Should I have to? You’re essentially arguing for Samsung’s right to ship what is essentially a sub-par product. I could jailbreak an iPhone too and make it better, but I’d rather be able to just buy something that hasn’t been crippled by its own manufacturer. I’d be far happier if Samsung showed some willingness to listen to customers and dump TW, make it optional or at least stop it from sucking so much, but if I’m dropping serious coin on a smartphone then I shouldn’t have to mod it to make it work the way it’s capable of in the first place. 

      • Sub par product? Tell that to Samsung’s sales figures. Yes I am arguing for Samsungs right to ship whatever the hell it wants to. It can make and sell whatever it wants to, its the maker for Gods sake. Touchwiz adds a ton of functionality. Compare the stock camera app on ICS to the one Samsung provided on the new Touchwiz. Touchwiz blows stock Android away. Compare the toggles in the notifications menu to stock gingerbread, again, uchwiz is superior. Touchwiz uses fewer system resources thannjust about any other manufacturer skin to boot. Don’t like TW then get an aftermarket launcher. Wanna bitch at someone, bitch at carriers who load tons of stuff that can’t be uninstalled onto phones, at least until ICS anyway. Touchwiz is a great skin that adds a ton of options, doesn’t kill resources (aka motoblur) and is easily avoidable. What so you not like about toichwiz exactly? Most people I ask his question to have some ridiculous answer that doesn’t even make sense- I expect yours to be no different. How does TW cripple Samsung devices? Being the owner of a Galaxy Nexus – pure Google – I can assure you that it doesn’t.

      • I am referring to Touchwiz 4.0, as found on the Galaxy Note, in case you’re referencing a different version.

      • TW works if you throw enough cores at it. The difference between a TW and non-TW Galaxy S is night and day (I’ve run both without a speed mod). Although to be fair I haven’t had the chance to play with ICS with TW so maybe things have gotten better, but I suspect the improvements in hardware would make up a large part of it. But far and away my biggest single complaint with TW is that parts of it aren’t stable, even at stock. I can’t count the number of times my Samsung Keyboard has crashed in the middle of texting and refused to restart until the phone is rebooted 🙁 

        But hey, if it’s improved then I’m happy to be wrong. After my experience with my S, I think I can be forgiven for being apprehensive. I still won’t forgive them for not getting the 11.6 to market though. 

      • “How does TW cripple Samsung devices? Being the owner of a Galaxy Nexus – pure Google – I can assure you that it doesn’t.”

        How does owning a pure/stock/no skin Galaxy Nexus allow to ensure that TW doesn’t cripple a Samsung device?

    • It’s called the “iPad”  It appears that all new software and hardware updates will go into a device called the “iPad”.  Just as there are no numbers after iPods and MacBook Pros (or iMacs).  Otherwise, I would have a MacBook Pro 6 and an iMac 11.  (I actually have a MacBook Pro 6,2 and an iMac 11,1)

  2. My next tablet is a Samsung. I will not by note 10.1 or tab 2 10.1, because of their hardware specifications. I will buy the tab 11.6 whether it will arrive tomorrow, next week or next year .

    • ipad is definitely the most powerful tablet so far, but personally, i’m a galaxy tab fan and  i guess i’ll just have to wait and see what happens with the “galaxy tab 11.6”.

      • Umm iPad is not the most “Powerful”. Sure its more polished, making it smoother to operate than any other device. But its not the most powerful. there are tablets and even phones that are running on 4 cores. 

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