Samsung has launched its latest new tablets in India: the Galaxy Tab S 10.

5-inch
and the Tab S 8.4-inch screen version. The company has launched WiFi and 3G sup
ported versions of the tablet for a price of Rs 37,800 for the 10.5-inch model a
nd Rs 44,800 for the 8.4-inch model. Where specs and pricing are concerned, it i
s clearly taking on the iPads in a big way.

Samsung has kept the price high given that it is a premium product, it should be
noted that these tablets dont support LTE in India which is a disappointment. Wh
ile Samsungs press statement mentioned WiFi and LTE along with pricing, detailed
specs revealed that it was FDD LTE and not TDD-LTE that works in India.

When asked if Samsung was planning to launch a 4G version of the tablet in India
, Samsung executives said they couldnt comment on the same.

Currently the list of smartphones that support 4G LTE in India is small. The lis
t includes Apples iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c (iPhone 5s launched at an exorbitant Rs
53,000 and is now retailing at close to Rs 44,000, while the iPhone 5c which wa
s launched at a price of Rs 41,900 is retailing at Rs 34,000) LG G2 4G LTE and X
olo LT900. Apples iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina Display dont support the requ
ired LTE band in India, according to Apples official website.

And Samsungs latest tablets dont increase the options for the users either. Just l
ike the Note 3 and the S5, India is yet to see an LTE-enabled device from Samsun
g.

LTE aside, theres no doubt that Samsung has also gone after Apple by introducing
a brighter Super AMOLED Screen with a resolution of 25601600 in both tablets. Thi
s is much higher than the iPads which have 20481536 resolution at 264 pixels per
inch (ppi) for the Air and a 2048-by-1536 resolution at 326 pixels per inch (ppi
) resolution for the iPad Mini with Retina Display. It has also bumped up the ca
mera giving its tablets an 8-megapixel camera in the back and a 2.2 megapixel ca
mera in the back. The iPads are still at 5 megapixel camera in the back and a 1.
2 megapixel camera in the front.

Plus both tablets come with a microSD slot with 128 GB limit and thus offer more
space for users compared to the iPads which have a fixed 16, 32, 64 GB and 128
GB version.

In terms of size, Samsungs tablet is only 6.6 mm thick and weight 467 g for the 1
0.5-inch version, while the 8.4-inch version is also 6.6 thick and weighs 298 g.
In comparison to this the iPad Air is marginally heavier at 469 g and is thicke
r at 7.5mm. The iPad mini with Retina Display is heavier at 308 g and 7.2 mm thi
ck.

The iPad Air with 3G and WiFi starts at Rs 44,900 (although you can get it for l
ess on some websites but only at a marginal reduction), while the iPad mini with
Retina Display starts at Rs 37,900 for WiFi plus 3G, so where the price gap is
concerned with Apple its pretty much the same.

But where the Indian tablet market is concerned, growth is doing down. India reg
istered a negative growth of 32.8 percent in Q1 of 2014 compared to Q1 2013, acc
ording to IDC data. As the report noted, the drop was primarily due to lack of ne
w buyers in the market. Even though Samsung is the clear leader with 47.5 percent
market share followed by Apple at 22.5 percent, users werent lapping up tablets
as it was expected.

Given that tablets have nothing new to offer for users, Samsungs omission of 4G L
TE in India market seems even more glaring and a bit surprising. Granted that wh
ere the Indian market is concerned, 4G growth is still sometime to go, though wi
th Reliance Jio launching both data and voice for 4G, massive changes are expect
ed by the end of this year.

More importantly since the Galaxy Tab S has been positioned as a premium tab, it
is likely that a lot of these users would want to get 4G on their tabs as soon
it arrives in their circle. For them, a Samsung Tab S that doesnt offer 4G, would
be a let-down. Additionally, if Apples next version of iPad does support the rig
ht LTE band for India, (and given that a new version will release by the end of
this year), it could just outsell Samsung, even in India.