The Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 was announced this week to no one's surprise. What is a bit shocking is that the tablet will shift to using an Intel Atom Clover Trail+ System-on-a-Chip.
As the first Intel-powered Android tablet, the company's 1.6GHz dual-core Atom Z2560 processor replaces the popular ARM Cortex-A9 found in the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1.
Intel, further moving in on ARM's lucrative territory, is also supplying the Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 LTE chip with a model-dependent XMM 7160 4G or XMM 6262 3G modem.
All of this is good news for Intel. Although it's the world's largest semiconductor company, it has been slow to provide mobile solutions to tablet and smartphone manufacturers.
This deal is one of many the company has lined up for its Atom Z2560 processor.
Full Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 specs
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 release date is this month, according to Samsung.
The South Korean manufacturer also revealed the specs for its Intel-powered tablet, which measures 243.1 x 176.1 x 7.95mm.
When it comes to onboard memory, the Tab 3 will come in two different sizes. The 16GB version will give users approximately 11GB of real space.
The 32GB version has about 26.3GB of user memory, but all models can be expanded with an additional 64GB of microSD memory.
Samsung seems quick to admit that system files do limit user memory after the heat it took over the diminished capacity of its Galaxy S4 smartphone.
The Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 sticks with 1GB of RAM, 3MP and 1.3MP front and rear cameras, and USB 2.0.
However, it trumps the Tab 2 with Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth 4.0 and Android 4.2 Jelly Bean.
Galaxy Tab 3 8-inch also announced
The smaller Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8-inch model was also announced by the company with a slightly slower 1.5 GHz dual-core processor.
Intel informed TechRadar that it will not be powering Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 with its Atom System-on-a-Chip.
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on TechRadar.
However, on the upside, the device has more memory with 1.5GB of RAM and a higher resolution 5-megapixel rear camera.
Just like the bigger Galaxy Tab 3 10.1, this iPad mini-rivaling tablet has a June release date.
- See what's next for Samsung's direct competition, the iPad Mini 2 and iPad 5
