(MENAFN - Khaleej Times) Technology giant Samsung Electronics on Wednesday announced that its newest Slate PC Series 7 is now available in the UAE, adding a new flavour to its already highly-successful tablet computer range.
The UAE is the first country in the Middle East where the Slate PC Series 7 has been made available, with other GCC nations soon following suit in the first week of March.
"It's a full-blown machine with all the features for consumers," Samsung Gulf Electronics business head for notebooks Denzil D'Souza told the media at the Press conference in Dubai.
In a subsequent telephone interview shortly after the event, he told Khaleej Times that the Slate PC Series 7 is different from the Seoul-based company's other hit, the Galaxy Tab, since the latter is "purely for media consumption".
"Actually, the Slate PC Series 7 is a PC with the form factor of a tablet," D'Souza said, adding that it has the capabilities to use top-level programmes such as AutoCAD and Adobe Photoshop, as well to watch Blu-ray and high-definition movies.
The ultra-portable device " at only 12.9 millimetres thin and 860 grammes light " is Samsung's latest foray into the highly-competitive tablet segment, which it considers a "cross-over" tablet for business users. It is powered by a 2nd Generation Intel Core i5 processor, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, a 64GB solid state drive and battery life of up to seven hours.
Users of the high-end device have three input methods to choose from for its 11.6-inch touchscreen, either by touch, digitiser pen or virtual keyboard. It also comes with a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse for even more flexibility.
Samsung's "invention" of the Slate PC Series 7, according to him, was borne out a global research conducted by the company, which showed that there was a need for a "cross-over" tablet that would specifically cater the need to rev up productivity in businesses and enterprises.
Citing figures from the International Data Corporation, or IDC, D'Souza said that this industry in the UAE has grown 14 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2011, with Samsung netting an impressive 71 per cent growth in the UAE alone.
Samsung sees even stronger growth in 2012, in line with the IDC's forecast of a 12 to 15 per cent growth for this year.
D'Souza is optimistic that like its Galaxy Tab, the Slate PC Series 7 will also be well-accepted by UAE consumers.
"The UAE is so diversified in terms of [technology] usage," he said. The Samsung Slate PC Series 7 will initially be retailed at Dh4,999.
