Samsung Launches 7.7-Inch Tablet, Notebooks, Ultrabooks

Samsung unleashed a barrage of new products on Monday at CES, including notebooks and ultrabooks, appliances, flat panel LED televisions, cameras and mobile devices, all tied together with software designed for sharing content wirelessly.

Samsung, which last year overtook Apple for the top spot in global smartphone sales, is expanding its portfolio with the Galaxy Note, which features a 5.3-inch, high definition, Super AMOLED display and will run on AT&T's LTE network.

It comes with S-Pen, a stylus equipped with technology that senses how hard the screen is being pressed, and has 256 distinct levels of sensitivity, which allows it to offer "fast, responsive and highly accurate control," said Kevin Packingham, senior vice president of Samsung Telecommunications U.S.

Samsung also showed off the Galaxy Tab 7.7 LTE, a 7.7-inch tablet that runs on Verizon Wireless' 4G network. It's Samsung's first tablet in the U.S. market with the Super AMOLED display, and it also comes with integrated infrared technology that turns it into a remote control device for Samsung televisions.

Samsung is also boosting its PC portfolio with its new second generation Series 9 notebook, which at half an inch thick when closed is about the same size as first generation tablets, said Todd Bouman, vice president of Samsung Electronics America. It weighs in at 2.5 pounds, boots up in 9 seconds, and features battery life of up to 10 hours, making it similar to products in the ultrabook category.

Samsung is also launching two ultrabooks in its Series 5 line, including a 14-inch model with integrated DVD drive, according to Bouman.

Tim Baxter, president of the consumer electronics division for Samsung Electronics America, showed off Samsung's new ES8000 LED television, a 3D-compatible model that comes in sizes ranging from 46 inches to 65 inches.

Half of Samsung's televisions in 2012 will be 3D equipped, and the company has sold in excess of 12 million 3D televisions worldwide since 2010, according to Baxter.

Joe Stinziano, senior vice president of Samsung Electronics America, showed off Samsung's 55 inch "Super OLED" television, which features a dual core processor and is 3D-enabled. It eliminates the need to support color filters, and each OLED pixel has its own RGB sub-pixel and emits its own light. It's also very thin and has a tiny bezel.

"This is the TV you've dreamed about, and you know what? It’s coming this year," Stinziano said.

Samsung isn't revealing what it plans to charge for its ES8000 LED television or its Super OLED television, but it's safe to say they won't be impulse purchases. Both televisions come with a built-in video camera for voice control and motion control.

Samsung also is launching new video and still cameras equipped with Wi-Fi, which allow users to upload photos and videos without the use of a PC. The company's forthcoming AllShare Play technology allows users to share digital photos and video over Wi-Fi networks and the Web, and access this content on Samsung televisions.