UPDATE: Samsung Launches New Galaxy Smartphone, Tablet

On the eve of the opening of the Mobile World Congress, Samsung Electronics Co. (005930.SE) Sunday announced the follow-up to its popular Galaxy S smartphone, as well as a new tablet, two products that will be key to driving sales at the group's mobile division this year.

The South Korean company also launched an industry-standard security layer for its mobile devices, trying to lure in more corporate clients in a bid to out maneuver Apple Inc. (AAPL) in mobile devices designed for the enterprise and home.

In 2010, Samsung sold 24 million smartphones, largely driven by the popularity of the Galaxy S line of high-end smartphones. Since its launch last spring, Samsung has sold around 10 million Galaxy S phones.

This year, the company aims to sell around 60 million smartphones and the Galaxy S II will be key to reaching this goal.

"Galaxy S II is a natural and powerful evolution of Galaxy S," said JK Shin, president of Samsung's mobile business.

Shin, speaking at the press conference at the annual industry gathering in Barcelona, said the smartphone market will continue to grow steadily this year after posting growth of around 60% in 2010. "2010 was a remarkable year for the mobile industry but it was only the beginning...2011 will be the year of smart mobile devices," he said.

The new Galaxy S II smartphone will feature a dual-core one gigahertz processor running on the latest version of Google Inc.'s (GOOG) Android operating system, as well as a slightly larger AMOLED screen. Users will be able to access content, such as music, social networks and e-reading, more easily on the phone.

The phone will also be compliant with fourth-generation technology and support near field communications, Samsung said.

The new 10.1-inch Galaxy Tab, also Android-powered, is launched in partnership with Vodafone Group PLC (VOD).

Vodafone customers in over 20 markets will get first access to the new tablet when it goes on sale in March, Patrick Chomet, Vodafone's director of terminals, said in a statement.

The new tablet will be equipped with an eight mega pixel camera, dual surround speakers and will support websites built using Adobe Flash.

The two new products will feature the new security layer as Samsung tries to cheer corporate IT departments.

Samsung said it had worked closely with companies like Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO), Sybase Inc. (SY), Citrix Systems Inc. (CTXS), SAP AG (SAP.XE) and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) to develop the new enterprise features, which should make its mobile devices more secure for corporate usage but also improve services such as messaging.

-By Ruth Bender, Dow Jones Newswires; +33 (1) 4017 1740; ruth.bender@dowjones.com

(Ben Rooney of the Wall Street Journal contributed to this article.)

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