Samsung launches Galaxy Tab S3, Galaxy Book Windows 2-in-1

Samsung has served up a pair of business travel-friendly tablets at Barcelona's Mobile World Congress, ahead of a March 29 launch for its all-new Galaxy S8 series smartphones.

We don't have Australian release dates or pricing as yet, but will share them as soon as they land.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S3

Samsung's third-gen Android tablet gets the two-in-one treatment, with a digital stylus and optional keyboard to deliver a Microsoft Surface-style experience powered by Google.

The slim keyboard cover clips onto the Tab S3's side via a magnetic Pogo pin connector...

...

... although there's no silo inside the slim Tab S3 to house the fatter S Pen stylus.

It's also a tablet built for multimedia, with four speakers and audio tuning from AKG, part of the Samsung-owned Harman Kardon brand (the Korean giant last year paid US$8 billion to buy the Harman audio empire).

The screen remains pegged at 9.7 inches with the same resolution (2048 x 1536 pixels), although under your choice or black or silver covers lurks a punchier 2.15GHz quad-core Snapdragon 820 chipset with 4 GB of RAM, 32GB of storage and 256GB of optional microSD card expansion.

With a massive 6000mAh battery and fast charging via the USB-C port, the Tab S3 will probably tempt many business travellers who want a tablet built for both work and play.

Samsung Galaxy Book

The newest member of the Galaxy family is the Windows-powered Galaxy Book 2-in-1 tablet.

Both the 10.6 inch and 12 inch versions include a digital stylus and detachable keyboard cover with adjustable backlight and an integrated touchpad...

... which can be used to prop the screen in what Samsung terms PC, Easel and Note orientations.

And no plastic wrapping here: the chassis (available in black or white) is cast from aluminium to keep it strong, thin and lightweight.

The 10.6 inch Galaxy Book runs a TFT screen with a 2.6GHz Intel Core m3 processor into 4GB of RAM and 64GB or 128GB of storage, which can be boosted by slotting in a microSD card.

The 12 inch Galaxy Book ups the display ante to Super AMOLED (read: very bright, very sharp, very very nice) with Intel's  meatier 3.1GHz Core i5 processor, and your choice of 4GB RAM / 128GB  storage or 8GB RAM / 256GB storage, again expandable via a microSD card.

Battery life for both models is rated at around 10 hours with fast-charging through the USB-C port.

Samsung promises that both Galaxy Books will be offered in 4G/LTE cellular versions as well as the cheaper entry-level WiFi model.

Pair either of the Galaxy Tab S3 or Galaxy Book models with your Samsung Galaxy phone and the Samsung Flow feature makes it a doddle to sync content and alerts between devices.

David Flynn

David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.