Samsung Dismisses High Galaxy Tab Return Rate

Samsung has dismissed reports that its Galaxy Tab tablet is suffering a high return rate, but admitted lower-than-expected sales.

According to ITG Investment Research, Samsung’s Galaxy Tab has seen a 16 percent return rate in the US tablet market, while its rival Apple’s iPad saw only two percent.

However, the South Korean technology firm denied the claim, saying that the report is “incorrect”.

“According to Samsung Electronics Mobile Communications Business, the return rate is below two percent,” argued Samsung in a statement.

In the UK, the Tab’s return rate remains unknown.

The Tab shipped but not sold

Meanwhile, the company has officially acknowledged that the Tab’s sales are not as remarkable as initially pictured.

Samsung claimed it shipped around two million tablets in the fourth quarter of 2010. However, the South Korean firm admitted the mentioned figure did not reflect actual sales to consumers – also known as ‘sell-in’ numbers – but only shipments to distributors or ‘sell-out’.

“Our sell-in was quite aggressive,” said Samsung executive Lee Young-hee during Samsung’s quarterly earnings call on 28 January. “Even though sell-out wasn’t as fast as we expected, we still believe sell-out was quite OK.”

Android Froyo

Amid reports of the Galaxy Tab’s return rate, there are speculations linking the device’s operating system to its performance.

The 7-inch Tab runs Android 2.2 operating system – codenamed Froyo – which Google described as “not optimised for use on tablets” as it cannot support applications on touch screens larger than 4-inches efficiently.

“If you want Android market on that platform, the apps just wouldn’t run; [Froyo] is just not designed for that form factor,” said Hugo Barra, director of mobile products at Google.

However, Android 3.0 – codenamed Honeycomb – is reportedly a solution to the issue, as it is expected to offer 1280 by 760 resolutions for devices with a touch screen of 4 inches or more.