Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and other tablets to run Android Honeycomb and above

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1-inch will hit stores in June retailing from $499 to $599 and will run on the Android Honeycomb operating system. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9-inch variant will also be launched this summer.

In fact, not only the Samsung Galaxy Tab line but all Samsung tablets going forward will likely run on Android under a partnership with Google according to its head of mobile division.

The Korean electronics maker's proprietary Bada software will not be scrapped but will play second fiddle to Google's mobile operating system. Samsung's move is a recognition that Android-run mobile phones are the ones which can seriously compete with market leader Apple's iPad.

But the other problem that remains is that Android being open source, Samsung also has to compete with a host of other brands who are trying to wrest some market share away from the dominant iPad.

Samsung was one of the earliest adopters of Google's Android when it launched its 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab last October as a smaller alternative to the iPad.

According to estimates of IHS iSuppli, Apple will ship 39.7 million iPads this year while Samsung will increase its tablet sales five times to 7.5 million units. Samsung said earlier that this year, it will ship 24 million smartphones, more than half of which are powered by Android.

Even with its flagship Samsung Galaxy Tab bolstering sales, the Korean consumer electronics firm will face tougher competition in the coming months as other companies roll out their own iPad-killers.