Galaxy S II smartphone and Galaxy Tab II tablet in the works

Samsung will unveil the next generation of its Galaxy S smartphone and Galaxy Tab tablet computer at Mobile World Congress, according to tech blog Engadget.

The Galaxy Tab II will be a 10.1-inch tablet running the latest build of Google’s latest build of its Android operating system, Honeycomb. The newest Android build is specifically designed for tablets and should make Android tablets as attractive as the iPad. The tablet has a 1,280 by 800 pixel resolution display and a clock speed of 1 Ghz, according to the site. Engadget couldn’t confirm whether the processor is single-core or dual-core. But based on the guts of recently announced tablet computers, it’s probably a dual-core processor.

The Galaxy S II features an 800 by 480 pixel resolution display on a 4.3-inch AMOLED screen. AMOLED screens use organic components that are designed to bring out more vibrant colors with lower power. The current version of the Galaxy S uses an AMOLED screen. The iPhone uses a retina display, which isn’t exactly like most AMOLED screen. The Galaxy S II also sports a 1 Ghz dual-core processor, according to Engadget.

Mobile World Congress, held in Barcelona, Spain, starts Monday and lasts throughout the week. The timing of Samsung’s announcement seems appropriate after Hewlett-Packard announced a new lineup of smartphones and a tablet running Palm’s WebOS mobile operating system on Wednesday. HP’s Pre 3 packs a 1.4 Ghz processor and a similar screen, and the TouchPad is comparable to the Galaxy Tab II in terms of raw specs. Samsung is also apparently working on a 3D display and devices running on 4G LTE networks.

Samsung can take the opportunity to get a first-mover advantage over HP’s TouchPad — which comes out this summer — and Apple’s looming iPad 2 (and possibly a third version of the iPad later this year). The launch will still be behind Motorla’s Xoom tablet, though, which comes out on February 24, but Motorola’s tablet is inexplicably priced at around $800.

[Photo: Engadget]