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Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 first pictures

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 Android tablet has been snapped ahead of its release, including Android soft keys.

Richard Trenholm Former Movie and TV Senior Editor
Richard Trenholm was CNET's film and TV editor, covering the big screen, small screen and streaming. A member of the Film Critic's Circle, he's covered technology and culture from London's tech scene to Europe's refugee camps to the Sundance film festival.
Expertise Films, TV, Movies, Television, Technology
Richard Trenholm
2 min read

All the sevens -- Sunset Strip! The Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 Android tablet has been snapped ahead of its release. Bingo!

If these blurry snaps from Android Life are to be believed, the Tab 7.7-inch tablet features a dedicated camera button for firing off snaps. It's likely to sport an eye-scorching Super AMOLED screen, here seen flanked by capacitive touch-sensitive buttons in the bezel.

Those buttons suggest the Tab 7.7 might not be running Android Honeycomb, the operating system developed by Google specifically for tablets. The buttons look more like the buttons found on phones that use the versions of Android geared to smart phones. Version 2.3 Gingerbread is the latest, and the 7.7 is likely to have Samsung's TouchWiz 4.0 interface dolloped on top.

Version 3.2 of Honeycomb could still show up on the 7.7 though. The latest version of Honeycomb is friendly to screens somewhere in between tablet and phone, like the 7.7-inch screen.

One advantage of the buttons is that they visually distinguish the 7.7 from its deadly rival, Apple's iPad. Apple is currently contesting the similarities between Galaxy devices and the iPad and iPhone, right down to the packaging.

We're expecting to see the Tab 7.7 at IFA, the technology trade show kicking off in Berlin in the next few days. Samsung is promising 'something big', which is likely to be a veritable constellation of new Galaxy phones and tablets.

We'll be bringing you all the latest news from the show, as well as our first impressions of the most exciting new kit, so keep it CNET UK. Are you excited about the Tab 7.7? Tell us your thoughts in the comments or on our Facebook page.

Right, we're off for a 7 and 7.