Samsung‘s Galaxy Tab 8.9 4G is smaller, lighter and more powerful than the market-leading Apple iPad 2 and it connects to Telstra’s 4G mobile network, delivering apps, streaming video and websites up to five times faster than 3G tablets.

The new 8.9-inch tablet is also slightly cheaper than Apple’s offering, with an outright price of $720 and availability on a two-year Telstra plan.

Telysyte research director Foad Fadaghi said Samsung’s first 4G tablet could prove popular among tablet consumers, many of whom put a premium on processing and internet speed.

“We believe that speed is one of the killer applications for tablets,” Mr Fadaghi said.

“You have a device that can potentially connect to the internet at speeds faster than some home connections, so you can get a sense that this is a device that could be on of the first true post-PC devices.”

A new iPad is expected to be unveiled in early March, though Mr Fadaghi said he did not expect it to be compatible with Australia’s 4G mobile networks.

Launched in September, Telstra’s 4G network delivers internet downloads of up to 40 megabits per second in Australia’s capitals, major airports and some regional towns.

More than 100,000 consumers subscribed to Telstra’s 4G network by January, and Telstra emerging devices general manager Graeme McLindin said the Galaxy Tab 8.9 4G was designed to recruit more travelling 4G users.

“I’ve been commuting for many years and it wasn’t too long ago that a lot of people were using laptops but now they’re using tablets,” he said. “They’re much lighter and they’re able to do the things they need when they’re out and about.

“We know from the research we’ve been doing that 87 per cent of customers use a tablet to surf the web, 75 per cent check email on a tablet, and 60 per cent download apps.”

The new Samsung device joins a host of tablets launched in Australia recently, including the Motorola Xoom 2, ASUS Transformer Prime and Toshiba AT1S0.