Since Samsung’s Galaxy Tab tablet debuted in the US last November, return rates have been as high as 16%, said ITG Investment Research, which tracked sales at nearly 6,000 wireless stores.
ITG analysts did not explain possible reasons for the high Galaxy return rate.
Some bloggers have speculated the returns could be related to the Galaxy Tab’s running of the Froyo version of Android.
Samsung acknowledged to Computerworld in September that some Android apps would not run at full 1024 x 600 resolution on the 7″ screen on the Froyo-based Galaxy Tab. Officials said those apps would instead be framed in the display at 800×400.
Mobile services such as Google Maps are fully scalable on the Galaxy Tab, however, Samsung added at the time.
Hugo Barra, Google director of mobile products, had said last summer that Froyo, or Android 2.2, was not designed for the larger tablet form factor and was principally for smartphone screens of 4″ or less. The latest version of Android, also known as Honeycomb, is designed for larger screens, according to its lead designer, Matias Duarte.
Running Froyo on a tablet could result in apps that are a “little ugly,” analyst Rob Enderle of Enderle Group said last September before the Galaxy Tab device appeared.
However, many reviewers have not mentioned that problem. For example, Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal called the Galaxy Tab a “serious alternative to the iPad” in a November review.
Samsung has reportedly said that it sold 2 million Galaxy Tabs in the fourth quarter. Some experts, though, have said Samsung shipped 2 million Galaxy Tabs, meaning some could still be unsold on store shelves.
Whatever the number, some analysts have said the Galaxy Tab is having an impact on iPad sales.
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