Samsung Electronics plans to sell Galaxy Tab in the United States, Japan, South Korea and Italy this year, aiming at Apple in the new but already packed segment.

The tab will also compete with a lot of devices from Dell and HP. The analysis believes that Galaxy Tab is the most credible rival to Apple’s iPad. It is smaller than the iPad and Samsung has forged partnerships with the top four U.S. mobile carriers and with media companies which are providing programming for its Media Hub service.

The device runs on Google’s Android platform, has a 7-inch screen, smaller than the iPad’s 9.7-inch screen. The device is cheaper than iPad in most of the markets except Finland where it will be priced much higher than the iPad.

In Japan, NTT DoCoMo Inc will start selling the Galaxy S smartphone in late October, with Samsung.

Foreign mobile phone makers have struggled a lot to crack the uniquely developed Japanese market, and even Nokia has been forced to retreat from the market in the past.

But according to Barclays Capital analyst Tetsuro Tsusaka, they expect Samsung to fare well this time. Things are different nowadays. The kinds of products consumers want now are different from the products that existed when foreign makers were struggling to sell their phones here.

The Galaxy Tab will go on sale in Italy in October, in South Korea in October , November in the United States and Japan in November. Samsung aims to sell 1 million units this year.