Samsung launches 8-inch tablet to take on Apple iPad

South Korean tech giant Samsung has launched an eight-inch tablet with phone to take on Apple's recently launched iPad mini.

The Galaxy Note 8.0, now being marketed by Samsung as a ''tablet'', is powered by Google's Android software.

It will be showcased at the four-day Mobile World Congress in Barcelona beginning on February 25, Samsung said in a statement.

According to News.com.au, like e previous incarnations of the Galaxy Note, the device comes with a stylus pen allowing the user to write or draw on the screen, which can be split in two to run various programs at the same time.

The latest device - the first from the company to feature an eight-inch screen, is set to fill a gap in the firm's wide product lineup, which ranges from the flagship smartphone Galaxy S to the 5.5-inch (14cm) Galaxy Note 2 and the 10.1-inch (25.7cm) Galaxy Tab tablet PC, the report said.

Samsung said the launch of the Galaxy Note 8.0 will 'reignite the mid-size tablet category,' it added.