April, May and June of 2011 will be an exciting time for smart phones and tablets in Asia as a series of new models make their debut.

CEO Steve Jobs said that 2011 will be the “year of the copycats,” referring to rival companies like Samsung Electronics, LG and Motorola. Well, those “copycats” are moving fast in hopes of getting an early jump on the market. So, if you are planning to get a new smart phone or tablet PC, don’t rush to the store just yet.

First up, Galaxy S II, Samsung Electronics’ highly-anticipated second-generation smart phone, will mostly likely debut in late April/early May.

There had been rumors online that Samsung, the world’s No. 2 makers of mobile phones will postpone the release of the device to upgrade its specs. But the company confirmed through its blog, recently, “Galaxy S II will be first released in April, as planned. It will be gradually rolled out in each market according to the local launch timetable.”

The company sold about 2 million units of the original Galaxy S in Korea, one-fifth of the global sales.

The Galaxy S follow-up, which features a larger screen and thinner and lighter body than its predecessor, will be competing with some smart phone models highly promoted by foreign manufacturers.

They include: Motorola’s Atrix, which was released early recently, and Sony Ericsson’s Xperia Arc, which may come out as we go to press. Atrix’s key features include a patterned back and a biometric fingerprint reader, while Xperia Arc’s charms are its curves and a HD camera with video recording capability even in low light.

The tablet market will be just as complex as the smart phone market in the next few months.

Making the biggest headlines is the iPad 2, Apple’s iPad follow-up, which is expected to hit stores in late April, all over Asia, except India.

Motorola’s Xoom will be released sometime this April/ June. The device has a larger screen than the iPad 2 and is thicker and heavier.

Samsung and LG have also advanced the planned launch dates of their latest tablet PCs.

Samsung was originally planning to release Galaxy Tab 10.1 and 8.9 - featuring a 10.1-inch screen and a 8.9-inch screen, each - in June and July, but it now plans to do so in May and June. LG was also initially planning to launch Optimus Pad, which also has an 8.9-inch screen, in June, but is now looking at May as a feasible option for the launch.

The fallout is that the retailers are reportedly offering drastic discounts on their current stock of devices, including the Galaxy S and Galaxy Tab. My take is, if you don’t mind an old version, now’s the time to buy.

By deepa srinivasan