The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 finally goes on sale in the UK today and to celebrate, Samsung threw a lavish launch party in London's West End last night, with a surprise performance by Kylie Minogue.

As Samsung was a headline sponsor of the London 2012 Olympic Games, the company brought a fine array of Team GB medalists and other athletes, including gold and silver medals winner Victoria Pendleton, on to the stage to celebrate their achievements. Director/actor Noel Clarke and actress/model Kelly Brook then demonstrated how using an S Pen stylus could improve the tablet experience through video  and image manipulation.

Vernon Kay hosted the launch of the new quad-core Android Ice Cream Sandwich tablet and Kylie's warm-up act was the new band of ex-Busted singer Charlie Simpson. But it was the entrance of the Australian pop princess that wowed the crowd - literally, as she performed "Wow, Wow, Wow" as her first song.

Samsung had even commissioned a bespoke dress/stage prop for Kylie to arrive in from English fashion designer Matthew Williamson which was adorned with several Galaxy Note 10.1 devices.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 is now available from £399 for the 16GB Wi-Fi model. It comes with a 1.4GHz quad-core processor, 5-megapixel rear-facing camera, 1.9-megapixel front camera, and a microSD slot that allows for expansion by up to an extra 32GB of storage.

Pocket-lint will be posting its Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 review shortly.

Have you checked out the Galaxy Note 10.1 yet? Let us know what you think in the comments below...