Samsung Galaxy Tab
Possibly one of the first few to handle one in Malaysia, read on for my impression of the Samsung Galaxy Tab.
Ever since Apple launched its successful tablets, manufacturers has been playing catch-up (again?) to produce something that will rival the iPad. Wait no-more because Android tablets have arrived! While they won’t de-throne the iPad, at least now we have a choice.
The Galaxy Tab is Samsung’s first attempt at a tablet, sporting the same internals as the Samsung Galaxy S but with a larger, higher resolution screen, measuring 7″ diagonally. Some specification highlights:
- 1GHz Hummingbird CPU
- PowerVR SGX GPU
- 16GB storage (micro-SD expansion up to 32GB)
- 7″ 1024×600 LCD capacitive screen
- Accelerometer, compass
- GSM, EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA, 3G, Bluetooth, WiFi radios
- Android 2.2 / Froyo (with Google apps including Android Market)
- 3MP rear camera (does 720p video)
- 1.3MP front camera
Hardware
The device is made of high quality plastics, making it lightweight. Combined with its (relatively) smaller screen, the Galaxy Tab is much more pocket friendly than the iPad. It’ll fit in cargo-pants, khakis and coat pockets, maybe even handbags! If you’re looking for a highly versatile tablet device to bring outdoors, this is an excellent choice. The tablet well-built, and does not feel cheap. However, the plastic casing is probably prone to scratches so a case is probably necessary.
Comparison of screen real-estate between the Galaxy Tab, Mi700 DroidPad and Apple iPad
The downside of course is also its smaller screen. For a couch-only device, yours truly likes the iPad more. The 9.7″ screen makes browsing really good on the iPad, so-so on the Galaxy Tab. But I guess unless someone rolls-out a foldable screen, this will always be the trade-off. I’m glad that Samsung used a 1024×600 resolution on this the Tab, as the increase size now displays more content. Checkout the comparison of screen real-estate between the Samsung Galaxy Tab, CSL’s Mi700 DroidPad and Apple iPad.
SIM, micro-SD slot
The Tab uses takes a standard SIM card so there’s no need to butcher your SIM (nice move Samsung!). The thing has all the radios a geek would want, except maybe CDMA (see the specs for a list of radios). I didn’t try the camera (would have been pointless since I can’t judge a 3MP image quality on a 1024×600 screen) but online opinions are generally favorable.
Storage is at 16GB, with 2GB of app storage. But best of all, you get a micro-SD expansion! Feel free to throw in another 16GB to make this a 32GB machine. Another good move by Samsung. Overall I really like the Galaxy Tab’s hardware.
Another thing I could not test was the battery life. The iPad set a very high benchmark in terms of battery life. Heavy gaming and videos will only cause a slight battery drain on the iPad while regular web browsing will barely cause a dent. While I doubt the Galaxy Tab can match that kind of battery life, mostly due to the smaller battery size, I hope it will last at least 6-7 hours of constant usage.
Software
The model I got to play with had Froyo on it (yay!) and looks to be quite ready for production. Applications launch in a snap, and the launcher was silky smooth. I didn’t try any 3D games, but if it’s like the Galaxy S, then gaming should be speedy thanks to the PowerVR GPU. Unlike the Galaxy S, the Galaxy Tab does not appear to suffer from the occasional hiccups in performance. I think Samsung learned their lesson and has wisen up to make the Galaxy Tab perform as it should. All standard Android 2.2 features are there.
The problem however, is with browsing. Web page scrolling stutters for no reason, giving it the impression of being slow (I really don’t think it is). I hope Samsung manages to make web browsing smoother. Even the Galaxy S is faster in terms of scrolling a web page. The golden standard of course, is the iPad. Butter-smooth scrolling. It’s a shame when a simple thing like scrolling a web page results in frame-rate drops making a fast device feel slow.
Samsung added their own touch to Android. It’s not intrusive though, and actually does bring value. The home button for example, brings up a shortcut to the task manager in addition to the list of recently launched apps. Another enhancement is the notification area – it is also capable of displaying shortcuts. A good effort by Samsung.
Pricing
And here lies the problem. The Samsung Galaxy tab is selling for AUS999 in Australia and GBP680 in UK, so my guess is it will retail around RM 3200 – 3500 (pricing is purely speculation on my part). Needless to say, that is just too expensive. This is a problem when the cheapest iPad is just RM1900 in Malaysia. At ~RM3300, trust me, folks will not buy. It simply makes more sense to get a laptop + an Android smartphone. When you’re looking at a secondary computing device, it has to be priced at Netbook price range (RM 1xxx-ish).
Conclusion
Pricing will make or break the Samsung Galaxy Tab. It’s a lovely piece of hardware, runs a good mobile OS (better than iOS IMHO) so I have no issue with the product. But price this wrongly, and it’ll stay on the shelf. If this happens, it is really a HUGE waste because the Galaxy Tab is really oh-so-good. A must buy for Android fans, a decent buy for the regular Joe that wants a tablet.
After a couple of hours, that’s all I could write about the thing. If anyone from Samsung is reading this, I’d love to loan a unit.
This unit was shared by Mobile World, so keep an eye on that website for a full review.
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Tags: android
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