Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Review: The Sleekest Honeycomb Tablet
by Anand Lal Shimpi on June 13, 2011 5:07 AM EST- Posted in
- Tablets
- Samsung
- Tegra 2
- Galaxy tab 10.1
- Android 3.1
- Mobile
- NVIDIA
The Software
At CTIA Samsung mildly shocked the world by proclaiming that it would be bringing TouchWiz to its first Honeycomb tablet. Google had previously indicated that Honeycomb's UI would be unified and that hardware vendors wouldn't be skinning it, however it later backed off and said that Honeycomb was simply going to be good enough that no one would want to change it.
TouchWiz was originally slated to be a part of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 launch
The shipping version of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 (as well as the Limited Edition given out at Google IO) has all hints of the Honeycomb TouchWiz UI removed. There aren't even any Samsung specific widgets that come preloaded on the Galaxy Tab. I'm not sure if Google got tough with Samsung or if Samsung gave up on the idea of skinning Honeycomb after the 3.1 enhancements, but for better or for worse TouchWiz is gone.
A scrollable recent apps list, a new feature of Android 3.1
One of the big features of TouchWiz on Honeycomb was supposed to be the ability to resize widgets, a feature that Google actually added in with the 3.1 update last month. The Galaxy Tab 10.1 ships with 3.1 from the factory bringing the total number of 3.1 devices up to three in the market today (ASUS' Eee Pad, Motorola Xoom and Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1). Both the performance and feature enhancements that came along with the 3.1 update apply to the Galaxy Tab 10.1 so I won't go through them again here. If you weren't sold on Honeycomb before the update, the 3.1 bundle isn't going to be enough to make you a convert - but if you were interested in the OS beforehand, the point release makes the experience noticeably better.
Samsung opted for a more conservative default wallpaper on the 10.1 than ASUS did with the Eee Pad. It's impressive how much of an impact an animated wallpaper can have on performance. Samsung's simple switch makes the Galaxy Tab feel snappier by default. We're still a generation or two away from being able to have enough spare CPU cycles and memory bandwidth to throw away at things like frivolous UI elements.
There are still some odd hiccups that bother me about Honeycomb. For example, frame rate when bringing up the apps grid is still lower in portrait mode than in landscape. I also encounter far too many crashes on a regular basis. I still believe Honeycomb is fit for sale but it's definitely not a fully polished product.
While overall UI performance is much improved with 3.1 vs 3.0.1, it's still not perfectly smooth. For doing the handful of things that tablets work very well at Honeycomb definitely gets the job done, but ask too much of it and the experience quickly breaks down into something a lot slower.
Web browsing is still mostly pleasant. While Flash support is there, Honeycomb on a Tegra 2 is still far too sluggish to deliver even a netbook like experience. The problem ultimately boils down to screen resolution and memory bandwidth. At 1280 x 800 there are simply too many pixels to run most moderately complex Flash video while maintaining any semblance of a smooth UI.
Apps
With TouchWiz gone, there's still Samsung's own set of preloaded apps that come with the Galaxy Tab 10.1.
The Music Hub is Samsung's music store powered by 7digital. Tracks sell for between $0.99 and $1.49.
This next one is a bit odd. If you've purchased any Samsung device in the past (e.g. Samsung TV) you'll know the company is particularly fond of outfitting its hardware with its own custom app store. The Galaxy Tab 10.1 is not exempt from this treatment. The tablet comes with an app called Samsung Apps, which is a separate app store that presently has a whopping 6 titles, three of which are Angry Birds variants (Regular, Rio and Seasons). Thankfully all of the titles available in Samsung Apps, at least today, are all available free of charge.
Although the titles are free they are ad supported. Note that the apps themselves aren't delivered through Market so you'll need to enable the installation of non-market apps in order to actually use any of them.
Quickoffice is a basic word processing, spreadsheet and presentation package for Android with some basic MS Office compatibility. ASUS opted for Polaris on the Eee Pad but Quickoffice seems to work just as well.
The suite has some nice features such as one-touch text-to-speech when reading a Word document. We're not quite at the point where a Honeycomb tablet could replace a netbook but we're getting there.
Other than formatting issues, the biggest problem I had with Quickoffice was simply performance. Try to do too much (or forget about an app running in the background) and you're left with an app that just sits there waiting for a slice of CPU time that it seems to only get after decades (in CPU time) of waiting.
Samsung also includes Pulse newsreader (a magazine style RSS reader for tablets):
There's Android Movie Studio for basic video editing, primarily for video shot with the 10.1's cameras:
The performance complaints I mentioned above apply here to AMS as well. I had this app crash a good three times in succession while trying to edit together a simple video of footage I shot with the Galaxy Tab.
Of course there are the usual Android apps that we've covered as a part of Honeycomb (Gmail, Gtalk, Maps, Browser, etc...).
The Google supplied Honeycomb virtual keyboard is there however Samsung opts to use its own custom keyboard by default. I didn't have many complaints about Samsung's keyboard however I'm not a fan of the XT9 predictive text system Samsung's keyboard uses. I prefer the looks of the Samsung keyboard but the functionality of the stock Honeycomb offering.
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Belard - Tuesday, June 14, 2011 - link
As others have stated... Apple *IS* the gold standard for which Smart phones and tablets have to compete.I own an iPad-1, there was nothing on the market that was as good as an iPad. iPad2 was sold out (in a day). I have a Samsung Galaxy S Phone.
I am NOT impressed how Google / Samsung / At&t handle the Froyo updates. I am even LESS impressed that Team-Google made Android more difficult to use in some ways... like did they hire some from MS to make Android STUPID?
Archos? Really? Its not HALF. Its $320 vs $500. It has a single camera... the $400 ASUS Transformer kill it. Archos is rated so-so, a bit of a failure rate, very slow, not-great screen sensor, low-res screen.
Uh, many charts do compare various Tablets. The HTC Tablet is a 7" model and it sells for $500 (gee, just like the iPad2). And not just that, it is shipping with Android 2.4?! Even Creative tablets (7 & 10") have Android 2.2!!
Hrel: Correct me if I am wrong... everyone in the USA has a right to buy an Apple product? Is there a GUN being held to anyone's head to buy an Apple iPhone, iPad or i-anything?
It is UP to Samsung and other Android makers to create the market for people to BUY an Android tablet.
So, why be pissed off that people are buying iPads? Enjoy your Archos... nobody will take it away from you. (really!)
I don't like iTunes. I finally had a need for an MP3 player (I workout in a gym) and I looked at the $45 iPod. I have no issues about the quality, etc... but I hate iTunes. I don't want to deal with all the conversion crap and I have lots of OGG files.
I checked out 4 major stores (Frys, Walmart, CompUSA, Microcenter) ... theres a HUGE iPod selection, then off on another isle or side, all the rest. I saw:
Mostly cheap $15~40 no-name cheap junk. (reviews were horrible)
SONY = $60~120, nothing small enough for my needs.
Philips and RCA = $25~60, bulky - custom software... Philips = junk.
Hey, for $20 - I could have bought a iPod Nano-4th gen clone... :P
Finally found a SanDisk Clip... it has a clip, size of an iPod Shufflt with a tiny screen for $30... with FM-Radio, Audio recorder...
Point is, nobody really tries to compete against iPod... and MS has finally gave up on Zune. But there are some options there.
Jamestownsend - Tuesday, June 14, 2011 - link
Are you that ignorant as to say that apple hs been behind on evey front? Use honeycomb tablet for two weeks and then use an ipad and see how behind the ipad is. Watch the all things digital interview with the CEO of adobe. The only tablet that does flash well is the playbook...and we all know how crappy that is...android is really good...but compared to iOS, its obvious that the operating system is a huge resource hog.. Then they decided to put flash on there, which is fine since its optional, but why put a feature that buggy on a product that people would be paying for. You can tell just how much they love their customers from a move like that. The ipad is running lower spec'd hardware (except for the GPU) and offers a much smoother experience than what you can get on any android tablet. Very behind. The reason why all of these android devices are soo "ahead" of apple's in terms of hardware is because they have to in order to compete. Of course, apple haters exist, that's why devices like the XOOM is still selling, but comparing build quality of an ipad to anything made by ASUS...wtf? or arc hose? archos was a good device before the introduction of the ipod touch. now its nothing more than a cheaper alternative. The same goes for the ASUS. HTC, motorola and the rest are doing a good job. But the problem isn't the hardware, its the software...that's where the ipad wins. Its obvious though...look at sales records...fteoath64 - Wednesday, June 15, 2011 - link
Considering all its weaknesses the iPad's user experience is very good no doubt. But Apple is a closed system and people has to live with it. Yes, there is jailbreak and Cydia but nothing like HoneyComb's openess (with all its issues).A lot depends on what one expects from a tablet. I agree that iPad has better overall appeal while HoneyComb appeals to the technologically sophisticated user.
This gives room for people to grow in either going from iPad to HoneyComb or vice-versa. This is the choice offered by Google. It is a good thing. What is good for one might be bad for another and vice-versa, so the choices enable us to switch or migrate to what we really wanted. Because tablets are a new concept, users tend to only understand what they wanted with it only when they have used one for some time.
In the Android space, there is space yet for the ultimate tablet which will come by the end of this year. Apple will no doubt try very hard to match and exceed some of its abilities and it has the luxury of dropping the price which will lessen the appeal of newer Honeycomb tablets.
Heck, we might see some premium tablets coming with Sapphire crystal class and even 18carat gold plating but they will be niche market items.
jllcmu04@hotmail.com - Monday, June 13, 2011 - link
Thanks for a great article. I am developing an application for a non-profit and have decided to choose an android based tablet for managers to view real time information. The problem is... which one to choose? I have a water proof covering that will fit most any tablet so that's not the problem, but price and longevity are critical components. Any ideas about which of these would be recommended?Thanks in advanced!
anandtech02148 - Monday, June 13, 2011 - link
its nice to see we're getting some worthy hardwares for our bucks in the next 6months, and i'm holding out for that one tablet, maybe i'll hold out till window 8 tab comes out.Android is sleazy. Google is evil. the apps i've seen on these annoying "DROIDS" are all plug into some kind of marketing statistics, or ad wares that users are turning a blind eye.. I do not trust Android, after reading this article i dislike it 10 times more. Frankly Apple IOS is more trusting than what google has to offer these days. heck even Microsoft.
qupe - Monday, June 13, 2011 - link
чекс зис аут дудmobithings.ruеахstm1185 - Monday, June 13, 2011 - link
Is that there is very little reason to even own a tablet.kenour - Monday, June 13, 2011 - link
16:9 ehh... Surely you mean 16:10.jielundd - Monday, June 13, 2011 - link
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xype - Tuesday, June 14, 2011 - link
"given how quickly Samsung introduced it after Apple unveiled the iPad 2, the company really deserves credit for responding to competitive pressure in record time"Uhm, it's not hard to "respond quickly" if you're one of the main suppliers. Samsung likely knew a lot more and a lot sooner about the iPad 2 than anyone else.