Samsung Galaxy Tab - The AnandTech Review
by Vivek Gowri on December 23, 2010 9:48 AM ESTSamsung Galaxy Tab - Conclusion
Okay, let’s start with the easy conclusion - the Galaxy Tab is the best Android tablet on the market and probably the second best overall to the iPad. With that said, the iPad is still a superior device by far. It’s not a hardware issue; Samsung did a first-class job with the design of the Galaxy Tab. It’s fast, it’s well built, it’s aesthetically pleasing, and the screen is very good. Sasmung has come out of the gate with a benchmark device for 7” tablets going forward.
So what then? It’s the software. Or, to be more specific, Froyo. It’s too similar to a smartphone right now, too much of the same experience repeated on a 200% scale. To avoid that, companies really only have two options - either wait for a more tablet-centric Android 3.0, or skin the hell out of Froyo and optimize the UI for tablet implementations. There’s a reason that Motorola, Dell, and HTC are waiting until Honeycomb to release their respective tablets. And then you have companies like NotionInk, who has completely scrapped Froyo’s UI and come up with something new altogether in “Eden”, their reimagination of Android as it should be for tablets.
I’m guessing Samsung pushed ahead with the Galaxy Tab to get a jump on the Android tablet market at large, and they deserve to be commended for being the first high profile manufacturer to take a step. Unfortunately, they ended up leaving Froyo mostly alone. They added TouchWiz 3.0, but it’s just a glorified version of the skin you’ll find on your friendly, neighborhood Galaxy S phone. The custom mail and calendar apps are simply not enough to make up for an otherwise undistinguished tablet experience. The core Google apps simply are not tablet-ready, so until they are, it’s up to Samsung.
Samsung is definitely trying their hardest, even releasing a Galaxy Tab emulator for the Android SDK. But for now and even the foreseeable future, they’re not going to have the full-blown ecosystem that Apple had specifically for the iPad at launch. Where does this leave the Galaxy Tab? I’ll say that if you can hold off, it’s probably worth waiting to see what the next generation of tablets holds, but for right now, it’s one of the more competent tablets on the market, and as Google and Samsung build a platform around it, it will only continue to improve.
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boden - Friday, December 24, 2010 - link
In my shop we've been working on these for about a month and the guys agree totally with you. We joke around by holding the tabs up to our head and pretending they are huge phones. There's not much difference between the standard android phones and the Tab yet.medi01 - Friday, December 24, 2010 - link
What kind of "difference" do you expect please?VivekGowri - Friday, December 24, 2010 - link
Apps? Something? Anything? It's supposed to be a completely new product segment, I'd like to see something more than Android + TouchWiz scaled to a 7" screen. I love Android, but there's really no point in a tablet that's almost the same as any given Android smartphone. Personally, I don't think Android tablets will hit the primetime until Honeycomb releases.OldPueblo - Friday, December 24, 2010 - link
Why? I say our Android smartphones are excellent devices EXCEPT it can be annoying having to work with their small screens. In that it's a complete reversal, the Galaxy Tab is an excellent Android device and the smartphone versions are frustrating and "too small." I rarely use the smartphone ability of my Incredible now that I have the tablet. Why would I prefer to use a smartphone when I can do everything faster on a larger screen that is still extremely portable? I think you're kind of missing the larger point here, that is tablets can make you dump the need to try to do a lot of things on a small smartphone screen. The iPad CANNOT fulfill that role, but the Tab and others like it can perfectly. THAT's the tablet field.lordmetroid - Friday, December 24, 2010 - link
I do not want android, can I install another distribution on this device?jabber - Friday, December 24, 2010 - link
Note to manufacturers - For non actual camera kit, 3.2MP is perfectly good for everyday snaps.However, please can you do the following -
1. Give the 3.2MP sensor at least a $2 lens to work with rather than the $1 doillar one you give it.
2. Reduce the compression factor applied to the shots or at least let the user decide how much to use.
I see so many 'supposedly low quality low MP' cameras that would be great if the manufacturer hadnt squashed the jpegs down to 200Kb each. Compression means more to final image quality than MP.
Rather have a reasonable quality 3.2MP than a truly crappy corners cut 8MP.
Jacerie - Friday, December 24, 2010 - link
When can we expect a review of something actually useful for business purposes and not just toys? The Slate has been available now since October and not a single word has been mentioned on AT. On paper the Slate dominates all the other tablets, but I would like to see a full AT review before I invest.Penti - Sunday, December 26, 2010 - link
That's because it's just a netbook with a TN-panel and touchscreen functionality. Expensive Atom-device. Not the hyped product ones called Slate.It's nothing like the talked about e-book reader format or Slate PC tablet. It simply wasn't turned into a consumer device, which is why iPad and Galaxy Tab is so popular. No 500 dollar consumer pricing. That's why it's not mentioned. It's not positioned in the same category and simply isn't a consumer device. Of course the others just being consumer devices is why they kind of fail too.
simpleboi - Friday, December 24, 2010 - link
Just found this over the net1)
Netbooks are cheaper. The majority of them run between $200-$400. And after you spend all that money on accessories and upgrade options for the iPad, you'd be able to buy three netbooks for the same amount of money.
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With a netbook, you can multitask, allowing you to run several apps at the same time.
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Though it hasn't been confirmed that there is absolutely no Flash support in the iPad, we at least know netbooks have full Flash support.
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Netbooks have USB ports, about two to three on average. The iPad has none.
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Higher Resolutions. There are several 10-inch netbooks that offer 1,366-by-768 resolutions, namely the HP Mini 5102, Dell Mini 10, and Sony VAIO VGN W-Series. The iPad tops out at 1,024 by 768.
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Netbooks have options for bigger screens. You can get one with an 11-inch or 12-inch widescreen.
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Removable batteries. You can buy an additional battery for your netbook if you want, allowing it to last for multiple days.
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Every single netbook comes with a webcam for video conferencing and chats.
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They have physical keyboards, so you don't have to spend extra money to buy a physical one that docks.
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Multiformat card readers are built into every netbook, so you can download photos and videos from your camera.
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Netbooks have the potential to support handwriting recognition. Handwriting recognition is built into Windows and convertible netbook tablets already exist, so it's only a matter of time before Wacom bursts into action.
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Netbooks have a clamshell design, so their screens are less likely to get scratched.
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Netbooks use faster processors.
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Yeah, spinning drives on netbooks are less durable than the solid-state drives (SSDs) found in the iPad, but they come in greater capacities; and at least you can upgrade a netbook up to a 128GB SSD.
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Netbooks can easily be "modded" with more RAM, bigger hard drive capacity, or a different operating system.
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The Dell Mini 10v can be "hackintoshed" with a full-blown version of Mac OS 10.
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With a netbook, you can get apps through other means besides iTunes.
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Netbooks have widescreens, which aren't necessarily better, but at least rotate, which gives you true portrait mode. The iPad screen can rotate, but it's square-ish in dimension.
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Netbooks have an Ethernet port and some have a Gigabit Ethernet. Thus, if the Wi-Fi's throughput is not enough for streaming HD video, you can always plug in a network cable.
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Some netbooks can play back 720p and 1080p HD videos, using the latest Nvidia Ion chips.
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Netbooks have shown that they can last longer than 10 hours on a single battery charge.
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There are countless netbook designs to choose from. So if, say, the Toshiba mini NB305-N410's plastics don't suit you, the metals in the HP Mini 5102 might.
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Netbooks can run a full-blown Windows OS.
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You're not tempted to spend hundreds of dollars on accessories for netbooks.
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Some netbooks have both VGA-Out and HDMI-Out, without the need for a connector.
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Gaming is more advanced on a netbook, albeit not by much.
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Some netbooks, like the Lenovo IdeaPad S12 and S10, have ExpressCard slots, so you can add expansion cards for FireWire, TV tuner, legacy ports, or 3G/4G wireless.
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You can choose different 3G wireless carriers with a netbook.
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Netbooks purchased from Costco or ASUS come with two-year standard warranties. The iPad will likely give you one year standard.
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You can print files from a netbook.
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Netbooks have more networking capabilities, such as the ability to map to drives and printers.
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We know Intel and AMD processor and chipset technology will scale each year. The iPad is using an unproven, homebrewed chipset, so we don't know how well it will scale.
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With a netbook, you can connect an optical drive for all your Netflix and Blockbuster rentals.
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You can buy turn-by-turn direction software for netbooks that have embedded GPS options.
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Netbooks can support multiple OSes. Most netbooks have Linux pre-boot environments that will get you access to a browser and e-mail data within seconds.
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Netbooks are more child-friendly. Disney and Nickelodeon have launched netbooks with a ton of child-friendly software. And netbooks like the Dell Latitude 2100 and HP Mini 5102 are being deployed in schools.
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The Dell Mini 10 has an option for a built-in TV tuner, so you can watch and record live TV.
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Your netbook can run multiple browsers, so you're not stuck with Safari only.
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Netbooks can run Java.
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Netbooks can run multiple Exchange Mail accounts.
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You don't need another computer to sync your data.
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Netbooks with Nvidia's Ion chipset can support external Blu-ray drives.
OldPueblo - Friday, December 24, 2010 - link
Next time just drop a link DAMN SON. That list misses the entire point though. You might as well make the same argument against a smartphone, why not just have a dumb fliphone and a netbook! The difference is convenience. Having had a netbook that was nice and portable, they are still not instant on and nowhere near as convenient as a tablet. You can't pull it out of your pocket, scan a barcode and read the product info or check your email and all that and then have it back in your pocket in 60 seconds. Netbooks are a separate market where need a highly portable laptop that plan on being on for awhile when you pull it out, there's no bridging the two markets.