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 Cameras
Samsung put its own touches on the Galaxy Tab's camera app. For starters the camera app completely hides all Honeycomb UI elements, the only way to get back to the home screen is to hit the custom back button - there's no support for accessing recently used apps. The UI is pretty clean. You can quickly adjust exposure, resolution, white balance or shot mode. The preview frame rate is pretty low and captures take several seconds to complete after hitting the shutter release button.
Switching between front and rear facing cameras or still and videos is thankfully very quick, although expect a lot of missed moments since the actual capture process is so slow. Image quality is noticeably better than the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer, take a look at the comparison shot below:
ASUS Eee Pad Transformer - Rear Facing Camera
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 - Rear Facing Camera
There's a lot more detail in the Samsung shot, although neither solution manages to capture the color of the yellow flower petals at the bottom of the scene.
Apple iPad 2 - Rear Facing Camera
The iPad by comparison delivers a more contrasty image but with less detail than the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. I'm not entirely sure how important having good camera quality is here though - where do you all draw the cutoff line with tablet camera quality? Is the Eee Pad enough or are Samsung's efforts worthwhile here?
Video quality is also noticeably better than the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer. While the 3.1 update helped ASUS' video woes, the tablet still provides a less than ideal video capture experience. Dropped frames still happen during periods of fast panning, although the video is at least watchable now.
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emmib - Friday, June 17, 2011 - link
Also, Mr Anand, you said that Asus owners would likely regret their purchase in around 4 months. Is that due to Kal-El's imminent release, or sub-par build quality due to its lower cost?PS, I'm not being critical in anyway, and I love these forecasts made by people in the know. I'm just curious as I'm planning to buy an Android tablet within the next month or so
[insert name] - Sunday, June 19, 2011 - link
I just joined to say well done!This was a very well written article without all the bias and opinionation I've seen on other sites.
I picked up a link from Whirlpool and I'm glad I did - I'll be back!
winterhaven - Tuesday, June 28, 2011 - link
Best review by far. I especially appreciated the information about the screens.For what it's worth, my Galaxy Tab 10.1 is my guilty pleasure. Usually, I am a big proponent of function over form. So I thought the Transformer would be the tablet for me, especially considering the lower price point. But when I picked up the new Tab, I was instantly seduced. I adore the vividness. And I love how easy it is to hold. Sleek is the perfect way to describe it. And the upcoming keyboard case will make it even better.
dickeywang - Tuesday, June 28, 2011 - link
It appears Xoom is still the only choice if one wants to get a 3G version at this point. Wierd, isn't it?paris89 - Saturday, July 2, 2011 - link
personally i feel like it's everybody opinion on what tablet or phone to buy the main thing i hate is when ppl try make you like a product. my opinion i think that the samsung galaxy tab 10.1 is a nice looking tablet i like the ipad 2 but it is really nutting to be honest the only thing ipad 2 have on the galaxy tab is storage but that my opinionMtnXfreeride - Friday, September 2, 2011 - link
How is it possible that the Galaxy Battery last even similar let alone worse than the Transformer? With nearly the same specs, except the galaxy has a 6700MAH battery vs. the Transformer with 3XXXmah battery? I owned a transformer and returned it because of defective GPS and the screen was poorly attached to the product creating creaking, there is no way they had similar batteries my galaxy lasts at least 30% longer. Its is night and day a noticeable difference - a difference I noticed before going on line to verify the battery is better.tenambit - Wednesday, September 28, 2011 - link
There seems to be a point missing here and that is i will be using the galaxy for browsing the web so why would I buy an Apple if half the web sites I use are not available because of Apples lock out on Adobe flash ???Seems obvious to me.
The other thing this is so familiar..wait wait and wait........look its like digital cameras .....if you wait you will never buy anything there will always be improvements down the line .
What looks great now will look obsolete in 6 months,what looks great in 6 months will be obsolete in another 6 months and so on and so on .
The thing that you have to look at is why you want this device in the first place.
Is it to sit in front of the telly and browse the internet and check your email or do you want it to entertain you ,play games.watch movies,download music or do you want it to read e books or check the weather and the news because you cant be bothered booting up your PC, do you want something to carry around and use 3G or $G if your stupid enough to shell out the bucks for connectivity to the networks or are you just using it for wi fi and to move around the house,take it to bed with you and just as a convenience,.
Work out what your use is,see if it will do it then buy it and forget about feeling sorry for what you have just done..
Thats technology and thats the way it will always be...............I want an SSD for my PC but I need at least 500GIG so am I going to pay $1500.00 for an SSD or am I going to stick with my HDD.....................pretty obvious to me.
netfortius - Wednesday, November 30, 2011 - link
Does anybody know what the WiFi chipset specs / vendor & model are?