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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ph00ny - Monday, June 13, 2011 - link
Based on the fact that transformer has sold over 300k units, consumer interest is definitely thereheadbox - Monday, June 13, 2011 - link
those numbers can be misleading- that could be the number ordered by retail stores, and they could all be sitting on the shelf.ph00ny - Monday, June 13, 2011 - link
How is that misleading? It seems to fit with the fact that most store had it backordered for quite some timevision33r - Friday, June 17, 2011 - link
I think the Transformer sales has just peaked. The device is now available everywhere for retail and no mark up.They had to run a discount package for the Asus EEE pad yesterday on Ebay just to push the thing.
Since March, you can't even consistently find an IPad 2 in store.
JoeTF - Sunday, June 19, 2011 - link
Uhm, well, Transformer, after 3 months is still in constant state of out of stock and well on track to hit 1m units this summer. In total, they're aiming to sell 3.5m units before new model is unveiled in in December.It's just that in comparison - Samsung tablet is worst of all:
-plastic finish
-no USB
-no HDMI
-no sd card slot
-no user replaceable battery
-lack of single distinguishing feature (battery dock, or phone hybrid mode)
AlterEcho - Tuesday, June 14, 2011 - link
I do not agree that a 8.9" form factor is optimal. Most of my customers are shooting for the 10.1". So far, LTE and the smaller form factor is a non-starter. My clients are screaming for the Asus and 3G. They are more concerned with network coverage and reliability than a bump in speed. And I have to agree with them.Here are some reasons I am hearing in the field:
1) LTE only means that I will hit my cap faster and if they are complaining about a few users affecting bandwidth now, how are they going to handle faster speeds.
2) They should be worrying about coverage, not trying to increase speed. Speed does me little good if I do not have a reliable connection.
3) Why would I pay $500 for a giant "iPod"? $400 and a keyboard option allows me to type or disconnect and head to a meeting with pad-in-hand.
4) The smaller pad makes web pages feel 'scrunched' and busy. The larger one allows me to type easier as well as handle websites, better.
So for my customers, the larger form factor, 3g and $400 is the big seller. I think manufacturers (and us tech guys) forget about what is important to non-technical users. Price and size, IMHO, will be a significant driving factor. And I bet dollars to donuts that the Asus will outsell the Samsung...and even affect the iPads numbers. The price difference is to hard to ignore, in this economy.
JasonInofuentes - Monday, June 13, 2011 - link
Play nice! :)vision33r - Monday, June 13, 2011 - link
With those specs, yes they will only sell hundreds with the iPad 2s number it will sell millions.It's such a joke for these companies to use a Tegra 2 dual core that some single core beats it. The game performance is a joke consider the iPad 2's GL performance spanks it silly.
Even though the Tab has higher res but once you play an iPad 2 game on TV at 1080p with the HDMI cable it just makes these Android tablet look completely like a joke.
DigitalFreak - Monday, June 13, 2011 - link
"It's such a joke for these companies to use a Tegra 2 dual core that some single core beats it."Gotta love fanboys who don't have a clue about the product they're shilling. The iPad2 has a dual core processor.
headbox - Monday, June 13, 2011 - link
Maybe he's saying iPad 1 still beats it in key areas like battery life.