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
A Beautiful Display
Other than form factor, the 10.1's display is the only other major advantage Samsung holds over ASUS. While the Eee Pad's display is quantifiably similar to Apple's iPad 2, it does fall victim to an incredible amount of glare. There's a sizable gap between the LCD panel and the outermost glass, which results in more glare than most other tablets we've reviewed this generation. The 10.1 however doesn't suffer this fate and as a result is more directly comparable to the iPad 2.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 (left) vs. ASUS Eee Pad Transformer (right)
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 (left) vs. Apple iPad 2 (right)
While both ASUS and Apple use an IPS panel in their tablets, Samsung uses its own technology called Super PLS (plane line switching). Brian Klug, our resident smartphone and display guru did some digging and it turns out that Super PLS is Samsung's own take on IPS that maintains viewing angle while boosting throughput (brightness). The Samsung supplied photo below shows a comparison of the tradeoff you make with S-IPS and I-IPS, as well as both of those compared to Super PLS:
Traditionally you'd have to trade off viewing angle for brightness or vice versa even within the IPS family. Super PLS lets you have your cake and eat it too, giving you the same side viewing angles as S-IPS but with the light throughput of I-IPS.
Perhaps due to the use of Super PLS, Samsung actually managed to outfit the Galaxy Tab 10.1 with a brighter panel than what we saw with the iPad 2. Black levels aren't quite as good but peak brightness is measurably better at nearly 500 nits. While the display isn't what I'd consider bright enough to use in direct sunlight, it is more versatile than the iPad 2's as a result of its brightness.
The higher black levels balance out the brighter panel and deliver a contrast ratio comparable to that of the iPad 2:
I should mention that the quality of the panel on the retail 10.1 sample is significantly better than what I saw with Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 Limited Edition at Google IO. The sample from IO had noticeably worse black levels, lower peak brightness and as a result lower overall contrast. On top of all of that, the LE suffered light bleed from one of its corners - a problem I haven't seen on the retail 10.1. With only two Galaxy Tabs to compare this is either an indication of wildly varying quality control, or more likely that Samsung simply repackaged its early samples as LEs and saved the mass production hardware for paying customers a month after Google IO.
As you can see in the shot above the Samsung panel has a considerably cooler white point than the Eee Pad Transformer. A quick measure with our colorimeter shows a white point of 8762 (vs 7805K for the Eee Pad). It does make Samsung's default wallpaper look very pretty. If you're wondering, the iPad 2's panel is calibrated to a 6801K white point - at least with our 16GB CDMA sample here.
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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.