Hands-on With The Galaxy Tab 8.9
by Jason Inofuentes on September 27, 2011 1:14 AM EST- Posted in
- Samsung
- News
- Galaxy Tab 8.9
- Android 3.1
- TouchWiz
- Laptops
- Galaxy Player
When we reviewed the Galaxy Tab 10.1 (a few times), we made clear that Samsung has spent a lot of time and effort to make these feel solid and well built. We also had kind words to say about the PLS display, and zippy performance from the Tegra 2 SoC and Samsung’s software optimizations. All of that still applies to the 8.9, but with the added benefit of a much more comfortable form factor. When in landscape, the 10.1 is narrow for Android tablets of that size, but that doesn’t make it any easier to thumb-type on without having to stretch for those G’s and H’s. Moving to 8.9 inches allows the user to hammer away without ever having to awkwardly change grip in order to get to the middle keys. In addition, this is one of the first Android tablets that feels comfortable to hold in portrait, with just one hand. The increased lightness and the ability to have less of the weight hang out beyond your grip makes this an easy device to use as a reader or media tablet.
Shrinking the size and maintaining the resolution brings pixel density up to 170 pixels per inch from 150 in the 10.1. Though this is barely more than a 10% increase, it is noticeable, and the superb PLS display Samsung uses produces vibrant colors and excellent viewing angles. With internals that match its larger brother, performance is equivalent, both in benchmarks and in user experience. TouchWiz UX is on hand, along with Android 3.1. Samsung expects to have Android 3.2 within the next few months, and it’s expected to launch on the 8.9 and 10.1 simultaneously. That should bring along some performance tweaks, as well as improved compatibility with varying screen sizes.
| Samsung 2011 Tablet Comparison | ||||||
| Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 | Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 | |||||
| SoC | NVIDIA Tegra 2 (Dual ARM Cortex A9 @ 1GHz) | NVIDIA Tegra 2 (Dual ARM Cortex A9 @ 1GHz) | ||||
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce | NVIDIA GeForce | ||||
| RAM | 1GB | 1GB | ||||
| Display | 1280 x 800 PLS | 1280 x 800 PLS | ||||
| NAND | 16GB | 16GB | ||||
| Dimensions | 230.9 x 157.8 x 8.6mm | 256.6 x 172.9 x 8.6mm | ||||
| Weight | 447g | 565g | ||||
| Price | $469 |
$499 |
||||
Apple threw down the gauntlet when they made their already svelte iPad even thinner with the iPad 2. At 8.8 mm, it’s hard to believe that tablets can get much thinner. Samsung positioned the Tab family to get just a little bit thinner at 8.6 mm, a feat both the 8.9 and 10.1 accomplish. We put the 8.9 alongside some of its contemporaries in the gallery below, suffice it to say, no one does Android tablets as thin as Samsung. Is there value in thinness though? At times these paper thin devices feel awkward to grip, their flatness providing no edge to capture in your hand. In contrast the TouchPad’s curvy frame is easy to maintain a solid grip on, and even the Acer Iconia Tab’s chunkier metal frame feels easy to grasp. What makes it easy to overcome the thin frame is it’s lightness. At just under a pound this easily the lightest Android tablet I’ve held and the difference between it and even the 10.1 is the difference between something I would feel comfortable reading in bed with, and something I would fear dropping sleepily upon my head.
Galaxy Tab 10.1 (left) vs. Galaxy Tab 8.9 (right)
The Galaxy Tab 8.9 is a welcome addition to the swarm of Android tablets being introduced this Fall. Manufacturers now free to stray from the 10.1” form factor will finally be able to differentiate with more than just skins. In the case of Samsung’s latest, they took all the best traits from the best Android tablet available today, and shrunk it down to a more comfortable size. Does this make the 8.9 the new best? Stay tuned for Anand’s review.
Gallery: Galaxy Tab 8.9 Hands On
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cjb110 - Tuesday, September 27, 2011 - link
Of course the big looser in the thinness race is ports, everything is going through a propietry connector and 'expensive' converters, and there's no SD card slot either.NCM - Tuesday, September 27, 2011 - link
True. On the other hand the question becomes one of what the tablet is mostly used for. Tablets, while not pocketable like a smartphone, are still very much mobile devices.How much time would/does your tablet spend physically connected to other devices?
At least in my case the answer is almost never, so I'm plenty willing to use an adapter dongle should it become necessary, and similarly unwilling to give up anything in size/thickness/etc. to have a greater variety of built-in ports that won't be in use most of the time.
(I feel the same way about the optical drive in my laptop. It's handily there for the tiny number of occasions that I do need it, but it occupies maybe 20% of this 13" laptop's footprint and has to be hauled around 100% of the time.)
But your needs may well differ from mine.
JasonInofuentes - Tuesday, September 27, 2011 - link
With DLNA, Bluetooth, wireless file transfers and plentiful streaming options, all tablet manufacturer's are moving away from ports for connectivity. Samsung has a wide variety of accessories for the 10.1 and the 8.9, including docks that provide USB ports, video output and power. They also have a number of cases with integrated Bluetooth keyboards.I've had tablets with USB, microSD and SD in house, and I have yet to put them to any practical purpose. I wouldn't be surprised if the norm becomes a lack of ports. My only wish, is that charging still be done through microUSB.
Rick83 - Tuesday, September 27, 2011 - link
You hook up the tablet to the TV with HDMI to play HD content without having a dedicated HTPC, you hook up a USB key to exchange some bigger files on the go, or without opening bluetooth, you use a microSD card to transfer images from your camera to show them on a bigger screen.Plenty of scenarios where wireless is less than ideal (and that's before I take into account the extra battery expenditure).
With these huge tablets, docks shouldn't be mandatory to get that kind of stuff. Even on my 5" tablet I am not really convinced that the dock is necessary - and at least I get a micro-SD slot out of the box.
borys991 - Tuesday, September 27, 2011 - link
what if I'd like to view pictures from my nikon D90 (SD card) on this device? Is there any way to do it? Of course without using external computer.What do you think?
Cali3350 - Tuesday, September 27, 2011 - link
The 5" sounds like a real dud in comparison to the 4". Especially considering 5" is starting to get too big anyway.Shadowmaster625 - Tuesday, September 27, 2011 - link
Not enough battery life. Make it 9 mm and give it a bigger battery.The ipod touch competitor has pretty crappy resolution. A 5" display would be interesting if it was better than 800x480.
Gondalf - Tuesday, September 27, 2011 - link
A bad season of money for nothing is truncated. Galaxy S2, Galaxy Tab and Galaxy Player are the answer of the big industry to a coercitive Apple :).Very good, very good :), i can see prices down in near future :)
mcquade181 - Tuesday, September 27, 2011 - link
Do these three (4", 5" & 8") have a built-in GPS? They could make useful car/boat/4WD computers if they do.jtd871 - Tuesday, September 27, 2011 - link
Apparently no built-in GPS. I know the GPS will absolutely kill the battery life, but come on Sammy! I've been waiting for a small format and (relatively) low-cost tablet with Wifi, SD/microSD expandability, GPS and Android (for media apps and offline Google Maps) to use as a travel device/PMP for car or pedestrian use. Others have successfully used BT GPS receivers with phones, but it limits the ability to use maps while you are walking around, and adds 1 more device to keep powered.The iBex Flytouch3 would nominally seem to fit my wishlist, but I would prefer a device backed by a more top-shelf manufacturer for support. Here's hoping the Lenovo A1 gets some love from reviewers and ships this year...