Samsung Galaxy Tab Review - The Samsung Galaxy Tab is one of the hottest pieces of technology in 2010. It's the first high quality Android tablet with a fast CPU, capacitive display, Android OS 2.2 Froyo, 3G and all the trimmings. The Tab's 7", 1024 x 600 display runs at an even higher resolution than Samsung's Android superphones in the Galaxy S family, and that means you'll see more of documents, web pages and ebooks without scrolling. That said, beyond the increased resolution and display size, the Tab is basically an oversized Galaxy S smartphone minus the cellular calling feature in US versions. That's a good thing and a bad thing: the increased screen real estate really transforms the Galaxy Tab into something that, like the iPad, can stand in for a computer when doing tasks like web browsing, email and reading. That said, it doesn't really do anything your Samsung Fascinate, Vibrant or Captivate can't do (at least not yet). The same can largely be said of the iPad vs. iPhone 4, but that hasn't hurt sales. There are a decent selection of HD optimized iPad apps though, while there are virtually none outside of Samsung's own, for the Tab. Will we see more Android tablet applications that turn the Galaxy Tab and other brands into a killer gadget? It's hard to say; so far there hasn't been a lot of action in the tablet-optimized app arena, but it is a young and fragmented space. Since the Galaxy Tab is selling well in its first month on the market, developers will likely take an interest in supporting the super-sized display.Samsung Galaxy Tab ReviewSamsung Galaxy Tab
The Tab is available on all of the big 4 US carriers, and we have the AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon and Sprint versions in-house for this review. All 4 models have the same specs, hardware (other than CDMA vs. GSM radios and Sprint/Verizon having 2 gigs internal storage plus a 16 gig microSD card and T-Mobile/AT&T having 16 gigs of internal storage with no bundled microSD card) and look the same (Sprint's has a gloss white back while the others are gloss black). The Tab is a good looking piece of electronics, and it goes with the same glossy plastic and attractive angles as the Galaxy S phones. If you hate plastic, sorry but Samsung isn't going to change their design esthetic any time soon.
The Galaxy Tab runs Android OS 2.2 Froyo with Samsung's TouchWiz 3.0 UI. If you've used any of the Galaxy S phones, you'll feel right at home because the user interface is identical. Samsung has customized the calendar and contacts applications to make much better use of the higher resolution display (check it out in our video review below). As with the Galaxy S phones, the music player and video player have been much improved from their vanilla Android versions and the Tab supports additional video formats including DivX.Samsung Galaxy Tab ReviewSamsung Galaxy Tab
The Verizon version has a dot pattern that's visible in good light.
The Tab runs on the same 1GHz Hummingbird ARM Cortex-A8 family CPU as the Galaxy S phones, and it has a hardware GPU and 512 megs of RAM. The Tab is responsive on all 4 carriers and it handles video playback well. The 7" capacitive multi-touch display is sharp, extremely bright and colorful, though it's not Super AMOLED (Super AMOLED isn't yet available in displays this large). The Tab has WiFi 802.11b/g/n, a GPS that works with Google Maps and Navigation and Bluetooth, though headset and handsfree profiles are missing.
Samsung Galaxy Tab Review - The Tab has the same lightly masked capacitive front buttons for menu, home, back and search. The 3.5mm stereo jack is up top, and the proprietary 30 pin dock port is at the bottom. Samsung went with the special connector because, like the iPad and Dell Streak, the Tab can do more than sync and charge via the port (e.g.: HDMI out, TV out and keyboard).
