Galaxy Tab reviewed by Gsm Arena, ipad 2 is already past history

[vegetaleb]

Key features
• 10.1" 16M-color PLS TFT capacitive touchscreen of WXGA (1280 x 800 pixels) resolution
 •Very lightweight at just 565 g
 •Thinnest slate to date at just 8.6 mm
 •Gorilla Glass display
 •Tegra 2 chipset: Dual-core 1GHz ARM Cortex-A9 processor; 1GB of RAM; ULP GeForce GPU
•Android 3.1 Honeycomb with TouchWiz UX UI
 •Optional quad-band GPRS/EDGE and tri-band 3G with HSDPA 21 Mbps connectivity
 • 16/32/64 GBGB of built-in memory
 •3.2 MP autofocus camera, 2048x1536 pixels, LED flash, geotagging
 •2.0 MP front-facing camera; video calls
 •720p HD video recording @ 30 fps
 •Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi Direct, dual-band, Wi-Fi hotspot
 • Proprietary 30-pin connector port for charging
 •Stereo Bluetooth v3.0
 •HDMI TV-out (adapter required), USB host (adapter required)
 •Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
 •Flash 10.3 support
 •GPS with A-GPS support; digital compass
•DivX/XviD support (fullHD), MP4 support up to HD
•Accelerometer and proximity sensor; three-axis Gyroscope sensor
 •Polaris office document editor comes preinstalled
•7000 mAh Li-Po rechargeable battery

Main disadvantages
•Non-replaceable battery
 •No microSD card support
 •No standard USB port
 •No Android Honeycomb 3.2 yet
 •No GSM voice capabilities despite the available SIM slot

Final words

It's not easy being an Android tablet these days. The iPad is the supreme ruler of the market, leaving but a small part of it to the huge number of competitors. So even if the Galaxy Tab 10.1 manages to successfully tackle a few dozens of devices running the same platform plus a few exotic competitors, the best it can hope for is go at the number two spot.

But that's not necessarily bad - Rome wasn't built in a day and Samsung is certainly under no illusion that it will manage to knock Apple of its tablet perch with a single device. Apple took a gamble with slates, it worked and now they have the advantage in a rapidly expanding market, while the competition is playing catch up.

Now we are not saying Apple cannot be beaten at its own game - most recent smartphone history suggests otherwise. We are just saying that some serious preparation is required if such a thing is to happen. Convincing customers that you can beat the iPad hardware or software isn't enough - you need to convince them that you can match or outdo the Apple user experience.

And from where we stand after we completed the review the Galaxy Tab 10.1 can be a pretty strong argument for both Samsung and Android. And it's not just the really good PLS TFT display with Gorilla Glass, the powerful Tegra 2 chipset or the excellent connectivity (though those all score points for it). It's more the case of the Honeycomb 3.1-running slate being the most complete offering we've seen from the Android camp to date.

The Samsung-made TouchWiz UI takes the already great Honeycomb functionality another level up, while the 3.1 Android update brings an overdue performance boost. Meanwhile app numbers are growing by the day and as we know apps are the heart of every tablet ecosystem. And if the ones you need haven't come out in tablet flavor just yet the excellent video player will still make your Galaxy Tab 10.1 great fun.

So that's the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 summarized - it’s a nice tablet that no one would mind having around. What's even more we doubt anyone will regret spending €500 (for the Wi-Fi only version) €600 (Wi-Fi + 3G) on it. If you aren't quite convinced though, you might want to try some of its alternatives.

The recently released LG Optimus Pad costs a good deal more than the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and has no fancy TouchWiz UI to brag about, but comes with one of a kind feature - stereoscopic 3D video recording (it also does 1080p videos in 2D). If you are really into this thing, then the Optimus Pad might be your only option.

[TJ]

Apple iPad 2.......What a machine.

[vegetaleb]

Again what's the purpose of tablets and ipads??

[b4b4.4l1]

No matter how fancy your tablet is, still it can't replace the functionalities of laptop, not even a netbook

[chanchan05]

@vegetaleb

Personally, I'm looking to get a tablet because:

1. Its easier to read my lots of ebooks (im in med school) on it compared to a laptop or a phone, even when on the go like on the bus and reviewing for an exam. Plus the find keywords option makes it quite better than a paper book IMO.

2. It may not have ALL the functionality of a netbook, but its easier to use on the go, when you have to search for something on the net. I'd rather have a tablet for that since a phone's battery is gold, you never know when there's an emergency and you have to call someone. So having a tablet with your phone, or probably two phones, is good to save battery.

3. Again, a tablet is easier to use while on the go than a netbook IMO. Besides, its not like I'll be relying on it totally, if I'm gonna use one, its going to end up as a browser, a gaming device for casual games, and ebook reader.

I normally go to school with a laptop on me and some pretty heavy books since I dont like reading on the laptop much. I've tried reading on my friends' ipads and Galaxy Tab 10.1, and its indeed easier, as the screen serves as a page and you hold it like you would an actual book. Not to mention its easier to highlight stuff on it, its like treating it as an actual paper book.

[paarkhi]

Again what's the purpose of tablets and ipads??

No matter how fancy your tablet is, still it can't replace the functionalities of laptop, not even a netbook

Both of you get +1 from me because you have expressed same my thoughts on this subject.

@vegetaleb

Personally, I'm looking to get a tablet because:

1. Its easier to read my lots of ebooks (im in med school) on it compared to a laptop or a phone, even when on the go like on the bus and reviewing for an exam. Plus the find keywords option makes it quite better than a paper book IMO.

2. It may not have ALL the functionality of a netbook, but its easier to use on the go, when you have to search for something on the net. I'd rather have a tablet for that since a phone's battery is gold, you never know when there's an emergency and you have to call someone. So having a tablet with your phone, or probably two phones, is good to save battery.

3. Again, a tablet is easier to use while on the go than a netbook IMO. Besides, its not like I'll be relying on it totally, if I'm gonna use one, its going to end up as a browser, a gaming device for casual games, and ebook reader.

I normally go to school with a laptop on me and some pretty heavy books since I dont like reading on the laptop much. I've tried reading on my friends' ipads and Galaxy Tab 10.1, and its indeed easier, as the screen serves as a page and you hold it like you would an actual book. Not to mention its easier to highlight stuff on it, its like treating it as an actual paper book.

You also get +1 for showing us some actual usage, but I think its just good for browsing, reading ebooks and playing games as you said which most of the people do and not for some serious computing.

[TJ]

@vegetaleb

Personally, I'm looking to get a tablet because:

1. Its easier to read my lots of ebooks (im in med school) on it compared to a laptop or a phone, even when on the go like on the bus and reviewing for an exam. Plus the find keywords option makes it quite better than a paper book IMO.

2. It may not have ALL the functionality of a netbook, but its easier to use on the go, when you have to search for something on the net. I'd rather have a tablet for that since a phone's battery is gold, you never know when there's an emergency and you have to call someone. So having a tablet with your phone, or probably two phones, is good to save battery.

3. Again, a tablet is easier to use while on the go than a netbook IMO. Besides, its not like I'll be relying on it totally, if I'm gonna use one, its going to end up as a browser, a gaming device for casual games, and ebook reader.

I normally go to school with a laptop on me and some pretty heavy books since I dont like reading on the laptop much. I've tried reading on my friends' ipads and Galaxy Tab 10.1, and its indeed easier, as the screen serves as a page and you hold it like you would an actual book. Not to mention its easier to highlight stuff on it, its like treating it as an actual paper book.

I must say,the battery life on iPad is unbelievable{yes no process is running in background}.......Keynote app on iPad is just amazing.

Quality & Graphics of games/apps are just out of the world.

[chanchan05]

I must say,the battery life on iPad is unbelievable{yes no process is running in background}.......Keynote app on iPad is just amazing.

Quality & Graphics of games/apps are just out of the world.

Im not much into Apple devices, and I am looking to wait and see on the Win8 tablets for next year though. I want to see how'd it measure up to the Android devices by that time.

[b4b4.4l1]

Im not much into Apple devices, and I am looking to wait and see on the Win8 tablets for next year though. I want to see how'd it measure up to the Android devices by that time.

Me too wanna look what Windows 8 tablet can do I'm so curious of its Wind UI in action

[vegetaleb]

My mom got an ipad2 for her bday...she was like ''yay I will finally use internet''...of course what were the websites she wana visits? Fashion brands
She was like ''hey why this web is not working?'' ''mooom it needs flashplayer and apple devices don't have flash player''
In the end of the day 90% of the webs she wana see couldn't open because of that.
Sorry but apple is a fail, its just a signature for people who don't understand in technology but wana play like they know!

[b4b4.4l1]

My mom got an ipad2 for her bday...she was like ''yay I will finally use internet''...of course what were the websites she wana visits? Fashion brands
She was like ''hey why this web is not working?'' ''mooom it needs flashplayer and apple devices don't have flash player''
In the end of the day 90% of the webs she wana see couldn't open because of that.

LOL

[chanchan05]

My mom got an ipad2 for her bday...she was like ''yay I will finally use internet''...of course what were the websites she wana visits? Fashion brands
She was like ''hey why this web is not working?'' ''mooom it needs flashplayer and apple devices don't have flash player''
In the end of the day 90% of the webs she wana see couldn't open because of that.
Sorry but apple is a fail, its just a signature for people who don't understand in technology but wana play like they know!

+1.

I remember an old story a few years ago, when it was still the 5800xm vs the iPhone 1. The iPhone people were all raving they had internet on their phone before the 5800 even came out and all that. Some guy took out his old N70, and surfed the net on it. The Apple fanboys were shushed.

True story.

[anshmiester78900]

+1.

I remember an old story a few years ago, when it was still the 5800xm vs the iPhone 1. The iPhone people were all raving they had internet on their phone before the 5800 even came out and all that. Some guy took out his old N70, and surfed the net on it. The Apple fanboys were shushed.

True story.

True story bro

[b4b4.4l1]

+1.

I remember an old story a few years ago, when it was still the 5800xm vs the iPhone 1. The iPhone people were all raving they had internet on their phone before the 5800 even came out and all that. Some guy took out his old N70, and surfed the net on it. The Apple fanboys were shushed.

True story.

LOLOLOLOLOLOL XD

[vegetaleb]

Apple marketing is very simple, claiming that they did revolutionary technologies in advertisements!
Last year they were proud to present...video calling!! WAAAW will say the blond girl, apple did it again!
Yeah but what she doesn't know is that video calling exists for ages on all other brands
I wonder when they will claim that their iphone actually can make calls, apple iphone can connect 2 people by voice!