The Samsung Galaxy Tab has been around for a little while now and along with the Apple iPad started a new craze of tablet devices to keep people connected on the move.
I first got hands on the Tab last October at a Three event in London and was really impressed with the overall size, design and quality of the product.
With a whole new range of tablets coming out using Android and of course the popular iPad 2 now on sale the big question for everyone is ‘What size is best?’. For me the Galaxy Tab as perfect for my needs, as you can see above it can easily be held in one hand and use the other for tapping on the screen or you can hold it in both hands and have the perfect spacing for using the large keyboard.
You also have a front facing camera used for video calls which when paired with a good data plan or a WiFi connection is really good and most times great quality.
You also get a 3 megapixel camera on the back whcih takes reasonable photos, not as good as the phones from Samsung but it is nice to have a camera there, especially as the new iPad has only just got a camera for photos and videos.
Web browsing comers with Flash and full access to the Android Market for downloading apps and this is great for when you are on the move and not wanting to take your laptop around with you.
The big shame is that it will not be running 3.0 Honeycomb which is the future OS for Android tablets, instead if runs on Froyo 2.2. For me if you can get a Galaxy Tab running 3.0 I would have my perfecty tablet, a n always connected device which slips into a coat pocket meaning no laptop bag needed or carry case in your hands for your tablet.
The Galaxy Tab was kindly laoned to us by Vodafone earlier for the review we did and also to use to compare to other tablets on the market.
Vodafone have the Smasung Galaxy Tab on sale with three price plans all based on sim only 30 day rolling deals and they are available in store and online and these are
- £3.00 a month and then pay £2 for each 250MB used. The Tab costs £399
- £7.50 a month for 500MB in a month and then the same for every 500mb over. The Tab costs £399
- £7.50 a month for 2GB in a month and 1GB Openzone WiFi. The Tab costs £399
Thanks to Vodafone for supplying us with a Galaxy Tab to use for a short time to be able to compare to other tablets on the market but also for me as someone who was very unsure about getting a tablet after using the Tab i have decided I can make some good use of one and will be purchasing a tablet of my own soon.
Link: Vodafone Galaxy Tab
The guys at XDA-Developers (Spacemoose to be precise) have just made available an Alpha build of Honeycomb for the Galaxy Tab to we may well get a Honeycomb build soon
As well as the ported version on xda, there actually will be an official honeycomb release for the Galaxy Tab. Samsung themselves have confirmed this.
Why do you need Advancd Task Killer on Android 2.2?! Thought they were counter-productive for that Android version.
http://androidspin.com/2010/05/25/why-you-dont-need-a-task-killer-app-with-android/
http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2010/04/multitasking-android-way.html
Its only a 3mp camera
I find the Galaxy a little clunky and lacking finesse in comparison with the iPad. I hope the new Galaxy tablet is a signifcant improvement!
it’s available sim & contract free for £299 at Asda right now
it’s also price matched at O2 stores now.
I’ve been using a Gtab for about a week, and I must admit, it’s better than I had expected. It has completely replaced my netbook, and largely my Android modified HD2. For daily commuting and surfing from the sofa at home it is fine and responsive. I’ve rooted and made a few tweaks, ADW launcher and Miren browser are the main ones.
My only nit would be that I think it would have benefitted from having 1Gb of Ram rather than 512Mb.
RE The video above are you sure it’s 1.2Ghz?! (5:11) Mine is 1.0Ghz…
Not the one to buy of you expect stereo sound though. They have put both speakers close together
at one end of the device instead of having one on each side of the screen when viewing video in landscape. Very weird mistake to make !
Saying that the sound is very good, the speakers are much better than he likes of which are usually in phones.