7-Inch Tablet Plays Flash Video, Makes Calls
The Galaxy Tab is brilliant as far as the tale of the tape goes, with a 7-inch 1024 x 768 resolution TFT display running Android 2.2 underneath a TouchWiz-tinged Samsung interface. Hardware specs are rounded out with a 1GHz processor running proceedings and a dedicated graphics chip for apps and gaming.
A major boon over Apple’s tin tray is that the Galaxy Tab also acts as a massive mobile phone, complete with voice and video call functionality, as well as text and photo messaging support. The usual layout of various homescreens comes across as a Samsung Galaxy S display writ large, with much the same features, options and Swype for swift typing all built in.
Tapping in a telephone number on a device measuring 190.1 x 120.5 x 11.98mm makes the Dell Streak look positively minuscule as multi-purpose phones go, but 3G ad Wi-Fi b/g/n connectivity shows that this is much more than a gimmick for Samsung’s device.
Continuing to swerve left where the iPad veers right is in the format freedom when it comes to media playback. The Samsung Galaxy Tab happily plays all of the major movie flavours found on the web without a hitch including DivX and Xvid, as well as Apple’s favoured H.264 format.
With 7 hours of movie playback, the Tab is the perfect accompaniment for those long journeys, whilst support for millions of titles via the Readers Hub means that it is equally capable when it comes to browsing books, magazines and periodicals alike.
Equally important is web browsing, and thankfully the Galaxy Tab brings the true internet to your palm. Support for Adobe’s Flash 10.1 offers up a very familiar experience, with videos running within browser windows and animation-heavy sites looking much like their desktop counterparts.
Whilst a little less populated than Apple’s App Store, the Galaxy Tab has access to the thousands of games, and productivity software on the Android Market, and it won’t be long until developers update their applications to make full use of all that new-found display real estate.
The Galaxy Tab will be getting a European reception in September with 16 and 32GB sizes, and Vodafone is currently tipped to release it in various territories.
Lighter, smaller and more versatile than Apple’s iconic iPad, the Galaxy Tab actually does a better job of convincing that a tablet device serves a genuine purpose in our lives, as well as serving as a compact multimedia powerhouse.
Android Market will hopefully grow organically to cater for this new swathe of Google-powered tablets, and a decent array of applications from budding devs will be as much of a selling point as the device itself.
The only issue still up in the air is the price. The need for a traditional SIM card to serve up 3G connectivity will make it a prime target for pay monthly offers on the networks, instantly making the Samsung Galaxy Tab a more appealing (and affordable) prospect when paying over 18 months than in one lump sum.
Whilst consumers are only too happy to lay down £429 for an iPad, the allure of snagging something better for £30 per month could see the Android-powered device sweep up this winter…
