Samsung Galaxy Tab review
Android 2.2, 7in tablet is a worthy iPad rival
Review details
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The Samsung Galaxy Tab is a worthy rival to the Apple iPad. Android 2.2 is a great operating system, it adds a camera and phone capability, and the battery life is excellent. The Tab is also a good size and weight to hold over long periods, and text input is no problem due to the width of the device and the decent keypad. The real negative for us was the price. Pros: Android 2.2; lightweight; speedy for browsing, screen rotation and other tasks; battery life Cons: Price; zoom in and out could be jerky
Price:
£499
Manufacturer:
We didn’t get on so well with the Swype method, which lets users write a word by tracing their finger over the letters on the keyboard. We found it fiddly to use as so many of the words and patterns required you to select from several word choises, meaning it was generally quicker to just type out the word in the first place. However, we know that others in the V3 offices are fans of this system, and if you don’t like it you don’t have to enable it.
Phone capability
Another area where the Tab beats the iPad is its phone functionality. You can use the Tab as a normal mobile phone, although you either need to use it as a speakerphone or have a headset plugged in. We can’t really see the phone connection as being a big selling point for the tab. However, calling quality was good.
Specs
The Tab features a GPS receiver, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and 3G, accessed via a SIM card slot on the side of the device. It runs a 1GHz Cortex A8 processor, with a PowerVR SGX540 graphics card. For storage there’s 16GB of internal storage and a Micro SDHC slot that offers a further 32GB of RAM. There’s also 2GB of internal phone storage for apps.
The Tab offers video recording and HD video playback. The 1,024 x 600 resolution screen has a widescreen display and media quality is crisp and clear. There is a 1.3-megapixel front- and 3.0-megapixel rear-facing camera. Shots were of good quality and it was easy to share video files and pictures through the on-screen menus.
We have also published a video review of the Samsung Galaxy Tab.
