The first real Android Tablet competitor to the iPad is among us. The Samsung Galaxy Tab, and it is available in a number of different carrier flavors and is equipped with wifi and varying types of cellular data coverage. I am very excited about Android Tablets in general and I think the Galaxy Tab really gets things heading in the right direction.
Powered by Android 2.2 Froyo, with a 7" screen Samsung emphasizes it's "portability", I guess implying that other larger screen tablets *cough iPad cough, cough* aren't very portable. I will agree I think I'd prefer the slightly smaller sized screen, but definitely look forward to tablets to come that cover a spectrum of screen sizes. The Tabs only 14oz but I don't know about Sammy's implications that it is pocket-able. Sounds like a great way to waste a few hundred bucks, but it's clearly a bit more hand-sized than the 10" iPad. One feature the iPad lacked that the Tab has that I griped about is a camera; and not just one but two! So unlike iPad which will undoubtly be followed by a slightly upgraded successor with the camera it should've had to begin with, the Tab will allow photo, video and video chat (via front facing camera) out of the box!
Samsung does there best to make it more than just a giant Android powered smartphone. Adding their own app suite to the mix to provide some additional functionality and features. One I really like is the landscape email app; which allows you to view your inbox list on one side and a preview of a given email on the other. Apps like this are the things that get me excited about replacing my laptop on daily treks around campus and to work with a tablet of some sort. It gives you the mobility of a smart phone with the expanded functionality of a more full-fledge computer. On the flip side Android still has a way to go with its tablet platform as many of the apps are still not optimized for the larger screen experience and it seems that in many capacities it is just a large phone (without phone functionality). Fortunately Google is on top of this and should be addressing these issues soon with Android 3.0 Honeycomb software update, which will be optimized for tablet devices.
If nothing else I welcome the Galaxy Tab as a worthy competitor in the Tablet arena, and I am very excited to see what is to come. Not just from the Tab but from the upcoming onslaught of Android tablets from a plethora of manufacturers. With the Tablet-centric Honeycomb version of Android on the way we should see a boost on the software/OS side too. 2011 will definitely be an interesting year and we will likely see some exciting changes in the way we use technology, computers and the web.
Check out some Galaxy Tab video footage!
More detail at sources:
Engadget
Samsung
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