Finally, after rumors, leaks and
teases directly from Samsung, the
Galaxy Tab can officially join the ranks of other hotly-anticipated Android tablets. All the specs point towards this being a competitive device: it boasts a 7” TFT LCD with a resolution of 1024x600, a 1GHz Cortex A8 Samsung Hummingbird processor, front and rear cameras, and Android 2.2 Froyo with Samsung’s Touch Wiz 3.0 skin.
Samsung’s clearly doing its best to
offer an attractive alternative to the iPad: the slim Galaxy Tab weighs only 380 grams, or 13.4 ounces, and the 4,000mAh promises 7 hours of movie play. And considering the Tab will support Flash, DivX, H.264 and more video formats out of the box, that claim will be quickly put to the test.
Unlike most of the products we cover, the Galaxy Tab will be launching in the UK before the US, and quite a few of its features (such as 3G data plans and a video conference service) will naturally differ between the US and Europe. Let’s dive into the rest of the system’s specs and see what we can expect from the US launch.
Hands-on videos of the device quickly prove the 1.0GHz processor is more than capable of powering Android on a 7” screen--the UI moves with a fluid grace and apps load in a snap. The Galaxy Tab will come in 16GB and 32GB flavors, but the microSD slot will allow room for 32 gigabytes of expansion. Engadget points out in their
hands-on time with the Galaxy Tab that the pixel density of the screen makes it a great device for reading E-books, which makes sense considering Samsung’s touting their custom “Readers Hub.”
The rear camera is of the 3.0 megapixel variety, but we’re more interested in the front-facing 1.3 megapixel webcam: in Europe, it’ll be aided by a dedicated videoconferencing service we simply don’t have in the US. Hopefully an app like Qik will step up to do an adequate job. There’s also no word on which carriers will be supporting the Galaxy Tab with 3G service to augment its 802.11n capabilities. You certainly won’t be sticking the Galaxy Tab in your pocket and treating it like a phone, but it does have a built-in speakerphone or options for Bluetooth or 3.5mm headsets, which definitely makes the device more communication-friendly than the iPad.
Finally, it seems like Samsung’s Touch Wiz overlay may actually aid the device: Samsung showed off some elements custom-tailored for the 7” screen that ran smoothly and looked sharp. In addition, Samsung will offer specific apps from Samsung Apps, but they’re still allowing full access to the Android marketplace, unlike the
Archos tablets we recently covered. The majority of apps built to Google’s standards should have no problem scaling to 1024x600; hopefully that turns out to be the case.
So, now that the Galaxy Tab is a reality, does it live up to the months of rumor and speculation? It’s still too early to predict how successful the device will be until we have word on US carriers and pricing. No doubt Samsung will be eager to announce both in due time.
