GameRating

It is impossible to consider the Samsung Galaxy Tablet without comparing it to its rivalrous older brother – the iPad. One can’t help but feel that the Tablet is simply a response to the success of the iPad; an assault on the monopolistic trends of Apple. “Whatever you can do, we can do better” say Samsung, albeit even if they’re merely copying Apple’s successful formula.

So, without getting hung up on reputations, let us objectively compare the Tablet to the iPad. At just .84 pounds, it weighs nearly half as much as the iPad, which tips the scales at 1.5 pounds. The Galaxy Tab has voice call capability (though, the feature is disabled on the US Galaxy Tab) and video conferencing over Wi-Fi. This tablet also includes multitasking, and web browsing with Flash support. On the other hand, the Apple iPad has a bigger, more pleasing screen, solid aluminium body, and a tenacious battery. Samsung's 7-inch tablet is significantly smaller than Apple's 9.7-inch device. There are only a couple of inches between the screen sizes of the two machines, but it actually makes a huge difference -- the Tab is about half the size of the iPad.

But this apparent weakness of the Tablet’s is also its supposed strength (as claimed by the designers). Allegedly it’s small enough to fit in a pocket but large enough to satisfy the visually impaired. Upon testing, we discovered that the Tablet scarcely fitted into a circus clown’s pocket. It seemed to us that Samsung were trying to satisfy multiple wishes at once, opting to compromise size in order to find a niche and undercut the iPad. Consequently, in their attempt to find a balance, they’ve created a product that is needlessly smaller than the iPad - realistically no pocket can accommodate the tablet.

The plasticky finish to the design can make it feel like a perversely oversized PSP console. However, even the most endowed pair of hands will struggle with this swollen device; uncomfortable at best. Disappointingly Samsung opted not to fit it with some form of stand since we found it to lose friction on many surfaces. Its lustrous looks do the £499-£609 price tag justice, but whether or not the white satin backing will maintain the gloss over time remains to be seen. Although more expensive, on merit of being a non-Apple product the tablet is arguably a less pretentious consumer choice.

Holding the tablet to the ear as if on the telephone brings to mind the ubiquitous Trigger Happy TV sketch wherein Dom Jolly shouts down a comically large phone to the bewilderment and annoyance of those in his proximity. It’s a good job then that the tablet is without an earpiece speaker so when making calls your options are to use the loudspeaker, and share you conversation, the headphones delivered with it (or any other earphone set that uses a standard 3.5mm audio jack) or use a Bluetooth headset for some privacy. It is simply too big to be defined as a phone. But if you’re not hung up on details such as this and have a prodigious wallet, then it could be the perfect option.

Geeky hardware nonsense

Did you ever think the Samsung Galaxy Tab was like a humongous phone? Well if you did, you weren’t far off! The Samsung Galaxy Tab is made up of components and hardware similar to that you'd find in a top-shelf smartphone. Samsung opts for a ‘Cortex A8 1GHz processor for power and matches it with 512MB RAM’ (Tablet world). It features similar connectivity choices to other phones on the market, boasting HSPA data speeds, Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP audio streaming. It benchmarked quite highly with 3D Graphics and processing performance compared to other android devices on the market.

However, it runs Android 2.2 – also known by the codename ‘Froyo’ – which means it’s lagging behind the current curve of Google OS updates. In terms of everyday application processing and web page rendering, the Galaxy Tablet does a fine job of keeping up with its smaller Android smartphone rivals. Our use of the Tablet revealed no concerning issues and we saw none of the processing lag many users have reported with the Samsung Galaxy S. In fact we found very few problems with it at all while testing.

Performance

Images taken on the 3-Megapixel camera look great on the tablets 7-inch screen, however when transferred to other devices, the pictures aren't that great. The flash certainly helps to light up low-light conditions, without over exposing the photos taken. If you prefer your images moving, the Galaxy Tab also records video at 720p at 30 frames per second - incredible.

Obviously battery life for the tablet will vary hugely depending on usage but from our experience it seemed to last for an average of 2 days. Given the high levels of web browsing, media streaming and gaming we personally used it for, this is actually quite impressive, especially given the size of the screen. This is down to the rapidity of the onset of the standby function following inactivity; as a rough guide we found the Tab drains 1 to 2 per cent of the remaining charge every hour in standby, allowing it to retain a charge over several days.

What the Koreans have achieved to great effect can be found in the ease of use of the Galaxy. It doesn’t take a tech savvy individual to navigate this smartphone, but that’s most likely because Samsung have emulated the universally recognized ‘iPod format’. Nevertheless there is a very nice sensitivity to the touchpad that will have you hooked on some of the applications Android has to offer. There can be no complaints concerning the responsiveness of the tablet unlike with other smartphones of its kind.

The only legitimate concerns arise from the high cost of the tablet, at £499-£609 it’s definitely at the higher end of the smartphone market. But, it satisfies every conceivable aspect that a multimedia lover could look for in a product of its type, delivering the android experience on a big screen without being too large or heavy. In short, the Galaxy Tablet is a great gizmo if you’ve got enough green and don’t mind a temporary departure from the indomitable Apple movement.

Specifications

• Size 190x120x12mm
• Weight 380g
• Battery 4000 mAh
• CPU 1GHz ARM Cortex A8 Hummingbird
• Memory 512MB
• Screen 7-inch, 1024x600
• Sound Mono, 3.5mm headphone jack, microphone
• Controls/buttons Volume rocker, sleep/power
• Input/Output Proprietary connector
• Networking Wi-fi, Bluetooth, 3G
• Media MicroSD card slot, 16GB/32GB internal memory
• Other features Multi-touch display, 3-axis accelerometer, digital compass, SIM card slot