SicEmBaylor
4/20/2011, 04:13 AM
So, the Friday before last I ordered my Galaxy Tab Wifi from TigerDirect and it arrived on my door step the following Tuesday. I've had awhile to play around with the device, so I thought I'd write up my personal review and how it compares to my old iPad. Having been an iPad user until recently (it broke), I was very unsure of my GTab purchase. The lower price and the fact that my phone is also an Android device were the primary selling points, but I figured that I was making a major compromise by going with a device that by most accounts is inferior to the iPad. I had low expectations, and I could not have been more wrong about the Galaxy Tab.
The build quality of the Galaxy Tab is outstanding and every bit as solid as the iPad. When you squeeze the edges there is no "creaking" of the plastic or obvious give in the space between the screen and case. It's rock solid and the guerilla glass screen gives it an additional feeling of sturdiness. The white back on black front is very attractive which is why I likely would have opted for the white iPad 2 if I had decided differently on my purchase. There was absolutely no feeling of let down as far as the build quality of the GTab v. the iPad goes.
Screen size was another concern that I had when comparing it to my old iPad. I really figured that I'd be frustrated by the smaller screen and overall size of the GTab as compared to the larger iPad. Again, I was totally wrong. The 7" GTab feels much much better in my hand than the iPad. One of the things I loved about my iPad was the ability to walk around the house with it in ways that was impractical even for a laptop. The Galaxy Tab is even easier to carry around and hold for long periods of time than the iPad was. It's a much better device for reading books as you can hold it comfortably in one hand longer than the iPad. The ability to slip it into my coat pocket makes it even easier to carry with me everywhere in ways that, again, I simply could not even with an iPad. The screen resolution itself is fantastic and looks just as good as the iPad. It has great colors and contrast which can be adjusted in ways that you can not with an iPad. Also, I swear that the print in ebooks has a much closer feel to e-ink than the iPad and is easier on my eyes over long periods of time.
The Android OS was familiar to me as my phone is also an Android device, so there were really no surprises there. A few of the bundled Samsung apps seem to have little purpose and no function, so it would be nice to have the option to uninstall them without having to root the device. Froyo looks and runs great on the Galaxy Tab considering the OS itself is simply not designed for a tablet style device. Nonetheless, I've had almost no issues with it. The ability to customize Android in ways that you can not with iOS makes it that much more superior in my estimation. It's also nice to be able to drag and drop virtually any file type onto the device without having to sync with iTunes and convert the files to an iOS compatible format.
The battery life is pretty outstanding, but not quite as good as my iPad. This is, to me, the single biggest area where the GTab is clearly inferior to the iPad. The only other quibble I have with the Galaxy Tab is its proprietary charing/docking port, but that's also an issue with the iPad so it's a draw between the two on that. I wish they both used microUSB but alas...Also, for some inexplicable reason, none of the EA games show up in the market with my Galaxy Tab. I was looking forward to downloading Tetris and the Sims, but for whatever reason EA Games are listed as incompatible with the Tab.
Overall, I could not be much happier with the Galaxy Tab. It's a fantastic little device that, in my opinion, not only mesures up to the iPad but exceeds it in several critical areas. The next tablet I purchase is almost certainly going to be something closer to the Galaxy Tab than the iPad (I'm thinking maybe the 7" HTC Flyer at some point). For about $350, I was able to purchase a first-rate tablet device that does everything I need it to do and functions nearly flawlessly. The only time I would recommend an iPad over the Galaxy Tab is for people who are less comfortable using these sorts of devices. The learning curve on Android is much higher than iOS, and Apple does a much better job of making its devices "idiot proof." But, for a tinkerer like me, Android is an absolute joy to work with compared to iOS which is locked up tighter than Fort Knox.
I would probably rate my old iPad a 90/100 while my Galaxy Tab is more like 95/100.
The build quality of the Galaxy Tab is outstanding and every bit as solid as the iPad. When you squeeze the edges there is no "creaking" of the plastic or obvious give in the space between the screen and case. It's rock solid and the guerilla glass screen gives it an additional feeling of sturdiness. The white back on black front is very attractive which is why I likely would have opted for the white iPad 2 if I had decided differently on my purchase. There was absolutely no feeling of let down as far as the build quality of the GTab v. the iPad goes.
Screen size was another concern that I had when comparing it to my old iPad. I really figured that I'd be frustrated by the smaller screen and overall size of the GTab as compared to the larger iPad. Again, I was totally wrong. The 7" GTab feels much much better in my hand than the iPad. One of the things I loved about my iPad was the ability to walk around the house with it in ways that was impractical even for a laptop. The Galaxy Tab is even easier to carry around and hold for long periods of time than the iPad was. It's a much better device for reading books as you can hold it comfortably in one hand longer than the iPad. The ability to slip it into my coat pocket makes it even easier to carry with me everywhere in ways that, again, I simply could not even with an iPad. The screen resolution itself is fantastic and looks just as good as the iPad. It has great colors and contrast which can be adjusted in ways that you can not with an iPad. Also, I swear that the print in ebooks has a much closer feel to e-ink than the iPad and is easier on my eyes over long periods of time.
The Android OS was familiar to me as my phone is also an Android device, so there were really no surprises there. A few of the bundled Samsung apps seem to have little purpose and no function, so it would be nice to have the option to uninstall them without having to root the device. Froyo looks and runs great on the Galaxy Tab considering the OS itself is simply not designed for a tablet style device. Nonetheless, I've had almost no issues with it. The ability to customize Android in ways that you can not with iOS makes it that much more superior in my estimation. It's also nice to be able to drag and drop virtually any file type onto the device without having to sync with iTunes and convert the files to an iOS compatible format.
The battery life is pretty outstanding, but not quite as good as my iPad. This is, to me, the single biggest area where the GTab is clearly inferior to the iPad. The only other quibble I have with the Galaxy Tab is its proprietary charing/docking port, but that's also an issue with the iPad so it's a draw between the two on that. I wish they both used microUSB but alas...Also, for some inexplicable reason, none of the EA games show up in the market with my Galaxy Tab. I was looking forward to downloading Tetris and the Sims, but for whatever reason EA Games are listed as incompatible with the Tab.
Overall, I could not be much happier with the Galaxy Tab. It's a fantastic little device that, in my opinion, not only mesures up to the iPad but exceeds it in several critical areas. The next tablet I purchase is almost certainly going to be something closer to the Galaxy Tab than the iPad (I'm thinking maybe the 7" HTC Flyer at some point). For about $350, I was able to purchase a first-rate tablet device that does everything I need it to do and functions nearly flawlessly. The only time I would recommend an iPad over the Galaxy Tab is for people who are less comfortable using these sorts of devices. The learning curve on Android is much higher than iOS, and Apple does a much better job of making its devices "idiot proof." But, for a tinkerer like me, Android is an absolute joy to work with compared to iOS which is locked up tighter than Fort Knox.
I would probably rate my old iPad a 90/100 while my Galaxy Tab is more like 95/100.