Samsung Galaxy Tab impressions

By on Nov 8, 2010 at 3:46 PM
Review November 8, 2010

Sprint and Samsung shot us over a Galaxy Tab and, after several days of fiddling, we have our first impressions to report back. The Samsung Galaxy Tab is the first real contender to Apple’s iPad many would say, and while it’s too early for us to totally pit them head to head, there are many visible strengths and weaknesses of the Tab. Want to know what we thought of Samsung’s little, mean, iPad-combating machine? Buckle up and hit the jump!

Let’s get to the most obvious thing — size! Apple’s CEO — who will remain nameless — publicly stated that a 7-inch screen was too small for a tablet, and after using the Tab, we tend to agree. Just using the device for the last few days proved to be very difficult from a size perspective. Seven inches of display on a tablet, for us, feels pretty odd and makes using the device pretty uncomfortable. It’s a very weird in-between feeling; we can’t decide it feels like a smartphone that is too big or a tablet that is too small. We still can’t figure out the best way to use the keyboard in portrait mode. Hold it with both hands and try and thumb type? Hold the tablet in one hand and only use one hand to type? Use Swype?

The weight and feel of the tablet might throw you for a loop at first. Why? It’s actually a tad heavier than you’d imagine (though not too heavy at all). The plastic shell in the back of the device feels very inexpensive and makes the entire device feel a bit… hollow. Thus our conflicted feeling on whether the device felt heavy and expensive, or hollow and inexpensive. The white plastic back is extremely glossy, and while you can’t really see fingerprints much, the tablet feels overly slippery to us. Picture a very large white iPhone 3GS and you’ll get our drift.

Browsing the web with Flash on (enabled by default) proved to be a pretty frustrating experience. Scrolling was jittery, slow, and sometimes pages just wouldn’t even finish loading. However, once we changed the browser’s plug-ins setting to on demand (think Click2Flash), the browser popped to life. Pages loaded very quick, scrolling was almost fluid, and using multi-touch gestures to pinch zoom in and out worked like a charm. The browsing experience on the device is exactly where you want it to be.

As far as annoyances? When holding the device in the landscape orientation, one of our fingers covers the ambient light sensor and dims the display to the point that we can’t use the device. It’s borderline slippery to hold at times, the screen’s quality — while vibrant and vivid — is pretty poor resolution-wise, especially when compared to the displays on some of the latest Android smartphones. Plus, there is that size issue — we’re not sure we’d trade 3-inches of valuable screen real estate for something that’s slightly more portable, yet not really. We say that because there really isn’t a scenario where we think we’d carry the Samsung tablet over Apple’s tablet; speaking strictly from a size point of view. Both aren’t fitting in your pocket, both would fit in your laptop bag or backpack, and so on. We’ll reserve our final thoughts for our full review, in the meantime, make sure to hit the Galaxy Tab gallery for all the pretty photos, ok?

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  • http://twitter.com/Carniphage Carniphage

    I tried one out in the O2 shop.

    The web browser seemed broken.
    I don’t think this product is ready yet.

    C.

    • Kent

      I’m wondering if the problems you encountered are because I have read that the Android OS has not been fully fleshed out to work on tablets. Samsung had not make a lot of their own changes because they are the earliest to market. As well, if you have the browser setting to accept flash, I’m seeing in all the reviews I read that it tends to make the browser run slow or even crash. Seems like there still may be some work to do for both flash and adapting Android to the tablet environment. I would give it another 6 to 9 months before they come up with some meaningful updates to the OS.

      • Msknutson

        I’ve read in various places that Android won’t be “blessed” for tablets until version 3.0 — 2.1 and 2.2 are not designed for tablets, they’ve been “tweaked” for fit the larger screen.

        And, this is a version 1 product, little different than any other version 1 product, regardless of the vendor.

  • http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/5EZNJUIF3OL6F5CGC6R3X62IKU donk

    Apple is right again.

  • Tj360

    My girlfriend says that both Apple and Samsung are wrong; 9 inches is the perfect size.

    • Anonymous

      Giggity…

  • RIM sucks

    Some of you guys are like spoiled little kids. If someone doesn’t have a great time with an Android based device, the review must be biased and they have to be an Apple fan. Seriously? Is it possible that some people can like Android but not like all their devices? Let see, YES! I have had several Android devices and all iphone devices and I hated the Droid X and Samsung Galaxy on AT&T but I love the EVO and Incredible. I was content with my iPhone 3GS and not so much with the iPhone 4. What am I saying? It’s possible to like and dislike devices by both companies. Seriously, so of you need to grow up. Let me put it like this, everything that’s Android based isn’t golden. Check out the overpriced and underperforming Logitech Revue and Sony Blu ray with Google TV. I enjoy my EVO but it’s not strange for Google (let alone any tech firm) to put something out there that feels unfinished until software updates come out. And besides, Samsung made this so if you have a problem, take it up with them because these companies are the ones that are making devices that give someone a good or bad experience with Android.

  • BRG SUCKS!!!

    What do you expect from BGR, they are all a bunch of Apple fanboys with their heads all up in Steve Jobs ass. What a bunch of tools.

    • http://www.facebook.com/claud1u Claudiu Bica-Landgren

      what about you?

    • Gaius

      I bet you’ve never used a Galaxy Tab.

  • Laura

    I work in the phone business, and although we are not talking about phones, the same general rule applies: no device is perfect for every person. So while some of you may not agree with this review, just remember that the writer is one person with one view. Thank you BGR for bringing us an honest opinion. :)

  • Anonymous

    I played with one at the Verizon store and I have to agree… I thought it was alittle slow, I did not know about the ability to turn off flash.. I also thought the size was not good for me, I would and have paid the extra money for a larger screen.

    On the other hand, who says it has to match or be better than an IPad, I am glad that there is a viable option of an Android Tablet, it can only get better

  • Guest

    I felt it was easier to hold the Tab in one hand vs 2 hands for the iPad comfortably while watching TV. I also thought the iPad looks ridiculously big to carry around as a supposed “portable,” device. Too big for the pocket and two big for a ladies purse.

    But I noticed the iPad has better battery life.

  • Adam

    When holding the device in the landscape orientation, one of our fingers covers the ambient light sensor and dims the display to the point that we can’t use the device.

    3.2.1…. YOU’RE HOLDING IT WRONG!

  • Kent

    Anything that gets Apple to respond more quickly with product changes and keeps pricing competitive is a win-win. I personally like the ipaid, but was surprised and disappointed that it came without cameras for video chat and picture taking. Samsung’s tab has one which is good if it forces Apply to get off its behind and respond…

    • Kcalden

      Like you I was also disappointed with the lack of a front facing camera for video calls but I don’t understand why anyone would want a rear facing camera. A true camera or the camera on any phone would be a million times more practical than one of the back of a tablet.

  • Tiffyen-yang

    I just purchased a Galaxy Tab and i will def take note of your opinion.. but with an android OS i feel it may proceed Apple ipad

  • wanderer

    Unfortunately, the first competitor to the ipad is falling short. I’m looking forward the the Hp Window 7 based tablets more and even Rim’s playbook. Yes, competition is great and the upcoming tablets will force them to add more features on the next ipad. I can understand why they did not add more features on the first ipad, its just smart business if you are testing the waters of a product that didn’t have the market in the first place. Now they know and will adjust. From reading the pro-Galaxy Tab postings here, I really don’t understand how a 7 inch tablet device fits in a pocket(even if pants are baggy with pockets like cargo) and move around comfortably with it. I would rather have it in a jacket. Oh well, to each his/her own I guess.

  • Spencer

    I agree totally the table they say fits in your back pocket but say you forget it is there smash there goes your tablet. I am going go with the iPad after reading this

  • Gygygy

    I like how you complain about the resolution “being too low” yet you praise apple for having a 10″ tablet, I’m sure the ipad is 1024×768 where the galaxy tab is 1024×600 which on a smaller screen should look better

    • Anonymous

      I don’t get it either….it should look better then the ipad cause the smaller the screen the better it looks…

      • http://www.ignorethepoor.com topper24hours

        Haven’t seen Tab in person yet, but my guess would be that the IPS screen in iPad made it look favorable @ similar resolution. I’ve noticed this with my iPad vs. my gf’s lappy, although hers is much higher res, the brightness and viewing angles on my iPad keep telling my brain that this is the “superior” image.

    • FanBoyCawkRawk

      What’s funny is complaining about the weight when the 7 inch Galaxy is much lighter than the 10 inch IPad. And I specifically mean Galaxy Tab… there’s a cheaper 7 inch tab at Best Buy that seemed exceptionally heavy with unnecessary metal bezel/back. I thought the Galaxy Tab was relatively light compared to the other 7 inch tablet and compared to the iPad.

      • http://www.ignorethepoor.com topper24hours

        OMG! A 7″ piece of electronics weighs less than a 10″ one?!?! That IS funny…

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_H3HEPSNTH4DRV5OLX2EARZ3YBU EriqC

    This site has such an obvious Apple Biased, i stopped taking them seriously a long time ago.

    • Gaius

      More like it’s obvious to BGR that Apple is beating the crap out of the competition for a reason and people like you can’t deal with it because you are too biased against Apple.

  • weak blog post BGR!

    Both devices are good and neither are great. I have played with both as much as anyone who owns either of them. as for everyones comments… none are worth reading, and for the blog report try one on a good network. the verizon samsung tab isn’t slow or jittery, we know why your hands are slippery with the tab (ipad doesn’t have flash. wash your hands before you give the tab back) resolution isn’t good enough? okay? cause it is great. thumb on the sensor? move it! just my $.02

  • Anonymous

    The biggest problem i see with Tab is the apps ain’t taking advantage of the 7″ space…While the iPad Apps are different than the iphone 4 apps in UI…Hope they fix it…

    • Inthehudson

      Not the case. I have one, use a lot of apps, and they all fill the screen.

      • Anonymous

        I am not talking about fitting the screen…Look at Ebay on iphone and look
        at in on iPad…

  • Anonymous

    Must we be reminded of Google’s statement about Froyo NOT being a Tablet friendly OS? I know that the price should be brought down then, but until Honeycomb, problems will abound.

  • http://twitter.com/markpalmos Mark Palmos

    What an idiotic review! You start off by saying “there are many visible strengths and weaknesses of the Tab” and proceed to mention ONLY the things that you find lacking. I kept looking for page 2 of this article, alas, I think you only wrote half of it.

    Mark

  • Jimmyds69

    You can be sure that if/when Apple (and they probably will) comes out with a 7 inch tab, it will then become the perfect size.

    Omegaman

  • Johnny

    what a biased review….how can a 7inch tablet not fit in your pocket when it fits into mine???

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