Samsung Galaxy Tablet Review

I give every device at least a few hours before completely throwing it away. In that time it either proves useful to me or it doesn’t. If it isn’t, then it goes the way of the virtual boy – but if it is then I’m happy to keep it.

I’ll say now, the Samsung Galaxy Tablet is a keeper.

There have been some scathing reviews of the Galaxy tablet but for my needs I’m very happy with the tablet as a lightweight productivity device. When I first thought of the iPad – before ole Stevie actually announced it – this is what I thought of as a device. Cameras, Geolocation, Accelerometer, connections to the entire internet, lots of good apps, and a device I can program for. Based on that list Stevie has failed on multiple points.

I will say that I’ve spent time with the iPad and liked it – I’m not completely jaded. I just didn’t see any point to buy it due to many shortcomings at the hardware level. Software can be updated – with incomplete hardware you’re stuck and the iPad was incomplete. I know iPad round 2 will have cameras but the system will still be unfriendly to me as a developer and for that I’m still looking to Android based devices.

Physical Specs
You can find the exact specs online in a million places but here are the specs as I felt them.

The size of the tablet is awesome. It fits in most of the pockets of my backpack and I can easily hold it securely in one hand. I say this because the larger size of the iPad makes it so you really can’t put an entire hand around it. So if something were to slip… crash. I’m paranoid like that though. The size makes it also so you can turn the device into portrait view and type with two hands like a big phone. This is a big performance improvement over other larger tablets.

The weight of the device is great. It isn’t so light that you’d forget it was a piece of hardware when moving things around on your desk yet it isn’t so heavy that you’ll get tired using it with just one hand. On top of that the device feels solid, seriously solid. I’m not terribly worried about it breaking on me while I give it a toss to the couch.

Maybe it’s just me but the 4 android buttons are causing me troubles. That is probably because the Evo that I use everyday is set in a different order – which feels more logical to me. Basically I keep hitting home when I go for what I think is menu and vice versa. It’s nit-picky but something that keeps annoying me.

Peripherals
Many people have bashed on the device for it’s camera quality and I have to agree. The camera has great quality, but I’d like it to be a bit more – especially since my Evo has a higher quality than the tablet. However if you look at a specific competitor: 2 cameras > 0 cameras.

I ran a few different applications on it to test multitouch, accelerometer, and GPS capabilities and all of these had stellar capabilities. The multitouch was spot on without dropped or switched touch points even with many touch points running, the accelerometer was spot on and the GPS was very accurate.

One thing that many people laugh at is the fact that the Samsung tablet actually has phone capabilities built in – especially when they put the device to the side of their head and laugh at how stupid it seems. Try adding a bluetooth headset to your device and you’re good to go.

Battery Life
The battery life is beyond amazing! I have gotten to the point on my Evo that I have to charge it twice a day to keep continual use. It’s a fact that I have come to accept and often just let my phone die off in the evening hours. Now working with the Samsung tablet I am amazed that I played with it for multiple hours on the first evening and didn’t even reach half way on my power. Without powering down and with moderate to heavy use it was nearly 3 days before I even had to plug it in for power. This made me very happy.

Added Software
I’m not talking about the software added by Tmobile here, that needs to just be uninstalled and let me enjoy my device. I’m talking about the tablet specific software that was created to maximize the larger screen size usage. Yes all your favorite Android apps are there and they look really nice, but now there are new productivity apps that use the larger size. If you are used to the iPad you will notice lots of similarities to the larger apps provided with the iPad. My only complaint is that there aren’t more apps like this provided for the Tablet. The ones that are there are great, now we just need more.

Games
I played a few games on the tablet and they all ran so smoothly that they were fun again – yes I’m talking about a few racing games and Angry Birds. They all worked well, the performance of the running app was slick on the device, and the larger screen size made it so I could enjoy the details that may have been lost previously on smaller screen sizes.

Overall Thoughts
The coolest things that I didn’t even think about trying was figured out by Danny in the office. He was packing his pockets for a meeting and he just threw the tablet into his coat pocket after also sticking it into his pants pocket. Pocket test passed.

Ultimately the issue comes down to what are you intending to do with your tablet. For some the screen size will just inhibit your workflow too much – like a programmer on a small laptop screen. But if you are needing something very mobile with more power and productivity than your standard smartphone – this tablet is made for you.