Picking up the Tab!
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fter being the star attraction at IFA this year, the hotly anticipated Samsung Galaxy Tab has made its Indian debut just in time for Diwali. The drool-worthy device is right on top of our shopping list. Does Sammy have a winner in the Galaxy Tab? Here are our first impressions. The build quality is great and the device can be held easily even with one hand. The 380g tablet can live in your jacket pocket or bag without a worry. The open Android platform is working wonders for a lot of manufacturers, not only in the handset space but also tablets. The OS is highly customisable and gives access to the smorgasbord of apps already available – critical from a functionality point of view. The 7-inch tablet runs the latest version of Android, i.e. 2.2, and Samsung seems to have got the basics right from the word go. You can make voice calls, even video calls, thanks to the front-facing cam, a feature that its nemesis, the Apple iPad missed out on. The 7-inch screen is perfect for video conferencing. The main snapper is 3-megapixel and comes with an LED flash. There’s a 1.3-megapixel camera at the front for video calling as well. Of course, having a large screen works equally great for other things like web browsing, multimedia and navigation. Flash 10.1 is supported, and you can work on multiple windows as well, using multi-touch to organise your view with ease. As with their flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S, Swype is pre-loaded for text input, and Samsung’s ‘Social Hub’ integrates all your communication: e-mail, SMSes, IM and social networking updates. The split-screen layout works well for previewing your e-mails.
Apps Thinkfree Office lets you view, edit and create office docs, while the calendar syncs smoothly with Google, Facebook, and MS Exchange. Reader’s Hub aggregates e-books, magazines and newspapers in a single app, and is perhaps, the most useful and exciting app on the Tab.
Multimedia If you like your dose of entertainment on the go, it makes for a great PMP too. The SoundAlive 3D audio offers 5.2 surround sound. Not only can this baby play full HD vids, it supports DivX and other popular codecs right out of the box! For TV connectivity, you’ll need a separate dock though. However, if you have a DLNA-compliant TV, you can use its AllShare feature to stream media wirelessly. The screen is responsive, the processor zippy, and DivX playback butter smooth. The media playing capabilities are superb, and reason enough to tilt the balance in the Tab’s favour.
Accessories Samsung plans to have a range of accessories, right from docks to external keyboards available for the Tab.
Our Verdict IFA 2010 marked the debut of quite a few Android-based tablets but none of them were a patch on the Galaxy Tab. Compact, yet highly capable both in terms of hardware and software, staying connected and productive on the road is no longer a challenge with one of these. The Tab seems to be the most polished of the lot and will set the benchmark for others to follow. Rs 38,000
T3 India