Samsung Galaxy Tab REVIEW ROUNDUP: Critics React To iPad's 7-Inch Android Challenger (PHOTOS)

The 7-inch Samsung Galay Tabs are now available from from T-Mobile and Verizon, Engadget reports. AT&T, Sprint, and U.S. Cellular will offer the device "soon," according to Samsung's website.

Samsung's iPad competitor runs Google's Android smart phone software, sports front and rear-facing cameras, and plays Flash video from the Web. Steve Jobs himself criticized 7-inch tablets, calling them "too small" and "DOA, Dead on Arrival."

Critics are also raising concerns over the Tab's price tag, which varies slightly by carrier. T-Mobile, for example, offers the device for $399 with a two-year contract, $599 without.

Reviewers have had their hands on the Tab, and the verdicts are in. We've sampled reviews from Wired, New York Times, Gizmodo,
Wall Street Journal, Engadget, PCWorld, TIME, and CrunchGear and Pocket-Lint. See who picked and who panned the 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab in our slideshow (below). For a hands-on look at the Samsung Galaxy Tab, click here.

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David Pogue of the Times found the device "pricey" for a tablet, but "gorgeous" nonetheless. Pogue writes, "With the Samsung Galaxy Tab, you’re [...] buying delicious speed and highly refined hardware. It’s just a shame that you’re buying all that for $600."

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David Pogue of the Times found the device "pricey" for a tablet, but "gorgeous" nonetheless. Pogue writes, "With the Samsung Galaxy Tab, you’re [...] buying delicious speed and highly refined hardware. It’s just a shame that you’re buying all that for $600."

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Comments

[immarksmith]

04:44 PM on 12/29/2010

Get Samsung A237 Unlocked On : http://www.deals2give.com/Deals/Samsung-A237-Black-ATandT-Unlocked-Quadband-Reconditioned-GSM-Flip-Cell-Phone-12490.aspx

[Naz Ghazali]

06:11 PM on 12/28/2010

judging from all the comments I have read, yeah, I ll get one too as a New Year Present for MYSELF!!!

[Nick Marshall]

05:59 AM on 11/17/2010

Good wrap up, also check out http://www.cellfanatic.com/2010/11/16/samsung-galaxy-tab-gets-a-nov-19-u-s-cellular-release-date/

[jonthebru]

02:49 AM on 11/16/2010

Make sure you wash your hands after playing with these things at a public phone store, it is probably really filthy.
I tried it twice over the weekend. Give it a couple of generations and these tablets will be fantastic.
I disagree about the size, it was easy to hold in portrait and type; the ipad is harder to hold and type with your thumbs. Samsung is an interesting company, they will try anything and it seems to work. They must have amazing R and D Labs, like we used to have in the USA...

[GoDogGo]

02:04 PM on 11/15/2010

Tried it this weekend -- WAY too small (for my needs) and WAY too expensive. The Android platform is going to offer a lot of excellent alternatives soon but this is definitely not the one to buy. Screen real estate matters -- it determines what media you use and determines speed of navigation and utility. This size might appeal to some but it's really no good unless you need it to fit in a gigantic pocket. 

Better ones are on the way. Until then, iPad is definitely the one to beat.

[Onutz]

01:19 AM on 12/06/2010

Of course better iPads are on the way as well.

[bradwestley]

10:32 PM on 11/14/2010

Try it, don't like it!
Too small for any productive performance!
Slow connection!
It's like a over-sized cell phone, stupid design!

[JasonMcl]

11:29 AM on 11/14/2010

Well, as much as I want this thing to be amazing, I have to say that it is just not there yet for three reasons.

1. No Super AMOLED. That is the real reason why Samsung's phones are so popular. I know it is a and new technology and that it is difficult to reproduce but it is kind of hard to ask everyone to go back to a traditional display. All of which are basically unreadable in direct light and don't have anywhere near the color saturation as the SAMOLEDs do.

2. The US carriers absolutely ruined it. Samsung, allowed our disgusting greedy mobile companies to remove the one thing that really made the price worth it. THE PHONE! The point of the 7 inch tablet was that it replaced the smartphone AND a laptop and became something you could easily tote around without having to buy multiple devices.

And you want to know what is sad? The radio to make calls is STILL THERE. IT IS ONLY SOFTWARE DISABLED! The guys at XDA have already unlocked T-Mobile's Galaxy Tab for calls!

3. And considering points 1 and 2, the pricing is still too high. If It actually had a SAMOLED screen and could completely replace your phone as Samsung originally designed it then I would say the price was well worth it. But at this point it just isn't.

The EU version that DOES make calls still costs almost 400 dollars more.

[DoTheMath]

05:29 PM on 11/14/2010

You sound like you know what you're talking about, so what would you recommend for someone who wants a small, very light-weight device that can be used for at least two full hours (without recharging, without any of those stupid dim power-saving settings) of internet browsing in direct light? No phone service needed, just internet and a basic word processing application. I'm already using a usb plug-in for verizon 3g service on my laptop, so I assume I could plug it into a smaller device when needed. I just can't carry this 17-inch monster around all the time. I hate phones, so that's not a requirement at all. Any advice would be appreciated.

[Richard Bell]

07:40 PM on 11/14/2010

iPad

[JasonMcl]

09:23 PM on 11/14/2010

" I'm already using a usb plug-in for verizon 3g service on my laptop, so I assume I could plug it into a smaller device when needed."

You can't plug this into either the iPad or the Galaxy tab. The iPad does not have a USB connection and likely never will. The Galaxy tab will need some kind of software to support this and I am pretty sure there is nothing out yet that will interface with it just yet.

So to get internet, you will need to use a Mifi (which creates a small portable wireless network for 5 devices).

As far as the word processor goes, you can read documents easily on any tablet, but writing documents will be pretty difficult overall. If you want to be able to type you should probably get a netbook.

But yeah, the iPad should be able to handle what you are looking to do. Just remember that it has restrictions, but for the things it is allowed to do, it does them well.

[Howard53545]

05:36 AM on 11/13/2010

I ran out and purchased one based on early reviews assuming that it was a serious contender to the IPAD but I returned it to the store a day later. The problem for me is the screen size. Samsung should have made it at least 10 inches. Seven is simply too small. This product will crash and burn. I may have held on to it if it was around $200 or so, but 599 is too much.

[hereone]

02:14 PM on 11/12/2010

Nook Color is better for reading than iPad and better for everything else than Kindle. Nook Color is better for $249. Nook Color screen is supposed to be better (less reflective) for reading than iPad thanks to new LG screen with anti-reflection coating. It allows to watch videos, listen to the music, view Office documents and PDF's. The Nook Color will not run apps straight out of the Android Market, but that does not mean it cannot run them. In fact, they have done a lot of tests on apps from standard Android smartphones and they pretty much run on Nook Color, which has Android 2.1 under the hood. (The Nook native interface and apps are just standard Android application layers.) Barnes & Noble special Nook SDK runs on top of the standard Android one and gives developers access to exclusive extensions and APIs for the Nook and its interface. So porting Android apps is not difficult. B&N says it is more like optimising them for Nook than porting them. If you prefer e-Ink screen, the original Nook is still available from BN.

[stonefeet]

10:30 AM on 11/12/2010

android tablets will remain irrelevant until honeycomb

[Cdangers]

09:12 AM on 11/12/2010

Gizmodo is hardly a good source for opinion. They are well known to be Job's lovers. That's why you get comments like "Here's the thing about tablets: Size is everything. Size is the whole point. It's what makes browsing, reading, creating and sharing better on a tablet than on a phone, even if they're both running the same software. [...] Videos do look better [on the Galaxy Tab] than they do on a phone, but a bigger tablet would be even better." Bigger meaning the ipad. However, for devices like this is not portability a major factor? I wouldn't exactly call the ipad all that portable unless you always carry a bag with you. 7" form factor is the perfect size I believe. If you want to watch movies on anything bigger, use your TV. In this case, bigger doesn't mean better. Let's keep in mind that a 7" screen is the same as 4 iphones. More than enough room for a portable media/internet device. Bonus: You're not forced to use itunes for everything.

[Bucket-Of-Love]

07:13 PM on 11/12/2010

The idea that a 7" screen is inferior -- and, more so, is DOA -- is CEO Jobs's marketing schtick that he broadcast to shareholders at AAPL Q3 earnings report conference. What was he going to say -- "I love the 7" tablets"? Nothing other than marketing by the chief marketer of Apple operations. [Everyone bow.]

7" screen is about portability. You are entirely correct.

[7tsgirl]

11:51 AM on 11/14/2010

i liked the fact that its 7", easier to carry around in a small bag. And i don't want to be forced to only use what Jobs allows me. I love my MacBook and I do carry the itouch to the gym but I don't want any other apple products that limits me and my device. I have the Samsung Fascinate and I love it!

[Bucket-Of-Love]

04:26 AM on 11/12/2010

The whole takeaway for me here is that this thing runs Android successfully by all accounts. It's about penetration --- which doesn't happen overnight. Look at the growth rate of Android on the phones. I'm not worried about any of the false iPad vs. the "Competition" pointlessness. It's clear that Android devices will deliver a highly competitive, and possibly superior, product and experience down the road.

Oh, and by the way, the AMOLED screen on my phone is f' gorgeous. It looks better side by side next to an iPhone.

[sazbad]

03:26 AM on 11/12/2010

Old wine in a new bottle

[overseas worker]

01:54 AM on 11/12/2010

While I prefer Apple, I love the introduction of competition. Whether it is Apple or someone else, products that push the envelope of the possible and do something that makes my life easier are what I am looking for.

Based on my current personal needs netiher product is compelling enough but by the time of iPad 2.0 there will be other choices and I can make an informed personal decision.

No need to bash anyone elses choices. I will just make my own choice when I have the info I need. I encourage you to do the same.

[Morgantheaxe]

01:25 AM on 11/12/2010

Always good to see another good device hit this market. Touchscreen is the future no doubt and more companys building touchscreen devices just ups the chances of that technology moving to your laptop and or desktop. Cant wait for it myself. Having used but not yet purchansed an Ipad I was totally blown away by how well the touchscreen interface worked. Loving that an android alternative is out there. The more the merrier guys. Pump em out and the software companys will start writing for the platform. This is all around good news.