The first real iPad competitor runs Android, has a 7″ screen, a white plastic back, front and rear cameras with a flash, video, exposure controls and special effects and it plays [cough] Flash videos. And it weighs 13 ounces compared with 1.5 pounds for the iPad.
the dawn of the would-be iPad is upon us. But the Android tablet concept represents more than just a lame effort to grab a slice of tablet hype. As with Android phones, it represents an alternative that’s different enough to justify its existence. You’re buying into a different approach to size, built-in goodies like cameras and GPS, and the more freewheeling Android app store.
With the Samsung Galaxy Tab, you’re also buying delicious speed and highly refined hardware. It’s just a shame that you’re buying all that for $600.
It’s a serious alternative to the iPad and one that will be preferred by some folks. It includes the three most-requested features missing in the iPad: a camera (two in fact); the ability to run Web videos and applications written in Adobe’s Flash software; and multitasking, though, to be fair, the latter feature is coming to the iPad imminently via a software update. Another strong point is that like Apple, Samsung has rewritten some of the standard apps, such as the email and calendar programs, to make them look more like PC programs and less like smartphone apps.
On balance, however, I still prefer the iPad.
Gizmodo calls it “the first post-iPad tablet that matters” but concludes it’s a pocketable train wreck, “not big enough” and “a grab bag of neglect, good intentions and poor execution…merging the worst of a tablet and the worst of a phone.”
Wired says it generally “performs well, but is not exemplary.” And pricing is complicated, modeled after the cellphone, so pay close attention.
TechCrunch says, Android users rejoice! “This device is what it is: a small, fairly powerful tablet for Android lovers.”
Available soon on Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon, rumor has it coming to AT&T on the 21st. Samsung’s Galaxy Tab website.