Samsung Galaxy Player 5.0

Pros: See below.

Cons: See below.

Summary: The 3 stars given by the "critic" seems is very undeserved, since this is a fantastic device. The problem with these reviews is the author doesn't spend sufficient time with each device to gain insight about the device, and everyone uses the devices a little differently, some mainly for music, some for reading, others for videos. Then there's portability, and ergonomics - some hands are bigger than others.

I've had the "Player 5" for over a month and use it at least an hour every day. I also owned the Acer Iconia 100 (7-inches) for about 2 weeks (but returned it), so I'll make some comparisons to that.

First, there seems to be some odd assumptions made in the review of the Galaxy Player 5. Regarding the author's statement "The logic behind Samsung's Galaxy Player 5.0 ... take Samsung's version of the Android 2.3 operating system...and you should have an appealing alternative to Apple's popular iPod Touch". Tablets, in general, are an alternative to PC's and laptops, not to other brands of tablets. And the 5-inch Samsung model simply fits into the spectrum of sizes that Samsung is designing. Samsung's philosophy is, apparently, to make a broad spectrum of sizes, something for everyone. Samsung is competing with all other device makers, not just Apple. And regarding it's being introduced "4 years too late", does this mean that there should never be a 5-inch tablet? That's a crazy thing to say. If I want to start a company to make 5-inch tablets, are you saying I can't? And should only Apple be allowed to make tablets? Should only Ford make cars? Of course there is always the "original" idea, but there will inevitably be competition, that's how capitalism works. Like with generic drugs, which people PREFER, because they do the same thing for less. By implication, people should PREFER the generic clones of the iPad, because they do the same thing for less. The point is, if they all do the same thing equally well (as is the case), why pay more?

Several things that should be emphasized about the Galaxy Player 5 (5-inch) that the author either didn't notice or didn't appreciate (not entirely his fault because he probably has many devices on his desk that he has to evaluate - who wouldn't be confused by this array of technologies?)

1. The Galaxy Player 5 has 2 speakers. This is definitely on the plus side.
2. It has a micro SD slot. An enormous plus. Getting my collection of music onto the device is therefore literally effortless, since I conveniently "dragged and dropped" my music files to the micro SD card some time ago for use with another device. I'm surprised the 4-inch version doesn't have a memory card slot, since its size makes it particularly well suited to be a "big screen" dedicated mp3 player.

The Apple iTouch doesn't have either of these 2 essential features, which would seem to invalidate any comparisons between the Galaxy Player 5 and the iTouch from the start. Certainly, the Player 5 would seem to be the superior device for these reasons alone. (I've owned an iTouch for about 2 years, which I use mainly to check the weather, which is does SO WELL! Plus Fluent News. But otherwise it sits in a drawer...).

Regarding the number of apps in the Apple store vs. the Android Market: it's ridiculous to buy into the Apple ecosystem because it has more apps. Both app stores have far surpassed the point of redundancy, and both would be far better with LESS, NOT MORE. All the killer apps are in both markets, and behave identically on both Apple and Android devices.

One ideal design for a tablet would be to have "the biggest screen size that fits into an average hand". The Player 5 does this. Which means that, ergonomically, it is, ahem, perfect. It's possible to hold it for hours. A 7-inch screen is also a great size but a little awkward to hold for long periods, and gets heavy. When the 7-inch models get down to about 5mm, and lighter, I'll get one, they do display more "at a glance". The merit of the 5-inch form factor has been challenged, but the simple fact is that the 5-inch tablet bears the unique distinction as being eminently holdable.

And the "Player 5" plays music SO WELL, especially using the Power Amp android app, available on the Android Marketplace.

It's great for reading, allowing you to easily resize text, besides it's clear, high contrast display. In fact, with this device, reading is a pleasure - as reading should be. This is mainly how I use it. Most other tablets dim when in web browser mode, where the user has no ability to override this, and which lowers the contrast. The Galaxy Tab 7 Plus, and others, have this drawback, I don't know why, which is why I didn't buy it. The user should have control over the brightness at all times. Sure it drains the battery faster, on a brighter setting, but most users are by an outlet pretty much all the time, so Samsung shouldn't deprive me of my preference regarding screen brightness while reading.

I like the slippery, fingerprint resistant glass screen, which is more effortless than tablets with regular glass like the Acer Iconia Tab 100 although this wouldn't be a reason to prefer one over the other.

One negative I noticed, although a tiny one, for me, with the Galaxy Player 5, is videos don't play well. They stop after the first minute or so. That may be related to my particular wi-fi setup, but happens consistently even if I'm next to the router. But because most embedded videos are only a minute or so, it's not a problem, and I don't otherwise use it to watch videos. This could be a big negative for some, but not for me. Then again it could be my device.

One other small "issue" is the wi-fi stops occasionally. But it reconnects almost immediately, and automatically, so it's not really a problem. When this happens I just go back and touch a hyperlink again, I just don't consider this a problem. Dropping the wi-fi signal happened more often with the Acer Iconia Tab 100, where I had to go into the settings menu to reconnect, then work my way back to the web page I was trying to get to, which is obviously more work than with the Galaxy Player 5 - and another reason that I returned the Acer Iconia, besides it's getting "heavy" after only a few minutes.

Regarding cameras on PMP's, tablets, or cell phones: where these devices have 2 cameras, one should be at least 8 mega pixels. Anything less is superfluous because everybody has equal access to better cameras already. Redundant cameras just inflate the prices of these things and it's a waste of natural resources to make superfluous lenses and associated circuitry. By the same token, tablet reviews shouldn't devolve into an essay about the camera, as if there's any question that a camera less than 8MP isn't a gimmick. No tablet or cell phone will ever take good pictures, one need not ask this question anew with every new tablet or cell phone.

In conclusion, I'd give the Galaxy Player 5 about a 96 out of 100, which translates to 5 stars. It's actually a dream to use, compared to using either my laptop or PC, what with all the ads, reminders and warnings. Tablets are definitely a breakthrough and I expect to eventually own a 7-inch model, besides the 5-inch I currently own and the iTouch.