MSRP: $649.00
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Editors' note: Due to the changing competitive landscape, we've lowered the Tab's overall score to 7. Check out CNET Tablet page for our latest tablet reviews.
Since the arrival of the Apple iPad in April, we've seen a handful of competitors step up with inexpensive tablet alternatives in all shapes and sizes. With the Galaxy Tab, Samsung has created a true peer of the iPad--an uncompromising product that stakes out new territory in terms of both design and features. Unlike the 9.7-inch iPad and its Apple iOS software, the Tab's screen measures 7 inches diagonally and runs Google's Android 2.2 operating system. AT&T's version of the Tab sells for $649 off-contract and your choice of monthly data plans. Data plans come in two flavors: a $14.99 plan with a 250MB cap, and a $25 plan with a 2GB cap. Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile all have similar versions of the Tab, though pricing and plan options vary.
Design
Tablets are only as good as their screens, and the Tab's screen is a glossy beauty with the strength of a beast, thanks to a protective layer of Corning Gorilla glass. The LCD underneath it has a crisp 1,024x600-pixel resolution, which is on par with the iPad, but since the screen is about half the size, the pixel density is much tighter. The screen uses a capacitive multitouch technology that can match the iPad in both response time and usefulness. Not once did we catch ourselves cursing at it--at least, not in the same threatening tone we used with the Dell Streak or the Archos 7 Home Tablet.
Above the screen you have a front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera, perfect for self-portrait photos or video chat (though no video chat software comes preinstalled). Across the bottom you have the typical Android-style buttons for menu, home, back, and search. There's a standard headphone jack on the top and volume and power buttons on the side, along with a microSD card slot and an accessible slot for the AT&T SIM card. Unlike the Tab model we reviewed from Sprint and Verizon, the AT&T version does not include a preinstalled microSD memory card to complement the integrated 16GB of internal memory.
Samsung's dock connector and a pair of built-in speakers are located on the bottom edge. The dock connector works with the included USB adapter and power brick, but can also be used for accessories, such as a keyboard dock or video output adapter.
On the back of the Tab you'll see a smooth black plastic back and a more impressive 3-megapixel camera with an integrated flash. The camera can capture video at a maximum resolution of 720x480 pixels at 30 frames per second.
Overall, the Tab, at 7.5 inches tall by 4.7 inches wide by 0.5 inch thick, has a solid, paperback book feel and can be comfortably grasped in one hand. Unlike the Apple iPad, we never felt that we needed to set the Tab on our lap or cross our legs just to use it comfortably. For better or worse, it operates and behaves just like a giant Android smartphone, requiring little to no learning curve to navigate menus, type e-mails, or browse the Web.
Features
Before we get into the nitty-gritty of what the Tab has to offer, let's state for the record that the two best features of the Tab are the least complicated to understand. First off, you have the size--which is smaller, lighter, and more convenient than the iPad. Second, there's the full, undiluted Android 2.2 experience, complete with third-party applications, and the official Android Market for all the latest and greatest apps. We've seen other Android tablets this same size, but none running Android 2.2 with Market support. Similarly, we've seen tablets like the Dell Streak that offer the Android Market, but the size is cramped and the OS isn't yet up to version 2.2. Currently, the Galaxy Tab is one of only a few tablets that hit this Goldilocks "just right" zone of size and capabilities--and that's what makes it exciting.
When you unlock the Tab's touch screen, you'll find a familiar home screen with a floating Google search bar, dock icons for e-mail and Web browser, and a drawer for apps. Hold the Tab in either portrait or landscape view and the built-in accelerometer sensor will reorient the screen automatically. By default, the Tab includes five main home screens, which you can jump among by flicking left or right. Beyond the core apps in the dock (mail, Web, drawer), the first of the five home screens comes preinstalled with apps for Google's app market, YouTube, Google Maps, video, photo gallery, and an AT&T account management toolbar. Among all the carrier variants of the Tab we've tested, AT&T has shown the most restraint when it comes to populating the home screen with apps and proprietary services (Verizon's treatment being the most egregious).
You have to dig a little deeper to appreciate the work Samsung did to differentiate the Tab experience from its line of premium Android smartphones. Spend some time in the app drawer, and you'll find that seemingly benign apps like Contacts, Calendar, and Memo have all been optimized by Samsung for the larger screen, using split-screen views and nested tabs to take advantage of the added screen real estate.
Most Android apps, unfortunately, aren't yet designed for the larger screens of tablets. It's a complaint you'll hear echoed in all of our Android tablet reviews so far. With all the extra room, some apps stretch unnaturally to fill the space (Pandora), whereas others appear like large-print versions of their original smartphone incarnations. Until Google commits to the tablet form and offers developers and consumers a way to distinguish tablet-optimized apps from smartphone apps, this is going to be a recurring headache for everyone.
In spite of some frustrations, there are quite a few things the Galaxy Tab nails dead-on that will get Apple fanboys flustered. Because the Tab includes GPS, the included navigation app does an excellent job as an in-car navigation device, offering turn-by-turn directions, points of interest, and voice search (via the integrated microphone).
