First, this isn't going to be some iPad killer write up. As a matter of fact, I like the iPad. I have used one for a few weeks, but it didn't qualify for what I was looking for, at the time. Both the iPad and the Tab are comparable in price and they both have options the other doesn't. I will probably wait to get the iPad 2 when it comes out, but I have the Tab now and I will write about that, am I am sure I will keep it when I get the iPad 2.
First off, I got my Tab through Sprint. I have always hated AT&T and have been with Sprint for about 10 years with the exception of whatever carrier my job requires me to have. I got the $200 off adding it to my current account and they offer that $200 off for a new two year plan. I didn't like the fact that I had to get a separate data plan for it. I think they should have just added this to my current plan. I have been using the Tab for almost a month, religiously. I got it as Sprint released it so there were not very many accessories as I would have liked, such as a screen protector and case, but recently there have been many more accessories in circulation.
I like the design. It is a solid design, very sturdy and it fits nicely in one hand. This makes it easier for typing notes and the like. It features Android 2.2 (Froyo) which is pretty nice. This is my first experience with the Google OS and I like it. From what I have read Sumsung will also support upgrades to 2.3 and 3.0. It comes with a lot of standard apps including Google's navigation app, which I used to make a trip from San Antonio, TX to Dover, PA. It was a great app and had traffic updates integrated. It was quick to pick up a new route when I went off course to avoid traffic conditions.
The graphics are nice I have played DIVX, MP4, and WMV movies, all within the built in movie player. It handled the movies flawlessly with no lag, the audio is in full sync, and no skipping. I have a few games I have played on this as well. The accelerometer works great in the device and it is very responsive to motion. There is a small lag however when going from portrait to landscape mode, but it's not a hindrance at all.
The front and back cameras are nice, but am slightly disappointed that the front camera is only 1 megapixel; the rear camera is 3, not bad but I was expecting more. I have used the video conferencing in Qik, installed, and Fring. I can't figure out how to use the front camera for Fring, but in Qik it works well. I have Yahoo Messenger installed with the video add-on, but I have not used it yet.
The built in mail app works well and has push capability. I have Microsoft Exchange, Yahoo Mail, Gmail and Rackspace Mail all set up on it and I have not had problems. The contacts are great, you can add Facebook contacts and there are many sorting options, including separating contacts by where they were downloaded from and you can link contacts, so if you have someones work email and personal email on two different mail accounts it will consolidate them for easier operation when sending mail and to whom. There is also calendar integration with exchange and all of my other mail accounts and Facebook, which means I don't actually have to log into Facebook to remember a birthday. I do have a question on keeping contacts and the calendar in sync. I will see new entries, at times, but I am not sure how often these sync up; not as often as email is delivered. I would have liked to have seen a manual sync for contacts and calendars. I have seen new entries to my regular Exchange client take at least a full day.
Browsing the web I have ran into few difficulties. Flash is on by default and can cause a lag in web pages loading faster if they are running flash. I have heard of other crashing the web browser, but I haven't crashed the default browser yet. I have however crashed Opera Mini and Skyfire. So far I have been using the Dolphin Browser and have not had issues with it. It does play flash video really well but there are some lags in resizing the video once it is playing.
The biggest let down has been applications. There are many in the Android market, but development has been slow and there are not as many apps as I would have like to have seen written to make use of the larger screen, but these are becoming more frequent as the Tab has been on the market in the US for about a month or so now. This has been my take on the Tab. I hope it helps someone make an educated decision on if this is the tablet for them.
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