Tried the Galaxy Tab yet? Electricpig readers have. Today we went beyond a mere Samsung Galaxy Tab review and put the Android tablet in the paws of a bunch of eager Electricpig fans so they could tell us what they think. Is it the right size? What about the price? How does the Galaxy Tab go down with the man on the street? Check out the discussion in full below.
We sat down with seven Electricpig readers for lunch today, Samsung Galaxy Tab in hand, to talk about the first real iPad rival to have gathered any buzz. We shot the breeze, and chatted about all the important topics we’ve been hearing from you after our own Samsung Galaxy Tab review, like size, software, and of course the price.
Size matters
Chad Potter compares the Galaxy Tab to an iPhone - they're not so different in dimensions
One of the big differences between the Samsung Galaxy Tab and the iPad is size: the latter is about half the area of Apple’s slate, and it caused division in the ranks at our reader inquisition. Dan Robins, a search manager at Carat, said Apple’s slate was too large to be practical: “I like the size – I found the iPad too big, it was a bit unwieldy, but this is great. I think that it’s perfectly watchable”
Chad Potter, an editorial manager at MediaTel Group was leaning more towards the iPad’s size, but Raj Nahar, an investment banker who commutes to work, saw things differently: “I’d have to disagree, I think that the size is perfect…I think it’s the right size to watch video on the tube, and obviously act as an eReader.”
Simon Wright, a TV manager who works with Chad also felt the same. “You can still do the same stuff as an iPad, it’s just more compact to take around all the time.” The debate around the Samsung Galaxy Tab’s size wasn’t resolved, but the camps were split between those who saw an iPad as a gadget for travelling to work, and those who preferred to keep it on the sofa.
What’s Android like on a tablet?
Hardware’s just one part of the equation of course, and the software the Samsung Galaxy Tab runs has been one of the biggest concerns since launch. Android 2.2 makes for great smartphones, but even Google says it isn’t for tablets, and the Tab’s 1024×600 resolution certainly pushes it to its limits, with the odd bit of letterboxing noticeable in apps from time to time.
Dan Robins tests out Angry Birds on the Galaxy Tab
Not everyone felt that it led to a seamless experience, despite the high tech 1GHz processor. Chad said it simply wasn’t “as cool as an iPad…the flicking from portrait to landscape, it’s just not as smooth”.
Simon meanwhile thought that the screen didn’t respond to every tap as he hoped: “Sometimes it’s jut not always responsive…It does seem a little bit slower than what I’m used to when I used the office iPad.”
What would you actually use it for?
We said in our own Samsung Galaxy Tab review that it didn’t feel much more productive than one of the new breed of superfast Android phones, but more than one reader thought they’d use it in similar scenarios as the iPad currently is.
Matthew Lyons, an operations analyst for Debenham’s website, said he could see himself using the Samsung Galaxy Tab as “a way of checking emails, web surfing, watching BBC iPlayer, just the little things you can do on a laptop…but I want Flash”, something that Android 2.2. supports but Apple’s iOS platform does not.
Ken Liu tries out the Galaxy Tab's ereadking skills with the Kindle Android app
Just as we came away unimpressed with the cameras on the Samsung Galaxy Tab, few were that keen on holding a 7-inch tablet up to focus. Dan found that “it just becomes weird, as that type of thing is more of a phone thing”.
Ken Liu, who runs a personal training company, was more impressed with the front facing camera, which he tried out with fring for Android. “Video calling is the sort of thing that does actually have appeal…I video call my mum now and again,” he told us.
The price man, the price!
Last but not least, conversation turned to the tricky issue of the Samsung Galaxy Tab’s pricing. Whether you want to use 3G or not, you’ll be paying for the hardware in Samsung’s slate regardless, meaning the entry level model is priced around £100 more than Apple’s Wi-Fi only iPad at £530-550.
Sadly, despite the numerous Android fans (including HTC Desire and Samsung Galaxy S owners, and even one reader with an HTC HD2 hacked to run Android 2.2), there was little support for Samsung’s pricetag.
Ken was disappointed with the build quality for the asking price (“It just feels plasticky. With this it’s hard to say you’d pay £500 for something that feels so plastic,”) while Niall Johnson, an online and press data executive at MediaTel, summed up the general consensus pithily: “I look at this and it’s lovely, but see you in two or three years – the price is insane.”
Matthew Lyons would only consider buying the Samsun Galaxy Tab on a cheap contract - SIM free, it's too much right now
If Samsung wants to win over Electricpig’s readers at least, its only hope is for the networks to deliver reasonable subsidies on a contract. Matthew said he’d consider picking one up on a “data only contact for £15 per month, possibly”, but no one present said they’d stretch to the current SIM free asking price.
As we predicted, Samsung’s biggest challenge with the Galaxy Tab seems to be selling it right now, with the current version of Android, when we know rivals, and even Android 3.0 are just around the corner. Raj hit the nail on the head: “My policy is wait and see. It’s a good piece of kit, but if I could just wait another four months”. Quite.
What do you make of the Samsung Galaxy Tab? As Android slates go, is it too premature? Just right? Hit us up with your take on the Google tablet in the comments, and check out our full Samsung Galaxy Tab review for more coverage.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab is available for pre-order now at eXpansys.
