Introduction
Then last February, Samsung introduced the Galaxy Tab 10.1, opinions were divided. Could this tablet is the competition with the competition, which at that time not only seemed to consist of Apple's iPhone, but the Motorola Xoom looked like a promising device, with specifications of virtually identical to those of the Galaxy Tab 10.1. When Apple again fairly soon after the iPhone launched in February, and now the Motorola Xoom was a setback, was soon concluded that the iPad 2 the next year autocrat would remain on the tablet market.
Now, nearly half years later, things have changed. Samsung dropped the Galaxy Tab 10.1 before the appearance a thorough make-over, making the current model is actually thinner and lighter than the iPhone 2, while the screen is larger and higher resolution, and thus a sharper picture.
The lawsuits that Apple recently launched the sale of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 to ban resulted in fact just that even Apple did admit that Samsung tablet holds that competition is - an impression by reviewers in the United States, where the tablet for some time available, only reinforced.
So the key question: this impression correct? Let's start at the beginning.
Appearance
As already appointed, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 slim: only 8.6 millimeters thick, to be exact. Its low weight - less than 600 grams - let the tablet is fine with one hand. Despite size and weight, 10.1 Tab feels solid. Add the fact that the monitor is equipped with very strong "Gorilla Glass" (a special, super-strong glass type), and it is clear that the Tab 10.1 Samsung has tried a tablet PC with a nice build quality into the market.
Under the hood
The heart of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is formed by NVIDIA's Tegra 2 dual core processor running at 1 GHz. What often is overlooked, but really counts is that these two Tegra chip further includes a graphics processor with eight "cores". The gaming roots of NVIDIA are so abundant. Furthermore, the Tab 10.1 with 1 GB of RAM and 16 GB of storage. No additional slot available for an SD card using this capacity.
The screen
The screen of the Galaxy Tab has a diagonal of 10.1 - how could it be otherwise - 10.1 inches, roughly 25.5 cm. This is slightly larger than the screen of the iPhone (2). The screen is a so-called IPS screen - this is an LCD variant, which has a wide viewing angle and brilliant color reproduction. With a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels, the Tab 10.1 amply 720p HD picture playback. And of course the screen is also multi-touch touch-sensitive. In fact, on the front of the Tab 10.1 find any hardware button: user interaction takes place, as usual in Android Honeycomb, entirely via the on-screen interface.
Android and TouchWiz
Samsung itself provided the operating system of the Tab 10.1 is its own 'shell', the TouchWiz interface. With the Samsung TouchWiz tries of origin rather extensive - and therefore less convenient - interface of Android itself replaced by a simpler and clearer system version. TouchWiz Tab 10.1 looks neat. There are still a lot of elements from Android Honeycomb itself to recognize, with some nice 3D elements. Like the Galaxy S2 TouchWiz phone, also has some nice features built in to the tablet to operate through gestures and movements. And like the S2 is fun, but in our opinion may not be meaningful. What is very useful, it is always to call pop-up window, containing a list of all running applications and connections.
The only downside - and one that "as we speak" like snow before the sun is disappearing - the relatively small number of Android apps specifically for what a tablet was developed. But as I said, the number of Honeycomb optimized applications increases daily, and of course runs every other Android app on the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1
Daily use
After some teething Android Honeycomb is now a mature, user-friendly operating system has become - as it actually is for Android on the smartphone. Because the tablet itself has no physical buttons for navigation, rotate the software navigation buttons along with the position of the Tab 10.1.Wat also striking is that the Tab 10.1 is clearly intended to landscape mode (with the 'long' side horizontal ) should be used.
All the familiar features are there - a great browser, with real tabs, a very nice email application, and a YouTube app with nice 3D effects - and the first traces of Google's new "cloud" functionality can be found in the music, which you anywhere access to your own music collection.
Obviously Flash works fine, so you internet glory can wander off, and watching movies is a pleasure thanks to its bright screen with high resolution. Occasionally we noticed - despite the fast Tegra 2 dual core processor - a slight hesitation when we switched back and forth between two heavy duty applications, such as a movie and a game. But otherwise everything goes smoothly, and without the user wait.
The onscreen keyboard is large enough fine to type on and the lover is also of Swype party. Of course, Samsung's TouchWiz interface here again with the 'Hub' system where different types acitiviteiten bundled within a central' hub '. Fond of this system we were not personally, although the Social Hub on the big screen of the Tab 10.1 is a lot better than justice to the small screen of the smartphones we TouchWiz Hubs met earlier. But let us do it yourself but nice with apps and widgets.
More ...
Where the Galaxy Tab 10.1V still had an eight-megapixel camera, Samsung has it in the Tab 10.1 without V exchanged for a three-megapixel model. Expect no miracles from this camera. Pictures are not bad for a three-megapixel camera and video (720p) look good, but if you really want to shoot pretty pictures, we recommend the Tab 10.1 not. And let's face it: it would not be very useful, a tablet PC as a good camera to carry around.
Another of the strengths of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is the endurance of the battery. From various test shows that this is a lot longer than that of any other Android tablet, longer than the first iPhone, and after a fraction as long as the iPad 2. And unless you sit down gaming fanatic, this is easily a full day with it.
Unfortunately, Samsung has decided to not expandable storage - something we felt pity. An SD slot is sometimes useful, not only for more files to be lost, but also lots of data quickly to establish, for example from your camera.
And so?
We understand why Apple so fanatical leather pulls against the Galaxy Tab 10.1. On all fronts it can compete with the iPhone 2, although the Tab 10.1, as we have said, essentially a more complex but flexible user experience. Everything works fast and smoothly, thanks to state-of-the-art technology in a slim casing is stopped - and slight hesitation when switching between heavier application apart. The lack of SD slot for some will be a great pity, as we believe that many users will not lie awake in seconds. For now, we continue to wonder if the TouchWiz interface that will be available shortly lot will change to the already excellent interface of Android Honeycomb.
To our question at the beginning of this review to come back - Galaxy Tab 10.1 or indeed competing with Apple is - to come back, we can only answer: yes!