This larger, thinner version of the seven-inch tablet Samsung rushed to market last year is superior to the original in every way. Indeed, if it had come quicker to the market, Samsung might now be neck and neck with Apple in tablet sales.
The first really good Android tablet, the Xoom from Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc., looks and feels like a cinderblock next to the Galaxy Tab. Indeed, the Samsung tablet is slimmer and lighter than the newest iPad, with a textured plastic back that seems to welcome your fingers.
Amazon.com sells the entry-level, Wi-Fi-only Galaxy Tab for $499.99, the same as you’d pay for a similar iPad 2. But I wanted to play with the cooler version of the Samsung tablet, sold only through Verizon Wireless. Priced at $529.99 with 16 gigabytes of storage for files and apps, or $629.99 with 32 gigabytes, it offers Verizon’s excellent 4G LTE service. This cellular data service provides download speeds that rival a good home broadband connection.
When Motorola Mobility released the Xoom earlier this year, it promised a summer upgrade to 4G LTE. That’s now been pushed back to September, making the Galaxy Tab the obvious choice for mobile data addicts.
With 4G on board, the Galaxy Tab liberates you from the limited range of Wi-Fi hot spots. I could watch high-resolution YouTube videos anywhere in town, free of pixellation and stuttering.
On the downside, Verizon 4G is rather costly - between $30 and $80 a month. The $30 plan delivers two gigabytes of data downloads. When you’re running at 4G speed, you can burn through that much in just a few days.
With its dual-core processor and a gigabyte of memory for running software, the Galaxy Tab does everything fast. Apps leap open, and Web pages display with minimal delay.
As with the iPad 2, you get front- and rear-facing cameras. Unlike on the iPad 2, they’re decent cameras, with 3 megapixel resolution in back and 2 megapixels up front. The resulting snapshots aren’t exactly world-class, but they’re far better than the murky images I’ve gotten from the iPad 2.
