Galaxy Tab – First Thoughts

Posted on 02 September 2010, Last updated on 14 October 2015 by

Update: We’ve got our own hands-on videos and pics. Hands-on is here. Benchmarking information available here.

Engadget have  preview of the Galaxy Tab up right now. I’m sitting on the train and thinking…

galaxy-tab

Cortex A9? I didn’t think Samsung had a Cortex A9 but obviously I’m wrong. This WILL be faster than an iPad. Froyo includes Cortex core optimisations.

Docking port Great. Opens up loads of possibilities.

Samsung apps Prooving that Market apps just arent’ ready for the big screen. I hope this product stimulates developers to start thinking about the big screen and for Google to finally put the large screen capability into the Android screen profiles.

Dual Cameras Obviously there to satisfy Google’s requirements. Wonder if Samsung have put their cam software on the device. It’s usually good.

15wh battery (assuming single cell could be double cell for a big 30Wh capacity but I doubt it on a 7 inch pad) I guess we’re looking at, about 7hrs online, screen-on. Of course, days in standby.

Weight No specs given so far but I think we’re talking 400gm judging by the comments from around the Twitterverse, (Update: 380gm – VERY good)

1024×600 screen. Phew!

Bluetooth 3.0 – Low power goodness.

HSPA with 5.6mbps upload (Europe) – That’s reat for 2011, especially in the leading 3G countries. Finland, Germany, UK etc.

Supports UMTS video calling Great for Europe.

We’re updating our product page now.

Price? 799 Euro.

WOW!

That’s a huge amount of money.  Now who’s buying?

Should we take another look at that Viewsonic Viewpad?

Official Website: Official specs, pics.

13 Comments For This Post

  1. Mulii says:

    looks fantastic, i am VERY pleased with Samsung optimizations. should make the wait for GB much more bearable. only thing i am concerned about is if they will offer a non-carrier wifi only version.

    AC says its an A8, the same CPU inside their line of Galaxy phones.

    http://www.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-tab-hands-video

  2. turn.self.off says:

    The specs in the Engadget article claims A8, not A9 like in the video.

    Imo, when i encounter contradictions like these, i go with the written part.

  3. Mike Cane says:

    799 Euros?! Are they nuts?! I just got online so I don’t have any idea yet what the US price will be but this already doesn’t sound good.

  4. Steve says:

    799 Euros? There’s *no* way it can be that much! Can there?

    If it is, it’s dead in the water.

  5. turn.self.off says:

    I smell a case of “without plan”.

    That is, you can get it for cheaper, but be ready to sign away your paycheck for the next couple of years.

  6. tmarks11 says:

    you had me right up until the E799 bit.

    ouch. I was just thinking that it was time to ebay my two ipads and move on.

    But maybe not. Can’t afford one of these (let alone two), and with two kids, having one tablet in the house means I never get to use it.

  7. nodrat says:

    there’s no way it cost that much, it can’t cost more than the ipad or it will fail. It can’t count on carrier subs or it will fail (no1 is going to buy a tablet on contract, even apple knew that)

  8. Jason says:

    Any rumors of smaller versions? Especially in the 4.8 inch screen area? Looking for a portable media player that can play .mkv movies with embedded soft subtitles that I got from the, ummm, internet.

  9. turn.self.off says:

    There have been constant rumors (and some evidence) of a yepp branded variant of the galaxy series phones. Basically think the galaxy s or similar but without the mobile phone part.

  10. Jared says:

    Leave it to Engadget bloggers to be smug and/or just not know what they’re talking about. If it involves more than just copying and pasting, they’re bound to get it wrong. The copy and pasted image they show in the blog post says Cortex-A8. That’s why I hardly read Engadget nowadays. It’s just not run by knowledgeable people anymore.

  11. AWS Please says:

    From the specs, it looks like no T-Mobile US 3G frequencies. It’s so hard to find devices that support the AWS UMTS band that’s only used in the US and Canada. If only these devices support 3G USB modems through USB-OTG or full USB host support.

  12. Ahmed Eltawil says:

    It makes no sense for Samsung to price it at 799Euros that’s why I can’t believe it. The device has a smaller screen than the iPad (substantially smaller) and running an open source OS. Why would it cost more than an iPad then?

  13. wesoo says:

    Hi I think that 799 euro is a little bet crazy .
    If you have android phone don’t think to buy it wite for the megoo is at lest it will be different that your phone.

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