At the beginning of the year, if you would have told me that, by the summer, there would be a dozen different Android tablets available for order from reliable, first tier manufacturers, I would have told you to get outta town. We were likely all desensitized to the constant stream of news that seemingly had the same message: “Company X announced the Y Tablet today. It features blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah. No information was released on a launch date or pricing.” It had gotten to the point that I immediately went to the bottom of any announcement of a tablet-device, and if it had the standard blurb about no launch date or word on pricing, I did not read the article.

Flash-forward to the present. That standard blurb I mentioned above is something that we are seeing several times a day now. The difference is that with each instance of an announcement, there is a level of confidence that we are actually reading a press statement about a device that will be delivered to the market and will not just become vaporware. A year ago, this was not the case. I regarded almost every announcement of an Android tablet as a veritable Chupacabra that I would never actually see. Now, launch events for tablets and the equally interesting Android OS updates are major media events, commanding the undivided attention of the journalists in attendance, and the readers reading the live-blogs in real time or catching up on the ensuing hands-on later in the day. Keeping up with the state of the tablet market is now almost a hobby in and of itself.

As we head into the closing month of this watershed year in the tablet industry, with still more compelling Android tablets promised to hit retail before we turn the corner into 2012, I have been reflecting on the past year and pondering what is yet to come. I have a few ideas of what the recent past has meant, and what the future might hold. Not convinced that there is any way that I could possibly have all of the answers, I engaged my fellow editors and contributors from Carrypad in a dialogue on the topic. We each took a shot at answering three key questions that we felt were critical things to consider and might very well define the picture of the Android tablet market today. Each writer answered the questions in-the-blind, unaware of the answers from the others. Please join us in this dialogue and post your thoughts on our perspectives, as well as your own original thoughts on this subject in the comments below.

Many pundits talk about the belief that there is no tablet market, there is just an iPad market, and the other manufacturers are just flailing, trying to tread water in a marketplace that does not exist. Are they right? If not, what do Google and its hardware partners need to do in order to compete for consumer dollars and a place as the the second or third screen in users’ personal computing kits?

• Ben: Apple definitely created an iPad market, not a tablet market. You can see this easily with many of the capacitive-only Windows slates that are trying to pull a “me too” move, but are absolutely failing when it comes to user adoption. Trying to shoe-horn a touch (finger only) keyboardless experience onto a Windows machine is just silly. That’s not to say that there isn’t room for Android, but at the moment, Google has a product for geeks, while Apple has a product for everyone (including geeks). I often look at it this way: iOS and Android are comparable, but Android needs heavy customization out of the box to be brought up to the level of iOS usability. Because of this, the iPad dominates the mainstream (probably more so in the US than other places). There’s also something to be said about app-quality and system stability. The competition between the iPad and Android tablets is absolutely healthy for consumers, and it’s great to see the wide range of computing-styles that are offered by Android devices. If the iPad was the only game in town, they’d stagnate (in some regards they have), but thanks to Android, Apple has to be ever vigilant, and vice-versa.
• Damian: There has been a tablet market, although small, for many years before the iPad. Many of the readers of Carrypad will have had windows tablets since the old days of Windows XP Tablet Edition, which was officially released in 2001. The tablet market then was mostly a business or enterprise market and you’d have to credit the iPad with launching the mass scale consumer tablet market for an easy to use consumption device. The iPad dominates the consumer consumption market but Android tablets are gaining ground. Both still can’t quite make it as an enterprise device and the first one that cracks that will have an advantage. With rumours of Microsoft Office being developed for the consumer tablet OS’s this might be the tipping point. I think adding a stylus that works well changes the equation considerably and a well implemented, pen driven solution (ideally running Office) that allows users to create, in a common, accessible format, will boost the Android tablet market share.
• Jerry: I don’t think these guys (the pundits) are right. There are some 6 million plus Android tablet devices in operation, and that constitutes a market to me. It took a long time for Android to gain traction in the smartphone market, with the G1 being just interesting, but things really started taking off with the arrival of the original Droid on Verizon. For Google and its partners to push more adoption, I am not sure if the saturation tactic that was has worked in the smartphone market is going to work for tablets. I think general consumers will be compelled by more content. Android has a great hook with its one-source approach to aggregating access to all content mediums via your single Google account. But they need a better library in Google books, a music source for procuring music (Blast it! I drafted this before the Google Music launch), and further integration with Google TV. It would be a huge plus if I could be watching an episode of a show on my tablet, and then have my stopping place synced with a GoogleTV device to continue watching the content from the same place… and for there to be worthwhile, current TV content.
• Chippy: In terms of tablets there really is only an iPad market at the moment. Android tablets remain a niche, rather geeky option. The reason has nothing to do with hardware design or OS, it’s to do with the apps. There simply aren’t enough devices out there to justify any serious large-screen/fragments-enabled quality developement work. By my estimate there are between 10 and 15 million Android tablet devices out there. Some 5″, some 7″ and some 10″ devices, some running Android 2.x and some 3.x. The effort required to make a quality app across this fragmented product base is too big for the potential returns. For this to change, the number of fragments-enabled devices out there needs to grow considerably. ICS will help slowly during 2012 but for Android to stimulate major development work, soon, it needs a breakthrough product. The Kindle Fire could have been that product but with its 2.x OS it won’t stimulate the important use of fragments. 2012 looks like another difficult year for Android tablet apps.

The pundits also say that fragmentation of the Android OS is a key detractor from the product category gaining ground, not only in the tablet market but across smartphones as well. How do you define fragmentation, or do you feel it does not really exist? There is also a discussion of ecosystems and its criticality in the mobile market. How do you define a mobile ecosystem, or do you think this factor does not exist, or is not as relevant as some suggest.

• Ben: “Fragmentation” is not an issue inherent to Adroid, but rather a desire of Android device manufacturers. Apple only markets one line of phones and one line of tablets, and at any given time, there is only one model that is considered the flagship device. For Android, any number of phone/tablet makers may have comparable devices, so how can they ‘differenatiate’ (aka fragment) their devices to appeal to customers over their competitor’s devices? The answer often comes in adding custom skins, pre-baking in selected applications and services (some of which may be unique to a given device). This means that the specific experience between tablets is somewhat different. Depending upon the hardware, you might not be able to see the same applications in the Android Market because not all applications are supported on all Android tablet hardware. If a non-techie user buys an Android tablet and enjoys using a specific application that comes with it, they may be surprised to find that when they get a new tablet, that application is not available for it. The only way to avoid this issue is for the user to understand the way this ecosystem works, but that can’t be expected of non-techie users. When it comes to the iPad, you can expect the latest iPad to be capable of running every iPad app (and iPhone app for that matter) that’s ever been made. Furthermore, because all apps are made with the top-end hardware in mind, you can expect any app available to run well if you have the current generation of iPad or iPhone.
  
• Damian: I think fragmentation, which I define as multiple hardware manufacturers making different spec’d devices and different implementations of the same OS, is a major factor in consumer uptake of Android tablets, not smartphones. The Android phones need to act as a phone first, then web consumption device, then app using, game playing devices. They usually don’t tend to be used as a consumer of complex media or producer of enterprise content. The phones have different hardware for sure but the manufacturers seem  to be doing a good job of making sure their hardware works in most scenarios, i.e. plays all the media formats it needs to, opens pdf’s and documents when attached to email, renders different websites, etc. The tablet space is more complex and the fragmentation hurts it more. Some devices have full sized USB, some devices have SD card slots, some devices have docks, some devices play all of the video formats and some don’t. This is where the split of the manufacturers seems to hurt most. It’s frustrating when one video plays well on your android phone but not on your tablet. Aren’t they both Android? A website looks great on your Android tablet but when you send the link to anther Android tablet it breaks. Sure you can download a new browser which is one of Android’s strengths but it’s also a hassle. If you see something on one iPad it will work on another iPad – that’s the advantage of controlling the whole ecosystem, both hardware and software.
• Jerry: I do not think fragmentation exists in the way that I hear a lot of other journalists discuss it. I do not agree that that skinning Android is a form of fragmentation, and the discussion about any difference from the baseline version of Android being fragmentation seems to be a very conservative view. I do not think these perspectives are so close to the reality, and I do not classify mods like HTC Sense or skins like TouchWiz as examples of fragmentation. Where we were as recent as a year ago, there were many new phones being sold that were already whole baselines behind. In other words, tablets and phones were being released with Android 1.6 when Froyo was already out:  that’s an example of fragmentation. More so when those devices were immediately abandoned and never saw updates to a 2.x version of Android, that was also an example of fragmentation. It is the analog to Windows XP laptops being sold when Windows 7 was already out, and then those laptops not supporting  a path forward to Windows 7.  Android is open source, and variety in deployments should be expected, just the same as we expect it with LINUX. Yes, ecosystems are important.  I define ecosystems as a collection of hardware, connectivity, and services, without which, the hardware as a standalone device would offer very little value.  They are obviously important for smartphones, and they are perhaps even more important for tablets. The tablet by itself represents very little functionality. It is only in combination with its network connection, app store or market, and back-end cloud services (email, contacts management, plug-ins to social networks, content availability, and online profiles) that a tablet becomes useful. Amazon’s Kindle Fire has a better fighting chance of being a viable competitor than the Nook Tablet because it brings a kitchen sink of content availability via  its ecosystem and consolidation of that content in one repository channel. The Nook Tablet will have to be configured with several accounts to have access to the same volume of content, and then the content will be available via a spread across multiple channels.
• Chippy: Fragmentation is a real issue when it comes to developing apps which, in turn, affect the value of the whole Android product range. ICS is the right step, almost a first step, in removing some of the fragmentation but we must not forget that screen sizes, processing capabilities, and sensors all cost development and testing time and are part of the fragmentation problem. ICS development will remain focused on handsets first until the numbers rise significantly. The screen-size/platform fragmentation will remain in the Android ecosystem so Google has to make it as easy as possible to develop. That means fast, quality dev tools and emulators.

What are your current Android devices of choice (tablets and smartphones)? What is your projected next Android acquisition and why? What are your thoughts on Android Tablets as media consumption devices versus their utility for productivity?

• Ben: I haven’t yet found an Android smartphone or tablet that has quite cut it for me, but I also feel like I have no need for a tablet at the moment, it is too redundant between my smartphone and laptop. It’s quite possible to get done work on tablets, regardless of the platform, but it really comes down to the applications and how well they run on the hardware.
• Damian: The Asus Eee Pad Transformer with keyboard dock is my current tablet but I am in the market to pick up for an Asus Eee Pad Slider. I don’t need the extra battery life the keyboard dock gives me and I don’t want the extra weight either but I love having the ability to use a full keyboard. What I’d like is a touch screen with a full keyboard when I need it without having to carry around a dock or external keyboard and this is what the Slider gives me. I’m also relatively happy with the build quality and Android implementation that Asus did. The Slider has a full sized USB port – killer feature on a tablet. If you want to provide a level of productivity capability at any volume and have a chance in the enterprise market, manufacturers need to make tablets with a keyboard and possibly a stylus – there I’ve said it start the flames . I run a Motorola Atrix 4G for business and personal use and it is the best phone I have had to date. I sold an iPhone for the Nokia N900 and the Nokia for the Atrix and I have never looked back. Fantastic hardware coupled with a great implementation of Android and cool, very functional accessories make this a very productive and useful phone. I have yet to defeat the phone with any media format or file type and I credit Motorola with doing a great job of implementing Android and a fantastic out of the box Android experience.
• Jerry: My current kit includes an HTC Evo 3D as my primary smartphone and a Samsung Nexus S 4G as my secondary, both on Sprint. My tablet kit consists of the Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 16GB, the Acer Iconia Tab A500 16GB, and the Motorola Xoom 3G. The two phones break even as far as the one of choice. I like the stock Android load on the Nexus, and I prefer the display over the one on the Evo 3D. But I like the Evo for its faster processor and speed, and the availability of the 3D camera. Amongst the tablets, while I like them all, my ThinkPad is the device I carry with me every day and I love the utility of digital inking on it over using a capacitive stylus with the Xoom or Iconia. When I originally drafted this, I thought my next acquisition was going to be a Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9. I mainly wanted it to replace my iPad, which recently died, with  a smaller form-factor option for increased portability. Instead I grabbed a Kindle Fire. It is a lot easier to grab and carry than some of my 10″ devices. I have access to the right amount of my cloud services and content that it makes sense for me to grab it as I head out the door probably about 50% of the time. My initial hour after waking in the AM is spent using the Kindle Fire to read content, communicate with friends, colleagues, and co-workers, and plan out events for the day.
• Chippy: 15 minutes before writing this sentence I was given an iPad 2. Let’s see what happens in the following weeks but I’m currently writing this text on the Galaxy Tab 7 and I suspect that my mobile productivity will remain in this 7″ space due to size and ease of thumb-typing. Currently that means an Android-based solution. I don’t use an Android phone because of short battery life and poor cameras. Yes, I was locked-in by a test of a Nokia N8 which I still think is a fantastic cam/phone. I’m currently looking at the Galaxy Tab 7 Plus and Galaxy Tab 7.7 as a future upgrade possibility but I may wait for proven Ice Cream Sandwich products first as, to be honest, the Galaxy Tab 7 is still working well for me as a productivity, media consumption, reading and social networking device, despite still running a 2.x build of Android.

While Meego on Moorestown is an interesting story, I bet the combination of Android on X86 raises more eyes. We’re at the Intel booth and Gemtech are showing the Zeus some tablet. Not much information here although I did speak to a representative who tells us it is being test by carriers right now and will launch in Q2. There’s a Meego version in the works too.

Video coming soon.

Today at CES LG have gone official with their latest Android smartphone. It sports a 4-inch NOVA display which LG claim is “the brightest, clearest and most readable” mobile screen available, promising to be extremely bright while at the same time being more power efficient than both LCD and AMOLED mobile screens.

If the name doesn’t give it away, the phone has a black finish and LG also claims it’s the worlds slimmest mobile phone at an impressive 9.2 mm, which is 0.1 mm thinner than Apple’s iPhone 4. It will be interesting to see if it can still claim to be the worlds slimmest phone by the end of CES.

The Optimus Black seems very similar to the LG Optimus 2X that was announced late last year, however the LG press release gives no indication on what processor is at the heart of this phone leaving me feeling sceptical on whether this device is Tegra 2 powered like the Optimus 2X.

LG say this is also the worlds first ‘WiFi-Direct’ phone which is a very interesting technology that allows direct data transfers between enabled devices.

The Optimus Black will launch with Android 2.2 preinstalled however LG plan on updating the device to Gingerbread which they claim will also provide higher quality video calling through it’s 2 megapixel front facing camera.

This appears to be a very promising phone and I look forward to a hands on when it launches globally in the first half of 2011.

Source: LG

Pocketables have some interesting news about the Wi-Fi-only version of the Galaxy Tab. We’re seeing a continuing slide on the prices in Europe with the UK leading on 529 pounds (592 Euros) and others, like Germany, not far behind.  The pre-tax price is 451 pounds, $709 which is a healthy chunk of money. The U.S. can expect cheaper prices than that but how about this: $499 for a Wifi-Only version at Best Buy, matching exactly the 16GB Wifi-only version of the iPad.

The two devices don’t stack up as complete equals with the Galaxy Tab leaning towards more mobility and flexibility where the iPad has the app store and beautiful UI on its side but both are up there as excellent choices.

Does the lack of 3G take away some of the mobility advantage though? Should smaller mean cheaper? What do you think?

More information on U.S. pricing over at Pocketables:

Samsung Galaxy Tab headed to Best Buy: $499 and up, Sprint, Verizon, silver/black, WiFi-only, WiFi + 3G.

It only seems fair to write this post on the Galaxy Tab so for the record, it is now 1943hrs and I’m sitting up in bed with a cup of tea and a packet of shortbread. I am using the device in portrait mode with the Samsung keyboard enabled along with XT9′s error correction and auto-substitution enabled. Word prediction is turned off. I’m using the WordPress application to write the post which means it will need some post processing (spell check, image inserts) on a ‘real’ PC with a ‘real’ browser later. I don’t intend to spend more than a couple of hours on this so am expecting something like 1000 words. I’ll put in some timing checkpoint as I go.

Firstly, a big thanks to Techdepot in Germany who reached out with a request for advertising space in return for one of the first retail packages to go out of the door in the world. Done deal!

Now, before I go into details let me say a word about value for money. Value is in the eye of the beholder and it’s very difficult to predict how much of the Galaxy Tab will appeal to each user. A user without an Mp3 player, portable video player, no gaming devices or navigation device will find a lot in the Tab. Someone with all the latest gadgets won’t but there’s a lot in the Tab that works very well indeed and the idea of total convergence is a powerful one. Over the last week I haven’t used my normal mobile phone and have been away on holiday without a laptop. Gaming, navigation, music, email, twitter, photo and video slideshows and e-reading have all been used successfully. Again, there’s a lot here to use as justification for buying a Tab but it will depend on your current status as to whether €650 euro (current low street-price in Europe) is worth it.

The Tab didn’t come with a big bundle of accessories which was an early disappointment with the Tab. No soft case. No TV-out cable. No stand. The soft case is a must-have and really should be in the box. Apart from that though you’re looking at the usual easy and standalone setup that you expect from the latest Android phones. If you’re a Google user, everything sync up nicely and you’re away in no time. The UI is smooth and there’s a good range of extra apps to explore and  keep you excited.

Our Galaxy Tab content so far…

• Unboxing and overview video
• 24hr first impressions
• Detailed live testing videos
• See my applications walk-through video
• Portrait mode thumb typing
• Gaming (Angry Birds) demo video
• In-car usage video
• Video playback on the Galaxy Tab
• Sample video from the Galaxy Tab
• Gallery
• Full specifications and other content on the web

The Tab is nicely weighted for its size,  just as the eye expects it to be. At 12mm its amazingly thin and the screen covers a big percentage of the frame area. It slots into most jeans back-pockets easily for transportation around the house. In portrait mode there really isn’t any weight issue when using it to thumb text as I am now but due to the highly slippery surface, its difficult to hold in one hand. I’m employing a ‘loser’ L-shaped grip with first finger and thumb a lot of the time.

Screen sharpness, colour and brightness is very impressive and gets a boost if you turn the power save feature off. Screen viewing angles are excellent all round.

All in all you’re looking at a very happy and exciting  first few hours with the device. I doubt anyone will be unhappy with it although I will say that if you’re expecting the top quality UI physics of the iPad, you might be disappointed. A quick test of some finger-drumming apps shows that, like all Android devices I’ve tried, there seems to be inherent latency issues that will always prevent an Android UI from being ‘amazing.’  Maybe that will change in the future.

[Checkpoint : 20:14]

After a week of using the Tab I feel confident in calling it a stable, quality product that performs most of its key functions to a high level comparable with many dedicated devices.

Key Functions of the Galaxy Tab

In detail then, what are the ‘key functions’ of the Galaxy Tab?

MP3 player. Good storage, sound quality (stereo speakers, headphone port, A2DP over Bluetooth) and player features. No Album art retrieval or other advanced features like auto-playlists, Good EQ features. Battery life in this mode, with screen off, is estimated to be near 1 day.

Video player. Up to 1080p and handling xvid, divx, h.264, wmv and other formats and containers such as MKV. No support for multi-channel audio such as AC3. Good player, fast search, good background handling of files added via micro-sd card. Battery life in this mode is estimated to be 5-7 hours due to screen power requirements.

Navigation. Google navigation works well although re-routing when in offline mode won’t work as no maps are held locally. Screen size excellent for safe use in car. No other solutions tested yet.

Web. With Flash being supported and a good, fast built-in browser on the 1024×600 screen 99% of anyone’s requirements will be met. The browser fails at many web applications though with Google docs being a notable example. Internet access is fast through Wifi or HSPA. Portrait mode with 600 pixels wide is good. Browser is locked as a ‘mobile’ browser and can not be changed.

E-book reading. PDFs are handled speedily (tested with Adobe Reader) and there are good choices for E-book applications and stores. The weight and size work well for reading in 1hr chunks. Glossy LCD screen limits use in certain scenarios though and the slippery surfaces means a case or rubber grips-strips will need to be employed.

Emails. Good.  The built in app has been re-worked for the bigger screen and provides an efficient way to handle and respond to email from multiple sources. On-screen keyboard option are good and work well in portrait mode. Landscape mode keyboard usage is not ideal due to the size of the device. No cut-and-paste in email is annoying.

Phone. As a speakerphone it works very well and if you have a headset to hand and can keep the Tab close, you can use it as a normal phone. I don’t make or receive many calls on my mobile phone so it is working out very well for me. For SMS usage, the Tab is a killer device.

Gaming. The Android ecosystem is still lagging the Apple ‘i’ ecosystem but there are some gems out there. Angry Birds just works beautifully on the Tab for example but beware, there are many games out there that don’t scale up to the non-standard screen resolution of the Tab.

Storage. With 12GB of storage available on the 16GB version and micro-sd card support up to 32, there’s enough here for most people. USB OTG support would have been a nice addition.

Stability / Memory handling. I have experienced one lock-up while using the Tab during the last 8 days. It occurred when I was messing with sounds settings. In general though, the device seems very stable. 512MB of RAM helps to ensure that the user doesn’t need to worry about managing background apps. (Although there’s a nice little widget that shows number of apps running in g/b which turns red when high mem or CPU usage is detected.)

Battery life. With a huge 15wh battery (3x the capacity of a normal smartphone battery) you can expect a minimum of 24hrs usage out of the device in general use. In use as a navigation device with 3G enabled, you might be able to run the Tab flat in 6-7hrs. That’s an extreme example though. Right now I’m into the 36th hour of using the Tab after a full charge and I have 30% battery life left.

Camera and video. The quality is surprisingly good here although don’t expect it to provide results that challenge the best phones. Samsungss camera application is quick, easy and feature rich although there’s the issue of using a tablet as a camera to get over. No dedicated camera button.

Others.

• Gallery: Smooth and easy to use.
• YouTube playback: Smooth and easy to use. Even better with the new YouTube app.
• GPS : Fast to lock. Retains lock indoors (tested up to 2 meters from a window)
• Music store (uses 7 Digital platform) works well.
• DNLA application – Can’t handle my 150GB collection on a Vista-based server.
• Samsung text selection pointers are a very nice touch. They appear when touching text in an input box and allow easier selection of text.
• Wifi Reception: Above average
• 3G reception: Above average
• Looks: Slim, light and stylish. Size retains a nice level of discreetness. Classy. Quality feel from plastics and buttons.
• No scratches on screen after one week. A few scratches on the rear.

Issues so far

• No micro USB charging
• Slippery surface sometimes feels insecure.
• Glossy screen doesn’t help outdoor use
• No FM receiver / transmitter
• No notification LEDs
• No included case
• Browser agent-id can not be changed.
• Contacts app seems a bit slow to respond to scrolling actions

[Checkpoint : 2109]

As I mentioned above, there are many ways to justify buying a Galaxy Tab and none of the ‘feature’ use-cases will disappoint unless you’ve experienced the best-in-class before using the Galaxy Tab. It is without a doubt, one of the first true competitors to the iPad and with flexible connectivity, storage, camera, video support and phone features, it offers unique advantages. Lets not forget the mobility aspect too.
The Galaxy Tab still needs to mature, or rather, the Android application ecosystem needs to mature before you’ll see apps that are written with a 7″ 1024×600 screen in mind and before games, music, art and productivity apps reach today standard of iPad apps and in those respects, the iPad wins. It also wins in terms of UI physics which is an important part of the feel of the device.

For mobile workers, the Galaxy Tab doesn’t quite provide the mobile desktop that you get with a Windows-based tablets and UMPCs so if you’re looking for that sort of a mobile PC I would advise to stay clear of the Tab right now but do keep an eye on developments in 2011 because newer versions of Android could open up the market for productive applications on bigger screens.

Ill be working on a full review of the Tab over the next few weeks and there’s a lot more to test. Think Free Office will need some work for a start and there’s also some accessories to think about along with some more tests with third party applications and synthetic performance tests. Between now and then though, I think you’ve got enough enough to go on. At this point you can either add it or take it away from your wish list and if you’re keen on converged devices, this will be close to being a ‘must-buy’ for you. The next step for many though will be to see how the mi700 / Viewpad 7 compares. At under 400 euros it provides nearly all of the specifications of the Tab. Then there’s the Archos 70 which is even cheaper.
The launch price of 799 was quite the shocker when we heard about it but in the time between launch and availability the price has already dropped by 200 euros (today price at Amazon.co.uk.) making it much more accessible and, when compared to the iPad and many high-end mobile computing devices, about right if you ask me.

[Checkpoint 2132 - finished editing on the Tab - 1550 words]

[Checkpoint 1003 - started post processing on PC. Added gallery, links and more text. Spelling corrections - 35 minutes]

Total:1932 words.

Our Galaxy Tab tracking page

Update: Our live review sessions are now available.

As the battery falls to under 20% after the first 24hrs of using the Galaxy Tab it’s time to give you some first impressions of the the final, retail version of the product. Has Samsung bisected the 5-9” tablet segment with another ‘must have’ product or is this just a product for rich-kids? Before I write any detail though, I must say one thing – When a product is good it triggers strange thoughts in the mind. “How can I justify this” is the inner monologue that tells you that you are dealing with a special product and I’m sure that many many people out there will be thinking this very thought after they’ve played with the Tab for a while. Let’s not forget the price of the Tab as we form our first impressions though.

Galaxy Tab supplied by TechDepot. Many thanks for their support.

As with most Android/Google experiences the out of the box experience is good if you’re a Google user. I am and that means just putting in one username and password and letting the device do its stuff. Email, Contacts, Calendar and YouTube were automatically set up. Popping in a (hot swappable) SIM card meant the phone and data connection was up within the first 5 minutes and I didn’t even have to worry about connecting to a WiFi hotspot for the unboxing demonstration. (Video embedded below) That’s how easy it needs to be. Note the lack of ‘connect your PC and download iTunes’ in that!

From the outside the plastics are good, solid, shiny and oh-my-god slippery. I’ve dropped the Tab once already (on carpet, no damage) but I can guarantee this will be an issue. It’s got that special easy-wipe layer of chemicals that the iPad has and although it does wipe clean easily, it slips all over the place. The aftermarket for cases and bumpers will be strong with the Tab.

The Galaxy Tab is a complete Android product. When I say that I mean that it works like an Android phone does. Market is there, cameras work (great, fast camera software BTW Samsung) and it’s stable and fast. The power utilisation is well optimised too. 25hrs the Tab has been on and it’s just coming up to the 10% charge warning. Overnight drain indicated that this will remain active for about 4 days without needing a charger and that, to me, is what ‘Smart’ is all about. If Android and the related apps could lean more towards productivity and true web experiences, this would be a netbook killer of a mini-smartbook. I’m imagining a 10” version with a keyboard in 2011. It just has to happen.

The ‘Tab’ comes with the efficient Android 2.2 build and browser and is pre-installed with Flash 10.1. It works quite well too but there are still roadblocks out there. Google Docs is still out of bounds as is my WordPress back end. Hover actions and complex AJAX are a serious issue for Android browsers which means in it’s current state, you can’t really call it the full web experience. Still, I doubt many Tab owners will worry too much about that. It’s not that important in this consumer market.

I’ve mentioned the camera software and it’s just one of the little extras that are dotted all round the Android build. There are a few nice widgets, a music store (Music Hub), DNLA support (AllShare), Divx/MKV/WMV and other codecs built-in and the Samsung Apps market which will bring apps dedicated for the Galaxy Tab. At the moment I see just two apps. One for the German media company N-TV (which crashed twice on me) and the other a remote control application for Samsung TVs. This area of the Tab needs ramping up although if Android 3.0 opens the doors to large-screen apps, maybe Samsung should focus on an upgrade to that.

Other not-so good sides to the Tab.

• Capacitive control buttons hard to see when the backlight is off.
• No USB OTG (although this might be enabled with an adaptor)

That’s all I’ve found so far. I’m sure we’ll find more in the live session.

Live Review and Q&A/chat tonight at 2100 CEST (Berlin) – Carrypad.com/live

Image taken with Galaxy Tab rear camera

Camera features and quality seem good. Especially for a 3.2MP cam. Video quality also OK although there seems to be a sound issue. See quick uploaded sample video here.

Other notes:

• Keyboard in portrait mode – Excellent. Good device weight / size and responsiveness / accuracy.
• Swype keyboard included
• Stereo speakers good
• Screen excellent. Contrast, brightness. Glossy is a downside in some situations
• Battery life great – I expect about 8hrs in use, 24 hrs duration between charges. This makes an all-day hotspot using the 3G sharing features
• Screen responsiveness – Good but not iPhone good. You can almost feel the multitasking interrupting the UI experience!
• Built-in storage – 12Gb available – hot swappable Micro SD
• Wifi reception good (and very fast to connect)
• Video files up to 7mbps tested OK. (Various formats)
• Amazon Kindle looks good but this slippery plastic is quite annoying in this scenario – An important point to note if you’re thinking of this as a long-duration e-book reader.

Speedtest – First test result was very good. (HSPA)

Image set

I haven’t done a proper photo shoot yet but here are some snaps.

More in the gallery

That’s it for now. If you ignore the price (it’s totally up to you to work out if this is value-for-money for you. Remember, there’s no comparable products in the market as I write this) then you’ve got a slippery but very stylish and capable consumer tablet. Did I miss anything major? If so, drop a comment in below and we’ll be sure to cover it in the live review.

More information in the Galaxy Tab information page.

LIVE REVIEW – Q&A. Don’t forget to join us tonight, 15th October at 2100 CEST/Berlin on Carrypad.com/live for a live video review. Chat session too!

Unboxing video

Meet:Mobility Podcast 50 is now available.

In this show, number 50 on the 21st May 2010 we have a lot to talk about from Google IO in San Francisco to Computex in Taipei. Sasha and myself will be giving you feedback from our time with the iPad and we also talk about the netbook summit.

Full show notes, download and listen links at MeetMobility

You can also find the podcast on iTunes (Please rate the show on iTunes.) You can also subscribe via RSS.