Interest : Tablet ? Galaxy Tab Vs. iPad

First of all , I want to say this to Kean Aik which I asked of him to get me some picture of his Samsung Galaxy Tab but he was so reluctant to do so. In the end, I only got one useable picture. Anyway, credits to him. So , this blog is not about me, well it is about me because my interest is part of me. Moving on, this blog is comparison of the only two tablets that I had used before and my thoughts on them, although I spent more time on my iPad the Mr. Tan's Galaxy Tab. It is kinda my first review, so any comments is happily welcomed.

Construction:

It is 7 inch on the Tab versus 9.7 inch on the iPad. It may sounds like there is only an increment of 2.7inch in screen size but as it is the measurement of the diagonal of the screen, iPad's screen size is almost twice as large as the Tab's. It is confirmed that the screen panel on the Tab is Gorrila Glass but I am not sure whether iPad's because there is no mention about it , hence we will assume that it is not. In this case, the Tab have the upper hand in resisting scratches than iPad does. At the back, the iPad is made of brushed aluminium which you may notice in many Apple's product while the Tab's is made of glossy white plastic. In comparison, the brushed aluminium is more appealing than the white glossy plastics but the plastics provide better grip than the slippery aluminium. The plastic is more prone to fingerprint compared to the brushed aluminium but as it is white in colour, you can't really see it unless shine under light while observe closely. In another note, if you have sweaty hands, not really really sweaty hands, but just sweaty , you might leave your sweat on the back of the iPad, in this case which it is quite obvious. Luckily, you can wipe it off quite easily as well. Overall, the build quality of both device are on par with each other. Although Tab is entirely made of plastic, it is sturdy and solid in hand. Due different use of materials in construction, the iPad is a lot more heavy than the Tab, 680g (wifi only model) versus 380g. 300 grammes may not sound much you think ? Think again, if you have two phones which you feel one device is heavier than the other, you can check out their specifications and it will surprise you.

Screen:

Both uses LCD technology with Tab using think-film transistir (TFT) while iPad using in-plane switching (IPS) technology. You can serach about these different types of technology on your own if you are interested, not going to elaborate it here . ^^ In short, both screens are great for an LCD but of course still not match for what Samsung have in their Galaxy S line of phones - SuperAMOLED. However, in terms of brightness, the iPad have the edge here. Colouring wise, iPad's colour may look more natural (a bit pale)while the Tab is a bit saturated. Viewing angle on both device is great, not extraordinary but the iPad is a bit wider viewing angle   here, that's the advantage of using IPS LCD display. Nevertheless, you wouldn't really realise it unless you put both of them side by side and make a comparison out of it .



Operating System & its Apps:

The Galaxy Tab uses Android OS which may be new to Malaysian, but it has been a rising OS in the US market. In fact, it is more popular than the iOS on Apple's device. Android offers more customization to the user, you will be amazed by it when you truly know how to customize it. You can change your homescreen which alters your home UI (user interface), you have live wallpaper, you have tonnes of widgets (widget is something that allow you to control certain things with one click or provide you with information) and you can also have apps on your homescreen. On the other hand , iPad uses iOS like the iPhone 4 (please, it is not 4G! ). iOS , to be is much more simple , you have nothing to customize at all ! Well, maybe one or two that I can think of, changing the background wallpaper and rearranging the apps. Full stop , end of story there. If you like multitasking, Android OS would be a better choice for you because I always find out that iOS' multitasking is a fake one. It simply pauses the app the way it was when you are using another app. For example, I always find the web page not being loaded when I was on another web page with another tab on the Safari web browser on the iPad. However, when I am downloading podcast using iTunes , it does runs in the background. As for Android OS , you will be delighted by its multitasking capabilities. It is superb, you can have multiple things running in the back although i won't encourage to much of app, it will lag. =( Another thing is the task manger of both OS which is totally different. In Android OS, the app may be killed automatically to free some memory for smoother run. The iOS is another story, the app will stay open in the background, of course some may be running , some may be not but it still takes up RAM which sometimes make the device lag. So , what I have to do is to manually kill it every time, quite troublesome .


All of us know that the iOS' App store has more apps than the Android's Market. By the way, it is called Marketplace for Windows Phone 7 OS.Currently, as of my knowledge, iOS has more than 300k of apps versus more than 200k of apps for the Android OS. You may think more apps is better, not entirely true though. Are you going to use all of those apps ? I pretty sure not. So, more apps doesn't mean anything. In fact, if you are using iOS, you will end up buying expensive apps as the apps that are really worth usually cost you. Statistically, Android OS has a higher percentage of free apps than iOS and if you do really want a paid apps, you don't really have to pay for it without rooting it (same thing as jail breaking for iOS). If you want a paid apps, you can always find it in the web and download it, transfer the installation file into your Android device and wala! Yes yes yes, you can do so with the iOS, but you certainly need to jail break it which in turns break your warranty. Not so cool ... I do notice another thing though, the quality of apps certainly goes to iOS as the apps are usually nicely design unlike Android OS which many apps have bad UI. I guess this support the saying "Good thing not cheap, cheap thing not good, free thing the worse".

How it handles ?
Well, of course the Galaxy Tab feels more home in your pal, it fit right in. With its feather like weight, it is not tiring to hold it for long too and it is also comfortable. As for the iPad, it is heavy. It may not strain your hands at first but as time progress, you will feel tired eventually.

Verdict :
Both are great device, with each having its on advantage and usefulness. If you ask me why I choose the iPad over the Galaxy Tab, the reasons are as following. First, I already have an Android device and I don't see the point of having two. Then there's the price, RM 2699 (RRP) for the Tab versus RM1549 (RRP). Also the screen size, to me for a tablet which my dad refers it as a multimedia device should have large screen, the larger the better, but I think 10 inch should be the limit, anything bigger would be awkward.

Going into 2011, the year of tablet, these two devices will not be the only device on the market, with Android Honeycomb 3.0 optimized for tablet use, Android will again gain market share in this industry with LG , Dell , Motorolla releasing new tablets.

Disclaimer : Any incorrect info may be present in this blog as it is written with my knowledge and opinion. =P