I liked the build. It felt solid enough and like it wasn't going to fall apart on you, but perhaps not as design conscious as the iPad. The display was good and reacted well to re-orienting the device, but what was really noticeable was that it looked a bit like a x2 display on the iPad, but for the whole GUI for the OS.
I know that Google have said that the current version of Android isn't built for tablets, and perhaps this is why it looked like that.
I had a play with the market place and inevitably found a bunch of music apps that I hadn't heard of and now would like to try out.
Anyway, it was a brief look and I did think the device was certainly going in the right direction for Android tablets.
Personally I'll wait a while for an Android tablet, at the very least until after CES to find out what arrives.
I've been carrying around a Galaxy Tab for about six weeks.
ReplyDeleteThere's not much to say for music beyond the overall Android situation which I would describe as mostly about DIY and potential at this point.
But I do really like the size and format of the 7" Tab. Somewhat surprisingly I find the portrait mode the most useful. Swype works really well in that configuration. (Landscape is a bit too wide for Swype. Thumbtyping works better in landscape.)
Every Android app works. (If you run an app called Spare Parts even the few apps that don't automatically run fullscreen now do.) There's been a lot of criticism that few apps are optimized for the larger screen. I don't find that a problem. It feels more like a less cramped Android smartphone with apps presenting one panel at a time, but it's less fiddly, more productive, easier to read than that same software running on a 3 to 4 inch smartphone. But I don't find it comical the way the iPad's x2 mode works with everything just magnified; text is full res; images are fully rendered.
It's a really great reader app for ebooks, the web and PDFs. (although some PDF's do better on the iPad due to its page-size screen.) (The Galaxy Tab is the same size, res and weight as the nook color which has been a hit this holiday, and it's no wonder.)
I like that it's lighter and smaller than the iPad. I will often pop the Tab in my coat pocket and head out the door. Wrapped in its folio case it's as casual as carrying a book.
Overall I give high marks to the Galaxy Tab. It's a great device and a great form factor. I'm sure we will see a lot more tablets in this size.
(sent from my Galaxy Tab)