Samsung Galaxy Tab – My impressions after using it for four months

The device

The Samsung Galaxy Tab is very solid and feels good in your hand. The display is a 7 inch WSVGA display and it is running Android 2.2. I am impressed by the battery capacity and even though I use the device quite a lot I only have to charge it now and then. It’s also very handy that you can use the device as a phone with a SIM card. I don’t use it very often as a phone but it’s nice to be able to go online when there is no wireless networks available.

The display is very good and watching videos, images or just surfing the web is no stress for the eyes. Some persons are criticising the device because the think the 7 inch display is to small… In my opinion that has nothing to do with the device. For me the size is perfect and if you wanted a larger display, well you should have bought the iPad

Samsung Galaxy Tab Front and Back

Areas of usage

There are several areas of usage for a device like the Galaxy Tab, myself I have mostly used it as a laptop replacement at home. I think that 90% of what I do on the laptop (when I’m not working) I can do it on the Galaxy Tab. I mainly surf the web, check mail, facebook, twitter and stuff like that. So after I got the Galaxy Tab I see that I often don’t turn on my laptop at all when I get home from work.

In the beginning I did bring it to work and tried to use it there but I can’t say that I really found it very helpful at work. Course it is better to read and write e-mail on the Galaxy Tab than on my phone, but I think it’s to big to bring with me when I am not at my desk.

Most of the time the Galaxy Tab is lying on the table in my living room (when it’s not in my hand). And when I am out travelling I bring the Galaxy Tab instead of my laptop.

My favourite apps

I just love the Android Market and all the great apps available there, my Galaxy Tab is now filled with all kind of apps and these are my favourites.

• Gmail – I use Gmail for personal use and the Gmail app is smooth and easy to use.
• Embedded e-mail reader – I have my work e-mail here and it is no problem writing professional e-mails on the device.
• Twitter and TweetDeck – a must have.
• Facebook - don’t use it so often, but the app is very smooth.
• Embedded browser – I think this is a good browser for the device. Tested with Opera mini but I went back to the embedded browser.
• WiMP – Norwegian music app (like Spotify). I use it a lot to listen to music both with head phones and with the built in speakers (that are quite good).
• Angry Birds – I can’t help it but the sad fact is that I’m addicted to launching birds at pigs…I didn’t see that coming.

Accessories

The most important accessory for the Galaxy Tab is in my opinion the Notebook/Stand case that protects the device and can be folded back to create a stand.

Samsung Notebook/Stand case

Another nice thing to have is the Samsung Keyboard Dock. It’s a docking station with a full size keyboard, connection for charger and audio out.

Samsung Keyboard Dock

Conclusion

I must say that I really like the Samsung Galaxy Tab and I would for sure miss it if someone took it away from me. It is very easy to use, good display and good battery capacity. If I were to say something negative about the device that must be that sometimes I have experienced that the device gets a bit slow and are lagging when jumping between applications. But then again I am often running 5-10 apps at the same time. I give this device a big thumb up!