Why I paid $400+ for a Samsung Galaxy Tab.

Happy Monday! First things first. I am currently using a Samsung Epic 4G. The convergence across every single app was absolutely flawless. I love the screen size. The only app that didn't adjust to the 7 inch screen size was the Engadget app which is pretty terrible on their part. However, the Mashable app looks beautiful! The built in News & Briefing app is also a beauty. Favorite apps on the Tab so far: PS1 Emulator, FourSquare (the new updated one), IMDB, XDA , and Media Hub so far.


Upon "unboxing" I was pretty thrilled until I saw the size of the charger plug. What an ugly piece of work.





Battery life:

The battery was 3/4 of the way full out the box so I powered it up and hopped on the house WIFI. I signed into Google, downloaded App Brain & fired up App Brain on the browser. The device was recognized easily and I sent all my apps from my Samsung Epic 4G list to the other. Unfortunately "Fast Install" is disabled on this version as well so I had to manually click all of them. The battery life is great on a full charge. I can get about 8-12 hours depending on use. youTube HD, Media Hub (video playback) & internet browing seem to be the hogs. Games, basic email checks, and syncing periodically being less.


Screen:

I installed LauncherPro (paid) and cannot believe how great everything looks with custom icons & custom dock plus a matching live wallpaper.


Rear Facing Camera:

I managed to take a couple shots with the camera using the flash indoors at first then some outdoor shots when I was out & about during my XMAS break from work. I took some night shots using the night settings but no shots using 3rd party camera apps as of yet.




The Italian Job via Media Hub



Outdoor Shot (Normal setting. No Flash)




My neighbor's set up. Outdoor Shot (Night Setting)




Indoor Shot. (Normal Setting. Auto Flash)



Outdoor Shot. (Normal Setting. Auto Flash)


Email /Social Networking:

I love the email app. It looks much better than the actual yahoo app when used in landscape mode so I uninstalled the app and use the regular email app installed. Tweetdeck and the Facebook App both look okay on the Tab. Nothing amazing. The integrated chat inside Facebook's app is the best part in my opinion.


Video Calls:

Video chat using Tango was absolutely amazing. It looks great and works flawlessly oer WIFI. Unfortunately 3G has some latency hiccups and in some instances wouldn't dial the end user. I performed a PRL update then update profile and that seemed to fix it. I haven't seen any issues since performing those steps. I have not tested Fring or Qik for video calls but did manage to make a Skype call over WIFI to an iOs user. Very clear and easy to use.


GPS / Navigation:

GPS and Google Navigation look absolutely brilliant. Will I buy a dash mount for my oversized Galaxy Device? Maybe. Maybe not. It seems like an attention hog and I don't want the police all up in my business, so I will stick with the Samsung Epic 4G mount I am currently using while driving.


Overall Experience:

While this device may not be for everyone seeking a solid laptop replacement, I am totally sold on tablet computing. I still have another 14 days to keep running every single app I can to see if it's a solid laptop replacement but I mapped everything to remote desktop while I was out of town these last 13 days and I have to say everything worked with ease and amazing results. For my blogging needs, Blogger has an app that is pretty robust and I use for minimal blogging. The Wordpress app is much more impressive in my opinion. MS Office 2010 projects and documents can be viewed via ThinkFree Office app. Digital notes, camera snapshots, audio notes, and group notes can be saved to the cloud server on Evernote app. Tasks can be set up via Astrid app and synced via Google Tasks or Productiv, respectively. Items can be saved to the cloud and backed up with 3 amazing cloud storage apps: Dropbox (2gb free), Sugarsync (5gb free), ZumoDrive (2gb free). You never have to run out of space. If you have a pretty good handle on Android right now and only want to move faster, better, stronger with a productive edge. you seriousy need a Samsung Galaxy Tablet. I often get asked why didn't I just buy an iPad? Just in case you are thinking the same.
1. Ipad WIFI edition = $500 (before taxes) + no 3G. Unless your phone is 4000mah and WIFI Hotspot is free on it you don't stand a chance at doing anything mobile. The $100 I saved payed for my 3G for ten months before taxes.

2. I own a Galaxy S phone. Does the iPad play nicely with an Android phone, apps, gmail, Windows 7? Absolutely not (in my opinion of course). I don't own a MACBOOK PRO or iPhone4. Buying an iPad simply does not work well for seamless convergence.

3. It's OPEN SOURCE BABY! I am currently getting support from 3 Android developers on developing my own app. I registered for an i-Learn course that gets me free eBOOKS weekly and one of them is about writing code for Android OS. How sweet is that? I also met a few good people at the Android BBQ that have leading me in the right direction so far.


(p.s. There's a way to make calls on it too but that's reserved for the elite few who are savvy enough to sit there and research the right ways!)


Well I am off to look for and read another Free E-Book on 3 different Readers. Happy Monday!