Samsung Galaxy Tab - The AnandTech Review
by Vivek Gowri on December 23, 2010 9:48 AM ESTSamsung Galaxy Tab - Oh, That Screen
Really, I have to commend Samsung here. There’s no AMOLED, no IPS, and no S-LCD, but they managed to put a very high quality LED-backlit LCD panel into the Galaxy Tab. The contrast ratio is a devilish 666:1, neatly splitting the difference between the EVO 4G and the Dell Streak, but well short of the iPad’s stellar 934:1 number. But the best thing about the screen is that even without any of the more advanced display technologies, viewing angles are still excellent. As we’ve mentioned before, viewing angles are significantly more important for tablets than netbooks or notebooks, so it’s reassuring to see that Samsung recognizes this.
The 7” display packs the same WSVGA resolution as most 10” widescreen tablets, so the pixel density is relatively high at 170ppi (versus 138 for the iPad and 116 for most 10” WSVGA tablets). Current rumors put some of the upcoming 10” tablets at 1366x768 or 1280x800, so we’ll see pixel density rise for the industry as a whole, but overall the Galaxy Tab has a pleasantly crisp screen.
The end user experience of any tablet really begins with the screen, and it’s probably one of the most overlooked components in any given device. The display can really make or break any tablet, so it’s important to note that the Galaxy Tab has a very good one.
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thartist - Thursday, December 23, 2010 - link
seriously? we're gonna bring all that FAIL thing to Anandtech? go elsewhere.JohnCarney - Thursday, December 23, 2010 - link
Really? How did you do that?http://www.amazon.com/Tron-Blu-ray/dp/B001AQT15I/r...
therealnickdanger - Thursday, December 23, 2010 - link
The Tron Blu-ray was delayed by Disney due to fears that their target Tron Legacy audience would see it and laugh at the bad old CGI and then not want to see the new one.The HD master of Tron used to create the Blu-ray has been aired on HDNet and other HD channels. So while it isn't technically a Blu-ray rip, it is most definitely HD. If you didn't have the luxury of seeing it broadcast, there are a couple torrents out there if you feel so inclined.
MeanBruce - Thursday, December 23, 2010 - link
So Cool, I love Tron, thanks for giving us the info! 1982 Jeff Bridges. Are you the User?Aloonatic - Thursday, December 23, 2010 - link
I was just thinking, as these tablets are often little more than bigger versions of what many of us have in our pockets already......How hard would it be for a company to make a large touch-screen device with a big battery that one could simply slip their smart-phone into and use that way? Probably requiring something in the phones OS to recognise that it is plugged into such a device, allow it to display at a higher resolution and maybe even change it's processor/GPU power/performance profile, as it could be plugged in somewhere, or at least know that it has a larger battery power supply at hand?
Just a thought.
kmmatney - Thursday, December 23, 2010 - link
Damn good idea. I'd love to be able to pop my phone into a device to give it a larger screen, especially when just browsing on the couch. However the cost to build something like that probably isn't that much more than just making a whole new device.VivekGowri - Thursday, December 23, 2010 - link
The original Palm Foleo waves hello. I dunno if that type of thing would be any better now with the updated technologies, but the Foleo crashed and burned so badly that I think people are scared to even try.baba264 - Thursday, December 23, 2010 - link
To be honest, 6 month after the ipad launch, I still have a hard time figuring out what it is exactly that's pulling people to the tablet market.I honestly don't see much use for these tablets except as a very occasional gadget with a terribly high price tag. Or alternatively as a fashion statement, but being on a hardware site I don't think that should really apply to us.
Guspaz - Thursday, December 23, 2010 - link
There are a few things I can see people using an iPad (or equivalent device) for, but the general gist of it is that you take a smartphone's easy usability and portability, but use a larger screen to address some of the shortcomings or limitations of a smartphone. For example, browsing with touch controls can be pretty intuitive, but a smartphone's screen is small enough that it's a compromised experience. Give it a 10" screen, however, and you can get that same user experience with a device that can actually display a full website like a PC would. Or take the case of portable video playback. It's convenient to be able to watch a movie or TV shows on a smartphone, but a 3.5" screen is kind of tiny. But make it a 10" screen, and it's a completely different experience.Most other use cases are similar. Take something that was intuitive on a smartphone but had the experience compromised by the small screen (or was missing features due to it), and a tablet can solve that. E-mail works nicely on a smartphone, but the small screen means there isn't room to get both the E-mail message and the inbox open at the same time; a tablet enables that.
So you sacrifice some portability (although tablets are still more portable than a netbook or notebook), and get a lot more usability. As for price, tablets have prices on par (or lower than) with smartphones; it's hard to argue that they're expensive or overpriced without saying the same of smartphones.
mrd0 - Thursday, December 23, 2010 - link
You can use a tablet to do much more than browse the web. Our law firm, and many, many others, are starting to move to the iPad instead of laptops because they are such much more friendly in the court room and on the move. I can actually write a brief and submit it, whereas, that is nearly impossible on a smart phone...certainly painful. I don't need a full computer most of the time, so the iPad, or another 10" tablet, is ideal. It's so useful that some large firms are starting to give every associate a new iPad.Now we just need a great 10" android tablet to get away from all of Apple''s limitations/restrictions.