Apple iPad was launched amid a flurry of hype and excitement last year and it gave rise to a new trend in tablets and convergence devices.
Although the iPad failed to make an appearance in India, we saw tablets from Dell, Samsung, Spice and Olive being launched in the country.
Samsung GalaxyTab hit the market in November last year. The device is much smaller and lighter than the iPad. While the iPad comes with a 9.7 inch screen and weighs around 680 grams, the GalaxyTab comes with a 7 inch screen and weighs around 380 grams.
While some might find the screen size to be a dampener, Samsung’s move of keeping the device small seems to be motivated by the fact that the device might also serve as a mobile phone.
There is no built in earpiece so you will either have to use the wired headphones or the Bluetooth headset for making and receiving calls.
Also, unlike the iPad, the GalaxyTab comes with two cameras to allow video calling and photography. Most devices available in the market come with a VGA secondary camera. However, the GalaxyTab bundles a 1.3 Megapixel video conferencing camera, and has in addition a 3.0 megapixel primary camera accompanied by LED flash.
Although there is no FM radio on the tablet, it comes with a music player and has a standard 3.5 mm Audio Jack which gives you the freedom to use headsets of your choice.
The Samsung GalaxyTab, running on Android 2.2 Froyo, is powered by a 1GHz processor, and boasts of connectivity through WiFi and 3G. The tablet has a 16 GB memory, which is expandable up to 32 GB. It uses a 4000 mAh battery which seems good enough for extensive usage. The device, which is available with accessories like desktop docks, keyboard docks and car mounts, alone costs Rs 35,500.