There have been lots of rumors about the tablet PC Samsung Galaxy Tab. Now, we know: It is real. Today, Samsung has presented the Galaxy Tab at the consumer electronics show IFA 2010 in Berlin. It will be available in October at all four operators’ stores in Germany with or without plan. Without plan the purchase price for the Galaxy Tab with 16 GB storage capacity will be probably less than the recommended retail price of € 799.00. Later on, there will also be a 32 GB version of the mobile device. I had the opportunity to take a closer look at the Android 2.2 (Froyo) tablet yesterday night. Here is a short review on the Galaxy Tab.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab comes with a 7-inch capacitive LCD touch-screen with a resolution of 1,024 x 600 pixels and thus fits into your pants’ or sports coat’s pocket. Samsung decided on this size of the tablet so that people can also take it with them easily and use it on their way. The touch-screen shows bright and strong colors, supports multi-touch and kinetic scrolling and responds to the slightest touches. Thanks to the 1-GHz processor applications and programs seem to run smoothly. The TouchWiz 3.0 user interface with five home-screens and widgets looks like the one on Samsung’s current Android smart-phones such as the Samsung Galaxy S I9000. However, in addition to the social networking app social hub there are specific hubs for news, magazines and e-books as well as for music.

Mobile Internet Access via HSDPA and WiFi

For accessing the Internet the Samsung Galax Tab sports WiFi (b/g/n). It is also possible to connect to the web via GPRS or UMTS (with HSDPA). The Samsung Galaxy Tab also sports a SIM card slot so that users can also connect to the web via GPRS or UMTS or even make phone calls in a pinch via voice over IP or over the GSM network. There is a micro-phone and a loudspeaker at the bottom side of the device, but users can also plug in a headset (with 3.5-millimeter jack) or connect a Bluetooth headset for making mobile phone calls. Due to the size of the device, making phone calls with the Samsung Galaxy Tab is certainly less comfortable than doing this with a regular cell phone or smart-phone.

As usual on Android devices, there are several Google apps installed on the Samsung Galaxy Tab: Google Search (with voice search), Google Mail, Google Maps, Google Talk and a YouTube client, for example. There are also apps for accessing the Android Market and Samsung Apps for downloading further apps on the tablet. The software package also includes an MP3 player, a web browser, ThinkFree Office for viewing and editing documents, the text input method Swype, the ebook reader app Aldiko eBook, a task manager and a media gallery.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab also features a 3.2-megapixel camera. The storage capacity for photos, videos, music and other personal data and files can be expanded with a microSD card by up to 32 GB. You can also buy a docking station with HDMI port and a car kit for the Samsung Galaxy Tab.

“Smart Media Device”

Samsung calls the Galaxy Tab with its white plastic back cover a “smart media device”, not a “tablet” in order to avoid comparisons to the Apple iPad which comes with a larger touch-screen and does not allow mobile phone calls. The Samsung Galaxy Tab is a crossing between a tablet and a smart-phone. The good news for the user is: With more and more tablets with different form factors, operating systems and features put to market there is greater choice. Hopefully, retail prices will drop soon, too.

Product Summary of the Samsung Galaxy Tab:
Processor: Samsung CPU with 1 GHz
Operating System: Android 2.2 (Froyo)
GSM Networks: 1,900 MHz
Data Transfer: GPRS, UMTS, HSDPA, WiFi b/g/n
Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.1 (A2DP)
Screen: Capacitive 7.0-inch LCD touch-screen with 1,024 x 600 pixels
Keyboard: virtual QWERTZ
Camera: main camera with 3.2 megapixels with LED light and second camera with 1.3 megapixels or video calls
Other: Media Player with 3.5-mm headset jack, GPS
Storage: 16 GB Flash + 32 GB microSD
Size: ?
Weight: 380 g
Battery Life: up to 8 hours when playing videos

Hands-on Video of the Samsung Galaxy Tab

I am no professional video film maker, but here is a short video of me taken yesterday night at the Samsung presentation at the SoHo house in Berlin for teltarif.de showing the Samsung Galaxy Tab in action: