iPad2 vs Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9/10.1

[aohus]

Wow, Samsung nailed it with their tablets this time around. Link to a good write up of the new Samsung Tablets

Personally for me, the lighter the better, and the Super PLS display + higher resolution makes it even better.

• Lighter than iPad 2
• Competitively priced (cheapest is $469 price-point for 16gb wifi)
• SD Card Support
• 1280 x 800 resolution (compared to iPad 2's 1024 x 768)
• Super PLS Display (its better than iPad's IPS Display)
• Most likely will be tegra 2 (or will it be samsung's in-house SoC?)

 

[maflynn]

You forgot one little fact it was a non-functioning mock up. Until they have a fully functioning device lets not get too worked up.

 

[aohus]

You forgot one little fact it was a non-functioning mock up. Until they have a fully functioning device lets not get too worked up.

fair enough, but i think they can pull it off.

 

[poloponies]

Weren't you also posting that you had a Xoom that was also superior to the iPad 2? So does the Xoom also suck compared to the unreleased Samsung?

 

[Faux Carnival]

Engadget's video shows the tablet fully functioning. Or I'm imagining things.

 

[Gix1k]

The 16X9 form factor is horrible. With my iPad 2, I hardly ever turn it landscape.

Most of all.......NO SMART COVERS

 

[ChazUK]

Wirelessly posted (Opera/9.80 (Android 2.3.3; Linux; Opera Mobi/ADR-1103211415; U; en-GB) Presto/2.7.81 Version/11.00)

Engadget's video shows the tablet fully functioning. Or I'm imagining things.

I was confused by this too but people here pointed out the running versions were the old model.

Until they get it running in the new chassis, I'm skeptical.

 

[blurb23]

The 16X9 form factor is horrible. With my iPad 2, I hardly ever turn it landscape.

Most of all.......NO SMART COVERS

16:9 is awesome for tablets. Better for video and easier typing.

And are Smart Covers really THAT big of a deal?

 

[aohus]

Weren't you also posting that you had a Xoom that was also superior to the iPad 2? So does the Xoom also suck compared to the unreleased Samsung?

uh. NO. i was advising people to get iPad2 over the Xoom. Please don't spread misinformation about me personally...

The 16X9 form factor is horrible. With my iPad 2, I hardly ever turn it landscape.

seriously? the 4:3 form factor of the iPad 2 is part of the reason I'm swaying more towards 16:10 tablets. The form factor is better for media viewing. You won't get the black bars while watching movies as much as the iPad 2.

I prefer a landscape-centric tablet over a portrait-centric device. but thats just my style.

 

[Phil A.]

16:9 is great in landscape but useless in portrait IMO

As for how much "better" than the iPad the new Samsung might be, for me the important things a tablet needs to do are:

1) Sync with MobileMe (contacts, calendars, bookmarks, mail)
2) Sync with Exchange (contacts, calendars, mail)
3) Support all the media I've purchased from the iTunes store (and preferably play it wirelessly)
4) Work with all the apps I've already invested in from the App Store
5) Have a decent Office App that supports Dropbox
6) Have a decent database I can use to manage my junior soccer team


Until another tablet can tick more of those boxes than an iPad, then for me there isn't any competition and it doesn't matter one iota how much better the hardware specs may be on paper

 

[Roessnakhan]

The 16X9 form factor is horrible. With my iPad 2, I hardly ever turn it landscape.

Most of all.......NO SMART COVERS

My iPad never rarely leaves landscape mode. (Not sure if serious but) Smart Covers are hardly a reason to buy a tablet.

 

[DizzyV6P]

16:9 is great in landscape but useless in portrait IMO

As for how much "better" than the iPad the new Samsung might be, for me the important things a tablet needs to do are:

1) Sync with MobileMe (contacts, calendars, bookmarks, mail)
2) Sync with Exchange (contacts, calendars, mail)
3) Support all the media I've purchased from the iTunes store (and preferably play it wirelessly)
4) Work with all the apps I've already invested in from the App Store
5) Have a decent Office App that supports Dropbox
6) Have a decent database I can use to manage my junior soccer team


Until another tablet can tick more of those boxes than an iPad, then for me there isn't any competition and it doesn't matter one iota how much better the hardware specs may be on paper

You pretty much summed up my thoughts too. Even as a new Apple user coming from my Android phone to the iPhone4, the numbers of apps available is astounding. I'll add some more to your list:

7) Long battery life of the iPad 2
8) A heck of a lot more apps than Android Marketplace
9) Simple ease of use of iOS vs. Android

 

[Faux Carnival]

The truth is, you guys are so invested in Apple services and App Store, you'll never be able to switch to another phone or tablet than iPhone and iPad. Suck it up.

 

[blurb23]

The truth is, you guys are so invested in Apple services and App Store, you'll never be able to switch to another phone or tablet than iPhone and iPad. Suck it up.

Which is almost entirely why I have an iPad 2. I'd much rather have an Android tablet, but all of the money I've spent in the app store/the ease of syncing both my iPhone and iPad together stopped me.

 

[nomik2]

The truth is, you guys are so invested in Apple services and App Store, you'll never be able to switch to another phone or tablet than iPhone and iPad. Suck it up.

And probably the reason why they defend Apple products.

I honestly wish I could try out other platforms too but it doesn't make sense for me to do so...financially!

 

[iPadztr]

I'd like to try this, but I'm worried that samsung being lackluster on software update. hopefully that will change. One more thing I like apple is the apple store customer support. You have backlight bleed? exchange it on the spot and dont have to wait for a few days to get your replacement. If samsung can give me the same customer support as apple, I will be glad to give them my money.

But I will try this tablet anyways and hoping samsung can pull this off.

 

[OSMac]

Give Samsung credit they are pushing things ahead.
The Xoom was half baked should never have been released.

Just too bad they leave the Galaxy Tab 7 owners in the dust
with no updates mentioned at all. At least they could put 2.3 on it.

The new 8.9 looks interesting ,
very thin and light, but Samsung needs to prove they will support a product.

All the tablets do basically the same thing, if you dont mind being tied to iTunes then you get a much wider selection of apps.

 

[ravenas]

16:9 is great in landscape but useless in portrait IMO

As for how much "better" than the iPad the new Samsung might be, for me the important things a tablet needs to do are:

1) Sync with MobileMe (contacts, calendars, bookmarks, mail)
2) Sync with Exchange (contacts, calendars, mail)

I don't get the advantage of MobileMe for PIM data. That's what Google is for and does an excellent job of it. Why would I want to replicate my data on two different services.

I really like the initial look of the new Galaxy Tab. Didn't care for the 7" in the store though. More than anything I want to see the competition force Apple to step up their game. I've become disenchanted with their iPad2 release. Seems to have as many problems as the iPhone 4.

 

[icecrystal23]

16:9 is awesome for tablets. Better for video and easier typing.

the 4:3 form factor of the iPad 2 is part of the reason I'm swaying more towards 16:10 tablets. The form factor is better for media viewing. You won't get the black bars while watching movies as much as the iPad 2.

I prefer a landscape-centric tablet over a portrait-centric device. but thats just my style.

16:9 is great in landscape but useless in portrait IMO

I thought I'd jump in with another vote for 4:3. 16:9 is great for movies, but not much else. Apple specifically said in one of their keynotes (I think for the original iPad) that they chose the 4:3 form factor because it's better for viewing books, magazines, newspapers, surfing the web, etc. In other words, it's better for most tablet tasks than 16:9.

 

[Piggie]

Firstly, to correct............

Stop calling there tablets, 16:9 they are not, they are 16:10

In poll after poll on various forums, even here, the vast, and I mean vast majority of people use their tablets in Landscape mode.

It makes sense in two ways.

1: humans have eyes side by side, not one on top of each other, so naturally a wide screen is going to be more natural to look at that an tall narrow one.

2: These devices and made to fit a web page across whatever screen width you have, without any horizontal scrolling needed, so it makes sense to browse the web with the most pixels horizontally. In our current case, 1024.

I for one would welcome a 16:10 iPad, though it will never happen.
the only time I use Portrait is when something forces me to.

Likewise my desktop monitors will pivot into portrait mode and I've never swung them round to portrait either, and I'd guess not many people do either, unless they have a specific need.

 

[krcbkidz]

Samsung can say all they want about their products. There are the following glaring issues:

1. The mockups they presented are NON-OPERATIONAL.
2. With two months until release, I view a non-operational product as a huge hurdle for product quality.
3. Given the specs, the battery life that Samsung has touted seems unreasonable.
4. Does anyone realize how much less Samsung's profit margins will be on the Tab versus the iPad2?
5. Given what I perceive to be an extremely small profit margin, I find it difficult from an investor standpoint to endorse Samsung's business model.
6. It is next to impossible from a longterm business perspective that Samsung can price match Apple in this respect. It's an unsustainable business practice.

 

[Phil A.]

I don't get the advantage of MobileMe for PIM data. That's what Google is for and does an excellent job of it. Why would I want to replicate my data on two different services.

I don't replicate any of my data: There is strict separation of the data held on MobileMe and my Google Apps account: I use MobileMe for personal stuff and the Google Apps account for work related stuff
I also use MobileMe to sync bookmarks between my iMac and my iPad / iPhone

Of course, you could most of the same by using two separate google accounts but I've been a MobileMe subscriber since the .mac days and also make use of iDisk and MobileMe galleries

Firstly, to correct............
In poll after poll on various forums, even here, the vast, and I mean vast majority of people use their tablets in Landscape mode.

I must be one of the minority because I only put my iPad in landscape mode when watching a movie: most of the time I have it in Portrait

 

[tracerhawk]

You pretty much summed up my thoughts too. Even as a new Apple user coming from my Android phone to the iPhone4, the numbers of apps available is astounding. I'll add some more to your list:

7) Long battery life of the iPad 2
8) A heck of a lot more apps than Android Marketplace
9) Simple ease of use of iOS vs. Android

Yep, I agree with all these. And the apps, IMO, for apple are much better both in quality and stability.

Also, to the original poster... I don't get the big deal in weight. In looking at the iPad 2 versus the same size competitor from Samsung in the 10.1 versus, the difference is 601 grams vs. 595 grams. I wouldn't quantify 6 grams as being a big advantage in being lighter. Completely unnoticeable really. Both are extremely light, and 6 grams you can't even tell the difference.

The biggest improvement I want to see, is screen resolution and pixels per square inch on the display. On my iPad 2, its just excellent. But I'd love to see the retina display on here or something equivalent. Also, I'd like to see big strides in the camera on both the front and back. Very average quality I would say there.

 

[FFR]

can someone explain why the ipad looks slimmer?

and

i thought the 10.1 was suppose to be .01 inch thinner then the ipad 2

 

[NutsNGum]

Which is almost entirely why I have an iPad 2. I'd much rather have an Android tablet, but all of the money I've spent in the app store/the ease of syncing both my iPhone and iPad together stopped me.

Why? For the half baked, one-size-fits-all OS - or the barren app store?