Samsung Galaxy Tab vs. the iPad You should Compare For Yourself

The Android vs. Apple battle has officially made its method into the world of tablets.

Samsung took the wraps off its new Samsung Galaxy Tab Android tablet on Thursday. The Galaxy Tab is a 7-inch slate built to complete with the present tablet king, Apple's thus-far-unchallenged iPad. Positive, there have been a pair other Android tablets available on the market already (see Streak, Dell), but the Galaxy Tab is the primary that truly qualifies as a contender.

*Based on manufacturers' estimatesSo how precisely does Samsung's Galaxy Tab differ from the iPad? Try this comparison chart for a side-by-aspect glimpse at the units' specs and see for yourself. (Click on picture to zoom.)

The Tab is being introduced over the next week by three main U.S. wi-fi telephone carriers at $400 with a mobile knowledge contract, or at $600 with mobile capability but no contract. The iPad begins at $499 for a Wi-Fi mannequin with no mobile-knowledge capability or contract, and is $629 for the least expensive model with cellular data functionality but no contract.

Just like the iPad, the Samsung Galaxy Tab, which uses Google's Android working system, is a good-wanting slate with a vivid colour screen that may handle lots of the tasks sometimes performed on a laptop. These embrace e-mail, social networking, Web shopping, photograph viewing, and music and video playback. It also can run a wide variety of third-party apps. Nevertheless it has major variations, most notably in size.

In a nutshell, the Samsung Galaxy Tab is smaller and lighter (though rumors recommend a few larger editions will debut before the year's finish). It has the same velocity processor but twice the RAM. Just like the iPad, the Galaxy Tab comes with totally different choices for inner storage. It additionally, nonetheless, helps up to 32GB of expandable storage; Apple's device is restricted to the inner house only. The Galaxy Tab has cameras -- a rear-facing 3.2-megapixel camera and a entrance-facing 1.3-megapixel digicam for video chatting -- while the current fashions of the iPad have none. Samsung claims up to 7 hours of video playback for the Galaxy Tab; Apple says its iPad can last as long as 10 hours.

When it comes to software program, the Galaxy Tab's Android 2.2 working system provides the system quite a few promoting points Apple's iPad can't declare, together with full-featured multitasking, help for Adobe Flash, and unrestricted access to functions (Apple is notorious for censoring all sorts of fabric -- ranging from political satire to swimsuit-clad ladies -- and likewise for banning apps that provide features resembling free tethering and customization of the working system).

Samsung's Galaxy Tab is about to launch in Europe inside the next few weeks, then in the U.S. shortly thereafter. Pricing and service information for the States is not but out there, although rumors recommend the Galaxy Tab might find yourself on Verizon. JR Raphael is a PCWorld contributing editor and the writer of the Android Energy blog. You'll find him on Fb, on Twitter, or at eSarcasm, his geek-humor getaway.