Samsung Galaxy Tab: Stuck in the Middle

What it is:  The biggest issue with the Galaxy Tab may be trying to definite what it is. It's a tablet that's smaller than an iPad. It's an Android device that's larger than a smartphone. It's stuck in that middle area between those two categories (iPad and other tablets on one end, Android smartphones and the iPhone on the other).

Feature perspective

From a feature perspective, the Galaxy Tab sports the Android Froyo 2.2 operating system, weighs 13.58 ounces, runs a 1GHz Hummingbird CPU, and has two digital cameras -- a front-facing 1.3 megapixel camera for video chats and/or self-portraits, and a 3 megapixel auto-focus camera for shooting images. For network connectivity, you can connect via Wi-Fi, or 3G wireless (our unit was the Sprint EV-DO 3G network). There's no native phone app on the device, so you may have to look for Skype or another VoIP-like app if you're looking for voice functionality.

Why it's cool: If you're looking for something smaller and lighter than an iPad, this fits the bill. I could comfortably hold the device with one hand, and the weight didn't bother me as much as it does with the iPad sometimes. Surprisingly, the 7-inch display makes it the perfect size for the Amazon Kindle app, which gets "home page" access on the device. Reading a book on the Galaxy Tab was a better experience than on my iPhone 4, and even the iPad (the iPad book reader feels like you're reading a large-print or coffee-table book sometimes).

Some caveats: Like the iPad, users will need to figure out "what do I want to do with this?" Android phone owners might appreciate the larger screen, but iPad owners might say "meh" on the smaller display. Like the iPad, the main purpose of the Galaxy Tab is to consume content, whether it's a book, Web site, music, video, photo or Angry Birds (games look great on this thing). Creating content (writing a document, e-mail, spreadsheet) is a bit more difficult, which makes this a concern for business usage. The iPad still has a way to go before it is 100% business ready, so the same issues apply with the Galaxy Tab. I'm not about to ditch the notebook for this, but I wasn't for the iPad either.

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