Your Samsung Galaxy Tab Questions Answered

Trevor Lambert, a Samsung marketing manager, wouldn’t go into details, but he said the decision was based on the “discussion that we have with carriers.” He said carriers want to target smartphone users — who already have voice plans — with the Tab. I take this to mean that wireless carriers don’t want tablets to cannibalize smartphones, but that’s just my interpretation.

The same thing with smartphones —

Lambert said this is possible in theory — you can do the same thing with smartphones — but it looks like AT&T is the only carrier whose network supports the stateside voice and data frequencies used by the Galaxy Tab (850/1900 MHz for GSM voice, same for UMTS data). And be warned that any problems arising from the phone service are your responsibility.

No, Titus said. But you can take your pick of VoIP apps from the Android Market. Skype, for example, just arrived for non-Verizon Android phones, but it’s Wi-Fi only in the United States.

-Gaming was delightful on the Galaxy Tab. When I got an iPad, the iPhone suddenly seemed too small for playing games. Likewise, the Tab makes the iPad seem unwieldy. The Galaxy Tab doesn’t feel much bigger than a Nintendo DS or a PSP, but it’s all screen. I was totally comfortable using my thumbs to control the first-person shooter N.O.V.A. and tilting the Tab to steer in Need for Speed: Shift.

Mobile device when browsing the web

-The Galaxy Tab identifies itself as a mobile device when browsing the web, so you’ll get phone-optimized websites (like Technologizer) when available. This was kind of annoying; I already don’t like mobile websites on smartphones, and they’re definitely unnecessary on larger screens.

-One great thing about tablets and smartphones is that you rarely need to shut them off completely. But should you have to power down the Galaxy Tab, it could take about 30 seconds (unless start-up time changes between now and launch). The Samsung logo that appears during start-up looks kind of cheesy.