Samsung Galaxy Tab a Wi-fi Tablet - Model Sm-t580nzkmxar Android Reviews

Our Verdict

Samsung'due south super slim and low-cal Galaxy Tab 10.1 is a beautifully designed tablet that does justice to the Honeycomb experience.

For

• Lighter than the iPad ii
• Bright and crisp display
• Good battery life
• Powerful speakers
• Good touch keyboard

Against

• No microSD card slot
• Sub-par cameras
• App choice still skimpy

Laptop Mag Verdict

Samsung's super slim and light Galaxy Tab 10.1 is a beautifully designed tablet that does justice to the Honeycomb experience.

Pros

• +

  Lighter than the iPad 2

• +

  Bright and crisp display

• +

  Practiced battery life

• +

  Powerful speakers

• +

  Skilful touch keyboard

Cons

• -

  No microSD card slot

• -

  Sub-par cameras

• -

  App option still skimpy

The iPad 2 raised the bar for tablet design, and now Samsung has responded with the Galaxy Tab 10.1, which is even lighter and merely as thin as Apple's sequel. In fact, it makes every other Android Honeycomb tablet on the market look bloated. Priced at $499 for the 16GB version, the Tab 10.1 likewise features the latest Android 3.i software, which promises swifter--and more stable--performance, along with other welcome enhancements. Does this slate have what it takes to accept down the champ?

Editors' Note: Portions of this review were taken from our review of the Samsung Milky way Tab 10.ane Express Edition.

Design

This is as svelte as Android tablets get. At nine.7 x 6.7 10 0.34 inches, the Galaxy Tab 10.ane is a little wider than the iPad 2 (9.5 x 7.3 inches), only it has the aforementioned thickness. In the weight department, the Tab is a hair lighter, coming in at 1.24 pounds to the iPad 2's one.35 pounds. The Tab 10.1 has a black bezel around the screen, and in that location's a strip of aluminum that goes forth the superlative, bottom, and sides. However, the dorsum is a glossy white plastic that, while solid, feels less premium than the aluminum back on the iPad 2.

Nevertheless, the Tab 10.1's light weight makes a huge difference, especially when compared to other Honeycomb tablets such as the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer or the Motorola Xoom (1.4 and one.six pounds, respectively). Our wrists didn't get as tired holding the Galaxy Tab for long reading sessions, and the rounded edges made it more comfy to concord.

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Along the edges of the Tab 10.one you'll only find two buttons (power and volume toggle on top) and only one port (the 10-pin proprietary connector) on the bottom. 2 small oval speakers sit on the left and right. Unlike most other Android tablets, in that location's no user-accessible microSD card slot or the full-size USB found on the Acer Iconia Tab A500. Not being able to add extra memory means owners are stuck with the 16GB or 32GB that comes with the unit.

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A 3-megapixel camera and flash sit on the back in the center. The 2-MP front-facing camera is the only affair that interrupts the glass-covered brandish bezel on the forepart.

Display and Audio

Click to enlargeThe Tab's x.1-inch, 1280 10 800 WXGA brandish offered vivid, popping colors and great dissimilarity, plus broad viewing angles. Next to the iPad two'south smaller ix.7-inch screen, the Milky way Tab'southward looks slightly less bright due to the subtle blueish tinge to the display. However, while watching episodes of Criminal Minds, we held the Tab 10.ane at very extreme angles yet didn't meet any color baloney. While the Tab ten.1's glossy display had an unfortunate habit of picking up fingerprints easily, information technology responded instantly to taps and swipes.

Given the small speakers, we constitute audio quality on the Tab 10.i better than expected. While listening to Lady Gaga'due south "Bad Romance," Emperor Norton's Stationary Marching Band's "Those Grimy Fiddling Stars," and Tricky Pixie's "Tam Lin," nosotros noted that layers of audio weren't as separate as we'd like, but the audio did have some depth to it. Bass and treble were distinct, though the former wasn't very strong. We had to plow volume upwards to 100 percent in a medium-sized room with minimal background dissonance. In quieter situations, 50- to seventy-percent volume filled the room.

Software and Interface

At launch, the Galaxy Tab x.1 shipped with Android 3.1 "Honeycomb," simply lacked the TouchWix UX interface Samsung showed off at earlier events. The visitor says that it will be available via an over-the-air update, though no fourth dimension frame for that has been announced.

We like Android iii.1 on the Tab 10.1 just as much as on the Motorola Xoom and found the system more stable than the Limited Edition, which had Android 3.0. Fifty-fifty with more a dozen apps open simultaneously, we were able to switch between them quickly (thanks to the app tray, which at present holds up to 16 of your most contempo apps) without delays and without crashing. We also like the ability to resize widgets on the Home screens, assuasive us to better accept advantage of the available real estate.

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As with other Honeycomb tablets, the organization bar at the bottom of the screen is persistent. That's where you lot'll find the Dorsum, Habitation, and Contempo Application buttons (which look like space-historic period line drawings) on the left side. The bottom right houses the notification area, where y'all can do everything from glance at incoming e-mail alerts and skipping to the adjacent song to adjusting settings such every bit brightness. When y'all open an app, the Action Bar will announced, which presents contextual carte du jour items at the elevation of the screen.

The Galaxy Tab'south keyboard is not the standard layout found on the Motorola Xoom. It looks like an enlarged version of the keyboard found on the 7-inch Galaxy Tab. Overall, nosotros prefer this layout, which has larger, easier-to-read keys. You'll also find alternate punctuation characters bachelor via tap and hold. And because the Galaxy Tab ten.1 is narrower than the iPad 2, we found pollex typing to be faster on this tablet.

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Camera and Camcorder

The thought that consumers don't really care about the cameras on tablets must exist pervasive, considering Samsung isn't giving them whatever reason to love taking pictures and videos with the Galaxy Tab. The 3-MP rear-facing photographic camera captured slightly washed-out images. Video recorded indoors at 720p had a lot of noise and graininess. It was less grainy when we adjusted the white residuum ourselves instead of leaving information technology on auto, but we've seen better from high-cease smartphones.

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The camera app does offer some squeamish features. Users can choose from viii unlike options in scene mode and employ three effects/filters as they shoot. We'd like to encounter more filters, especially since adding them tin can save an otherwise lackluster epitome. We like the more advanced photography features included as well, such as the ability to switch from car-focus to Macro mode for more control over close-up shots and the three Metering options. In that location's no digital zoom, though. In that location are iv shooting modes; we peculiarly like the panorama mode as it makes it easy to line up shots. Too bad all of this software is wasted on such low-quality cameras.

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Despite the lack of a flash, the 2-MP front-facing camera took self-portraits that weren't too dark and showed a decent level of detail. During video chats using the Google Talk app, our image lacked sharpness and colors washed out. Withal, over Wi-Fi the video and audio stayed in sync and we didn't blur too much when the device was jostled effectually.

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Operation

Similar all the other Honeycomb tablets thus far, the Samsung Milky way Tab ten.1 rocks a 1-GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 processor backed by 1GB of RAM. However, thanks to the upgrade to Android three.1, the Tab x.1 is snappier and more stable performer than Android three.0 slates. The device had no problem treatment robust games such as Plants vs. Zombies, as well equally multiple tabs in the browser. We also didn't experience any crashes or strength-closes during our testing.

On the CPU portion of the Benchmark test, the Tab 10.1 scored 3,158.7, higher than the Motorola Xoom (two,996) and the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer (3,126), merely slightly beneath the Acer Iconia Tab A500 (iii,214). The Limited Edition Tab 10.1 posted a nearly identical iii,196.9. On AN3DBench, the Tab 10.1'due south score of 7526 was most the same as the Limited Edition (7,593), and it bests the category boilerplate (vi,754) and the Iconia Tab (6,938), only non the Eee Pad Transformer (eight,579).

While playing Angry Birds Rio, Fruit Ninja, and more complex 3D games such as Jet Car Stunts, we saw smooth frame rates, corking responsiveness, and well-rendered backgrounds. The accelerometer easily kept up with the twisting, turning tracks in Jet Auto Stunts.

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Over Wi-Fi, the Tab 10.ane loaded total, image-heavy websites rapidly: Flickr's Interestingness page in 3 seconds, Laptopmag in 5 seconds, and Lightspeed Magazine in 7 seconds. On average, they were about 1.5 seconds faster than the Special Edition. Unfortunately, scrolling wasn't as smoothen or as fast as we would like.

Battery Life

The Galaxy Tab 10.ane'due south 6,860 mAh lithium-polymer bombardment lasted a pretty solid eight hours and 23 mintues (viii:23). That's about 20 mintues longer than the Motorola Xoom, but well below the iPad 2'due south runtime (11:11).

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Apps and Media

Bated from some of the typical Google apps that come with Android--Gmail, Latitude, Moving-picture show Studio, Music (beta), and Talk--the Tab is pre-loaded with few apps. There's QuickOffice HD gratis for documents, Pulse news reader, plus Samsung'southward Music Hub and Apps. Samsung'southward app store has few titles right now (vi as of press time).

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When compared to the more than than xc,000 iPad apps bachelor, the Android ecosystem has some catching up to exercise. Currently there are only 60 apps listed in the Android Marketplace specifically designed for tablets. The rest of the more than 200,000 apps usually expand to make full the screen without trouble, though there are exceptions. In addition, there are currently fifteen games bachelor from the Nvidia Tegra Zone, including Fruit Ninja, Pinball HD, and Riptide GP.

Currently, Google Movies doesn't work with the Tab ten.i fifty-fifty though information technology'southward running Android iii.1. Google said it would bring that service to all 3.1 tablets, and as the Tab is very new, nosotros hope that an update to the Market is forthcoming soon. Since Samsung's MediaHub is also MIA, there aren't many options for Tab owners to watch premium video content at this time.

Pricing and Value

Click to enlargeThe Wi-Fi version of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 costs $499 for 16GB and $599 for 32GB. This is the same pricing for the Apple iPad two with similar storage. Acer's Iconia Tab A500 starts at $50 less for 16GB and includes a microSD slot for memory expansion, but it isn't equally calorie-free equally the Galaxy Tab. The ASUS Eee Pad Transformer starts at $100 less (without the dock) and also has a memory card slot.

Verdict

For those who like the idea of owning an Android-powered tablet, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is ane sexy slice of hardware. It'due south just every bit thin and even weighs less than the iPad 2, and the latest Android 3.1 OS makes using Honeycomb a much better experience. If you don't mind the extra weight, the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer offers like performance to the Tab 10.i for $100 less and works well with an optional keyboard. Overall, though, the Tab 10.1'southward sleeker pattern, peachy display, loud speakers, and strong endurance brand it amid our favorite Honeycomb tablets.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.i (Wi-Fit Specs

Brand	Samsung
CPU	one-GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 Dual-Core
Camera Resolution	3MP
Company Website	http://www.samsung.com/us
Display Resolution	1280 10 800
Display Size	10.i
Forepart-Facing Camera Resolution	2.0MP
Has Bluetooth	Yes
Bone	Android 3.1
Ports	Headphone, Proprietary
Size	nine.vii 10 6.vii x 0.34 inches
Storage Bulldoze Size	16GB
Storage Drive Type	Flash Memory
Weight	1.ii pounds
Wi-Fi	802.11a/b/grand/n

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Source: https://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/tablets/samsung-galaxy-tab-10-1-wi-fi