Today at the Google I/O conference in San Francisco, Android product management director Hugo Barra held up a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 as an example of new exciting form factors using Google's mobile OS, adding, "it's not available to anyone yet ... with one exception: conference attendees."
You can guess the cry of elation that erupted in the auditorium. And it wasn't unjustified, based on our first impressions of the device. Most laymen could easily mistake it for an iPad 2, but it's a tad lighter at 589 grams (1.3 pounds), and has a larger, higher-resolution 10.1-inch display, at 1,280-by-800, compared with the iPad's 1,024-by-768. This means it can play full 1080p HD video, at a maximum of 30 frames per second.
Samsung claims that the device is the only customized Android Honeycomb tablet with TouchWiz UX, which could be a good or bad thing, depending on your perspective. But the device handed out at Google I/O and shown here is a Limited Edition unit, which has stock Android installed. At first glance, it's a pleasing, intuitive Android flavor. Though it currently still runs Android 3.0, Barra said that it would be updated to the new Android 3.1 "over the next couple of weeks." That new version adds improved multitasking, resizable widgets, and USB host capability.
The tablet is powered by a 1-GHz dual-core Tegra 2 CPU. Two cameras grace the front and back of the device—an 8-megapixel rear model and a 2-megapixel front camera. There's also GPS and surround-sound speakers. Samsung claims the battery will deliver up to 10 hours of play time and 1,810 hours of standby time.
Networking support includes dual-antenna Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, HSPA+21Mbps, HSUPA 5.76Mbps, and EDGE/GPRS.
The Galaxy Tab 10.1 will be available to U.S. customers on June 8, Samsung has confirmed. Prospective buyers can sign up at Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 page for information on how to get their own Tab.
For more, see PCMag's hands on with the Galaxy Tab 10.1.