Without a doubt, Android 3.0 (formerly known as Honeycomb) and the upcoming Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0) may provide the most potent competition the Apple iPad has ever faced. However, after spending some time with the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 running Android 3.0, I wonder if anyone realizes the enormous chasm that still separates Apple's iOS-based tablet platform and virtually any other tablet available today.
I came to this conclusion after test-driving a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Google Android Special Edition device (it doesn't have Samsung's TouchWiz interface or the upcoming Android 3.1). Don't get me wrong, it's a gorgeous device, but the Honeycomb interface still works very much like something designed by committee. To understand why I wouldn't give up my iPad for this promising tablet, we need to break down my likes and dislikes:
Like: It's Lighter
Though noticeably longer than the iPad 2, the Galaxy's 16:9 screen makes it a good bit narrower than the iPad 2. However the real reason the Tab feels so much lighter is the plastic back. The iPad's is all aluminum. When it comes to mobile devices, lighter is always better.
Dislike: Slippery
This is the second Galaxy Tab to feature a just-too-slippery back. Every time I put the 10.1-inch tablet on my lap, it would slide off the moment I shifted my legs. Apparently some Galaxy Tab 10.1 models may come with different, less-glide-ready back panel. Regardless, every tablet should have a little bit of texture on the back—just enough to make it easy-to-hold and keep it locked in on even the slipperiest of slacks.
Dislike: Built-In Web Browser
I pretty much dislike everything from the colors to how the interface works on the Android 3.0 default Web browser. The borders are all dark grey, making it near-impossible to see key controls like the "X" for closing tabs and the "+" for adding them. Also, the browser never truly seems to close. So when I logged into my corporate Webmail account (we're using MS Exchange 2003), I could not log out and let someone else log in on the same tablet—it just kept logging me in. What's worse is that the browser didn't allow me to send any mail I created. To be fair, Microsoft Webmail typically looks best on Internet Explorer and this is not the latest version of Webmail. On the other hand, Webmail does function for me on all other non-Microsoft browsers—except this one.
Dislike: Move those Controls
On Android 3.0, the Back, Home, and Task buttons are right below your active screen. It's not a good spot. More than once I ended up on my previous Web page or back on the homepage when I really meant to hit the virtual space bar or the numeric key-switch button. I'd move controls like that off the screen and on to the frame. Speaking of which, I really wonder why no one wants to put a physical home/wake button on the face of these tablets. Are they worried they'll all look too much like the iPad? Maybe so, but I say stick with what works, people.
Like: Flash that Works
Sure, I had to download and install Adobe Flash 10.3, but once I did, it worked perfectly. That's a trick not even the iPad can accomplish.Dislike: Please Move Faster
Most of the time I used the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, I connected to the Internet via a Verizon 4G hotspot (giving me almost 13Mbps down). That should have given me some pretty peppy performance on page loads and access to various other Internet-connected services, including the App Market and the native Gmail app, but I often found the Tab's responsiveness lacking. Perhaps it'll improve when Google updates it with Android 3.1.
Like: The Screen
I have no issues with the iPad or iPad 2 screen, but the Galaxy's combination of higher resolution (1,280-by-800 versus the iPad's 1,024-by-768) and 16:9 aspect ratio, 10.1-inch screen makes everything from games to videos look fantastic. I did, however, have to override the automatic brightness settings, which left the screen too dim for my tastes.
Continue Reading: Text, Sound, Tasks and More
Dislike: Text Selection
Android 3.0 is a frustrating mixture of elegance and clunkiness. Take text selection. As with the iPad, you hold your finger down over the text you want to select and some selection tools appear. In the case of the iPad, the selected text gets a blue overlay and there are little deep-blue dots that you drag around to select more or less text. In Android you get these blocky, green (must everything Android be green?) trapezoids to drag around. They do not always move smoothly.
Like: The Sound
Any tablet can produce great sound through a pair of plugged-in headphones, but making good external speakers, at least when it comes to tablets, is something of an art. The iPad's speakers have moved from the edge on the iPad 1 to the slightly upturned base edge of the iPad 2. They work well. The Motorola Xoom puts the speakers on the base and I noticed that when you put the device on a table top, the sound is somewhat muffled. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, on the other hand, places two speakers along the outside edge of the tablet—one on each side of the device. This helps create more realistic stereo sound. Watching Lady Gaga's new "Judas" video, I noticed how the speakers gave the aural effect of a motorcycle driving by: the sound started on my left and ended on the right; quite a feat for a 10.1-inch tablet.
Dislike: Bad Connection
Though my MiFi was sitting a mere 12 inches from the Galaxy Tab, the device kept losing the connection. I have no idea why, but each time it happened, resetting the Wi-Fi connection on the tablet solved the issue.
Like: Multitasking
There's a fair amount of discussion about what actually constitutes multitasking. For me, it means that programs can remain resident—if not running—in the background and basically wake up right where you left off when you switch over to them. This is pretty much how everyone handles it on tablets and phones. What really matters to me, though, is how these platforms will let me keep track of what I was doing in various apps. The iPad only shows me the app icons. Android 3.0 shows frozen thumbnails of the in-app activity. That works for me.
Like: The Android Market
Android's App Market is clean, pretty well organized and easy to use.
Dislike: The Android MarketDespite a stellar and easy-to-use interface, the Market is lacking some key features. For one thing, I'm having a heck of a time finding tablet-specific Android apps—they're not grouped in any discernable way. For another, some of the free apps are just plain horrible. One good example is the atrocious "Drag Racing." Interestingly, you will find things in the Android Market that you would never see in Apple's App Store, like Spicey Apps' "Strip Poker." Now don't get too excited. Based on the comments I read, the model in the game isn't actually stripping. This one was my favorite: "I have no idea where these guys learned their rules of Poker from—or their concept of 'strip'. Waste of time."
Like: Google Account Integration
I have a Google account and use it to access services like Gmail, Google Reader, Google Docs, Picasa Web, and my Google Profile, and I appreciate a device that lets me integrate this account with its core functions like the App Market. One bothersome thing, though, was that I had to sign in in multiple spots in order for the tablet to recognize me and my accounts. This is one of those areas where the committee clearly ruled.
Dislike: Where's Settings?
It took me a little while to realize that someone had made the brilliant move of putting the tablet Settings control under "Apps." That makes absolutely no sense. It belongs under the Home screen.
Another example of committee-think. Also, settings gives you access to a view of "processes and services"—at least you have to dig down under "Applications" settings to find it. Even so, why would a consumer electronics device ever give consumers access to processes and services? Apple knows better than this and hides that kind of technical minutia from iPad users.
Dislike: Not Enough Native Apps
One of my favorite apps on the iPad is Autodesk's Sketchbook Pro. You can find both a paid version of Sketchbook (not Pro) and Sketchbook Express (free) in the Android Market. Neither one of these apps is designed for the Honeycomb platform. As a result the Android free version works almost nothing like the one on the iPad, and it's permanently stuck in portrait mode. If I cannot find my favorite, mission-critical apps on the Android platform, I'm walking away.
Meh: The Cameras
The Galaxy Tab's two cameras are both higher resolution still cameras than those you'll find on the iPad 2, but the images are not demonstrably better. Likewise, the rear camera can, like the iPad 2, shoot 720p video, but I think the iPad's video output is sharper.
There is nothing ostensibly wrong with the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 It's obviously the new leading contender in tablet wars, but if Google and its partners want to start winning a few battles, they need to match and beat the iPad in virtually every way. So far, that's just not happening.