Samsung Galaxy Tab Gets Rave Reviews

The contest of Apple iPad versus Samsung Galaxy Tab may simply come down to: Are you an Apple person or an Android person?

The New York Times' David Pogue and the Wall Street Journal's Walter S. Mossberg have each spent some time with the Galaxy Tab, the first tablet expected to give the iPad some competition. (iPad currently enjoys 95.5 percent of worldwide tablet market share, according to Strategy Analytics. The Galaxy Tab will become available over the next few days from Verizon Wireless, Sprint and T-Mobile, and will arrive closer to the holiday season from AT&T.

In short, both tech critics liked the Tab. Pogue is the more smitten -- or at least more effusive -- of the two. Mossberg, while complimentary, concludes: "On balance ... I still prefer the iPad."

Among the highlights for critics:

• a 13-oz. device with 7-inch touchscreen display (on the diagonal), versus the iPad's 1.5 lbs and 9.7-inch display;
• support for Adobe Flash (which iPad lacks) as well as HTML5;
• multitasking capabilities;
• SD memory card;
• voice-to-text dictation capability;
• camera.

Both reviewers take issue with the Galaxy Tab's price: $600 with cellular capability (like the iPad, you cannot use it to place cellular calls) but no contract, or $400 with a two-year contract.

For more, read the eWeek article Samsung Galaxy Tab is Gorgeous, Delicious and Expensive.