Design quality is an entirely subjective metric. I will not argue which is 'better', but I will say this: there is more to hardware design than the enclosure, and Samsung has proved sound design in terms of high quality components and build-quality in their devices. The Galaxy Tab is no exception: it's a very well built device down to the choice of parts and its construction.

I will also add this: people's concept of quality seems biased incredibly towards what they immediately perceive. I'm not knocking Apple on quality by any means, I'm merely asserting that this is an area that they capitalize upon. If quality were measured by another metric, for example, Asus could conceivably rate #1 as according to one study they've been unmatched in terms of reliability for their laptops.

One last thing: for a person who hates this thread, you certainly read it a lot.....

Personally I rate HTC much higher than Samsung. It remains to be seen what they bring to the tablet market but it must be said that the HTC Desire range is super super impressive. Unfortunately for them and fortunately for Samsung I don't know if I can wait for them to bring something to the tablet market.

I'm very interested in what HTC brings to this space as well. The next iteration of the snapdragon is going to be a monster with some serious GPU muscle.

This is why I keep coming back and reading this thread. So far (I haven't done tons of research) the Tab has the best features of any tablet I've seen.

1) 7" screen (this is really the size I want)
2) 1024x600 resolution, most other 7" tablets seem to be 800x480
3) GPS, seems like wifi tablets exclude the GPS (built into the 3G chip?)
4) Reasonable CPU/mem/storage, most of the other tablets are using older CPU's, less memory, less storage
5) Other tablets that don't have a gimmicky connector, either don't have video out, or are limited to SD video.

Admittedly most of the other Tablets are considerably cheaper, but due to the older CPUs being used, are going to be much less capable. Access to market on other tablets is questionable (varies).

IMHO, the Tab is currently the reigning champ in the tablet division, standing well above the other tablets I've seen. However, I do think the pricing is off on the high side. I'd bet that at $400, Samsung would still make a nice little profit, and wouldn't be able to keep them on the shelf.

Personally, I'd like a 7" tablet @ 1280x720 (or even better a "retina" display @ 1920x1080) with GPS, wifi only. If I have to take 3G to get GPS, I would. Either not get a sim, or get a pay as you go sim.

In the meantime, I'll keep looking, and keep reading here.

At the end of the day, 1M devices in customer's hands is a huge ordeal for Android in general. I expect that there will be a huge push to support larger devices with UIs that take advantage of the larger screens.

In a few months, I expect that many Tab owners will have a healthy selection of tablet ready applications for use. I predict that there will be at least one thousand, but I'm guessing that there will be more.

This is a win for the Tab, but also other Android tablets on or coming to market!

That's not saying much, and hate is a strong word.

[unavoidable backhanded compliment]Even though I find your language too flowery and flighty, you generally write well.[/unavoidable backhanded compliment] So, here we are.

Thanks, man! I know we'd be friends in life. I like different perspectives so please do continue to contribute.

Perhaps this stream of consciousness will help people get where I'm coming from more clearly:

I'm taken by this device, but I wouldn't call myself a fanboy by any stretch (then again, who would? In hindsight, that's not a terribly convincing statement). You see, I wouldn't blindly choose a Samsung product by virtue of being a Samsung product -- not even close. And I'm quick to recommend an iPad to a friend who will benefit more from the positioning of that device -- in fact I've recommended two over the Tab already.

But devices seem to be so polarizing these days that an individual defending a challenged statement almost comes across as being a fanboy; at least this is my guess based on my observations. But I wouldn't complain, as a society I'd rather that we form warring tribes around meaningless devices than around groups of people.

As a tablet, I'd choose the Tab. With a more competent SoC (coming in a matter of years), I'd champion a ubuntu/MeeGo tablet as a mobile workstation based on its usefulness. I, like you, love the design of the macbook pro and air, but I would choose a UL30Vt despite its terrible LCD and arguably weak CPU thanks to the light weight, good GPU, and insane battery life (even when running the non-windows Ubuntu) -- but the MBP is a close second. I wouldn't buy a smartphone because of the screen size. Etc, etc, etc...

I've not found a device where a tradeoff doesn't have to be made, but having been a fanboy (Nokia N8x0, FWIW), I realize that I'd rather have fewer tradeoffs than more. I value my time more these days, and don't find 'hacking' fun anymore to get something working properly. I also am 'frugal' and like the idea of longevity -- even if its not realized. The Tab seemingly fits this prerequisite for me quite well.

Being somewhat informed about the available options, I *feel* free to choose based on what works best, and not on brand affiliation. So, while today == Samsung for me, tomorrow is anyone's guess.

This is almost a must have for individuals that want navigation without the network-dependency: MapDroid!


http://www.mapdroyd.com/map-android-features

Thanks to this software, you can use your Tab as an offline map viewer. It features an inbuilt map repository browser for easy downloading, and features like rotation and 3D for comfortable browsing.

I'll likely get this software. The speed alone is worth consideration than pulling maps from the network via 3G, not to mention the cost.

@lemmyslender

I think the Tab falls into a category I'll call "First Generation Syndrome", but I'm glad that it's come out of the gate so well. Good competition is obviously essential in order to widely spread satisfaction. Yet in the end, conventional wisdom is telling plenty of us to wait.

[old guy waves hand] "This is not the tab you're looking for"

Well, it's finally happened. It seems that Android is getting a UI overhaul thanks to Romain Guy, the late Palm Pre UI star.

http://www.curious-creature.org/2010...d-tips-tricks/
Presentation #1: Android Graphics and Animations
Presentation #2: Android UI Development: Tips and Tricks

There are two presentations at the previous link that talk about some important changes to the UI framework. The first talks about the ensuing architecture, and the second about proper utilization.

There is too much to go over in this post, but there are some very important changes to the way that Android handles graphics. Some of which include full RGBA on all windows, vector drawing tools, and a superclass animation system (including: scale, rotation, translation, fade, etc).

The bottom line? The android UI system is about to get much more impressive and provide more display opportunities for developers, and to include higher utilization of the GPU for faster rendering.