With the release of version 3.0 of Android, Google was attacking force dominate a market segment so far by Apple iPad. StyleReport.ro comparing one of the first tablets using the new operating system, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1v, with the second generation iPhone, and the results were surprising to both devices.
Tehnical equipment and construction
Let’s start with the two newest gadgets, Galaxy Tab 10.1v, released shortly ago in Romania. The front of the tablet is dominated by multi-touch display of 10.1 inches (25.65 cm). Google and Samsung have opted to give up buttons for Android features so far, instead being used more virtual buttons. The only thing that is present on the border of the tablet is a 2-megapixel webcam, primarily intended for video conferencing.
Tab 10.1v clearly designed to be used in horizontal mode: the screen has a 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio, and USB jack for connecting to a computer is positioned in the center of one of the long sides of the device. Tab 10.1 includes a set of stereo speakers positioned one side of the screen and on the upper side of the case also found its place a microphone and two buttons for volume control. Right side of the case houses the SIM card slot and left side 3.5 mm connector for headphones and button on/off.
The back is made of textured black plastic, presumably to reduce weight wherever possible device, and has an optimized shape as to have a better grip. A company logo inscribed in a circle and a metallic eight megapixel camera with LED flash are also positioned on the back of the tablet. iPad 2 has a design similar to that of the first model: the front side includes a display of 9.7 inches (24.63 cm) with an aspect ratio of 4:3, to return to the main menu button and a video camera in the top. The display is covered with glass and aluminum.
At the level of technical equipment, both tablets using the latest processors with two cores, supported by 512MB of RAM and 1GB on the iPad Tab 10.1. The only place Galaxy Tab fails to match (or exceed) iPhone in terms of features is the display: iPad screen is significantly clearer and can be viewed from angles much larger than that used by Samsung, despite resolution somewhat smaller (1024 x 728 pixels vs. the iPhone. 1280 × 800 at Tab 10.1v).
In terms of autonomy, iPad two wins, with about 9-10 hours of continuous operation before the end of the battery. Galaxy Tab still manage to provide good performance with a range of 7-8 hours in normal use. Both tablets have refused to charge via USB from the computer to which I linked, a potential problem if you plug adapter with you and you with the battery running out.
It should be mentioned from the beginning another fundamental difference between the two tablets: iPhone is more related to a classical computer than Galaxy Tab. At first startup, called iPad 2 connected to a computer with iTunes installed for initialization and the transfer of content is still based mainly on the timing device with a PC. Tab 10.1va required to boot a Google account, after entering the system that I could find all contacts, mail accounts, and even our photos Picasa albums. It is worth mentioning that the iPhone can be synchronized with a Google account, but if you want a tablet computer as a stand-alone, Apple still not offers a very good solution. Virtual keyboards integrated into IOS and Android 3 have worked very well, but for large texts or emails recommend using a physical keyboard external version supported by both platforms.
Standard applications installed on both operating systems cover almost all the common needs of users: browser, email client, notes, and multimedia software programs for GPS. Both tablets have excellent performance in running applications, but were quite heated during prolonged use. Deserves special attention paid to browsers: like the previous version, iPad 2 does not give users the ability to run Flash content, relying instead on HTML5 standard still lower.
For now, thanks to tens of thousands of applications available and superior stability, we recommend the iPad 2, but this verdict might change once developers are working on Android platform. If we consider the applications available, then the verdict is almost equal for the first time since the emergence of the iPad. However, even when comparing only the basic functions, iPad still offers a more fluid experience.
