The Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 will be the newest member of the brand’s tablet loved ones, but is it truly capable of taking on the Apple iPad 2?
What’s the perfect sized tablet? If we are going through sales, it is the 1 that measures in at 9.7-inch Apple iPad 2. That hasn’t stopped Samsung covering all the bases with its Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 tablet – the most recent to join the growing hord of Galaxy Tab devices.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is still considered the closest thing to an iPad 2 challenger, but with comparable specs crammed into a significantly smaller body, could the Galaxy Tab 8.9 actually much better the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and turn out to be one in the leading Android tablets in the marketplace?
Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9: Develop
If you liked the appeal of the Galaxy Tab 10.1, then you’ll be happy to hear that the 8.9 is near sufficient identical in terms of design. Samsung has as soon as again taken the minimal method, deciding on just on/off and volume buttons as the only physical controls on the device which indicates, relatively disappointingly, that there’s no sign of USB or SD card ports.
At 453g, it is over 100g lighter than the iPad 2 (613g) and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 (565g) and procedures in at just 8.6mm thickness which as a result makes it very comfy to hold in one hand.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9: Screen
Samsung has come up trumps once again with the Galaxy Tab 8.9 multi-touch display, boasting a 120×800-pixel resolution putting it within the exact same league because the iPad in terms of screen quality. Squeezing in 170 ppi that is much more than the Galaxy Tab 10.1, meaning you are able to anticipate impressive levels of clarity and rich blacks which make it perfect for watching movies and using it as an ereader.
The capacitive and multi-touch performance was impressive as expected, however we did it find it slightly fidgety when trying to re-arrange app icons about the screen, exactly where it frequently annoyingly switched to other home screens.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9: Android Ice Cream Sandwich
There’s no Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich on board so you will have to make do with Android 3.2 Honeycomb with Samsung’s Touchwiz 4.0 UI overlay. That brings a couple of functions such as a series of mini apps that can be accessed by swiping up from the bottom in the screen.
Right here you’ll find applications just like a calculator, a job manager and access to your music. Touchwiz also brings screengrab functionality that is good news thinking about that this is 1 in the new elements packed into Android 4.0 and something that the Honeycomb OS does not provide.
One feature Samsung has been pushing is its App Store that is basically Android Market for newbie’s to locate the best apps to download. There’s absolutely nothing which you won’t find on the Android Marketplace although so we’re struggling to see the value of its presence on the device.
You’ll also discover the Samsung Hubs (Music, Social and Reader) which reduces a few of the important features in the Galaxy Tab 8.9. The Reader hub particularly stands out offering a user friendly way of discovering magazines, books and newspapers albeit through third party apps.
We also liked the inclusion of motion controls which enables you to enlarge copy and change images merely by tilting or panning the device. This really is particularly handy for reading magazines and web sites and flicking via pictures in your gallery.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9: Performance
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 packs exactly the same 1GHZ dual-core Nvidia Tegra processor discovered within the Galaxy Tab 10.1 which ensures a similarly slick internet browsing and page loading performance. This also indicates it’s well equipped to deal with streaming-heavy applications and games.
We tested OnLive and Netflix Android apps more than Wi-Fi and discovered the expertise a lag- and buffer-free expertise. We’ve already mentioned just how much we love the screen for watching movies (1080p HD high quality), but unfortunately we can’t be so glowing in terms of the audio performance from the speakers located at the bottom of device which were loud but usually tinny with music and video playback.
In the event you feel compelled to pull out your tablet over a Smartphone to take pictures, the Galaxy Tab 8.9 features a rear-facing 3-megaxpiel with a LED flash which hands over decent sufficient snaps that pick up great detail and exposure with a especially impressive Panorama mode.
The 2-megapixel front-facing camera is appropriate enough to cater for all your Skipping and video calling needs, while its 720p HD footage capabilities produced decent footage which was grainy at times and struggled in low lit conditions.
The Galaxy Tab 8.9 hosts a 6100mAh battery which ought to get you around 9 hours of battery life, and getting put it towards the test operating all through the day on light use it was around nine hours before we had to reach for the dock plug to charge it up once more.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9: Verdict
So exactly where does the Samsung 8.9 rank within the present hierarchy of tablets? Nicely, we’d say quite extremely. It shares so many in the characteristics that produced the Galaxy Tab 10.1 such an impressive device, but manages to condense it all into a smaller, much more bag-friendly design.
The screen is outstanding and ideal for reading and watching films, while the Touchwiz overlay assists to separate it from many in the other Android 3.0 tablets presently on the market. We would have loved to have noticed some USB or SD card assistance like the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime but Samsung appears to be putting faith in its All Share platform and DLNA rather. Ultimately though, this is an additional great Samsung tablet that exceeds its 10.1-inch compatriot (albeit having a bigger cost tag) and is a superb option towards the Apple iPad 2.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 availability: Accessible now
Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 cost: £499.99
