Tab vs. Pad
Here at HEXUS we've undecided about the Samsung Galaxy Tab. On one hand it costs the same as the equivalent Apple iPad, which has a bigger screen, a more optimised OS and a more mature developer ecosystem. On the other hand it is a nice device, and has some functionality the iPad doesn't.
Like it or not, Apple has defined the tablet form-factor with the iPad, and any subsequent keyboard-less mobile computing devices will be compared to it. Our feeling is that, for all its virtues, the Galaxy Tab struggles in a toe-to-toe fight with the iPad and thus should have been priced lower. But what does the market think?
Well the Korea Herald has reported Samsung's claim that the Galaxy Tab sold 600,000 units in its first month of sales. Considering the iPad started off with sales of around a million per month, and has since slowed down, that's not a bad effort.
One thing this definitely proves, as if it were needed, is that there is strong demand for an alternative to Apple in the tablet form-factor. If the HEXUS community is anything to go by, there are many people who just don't want to buy Apple stuff, for whatever reason, but are interested in equivalent products.
As we've written many times, Android has emerged as the Windows of the mobile devices space - the OS that any OEM can use on any phone that's capable of running it. There's every reason to assume the trends we've seen in the Android smartphone market will be replicated with tablets, and Android has the extra advantage of established brand equity this time around.
One question this does pose regards the optimum size of a tablet. Steve Jobs argues that ten inches is better as, apart from bigger images, etc, it's also better for the gesture-driven interface. But the seven inch Galaxy Tab clearly has many supporters too and, of course, it is more portable than the iPad.
Our feeling regarding the category of mobile devices that resides in-between smartphones and laptops has always been: if it's too big to fit in your pocket - and thus requires a bag - you might as well go the whole hog and go as big as possible. However, there are currently at least 600,000 people who disagree.
