Bigger is always better. Galaxy Tab 8.9 is more or less exactly the Galaxy Tab 10.1 ($ 499, 3.5 stars), less than 1.2 inches. Has shrunk version of Samsung's flagship tablet, a little 'reduced to the price: $ 469 and $ 499. We judge a little deal 'best around, and one of the best Android tablets, although the Apple iPad 2 ($ 499, 4.5 stars) is still our best choice of the tablet.
Physical design and network
Samsung is doing the best looking Android tablets in the company, although the tablets are too similar to the Apple iPad lawyers a little comfort. Galaxy Tab 8.9 is no exception, it is a black and silver plate with no physical button on the front, just a light and a bit of thought-1280-by-800-pixel display, the same resolution as the most large panel of the tab 10 Galaxy, the first since the 8.9 has a smaller screen, the pixels are closer, which is more pleasing to the eye.
Physical design and network
Samsung is doing the best looking Android tablets in the company, although the tablets are too similar to the Apple iPad lawyers a little comfort. Galaxy Tab 8.9 is no exception, it is a black and silver plate with no physical button on the front, just a light and a bit of thought-1280-by-800-pixel display, the same resolution as the most large panel of the tab 10 Galaxy, the first since the 8.9 has a smaller screen, the pixels are closer, which is more pleasing to the eye.
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| Galaxy Tab 8.9 (WiFi) |
Tab 8.9 is very thin and relatively light 15.7 ounces and 9.1 6.2 by 0.33 inch. There are power and volume buttons on top, and a 3.2 megapixel camera on the back and a 2 megapixel camera on the front. The back is smooth, gray plastic, you can not open the tablet to replace the battery. And stereo speakers on the bottom, is one of Gate, own home port.
Platform Wi-Fi only, there is no option for 3G/4G Tab 8.9. You get Bluetooth, which is compatible with mono and stereo audio, and integrated GPS. In my tests, 6,100 mAh power of the platform for a very good 8 hours, 15 minutes hours of video playback.
Performance, the operating system and applications
Like the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and a number of other current Android tablets, the Honeycomb 8.9 3.1 runs with Nvidia Tegra 2. Compare the performance is identical to 10.1 and many other Tegra 2 tablets base. No defects were found, problems or delays in my test. But there is no timetable for an update of Android 3.2, according to Samsung, so you should treat this as an Android 3.1. The company has dressed TouchWiz interface, a set of interface widgets and extensions of the platform seems a bit slow, but some of the most convenient.
Samsung launches a bunch of widgets by default in seven home screens, which I like because it makes the tablet seems to be more than a blank slate. Most embedded applications are subtle cosmetic revisions. Mini Tray Apps is especially welcome: This is a set of six commonly used applications / widgets that can arise from the bottom of the screen. For more information on TouchWiz, check out our review of the Galaxy Tab 10.1.
Until now, Google's Android Market is not a winner honeycomb tablet applications, the results of too many applications that perform poorly are compressed. So, along with standard material from Google, Samsung has packed this slate Tablet-centric shops: just 7digital powered music, as well as Samsung and Google Video store, and even Samsung's App Store. As the Nvidia Tegra 2 tablets, Galaxy Tab also works with Nvidia Tegra game shop area.
Unfortunately, none of these solve the problem of most critics Honeycomb store shelves "is not enough applications. Samsung App Store, for example, has only one to five applications in each of their categories. Samsung insists on thousands of applications phone work well on the shelf, but thousands of people do not, and there is no guide to tell them apart. This makes all the honeycomb tablets well below the iPad, with its 90,000 + applications appropriate, specific the tablet.
Seven-inch tablet running Honeycomb 3.2, such as Acer Iconia tab A100 ($ 329, 4 stars), to avoid this problem by presenting the phone's applications better than those with larger screens. But tablets without zoom mode interfaces Honeycomb 3.2 's ugly when trying to run many applications designed for Android phones.
The Galaxy Tab sync your contacts and calendars with the Samsung PC software Kies, and lets you drag and drop files in Windows Explorer on the platform. But Mac users beware: there is no Mac compatible USB here.
Multimedia
There are plenty of media opportunities to fill Tab 8.9 's storage 13.1GB free. (You'll have no memory card slot.) Samsung music store 7digital power above which the songs mean a dollar each, and a video store where the most promising television shows cost $ 1.99, but you can get many children and reality programming for a penny. I downloaded an episode of "Avatar" (children's show, not movie), and he seemed strong.
All sample files to play on the tab, both music and video, and it sounded exceptionally well through the stereo speakers on the device. The tab also includes a pair of headphones, but not so much a standard 3.5 mm headphone jack and Bluetooth, so you can use any headphones you have on hand.
There is a false note here, however: No video output, so you can not play your movies on the big screen. Samsung announces a dock with HDMI output, but is not included with the tablet, the only port is the port dock only, and only cable you get in the box ends with a USB plug.
Streaming video options are varied. The application is available TV.com but Hulu and Netflix, among others, are not.
Both cameras Tab is both very good. The 3.2 megapixel camera on the back is sharp, if not terribly fast pictures shutter lag of 1.1 seconds. The 2 megapixel camera on the front is just as strong. Both cameras record 720p HD video.
Conclusions
Galaxy Tab 8.9 is really just a tweak of the current 10.1-inch Tab, but that change makes it a bit 'more attractive. It 'a little' more portable and a little 'less, without losing pixel resolution screen, Hertz, and the processor speed or a byte of memory.
That said, we have the same problem with this film that we do most of the high-end Android tablet this size: it is going directly against the iPad, which is a lot more applications, and an ecosystem stronger. The seven-inch Android 3.2 tablets for at least the benefits are more portable, and takes the phone applications seem to be decent in maximized mode. But it is difficult to explain why the masses, when presented with this device and the iPad, you should choose the tab 8.9. If you're not a fan of Apple, though, and you want the thinnest Android tablet, you can get, Tab 8.9 is a safe choice.
Platform Wi-Fi only, there is no option for 3G/4G Tab 8.9. You get Bluetooth, which is compatible with mono and stereo audio, and integrated GPS. In my tests, 6,100 mAh power of the platform for a very good 8 hours, 15 minutes hours of video playback.
Performance, the operating system and applications
Like the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and a number of other current Android tablets, the Honeycomb 8.9 3.1 runs with Nvidia Tegra 2. Compare the performance is identical to 10.1 and many other Tegra 2 tablets base. No defects were found, problems or delays in my test. But there is no timetable for an update of Android 3.2, according to Samsung, so you should treat this as an Android 3.1. The company has dressed TouchWiz interface, a set of interface widgets and extensions of the platform seems a bit slow, but some of the most convenient.
 |
| Galaxy Tab 8.9 (WiFi) |
Samsung launches a bunch of widgets by default in seven home screens, which I like because it makes the tablet seems to be more than a blank slate. Most embedded applications are subtle cosmetic revisions. Mini Tray Apps is especially welcome: This is a set of six commonly used applications / widgets that can arise from the bottom of the screen. For more information on TouchWiz, check out our review of the Galaxy Tab 10.1.
Until now, Google's Android Market is not a winner honeycomb tablet applications, the results of too many applications that perform poorly are compressed. So, along with standard material from Google, Samsung has packed this slate Tablet-centric shops: just 7digital powered music, as well as Samsung and Google Video store, and even Samsung's App Store. As the Nvidia Tegra 2 tablets, Galaxy Tab also works with Nvidia Tegra game shop area.
Unfortunately, none of these solve the problem of most critics Honeycomb store shelves "is not enough applications. Samsung App Store, for example, has only one to five applications in each of their categories. Samsung insists on thousands of applications phone work well on the shelf, but thousands of people do not, and there is no guide to tell them apart. This makes all the honeycomb tablets well below the iPad, with its 90,000 + applications appropriate, specific the tablet.
Seven-inch tablet running Honeycomb 3.2, such as Acer Iconia tab A100 ($ 329, 4 stars), to avoid this problem by presenting the phone's applications better than those with larger screens. But tablets without zoom mode interfaces Honeycomb 3.2 's ugly when trying to run many applications designed for Android phones.
The Galaxy Tab sync your contacts and calendars with the Samsung PC software Kies, and lets you drag and drop files in Windows Explorer on the platform. But Mac users beware: there is no Mac compatible USB here.
Multimedia
There are plenty of media opportunities to fill Tab 8.9 's storage 13.1GB free. (You'll have no memory card slot.) Samsung music store 7digital power above which the songs mean a dollar each, and a video store where the most promising television shows cost $ 1.99, but you can get many children and reality programming for a penny. I downloaded an episode of "Avatar" (children's show, not movie), and he seemed strong.
All sample files to play on the tab, both music and video, and it sounded exceptionally well through the stereo speakers on the device. The tab also includes a pair of headphones, but not so much a standard 3.5 mm headphone jack and Bluetooth, so you can use any headphones you have on hand.
There is a false note here, however: No video output, so you can not play your movies on the big screen. Samsung announces a dock with HDMI output, but is not included with the tablet, the only port is the port dock only, and only cable you get in the box ends with a USB plug.
Streaming video options are varied. The application is available TV.com but Hulu and Netflix, among others, are not.
Both cameras Tab is both very good. The 3.2 megapixel camera on the back is sharp, if not terribly fast pictures shutter lag of 1.1 seconds. The 2 megapixel camera on the front is just as strong. Both cameras record 720p HD video.
Conclusions
Galaxy Tab 8.9 is really just a tweak of the current 10.1-inch Tab, but that change makes it a bit 'more attractive. It 'a little' more portable and a little 'less, without losing pixel resolution screen, Hertz, and the processor speed or a byte of memory.
That said, we have the same problem with this film that we do most of the high-end Android tablet this size: it is going directly against the iPad, which is a lot more applications, and an ecosystem stronger. The seven-inch Android 3.2 tablets for at least the benefits are more portable, and takes the phone applications seem to be decent in maximized mode. But it is difficult to explain why the masses, when presented with this device and the iPad, you should choose the tab 8.9. If you're not a fan of Apple, though, and you want the thinnest Android tablet, you can get, Tab 8.9 is a safe choice.
