By Tim Adkins

Let me begin by stating, this is not an iPad killer. To be honest I don’t even know if it can be considered a competitor. It’s a different kind of monster that has it’s advantages and disadvantages, but I don’t think we’recomparing apples to apples. Especially at the price point. With no data plan, Best Buy has the Galaxy Tab listed at $549 as of 1.11.11 and the iPad starting at $499.

Surfing the web

As usual viewing websites on Verizon’s network was fast and pain free. However, one thing I didn’t like was the resolution of the webpages. The Galaxy Tab is set to view mobile websites (which is an option that can be turned off) by default. Mobile websites are built for around a 4″ screen, viewing them on the 7″ TFT display made the web pages fuzzy and not crystal clear. Picky I know, but kind of annoying.

Gaming

Here’s where I think the Galaxy Tab really has the upper hand. Because the Galaxy Tab is more of a handheld, it’s great for playing games and they look amazing. I’m not talking about Princess Toadstool looking good from your old Game Boy, these graphics and user interface will keep you distracted for hours and hours.

Video

The Galaxy Tab boasts dual cameras (5 megapixel on back and 1.3 megapixel up front). Both watching and taking videos is quite an experience. Imagine pulling your digital camera out and the view finder is 7″ big! Plus watching video via YouTube or Facebook are again, crystal clear and look great.

Reading and such

As usual the Galaxy Tab runs Android 2.2, which is the same OS as the majority of Android phones. It comes pre-loaded with the Kindle eReader app for reading books, but that’s about it. Making my argument that this isn’t an iPad competitor, there really aren’t any other major reading features that you couldn’t get from your Android phone. The iPad has a separate app store for magazines, books, etc… for a heightened user experience. This isn’t available yet for the Galaxy Tab. My advice would be to wait to purchase the next generation.