With the Samsung Galaxy Tab having just been released, more than 6 months after the iPad you would expect it to be better than the iPad in almost every way. So, is it?

Storage

The Galaxy starts with 16GB of storage just like the iPad but it has the addition of a MicroSD slot which means that simply by carrying a couple of tiny cards with you it can be expanded infinitely. This is one of the biggest gripes with Apples iPad (and iPhone for that matter) and it makes the Galaxy a winner on the storage front.

Build

In contrast to some of Samsungs recent mobile phones the Galaxy Tab actually feels really well built, it’s contrasting black front and white back looks good and although slippery on fabric surfaces it sticks nicely in your hand and feels solid enough to not worry about knocking it off the table, that doesn’t mean you can go chucking it about though.

Screen

The Galaxy has a beautiful LCD screen, it’s bright and vibrant and looks fantastic, although the resolution is lower than that of the iPad because of the smaller screen that means that the ppi is actually higher and you can tell. The Samsungs screen looks clearer and definitely more crisp and watching video on this device is a delight.

The problem however is that the 7″ screen is simply not the right size for a tablet. When browsing the web you still have to zoom and scroll as you would on a smart phone, don’t get me wrong, it’s better than a smart phone but a 10″ screen shows so much more of the page that this just feels like a compromise.

Price

This is where the Galaxy really fails, Samsung don’t have the desirability of Apple so the Galaxy needs to offer something more than the iPad as the price is roughly the same as the iPad 3G. It does have dual cameras, can display flash websites and can make calls however it also has a smaller screen, the software lags at times and it simply can’t compete on the app front, the built in apps are so similar to the iPad as to feel like a cheap knock off and some of the current Android apps don’t seem to scale particularly well to the larger screen. In contrast the iPad already has a vibrant app store of native apps and is only going to get better.

Software

A tough one, I think iOS is a bit limited on the iPad, still no multi tasking and no flash but iOS does work smoothly and is definitely easy to use. The built in apps are good and the ones available on the app store range from awful to awesome and everywhere in between. As Android isn’t built to work on devices with a 7″ screen it doesn’t seem to be at its best, some of the apps seem stretched but as more 7″ Android devices come and developers start building apps specifically for the Galaxy I can see the apps catching up with the iPad in the not too distant future.

Conclusion

It seems a confused device to me, is it meant to be carried everywhere in place of your phone or is it meant to be like a netbook to be carried around when needed as an addition to the phone? The 7″ screen is obviously easier to use than a smartphone and can have much better apps due to having more screen real estate but currently those apps simply aren’t there and the Galaxy suffers because of it.

Whether or not you buy this over an iPad is going to largely depend on your use of the device. If you plan to carry the device everywhere and maybe even replace your phone with it then obviously it has to be the Galaxy Tab but if you plan to sit on the couch surfing the web, keeping in contact via facebook or take it on the road as and when needed then I think the iPad is still the one to have.