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RM 1,899
Price Updated 19 Aug 2011

The original Samsung Galaxy Tab has surprised many with its slim sized chassis, sleek design, and power-packed performance. However, there was one flaw that caused some to be slightly disappointed with it: the tiny 7-inch screen. Even if the impressive screen was great for HD videos, it lacked that perfectly adequate space that many are used to seeing on major tablet brands.

Knowing this, Samsung made sure there was a bigger version of its successful Galaxy Tab in the pipeline: the Galaxy Tab 10.1. Since more than enough had been said of the 10.1´s performance and the feature-filled capabilities it has to offer, this particular review looks at the other not-so-important, but still relevant, aspects of Samsung’s latest tablet.

Reiterating what countless reviews have done before, and it must be said because not doing so will be a real dis-service to the device, the 10.1 is exceptionally slim for a tablet. And very light too!

Don´t let the looks fool you though! The 10.1-inch screen, dual-core Tegra 2 1GHz CPU, varied types of ROM storage (16GB to 64GB), decent battery life (12hrs with active use), and intuitive active sensors, which are all packed into the pencil line thin 8.5mm build, are the ones that work in tandem to ensure the 10.1 its greatness.

Plus Points
With Samsung´s flagship tablet being so thin and light, one has to wonder if it can deliver on its promises to provide high-speed processing performance and proper True HD playback. For the most part it can, and unlike the other members of the Galaxy stable, it doesn’t heat up as quickly.

That is a real plus for the score book as most smart devices, regardless of the operating system or technology prowess, figuratively burn up within minutes when it starts to continuously transmit data, is processing heavy graphics, or happens to be running a few apps at the same time.

Besides being a cool-runner, the 10.1 works great as a game device and social media platform. Being designed as a capably rich multimedia platform, this up-sized tablet is already known for its performance with game apps and HD videos. The same can be said for its social networking capabilities as it not only has third-party Android apps to work with but Samsung’s own patented social media hub.

Add-ons
Excluding HD video, keyboard tactile feedback and communications capabilities, what other features of the 10.1 that has not been highlighted heavily yet?

The accessories for one, as well as the camera and the intuitive electronic communication integration are other areas that have not been given as much focus as the enriched media functions the 10.1 offers.

Matching the HD video playback capabilities of the 10.1, the camera functions for this tablet have to be just as adept. After a few rounds of awkward photo-taking, the picture quality is nothing short of great (for a 3MP camera at least) as it is able to snap and record vivid images and produce videos/images at proper HD (720p) levels. As for expansion capabilities, the 10.1 has three separate port accessories that provide the tablet with additional connectivity slots: full USB port, HDMI port, and flashcard kit.

While not unheard of, these three are definitely welcomed additions to the 10.1 as it ensures that such features are immediately available to enhance the multimedia capabilities of this tab. The flashcard kit and USB port add-ons are definitely a nice touch as both do away with the need for physical keyboard expansions that offer such features.

Negative Take-Away
One flaw that must be mentioned in this review is the HD video playback of the 10.1. While it had no problems with native HD .avi and .mpeg videos, it struggled with .mkv files that operate on .h264, .mp4 or raw HD formats.

This had been discovered as every possible free video apps (and one paid one) were installed to play these videos with the hopes of finding one specific player that could do the job.

Unfortunately none could properly render these HD files. Even if they could play them, it usually had missing audio tracks, broken subtitles or rough video tearing and pixelation.

Overall Verdict
As a tablet, the 10.1 is a stellar device. Providing multimedia capabilities that are top-notch and acting as a superb social media platform, this tablet certainly delivers as promised on paper.
With great accessories, add-ons, and long battery life, the 10.1 is definitely one of the few that can match or even outperform the competition. While it does not deliver in the video format department, the games, music and e-book reading experience is a real dream!

by Victor Yap