The
Samsung Galaxy Tab is an Android-based
tablet computer produced by Samsung
[2] introduced
[3] on 2 September 2010 at the
IFA in Berlin.
The Galaxy Tab has a 7-inch (180 mm)
TFT-LCD touchscreen,
Wi-Fi capability, a 1.0 GHz ARM
Cortex-A8 Samsung Exynos 3110 (code-named "Hummingbird") processor, the
Swype input system,
[4] a 3.2
MP rear-facing camera and a 1.3 MP front-facing camera for video calls. It runs the
Android 2.2 (Froyo) operating system,
[5] and supports telephone functionality as speaker phone, via provided wired ear piece or Bluetooth earpieces (except models sold in the US). It can download videoconferencing apps such as Tango as alternative to telephone functionality.
[6]
Hardware
The tablet is enclosed in a plastic frame
[7] that makes it lighter than other metal-bodied tablets, weighing 380 g (0.84 lb).
[8]
The GT-P1000 model carries a 7" Super TFT instead of the
AMOLED which is used by Samsung in its Galaxy S phones.
[9] The screen has a 1024×600 resolution With mDNIE (Mobile Digital Natural Images Engine). Internal flash storage of 2 GB (North America CDMA models), 16 GB or 32 GB can be supplemented with a
microSD flash card with up to 32 GB. CPU is a Exynos 3110 Applications Processor (Also known as Hummingbird) features 1.0 GHz
ARM architecture Cortex A8 application and has 512 MB of RAM paired with a
PowerVR SGX540 graphics processor.
The WIFI only model has a different graphics chip that doesn't support TV out and Samsung has not provided (or promised to provide) an update to gingerbread.
The tablet has two cameras: a 3.2 rear MP camera with a
LED flash and a 1.3 MP front camera for
video calling (the Verizon model has a 3 megapixel rear camera).
[10] The front camera has
auto focus capability. The camera also has auto
image stitching, combining 8 pictures. Modes include single shot, continuous, panorama, and self-shot. It can automatically trigger on detecting that the subject smiles.
Autogeotagging uses the internal
GPS receiver.
The tablet has
GPS,
802.11n Wi-Fi,
Bluetooth 3.0, and handsfree/bluetooth/headphone telephony. Cellular protocols include
GSM CDMA,
HSPA (
HSUPA).
[citation needed]
It also has a proprietary 30-pin docking and charging connector not shared with other manufacturers.
[11] This connector appears very similar to the standard
PDMI connector (a non-proprietary alternative to Apple's docking connector). It appears so similar to the PDMI connector that it is widely mistaken for it, but it is non-standard and all accessories, including charging cables, are incompatible with other equipment and only available from Samsung.
[citation needed]
Samsung says that its 4000
mAh battery will give it 7 hours of video playback or 10 hours of talk time.
[12][13]
The GSM variants of the Galaxy Tab have an externally-accessible SIM card slot. If the SIM card is removed while the system is on, the system automatically reboots. The
AT&T and
T-Mobile variants of the Galaxy Tab ship with a
micro SIM in a micro SIM adapter. For non-US Galaxy Tabs, with phone function, this slot can also accommodate a
3G data-only SIM card if the user does not need telephone functionality.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab also has an optional
RCA plug connector through which the screen image is shown on a TV or other display (the Tab's own screen cannot be turned off; it can be dimmed with a backlight dimming app).
[14]
Software
This tablet comes with a version of the Android 2.3 (originally 2.2) operating system with some custom skins and applications.
[15] Most Android 2.2 apps developed using Google's guidelines for Android should scale properly when displayed on larger-screen devices such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab, according to Samsung.
[16] Adobe Flash 10.1,
DivX,
[17] MPEG-4,
WMV and
Xvid,
H.263,
H.264[18] support has also been announced. The Tab uses Atmel's maXTouch multi touch capacitive touchscreen,
[19][20] and supports multi-tasking.
[21][22]
The Tab supports calendar, email and instant messaging applications. It has a launcher for e-reading applications which starts
PressDisplay when reading newspapers,
Kobo when reading e-books, and
Zinio when reading magazines.
[23] For viewing and editing Microsoft Office documents, the Galaxy Tab also comes bundled with the Android version of
ThinkFree Office Mobile.
[24]
The Tab can also provide tethering, acting as a Wi-Fi hotspot for up to 5 devices. Stored addresses can be displayed in
Google maps with one click. It also allows linkage with a contact's Facebook profile if the phone address is linked with the contact's Facebook address.
Several HD video content multimedia formats, including DivX, XviD, MPEG4, H.263, H.264, are supported.
[25] It can play video content either stored on the device itself or streamed from YouTube, and can output 720p video to a TV either as composite video or via
HDMI when using the optional dock.
[26]
Text can be entered using
Swype, by tracing a path over letters on a
virtual keyboard, and standard XT9 predictive typing is also supported.
[27]
TouchWiz Samsung Galaxy Tabs allow the screen display to be saved.
[28] Honeycomb tablets without TouchWiz, including the 10.1 in Galaxy Tab, must either be rooted or have the SDK installed in order to capture screenshots
[29]
As of November 2011, the apps market for Android tablets remains tiny with only a couple hundreds of apps dedicated to Android tablets, compared with some 90,000+ apps on the iPad's Apps Store.
[30]
Upgrades
In May 2011 it was reported that Android Gingerbread 2.3.3 was being made available in Italy, with other regions expected to follow.
[31]
Several updates have been made throughout the world and in February, 2012, android version Gingerbread 2.3.6 is available. Samsung has announced that the tablet will not receive Ice Cream Sandwich, although a value package is in the works. This package will not include a full Ice Cream Sandwich build, but instead a Gingerbread build with a few Ice Cream Sandwich features.
[32]
Transfer Your Photos, Videos, Music, Documents and more in a flash, by simply plugging in your Beyond USB into your Smartphone or Computer. Very simple and easy for all to use. Get Yours Today!