Anorexic is in…amongst tablets and the first Samsung tablet that we reviewed – the Galaxy Tab – didn't exactly fit that profile. But Samsung did make an impression with its debutante's quality and prowess.
The second in the series was released almost a year later. Samsung missed out on some opportunities because in the interim, a lot of companies had entered the foray, each of them bringing in more innovation targeted at outdoing competition. Samsung is now striking back with the new Galaxy Tab 750 and Galaxy Tab 730. Both tablets are similar as far as the tech specs are concerned, differing only in the screen sizes they come in. I spent some time with the 10.1-inch Galaxy Tab 750 figuring out how well it fares as my primary media consumption device.
Music and movies
The Samsung tabs have shed the original's girth and gained some tech weight instead. In fact they are marginally thinner than the iPad. The Samsung review unit's 10.1-inch screen with a resolution of 1280x800 pixels reproduced images and videos beautifully. I watched a long-pending BBC documentary ‘The Life and Death of a Mobile Phone' on the tablet. The speaker grilles placed on either side of the bezel tended to get covered when I was holding the tablet by the sides, muffling the output. However, the audio quality on the tablet was definitely above average. It did not match the loud volumes on the Motorola Xoom, but dialogues and music were pretty clear. The display on the tablet too, turned out to be quite brilliant.
Checking out the clicker
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 750 is endowed with a 3MP camera at the rear, surprisingly no better than the original Galaxy Tab. The results were as anticipated – decent shots under sunlight and slightly grainy pics indoors even with most lights on. This camera also lets you capture high-definition videos (in 720p). The video-conferencing camera at the front has been upgraded to a 2MP clicker and the results were marginally better.
One of the best uses I could put the Galaxy Tab 750 to was using it as an e-reader. On the massive screen, books were not only perfectly legible by default (no pinching and zooming to get it to the right size) but it also felt like an original book in my hands owing to the tablet's dimensions.
Power specs
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 750 runs on a 1GHz dual-core NVIDIA Tegra-2 processor – the same as LG Optimus Pad, Motorola Atrix and Asus EeePad Transformer. The tab never froze during use but there were a handful of times when there was a visible lag during functions. At times, the homescreen's orientation stuttered while I was changing it from landscape to portrait. I also noticed the same problem while swiping through homepages once in a while.
The tablet supports Bluetooth 3.0 connectivity letting you transfer media at a speed ten times faster than on a USB 2.0. The tablet has a mini-HDMI port so you can hook it up to a larger display to watch high definition videos. The 7000mAh battery keeps the Samsung Galaxy Tab 750 powered on for almost 8-9 hours with the Wi-fi connected, occasional downloads, gaming, and streaming music videos on YouTube. You have the option of choosing between 16GB and 32GB of internal storage on this tablet.
App talk
The apps bundled with the tablet include Polaris – to create and edit power-point presentations, Word documents and spreadsheets. Social Hub lets you have your entire list of contacts, emails and status updates integrated from various platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Gmail etc., in one screen. You can choose from more than 15 social networking sites that are available within the Social Hub.
The 3G SIM card slot is at the top ridge of the tab, where the 3.5mm headphone jack, volume rocker and the power button are also lodged. With a glass fascia and pristine white rear panel, the Galaxy Tab 750 looks really elegant. Weighing in at about 565 grams, the device is probably one of the lightest in the genre, as of now.
The verdict
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 750 has a couple of factors that tip the scales in its favour. The lightweight construction, elegant design, high-res screen make for a device that takes care of most of your multimedia needs. As far as claims of this being an iPad killer are concerned, I'll have to say this tablet has its moments but in its entirety doesn't really give you the kind of experience that the iPad 2 delivers. Nevertheless, Galaxy Tab 750 turns out to be a nice sequel to the original Galaxy Tab and remains one of the top buys in the market. How long it'll be able to retain that position is something that remains to be seen.
Rs 32,000
Love – Lightweight yet sturdy, good UI, crisp display
Hate – Occasional lags, average camera, not enough dedicated apps
