The Galaxy Tab from Samsung is the best value for money tablet and is
called as the direct iPad competitor and now comes the Galaxy note
10.1, no this is not a bigger version of the phone, but it is a tablet
itself from the Korean giants. There’s been a lot of confusion regarding
this though, how Samsung would be placing the Galaxy Note alongside the
Galaxy Tab, and many of the consumers are confused about the difference
in these two tablets too.
The Galaxy Tab 10.1 is the successor to the infamous Samsung Tab 7.0 which was one of the first tablets to run on the Android OS. Whereas the Galaxy Note 10.1 is a revamped version of the phone, with a much bigger screen and an S-Pen. Though its still unclear how Samsung’s branding strategy works for tablets, considering how these two have different branding, yet almost the same functionality and screen size.
The Galaxy Tab is one of the slimmest tablets in the world, and the Korean company has launched the Note just to compete with the Tab.
Display:
When it comes to the display, the T-Mobile Slate 4G has a 8.9 inch display which has a maximum resolution of upto 1,280 x 768 while the Samsung Galaxy Tab has a 10.1 inch screen, which supports upto 256K colors and a maximum screen resolution of 1280×800. The Samsung Galaxy Tab has a proximity sensor, gyroscope sensor and an accelerometer while the T-Mobile Slate 4G has the same sensors on it except the Proximity sensor.
Both the displays are capacitive screens and support multi touch input.
Camera:
Both the tablets come with cameras and the has the same specifications. Both of them have a 3.15MP camera with a maximum resolution of 2048 x 1536. The camera on the Galaxy Note shoots at 1080p@30fps while the Galaxy Tab shoots at 720p
Both the tablets come with auto focus and LED flash, pictures are a bit more vibrant on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 though, due to the color tone of the camera.
Both the Note tablet and Samsung Galaxy Tab have a secondary front facing camera, a 2MP camera on both which can be used for purposes like Skype, Gtalk, etc.
Operating System and User Interface:
The Samsung Galaxy Tab runs on Honeycomb 3.1 while the Galaxy Note comes with the newest version of operating system from Android, the ICS or Android v4.0. There are a list of nice features like resizeable widgets, a new host mode, and Google’s new Movies app on HoneyComb 3.1 however, the latest version of Android is 4.0 is a treat for all Android fans with so many customizable widgets and apps that it goes one above the Galaxy Tab in terms of user Experience.
Though they run on the different operating systems, there is a no change in the User Interface. The Galaxy Tab runs TouchWiz 4.0 (which is also seen on its high end smartphones like the Galaxy SII) top of Honeycomb, which adds its own small tweaks and gesture improvements throughout the software
Applications are aplenty and all apps on Android smartphones will run on tablets too, enlarged. Also, there are a lot of native apps on HoneyComb pre installed in the device and tablet specific apps are only about 200 in the Android Market and you can check out the Best Apps for Honeycomb Tablets and Best Games for HoneyComb Tablets also.
Connectivity:
The Galaxy Tab 10.1 GSM bands on 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 and HSDPA on 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 on 3G and comes with a standard SIM Card slot, if you are going for the 3G Model. While the Galaxy Note has the same specs in terms of connectivity.
Both the tablets have Wifi 802.11 a/b/g/n and both of them have WiFi Hotspot capabalities, thanks to Android HoneyComb which has made it a standard features across all devices right from the most basic Android smartphones. To know how to use your Android HoneyComb Tablet as a WiFi Hotspot ad tether its internet connection, read How to Tether Android HoneyComb Tablets as WiFi Hotspot .
A-GPS support for location and navigation are also present and the Galaxy Tab has Bluetooth 2.1 and USB 2.0 connectivity, along with a HDMI port while the Galaxy Note has Bluetooth v3.0 with A2DP. The HDMI port allows you to connect your tablet to a large screen and enjoy your HD Videos or games.
The Galaxy Note 10.1 comes with an S-Pen for text input on the screen. The S-Pen is made to fit in a small slot on the rear-side panel of the Note 10.1 device and can be pulled out and used as and when needed. Also, Samsung has added a Notes app on the Note 10.1 which enables the user to scribble or jot down things quickly right from their homescreen and it comes with a widget too.
Winner: Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1
Memory:
The Samsung Galaxy Note comes with 16, 32 or 64 GB of memory and can also be expanded upto 32GB with microSD slot while the Galaxy Tab comes with 8/16/32 GB of internal memory but cannot be extended due to the absence of a microSD slot.
Processor and Battery:
The Galaxy Tab 10.1 has a Dual-core 1GHz ARM Cortex-A9 processor, with 1GB of DDR2 RAM while the Galaxy Note has a Dual-core 1.4 GHz processor with 1GB of DDR2 RAM.
Though both the processors might look similar on the technical side, the Galaxy Tab has a Tegra 2 T20 chipset with ULP GeForce™ GPU for quick Web browsing and HD Gaming while the Note 10.1 uses a Tegra chip on it as well.
The Galaxy Tab and Note 10.1 from Samsung come with a 7000 mAh battery. Continuous usage and entertainment on the Galaxy Tab should give around 9-10 hours of battery life on the Galaxy Tab while the Note 10.1 will have a slightly higher standby time as it runs Android Ice Cream Sandwich, which is much more optimized.
Conclusion:
The Galaxy Tab from Samsung is worth the money you would be investing on a tablet, because of its sleek looks and good User Interface. However, the the Galaxy Note is a more powerful tablet which offers more power but is a little heavier. Its hard to choose between the Galaxy Tab and Galaxy Note because both of them have the same specs. But if you want to keep up with the trend and want the latest, then go for the Galaxy Note which has the latest version of Android supported by a powerful processor.
While the Note 10.1 might carry a higher price tag than the Galaxy Tab 10.1, going for the Note would make a more sensible purchase as it would not get outdated very soon while the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is already getting outdated and doesn’t have Android Ice Cream Sandwich, though it might get an update to it.
The Galaxy Tab 10.1 is the successor to the infamous Samsung Tab 7.0 which was one of the first tablets to run on the Android OS. Whereas the Galaxy Note 10.1 is a revamped version of the phone, with a much bigger screen and an S-Pen. Though its still unclear how Samsung’s branding strategy works for tablets, considering how these two have different branding, yet almost the same functionality and screen size.
Table of Contents:
- Form Factor Comparison
- Display Comparison
- Camera Comparison
- Operating System and User Interface Comparison
- Connectivity Comparison
- Memory Comparison
- Processor and Battery Comparison
Form Factor:
The Samsung Galaxy Tab is really thin, at 256.7 x 175.3 x 8.6 mm while the Galaxy Note is 256.7 x 175.3 x 8.9 mm. The Samsung Galaxy Tab weighs at just 565 grams, with a weight of 583g on the Galaxy Note, making it slightly higher in weight compared to the Galaxy Tab.The Galaxy Tab is one of the slimmest tablets in the world, and the Korean company has launched the Note just to compete with the Tab.
Winner: Galaxy Tab 10.1
Display:
When it comes to the display, the T-Mobile Slate 4G has a 8.9 inch display which has a maximum resolution of upto 1,280 x 768 while the Samsung Galaxy Tab has a 10.1 inch screen, which supports upto 256K colors and a maximum screen resolution of 1280×800. The Samsung Galaxy Tab has a proximity sensor, gyroscope sensor and an accelerometer while the T-Mobile Slate 4G has the same sensors on it except the Proximity sensor.
Both the displays are capacitive screens and support multi touch input.
Winner: Samsung Galaxy Tab
Camera:
Both the tablets come with cameras and the has the same specifications. Both of them have a 3.15MP camera with a maximum resolution of 2048 x 1536. The camera on the Galaxy Note shoots at 1080p@30fps while the Galaxy Tab shoots at 720p
Both the tablets come with auto focus and LED flash, pictures are a bit more vibrant on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 though, due to the color tone of the camera.
Both the Note tablet and Samsung Galaxy Tab have a secondary front facing camera, a 2MP camera on both which can be used for purposes like Skype, Gtalk, etc.
Winner: Galaxy Note (3D and Full HD recording)
Operating System and User Interface:
The Samsung Galaxy Tab runs on Honeycomb 3.1 while the Galaxy Note comes with the newest version of operating system from Android, the ICS or Android v4.0. There are a list of nice features like resizeable widgets, a new host mode, and Google’s new Movies app on HoneyComb 3.1 however, the latest version of Android is 4.0 is a treat for all Android fans with so many customizable widgets and apps that it goes one above the Galaxy Tab in terms of user Experience.
Though they run on the different operating systems, there is a no change in the User Interface. The Galaxy Tab runs TouchWiz 4.0 (which is also seen on its high end smartphones like the Galaxy SII) top of Honeycomb, which adds its own small tweaks and gesture improvements throughout the software
Applications are aplenty and all apps on Android smartphones will run on tablets too, enlarged. Also, there are a lot of native apps on HoneyComb pre installed in the device and tablet specific apps are only about 200 in the Android Market and you can check out the Best Apps for Honeycomb Tablets and Best Games for HoneyComb Tablets also.
Winner: Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1
Connectivity:
The Galaxy Tab 10.1 GSM bands on 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 and HSDPA on 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 on 3G and comes with a standard SIM Card slot, if you are going for the 3G Model. While the Galaxy Note has the same specs in terms of connectivity.
Both the tablets have Wifi 802.11 a/b/g/n and both of them have WiFi Hotspot capabalities, thanks to Android HoneyComb which has made it a standard features across all devices right from the most basic Android smartphones. To know how to use your Android HoneyComb Tablet as a WiFi Hotspot ad tether its internet connection, read How to Tether Android HoneyComb Tablets as WiFi Hotspot .
A-GPS support for location and navigation are also present and the Galaxy Tab has Bluetooth 2.1 and USB 2.0 connectivity, along with a HDMI port while the Galaxy Note has Bluetooth v3.0 with A2DP. The HDMI port allows you to connect your tablet to a large screen and enjoy your HD Videos or games.
The Galaxy Note 10.1 comes with an S-Pen for text input on the screen. The S-Pen is made to fit in a small slot on the rear-side panel of the Note 10.1 device and can be pulled out and used as and when needed. Also, Samsung has added a Notes app on the Note 10.1 which enables the user to scribble or jot down things quickly right from their homescreen and it comes with a widget too.
Winner: Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1
Memory:
The Samsung Galaxy Note comes with 16, 32 or 64 GB of memory and can also be expanded upto 32GB with microSD slot while the Galaxy Tab comes with 8/16/32 GB of internal memory but cannot be extended due to the absence of a microSD slot.
Winner: Samsung Note 10.1
Processor and Battery:
The Galaxy Tab 10.1 has a Dual-core 1GHz ARM Cortex-A9 processor, with 1GB of DDR2 RAM while the Galaxy Note has a Dual-core 1.4 GHz processor with 1GB of DDR2 RAM.
Though both the processors might look similar on the technical side, the Galaxy Tab has a Tegra 2 T20 chipset with ULP GeForce™ GPU for quick Web browsing and HD Gaming while the Note 10.1 uses a Tegra chip on it as well.
The Galaxy Tab and Note 10.1 from Samsung come with a 7000 mAh battery. Continuous usage and entertainment on the Galaxy Tab should give around 9-10 hours of battery life on the Galaxy Tab while the Note 10.1 will have a slightly higher standby time as it runs Android Ice Cream Sandwich, which is much more optimized.
Winner: Samsung Galaxy Tab
Conclusion:
The Galaxy Tab from Samsung is worth the money you would be investing on a tablet, because of its sleek looks and good User Interface. However, the the Galaxy Note is a more powerful tablet which offers more power but is a little heavier. Its hard to choose between the Galaxy Tab and Galaxy Note because both of them have the same specs. But if you want to keep up with the trend and want the latest, then go for the Galaxy Note which has the latest version of Android supported by a powerful processor.
While the Note 10.1 might carry a higher price tag than the Galaxy Tab 10.1, going for the Note would make a more sensible purchase as it would not get outdated very soon while the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is already getting outdated and doesn’t have Android Ice Cream Sandwich, though it might get an update to it.
