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Samsung Galaxy Tab vs. Apple iPad

Been getting a lot emails from people wanting to buy a tablet this Christmas, mostly as a gift to themselves. The top two contenders are the Apple iPad and the Samsung Galaxy Tab. Here’s a quick guide to all those who asked just to help you make that final decision.

For a more appropriate comparison, we’ll pit the 16GB iPad 3G + WiFi against the 16GB Samsung Galaxy Tab P1000. That should even the playing field for both with the inclusion of the 3G SIM slot.


photo credit: united gadget

Size and Form Factor

At 9.7″ across, the iPad is way bigger than the Galaxy Tab which is only 7″. The difference also reflects on the screen size and over-all weight of the devices.

The iPad is better for watching movies/videos, e-magazines and browsing the web due to the bigger screen real estate. This is more prominent if you are sharing the device with two or more people at the same time. You can place it at some distance and still be able to enjoy what you’re watching or reading.

The Galaxy Tab is better in a more personal setting like reading an eBook. It’s still good with watching videos or web browsing but more on a one-to-one basis. Since it’s also lighter than the iPad, it is easier to hold for a prolonged period of time. While the Galaxy Tab is fine when held with one hand, you’ll need both hands to manage the iPad.

Android Market vs. iTunes App Store

The iTunes App Store is undeniably the king of mobile app market. Both free and paid apps are available in the Philippines. Unfortunately, Google’s Android Market is only limited to free apps in the Philippines and the paid apps are nowhere in sight.

There are 3 times more available apps in the iTunes App Store than in the Android Market so you have a much wider selection with Apple as well.

As for app compatibility, the iTunes App has versions for the iPhone/iPod Touch and another HD version for the iPad. On the Android Market, there could be some resolution compatibility issues with the Galaxy Tab’s screen size and the app’s native resolution.

Support & Warranty

Up until today, the iPad is not officially released in the Philippines so there’s no local warranty to speak of when your device conks out. You’ll either send it back to GreenHills for repair or ship it to Apple Singapore for warranty claims.

With the Galaxy Tab, you can get support and warranty from Samsung Service Centers. If the rumors are correct though, Apple is set to officially release the iPad this month so warranty shouldn’t be a problem after then.

Mobile OS and Feature Differences

The iPad runs on iOS 4 which is specifically made for the device. On the other hand, Android Froyo isn’t really for tablet form factors. You’ll have to wait for Android Gingerbread to get the full compatibility with tablets like the Galaxy Tab.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab’s 2 biggest advantages over the Apple iPad are the camera and the voice calling/SMS features. If these are very important to you, then there’s no contest here. Then, there’s the WiFi tethering on Froyo too (there’s WiFi tethering on the iPad when jailbroken via Cydia).

As a mobile device, the iPad scores points on battery life with up to 10 hours on a single charge. The Galaxy Tab comes at a distant 7 hours.

Multi-tasking is no longer an issue since the latest iOS 4.2 already solved that.

Price and Affordability

The 16GB iPad 3G+WiFi sells for about Php32,000 in the grey market. That’s Php3,000 cheaper than the Galaxy Tab which has a suggested retail price of Php34,990. The iPad 3G can even go down to a much as Php26k in some stores so there’s a huge difference there already.

If you can’t afford the straight cash payment, Smart has a postpaid plan for the Galaxy Tab. At Php2,000 a month, the Galaxy Tab is free and you’re locked to the network for 24 months. That brings you a Php1,000 for unlimited internet a month and Php24,000 for the Galaxy Tab over the 2-year period.

Paired Devices and other Factors

Perhaps, the least obvious among the things to consider when deciding between the two is the use case. What would be the primary use of the tablet and what devices will you pair it with?

If you already own a smartphone (say a Galaxy S), getting a tablet with a smaller form factor may not make sense since the size difference isn’t that much (becomes redundant). If not, then the Galaxy Tab can serve as a tablet and a smartphone at the same time — you’re getting two for the price of one.

If you’re heavy in content consumption, the iPad offers much longer battery life and if you’re always on the road, battery life trumps everything else. Really important if you also bring along a laptop or netbook with limited battery life.

There’s really no clear-cut winner here because the decision will heavily rely on how you will use it. For tablets, I’d put more weight on apps, battery life then price.

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Avatar for Abe Olandres

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

131 Responses

  1. Avatar for Teknisyan Teknisyan says:

    I’d go for iPad, since I have my cell phone for the voice call and SMS, also nothing beats watching a movie on a larger screen!!!

    But of course the support issue can be a deal breaker to some people!!!!

  2. Avatar for Neil Anderson Neil Anderson says:

    I’m waiting for the 27-inch iSlab.

  3. Avatar for Carlo Ople Carlo Ople says:

    Wow, ngayon ko lang nalaman na toxic pala mag share dito sa blog ni Abe, haha.

    Sorry if you guys felt nagyayabang ako. I was just explaining how the ecosystem thing works. The reason why I love the iPad is because it CAN sync to everything else that I use.

    Anyway, I hope that clarifies things!

  4. Avatar for Ryan Ang Ryan Ang says:

    I own an iPad, and I can’t recommend anything better right now. iPad Wifi+3g has to be one of the better mobile solutions available out there. While I’ve been in the position of making the switch, I just can’t trade the functionality this device has given me. Not having Flash does affect on how you surf, It isn’t much of a burden to find other sites which does support html5 video. I’ve heard Flash on Android is pretty limiting too in its current iteration. Btw, iPad+vlc or cinexplayer will give you a very nice portable media player (no need to reencode) not to mention the gorgeous IPS panel.

    Maybe until Gingerbread is already out or maybe Honeycomb, we’ll see how the tablet experience with Android will change. Right now I would say get an iPad and an Ideos if you want to experience both worlds hehe

    Also, Carlo Ople isn’t bragging about his Apple connected lifestyle. He’s merely stating how locked he is with his current ecosystem. Whatever works ika nga. :)

  5. Avatar for lalaking talakero lalaking talakero says:

    eto na naman ang mga lalaking talakero or man naggers, nag aaway dahil lang sa mga tablet, sus!!!! ang bababaw ng mga talak ng talak oo mahiya naman kayo sa sarili nyo! sinisira nyo na naman pagbabasa ko ng matinong review…… haaaaaaaaayyyyyyyssssssss

    free and paid applications that i add every now and then makes a big difference for me. it makes my iPad like a new gadget everytime i install an app. my 2 centavos

    as an open minded guy, i respect other people’s preference. no need to make talak talak!!!!

  6. Avatar for lalaking talakero lalaking talakero says:

    eto na naman ang mga lalaking talakero or man naggers, nag aaway dahil lang sa mga tablet, sus!!!! ang bababaw ng mga talak ng talak oo mahiya naman kayo sa sarili nyo! sinisira nyo na naman pagbabasa ko ng matinong review…… haaaaaaaaayyyyyyyssssssss

    applications that i add every now and then makes a big difference for me. it makes my iPad like a new gadget everytime i install an app. my 2 centavos

    as an open minded guy, i respect other people’s preference. no need to make talak talak!!!!

  7. Avatar for whatif whatif says:

    gusto ko yung first poster “I currently have an iPhone 4, iPad, MB, and Apple TV” hindi ako apple hater pero hater ako ng mga tao na mayabang porke naka apple. linaw ng topic ipad vs tab need mo pa ba isali lahat ng apple gadgets mo? lakas ng bagyo dito lol …

    sunod nya ay “since the iPad syncs with everything in my house, lol” so ilang libo ginastos mo para mag sync yung ipad mo sa lahat?

    nuff said…

    back to topic….
    nakahawak na ko ipad (hindi po akin… office ko po ang may ari) ayaw ko lang sa kanya eh ang bigat!at kailangan mo mag dala ng bag na pag lalagyan nya talaga.. hirap sya hawakan ng isang kamay ng matagal (halimbawa sa mrt ka at naka tayo…)

    sa galaxy tab naman sa malls ko lang sya nakita so no comment muna… :)

    can’t go wrong with both I think…

  8. Avatar for Lyle Lyle says:

    Here’s a video by CNET comparing the two tablets.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1EBIaBWLxM

    It might help people decide which is more useful to them.

  9. Avatar for Quobetah Quobetah says:

    O come on! You can’t seriously recommend galaxy tab as an option for a tablet just to appease the fanboys! First and for most Google itself told it’s partners NOT to use Froyo for tablets because it’s not optimized for it. That alone should tell you that buying a tab you also immediately agree to buying a substandard OS on your tablet…hence you should expect lags, and bad apps.

    2. Apps! It’s the apps stupid! Forget about the smartphone apps that could be and is being blown into a bigger screen but Tablet Optimized ones…of which ONLY apple has on it’s AppStore. That alone will enable your tablet to do things three years from now that it wasn’t even designed for when it was first release..meaning the usability of you purchase increases over time rather than fade. That is very evident in the iOS ecosystem.

    3. Screen size. I’m using an iPad and I can’t imagine a screen smaller than it to be any more useful. The screen size is perfect. It’s both mobile and enough for browsing without needing to zoom! 7 ins is a substandard size. Deal with it!

  10. Avatar for scorer scorer says:

    apple fanboys = 1
    apple fanboy haters = 1

  11. Avatar for mr. bogus mr. bogus says:

    eto nanaman ang mga hinayupak na fanboys!!! pweee!!!

  12. Avatar for ako ang nagwagi -iPad ako ang nagwagi -iPad says:

    Sa bandang huli -iPad pa rin ang panalo! Pano kasi wala pa rin matinong competitor itong iPad na hindi ka mabubwiset gamiten!

    Apple Fanboys = 1
    Apple Haters = 0

    sa palagay ninyo wagi din kaya ang tablet na ito kung hindi ito ginawa ng Apple?? Sa palagay ko hindi
    kasi Apple is known for its innovative designs and understanding of what consumers want and the rest is just vying for a slice of the Apple pie hehe, yung iPod (MP3 Player) napataob nyo na ba? i doubt it

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    in 2001

    * Bill Gates of Microsoft demonstrates the first public prototype of a Tablet PC (defined by Microsoft as a pen-enabled computer conforming to hardware specifications devised by Microsoft and running a licensed copy of the “Windows XP Tablet PC Edition” operating system)[51] at Comdex.

    FLASHFORWARD 2010
    * Apple unveils the iPad, running Apple iOS.

    in 2011
    * Apple unveils the iPad 2, running Apple iOS.
    * Android Tablet bandwagon goes mainstream. hehe

  13. Avatar for garz garz says:

    The first who commented was a show-off.. We’re not even talking about iPhone, Macbooks and Apple TV.. geez..

  14. Avatar for ocommon ocommon says:

    Waiting for HP Slate or RIM Playbook..

  15. Avatar for mr. bogus mr. bogus says:

    my points
    ipad:
    batterylife
    music player

    tab:
    web browser
    calls and messaging
    camera(back and front)

    pwede ba both!!!!!???

  16. Avatar for harley harley says:

    clear enough! thank you so much Sire Abe and for always replying to my tweets!

    so happy! it is my birthday today and i still check the net to read your blog! it has been my daily habit!

    muwah!

  17. Avatar for rene rene says:

    Sir Abe you forgot Archos 101. It should have been Archos 101 vs Apple Ipad. They have more or less the same screen size. The former has more features than the later, and its cheaper.

  18. Avatar for yui yui says:

    Sir abe, dito po sa SM Dasmariñas ang IPAD 3G + wifi (16 GB) nasa 26k w/ warranty. :)

  19. Avatar for manny manny says:

    yes, nice article indeed. but of course, most people will inject their dislike for anything apple.

  20. Avatar for Carlo Ople Carlo Ople says:

    Awesome article Abe! I agree with you that the choice will also revolve around the ecosystem of the device. I currently have an iPhone 4, iPad, MB, and Apple TV. The iPad makes so much more sense than the Galaxy Tab for me since the iPad syncs with everything in my house, lol.

    In fact this afternoon I was watching Youtube on my TV via Apple TV while using my iPhone 4 as a remote control for it WHILE surfing and tweeting on the iPad.

    Rawr. xD

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