What's up Price Fight fans?
I'm Brian Tong and this is the first-ever price fight tablet war that you've been asking for.
It's a price fight punch out between the Samsung Galaxy Tab and Apple's iPad 3G.
Our judges for this fight our senior editor Donald "Save By The Bell," senior associate editor, Jessica [unk] Dolcourt and Brian "Ring A Ling A Ding" Tong.
Now, we'll
take all 3 judges' blind scores an average them out to the nearest tenth each round.
The final price fight score will be an average of all rounds using the same decimal system.
Let's get ready to rumble, round 1 is Design: Samsung Galaxy Tab has a solid design with its 7-inch screen and curved corners that's less than half the size of the iPad.
It's wider and more comfortable to hold.
The Tab's 1024 X 600 resolution on a smaller screen brings a slightly crisper image, but it left us wanting more and by more,
we mean screen size.
The iPad brings Apple's highest level of design and its 9.7-inch screen is big, but its design isn't bulky.
The metal finish and curved edges are gorgeous, and its 1024 x 768 display just pops.
It might be heavier than you like, but if feels like it's worth every penny.
Apple's iPad gets a perfect 5 and Samsung's Galaxy Tab gets a 4.
The next round is controls and user interface.
The Galaxy Tab is pure Android and if you've used it before, you'll feel ride it home.
One issues is that it's the exact same experience you would get on a phone.
There's nothing that makes it unique for a tablet.
You'll still get the same customization, but widgets don't align with icons.
Hitting the menu button to access app features on the Android OS bugged Donald.
The swipe info method is here, but at the end of the day, new comers to tablets might feel intimidated by its learning curve.
Now, it doesn't matter if you've used an iPhone or iPod.
The iPad's user interface is so simple.
Several judges mentioned how are nieces and nephews 1 years
and older can all use the iPad.
We kept saying it, but it's still amazing how easy it is to use.
The keyboard is more spacious and comfortable for typing, and the iPad will snap your navigating overall.
The iPad strikes hard with its 2ndth perfect round and the Galaxy Tab gets a 3.3.
So, after averaging 2 rounds, Apple leads by more than a point, but there's plenty of fight to go.
Round 3 is features and performance.
The Tab has everything that iPad users have been craving for with front and rear facing
cameras with a flash; a micro SD card slot; wireless hot spot capability; and flash 10.1 support.
It also covers pack with Google's goodies like voice search and commands, Google navigation and access to key services in the notifications pull down.
Apps store in the marketplace are still built for phones and just don't take full advantage of the screen real estate; they're just bigger.
The Tab is also a step-behind performance wise with a few laggy moments and its battery life is shorter by 3 hours.
Now, the
iPad can't match up with the hardware features, but it's still the snappiest tablet on the market with significantly better battery life.
The new control strip is a nice edition, but changing the orientation button to a mute button is idiotic.
It also has plenty of apps built specifically to use the larger form factor and it makes for a better user experience, but it's not enough as the Tab finally takes its first round with a 4 and the iPad gets a 3.3.
Next round is web browsing and multimedia.
The Tab's web browser
is a solid offering, but it's frustrating how it goes directly the most of the mobile versions of web sites by default.
Even with the 7-inch screen, the experience can be a little print.
Now, flash playback can be hit or miss and it has laggy moments when you're pinching and zooming into web sites.
Samsung's media hub is a nice way to get media content, but it's still has a long ways to go.
The 3 megapixel rear camera is mediocre, but one advantage is that it's easier to hold and use an eBook reader.
Now, the iPad's web browser is a full-screen
multitouch version of Safari that actually makes web browsing more fun and takes advantage of its space, even though it doesn't have flash.
The multimedia experience is one of a kind with its deep library of content from iTunes.
It has a polished media player, multimedia apps that add more access to content and a large screen that enhances the experience.
The iPad gets a 4.7 and the Tabs get a 4.
So, after averaging 4 rounds, Apple's lead has been trimmed down to 7 tens of a point.
The final round that decides it all
is value.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab can be purchased with a 2-year contract on T-Mobile or Sprint for $399 or without a contract on all 4 carriers for around $599.
Data plans vary, but at that price, you're almost paying the same price of an iPad 3G for half the screen size.
Apple's iPad 3G starts at $629 with no contract and Apple broke new ground with a portable data plans.
The Wi-Fi only models gives you even lower pricy.
But if you're looking
for the best bank for your buck is the iPad.
Tablet prices are still a little high overall, but in the final round, the iPad gets a 4 and Samsung's Galaxy Tab gets a 3.
So, let's average out all 5 rounds and in a price fight where Apple came out swinging with back-to-back perfect rounds.
The Galaxy Tab closed the gap, but it was just too much to overcome, and the Apple iPad 3G takes this first time tablet face-off 4.4 to 3.7 and is
your Price Fight winner.
Both of these tablets are great picks and will fit different needs.
But this show on market will constantly be flooded with new contenders and the war for Price Fight supremacy rages on.
I'm Brian Tong.
Thanks for wathching.
We'll catch you guys next time on another Price Fight.
