The Samsung Galaxy Tab is a powerful Android tablet

The recently introduced Samsung Galaxy Tab looks set to compete with Apple’s popular iPad. With a new emerging market for tablets, Samsung is off to a great start with this impressive new device. Unlike its main rival, the iPad, the Samsung Galaxy Tab is a combination of tablet and smartphone technologies.

The device itself is an attractive device with a simple yet modern style, measuring 190 x 120 wide and a slim 12mm thick. It’s also reasonably light given its size, or just 380g, which means it’s actually more portable than it first appears. This 7-inch TFT capacitive touchscreen is capable of displaying up to 16 million colors within the 600×1024 pixel configuration, meaning HD content such as photos and videos can be enjoyed to their full potential. Additional features of its display include accelerometer and proximity sensors, multi-touch input method, and touch sensitive controls. Also included is the Swype text input method, which allows users to swipe from letter to letter on the onscreen QWERTY keyboard without taking their finger off the screen. With a little practice, this can result in significantly faster text input speeds, making it ideal for those who send a lot of text messages and emails, as well as for creating word-processing documents.

Depending on which model is purchased, 16 GB or 32 GB of internal storage is provided as standard along with 512 MB of RAM. An additional 32 GB internal storage can be made available by using the integrated micro SD card slot, which means a large number of files can be stored, from documents, music tracks and applications.

Devices like the Samsung Galaxy Tab are built with web browsing at the top of your phonebook. An HSDPA connection provides speeds of up to 7.2 megabytes per second (along with HSDPA at 5.76 megabytes per second) in areas with 3G coverage. Wi-Fi Internet access is also provided whenever local wireless networks are available in both home and business locations.

A high-quality 3.15-megapixel digital camera is housed on the back of the unit, which incorporates Autofocus and an LED flash to make it easy to take pictures even in low-light conditions. This camera can also record video streams as there is an additional 1.3-megapixel camera located on the front of the device that basically works as a webcam and can be used for video calls.

The latest version of the Android operating system (2.2, Froyo) is the operating system of choice and, coupled with a powerful 1 GHz processor, gives users an ideal platform for customization and expansion, especially with access to Android Market as standard.

In an age where it seems increasingly likely that devices like this will eventually replace phones, the Samsung Galaxy Tab has put the manufacturer at a huge advantage. The versatility and power of this device make it an ideal alternative to Apple’s iPad, and it will surely win many fans in its next release.