After A Week With My Samsung Galaxy Tab....

It's been a little over a week since getting my new toy, the Samsung Galaxy Tab and I must say, I still LOVE it!! It is pretty much my go-to device now. My poor little Asus netbook tablet has collected dust in the last week and a half since purchasing this because this does just about everything that the netbook tablet did, but it's even more portable and runs all of the Android apps I use everyday, so it makes it even more useful! Here are the things that I have noticed since having more time to get to know my Galaxy Tab:

• The Wifi issue I mentioned previously isn't an issue afterall. Turns out, it was my modem/router. I increased my internet speed and got a new router and now I have no issues with using this tablet on Wifi - market works perfectly and so does browsing.

• I now have the ability to call using the tablet with a combination of Google Voice and Skype that I read about online. While this trick technically works, I can call out using Skype on the Galaxy Tab and it will display my Google Voice phone number - the problem happens when I receive calls to my Google Voice number....they are supposed to forward to my Skype number and ring the Tab and I'm sure Google does it's part by forwarding the calls - it's Skype that totally drops the ball and never connects the calls, so they never actually ring on the Tab (I think I've had 3 out of dozens of calls actually ring through on Skype). There was also the issue of Skype's voicemail constantly picking up before my calls could be connected, causing me to miss tons of calls before I finally found a work around for that. So for now, I guess the ability to make calls from my Tab is a nice feature to have in case I should need it, but I can't wait until Google implements their VOIP app for Android, so I can ditch Skype because they are pretty close to worthless.

• I have also noticed that it takes quite awhile to fully charge. I am used to my Droid X which fully charges in hardly any time at all - the Tab takes hours to fully charge. Bigger battery, I'm sure, but still annoying since I just want to charge quickly and be back on my merry way.

• This device doesn't run hot which is great! Even when you are charging it and using it at the same time, you never feel it running super hot.  

•  The screen resolution actually leaves much to be desired. The colors are not very vibrant at all and fall pretty flat (this is compared to the colors on my Droid  X). You do have the ability to go in and tweak white and black balance as well as saturation, which is a great feature, but still leaves the colors a bit dull. Again, I am used to the colors delivered on my Droid X and they are definitely more vibrant than on my Tab, but I guess if I didn't have that to compare it to, I probably wouldn't even notice.

• I set up my Google Voice account on my Tab and in the initial setup it asked me what the number was for the device and instead of having it detect the actual number for my Tab, I just told it to use my main cell number (from my Droid X) - I also have it set up to deliver a copy of my Google Voice texts to my sms inbox, so all texts sent get sent to my Google Voice number and the inbox on my Droid X (my main cell number). I told everyone to start texting my Google Voice number and now when they send me a text, it will show up in my Google Voice app on my Tab and will also be delivered to my Handcent app on my Droid X. I saved everybody's 406 numbers to my contacts and now when I reply to them through Handcent, it shows the text as coming from my Google Voice number and plops the reply right into the thread on Google Voice - so cool! So, basically, I can text people now from my Tab or my cell phone - whichever I happen to be holding at the time and never pay a penny in messaging on my Galaxy Tab, but keep flowing text threads no matter which device I use. I just love Google for making everything so seamless!!

• This device is definitely zippy! I haven't had any of the browser lag issue that I have read about in a few places - not at all! My browser is so fast! It might be the wifi connection speed I have, but whatever it is, it works great! (And yes, I have my browser set up to automatically load all flash when the page is initially loaded)

• I love the music application on this device! Creating playlists is such a snap!! Maybe it's this way on all Samsung Galaxy phones - I don't know because I've never owned any other Samsung Galaxy device before, but it's one of my favorite features on this device! So many options for music playback and I really love the UI - better than any other stock or third party music app I have used yet!

• One thing that I have found that I really wish they wouldn't have omitted on this device is the l.e.d. for notifications, I really miss it....a lot!!

• This device is easy as pie to root!! Thanks to z4root (available in the market)! Took about 2 minutes, including reboot time, and I was rooted and AdFree (also in the market)! I couldn't live without my trusty Titanium Backup, so rooting was a must!

• On the subject of rooting brings up the possibility of new roms or theming which I hope comes soon to this device because although I don't mind the soft blue system color they chose, some of the core apps (calendar, contacts, memo...) are so incredibly ugly....and brown - yuck! Can't wait for the option to pink everything up! :-)

• I have read so many times people ripping on the size of this device compared to the ipad and, personally, I would never pick the ipad over this device (for so many reasons more than just the size, actually, but I'll try to stay focused)!! You can't just throw the ipad into your pocket or purse - it is nowhere near as portable as this device and with the Galaxy Tab, you still get plenty of screen to do everything you need to do on the device. Personally, I wouldn't want my ereader to have a 10" screen, but that's just me, I guess. I love that I can just throw this device in my purse and take it everywhere. 7" is perfect for me, in this instance anyway.

• Another feature that I just love that, again, might be present in all Samsung Galaxy devices, is the ability to alter the vibration intensity. I HATE how much vibration my Droid X has, it's pretty ridiculous how hard it vibrates, so I just love being able to tone down the vibration intensity on this device!

All in all, I have found this device to be my favorite Android device yet! I really love it and am so glad I spent the money on it - it's the first time I've ever coughed up full price for a device - no sale, discount or subsidy, but I haven't regretted it for a second!