Okay, I usually start off my reviews by covering some background on what it is that I am looking for, so I will go ahead and do that here as well.  My wife and I are both heavy computer users, so for some time I have toyed with the idea of getting a laptop or other portable device to have a second computer (Neither one of us really wanted another desktop hogging up space around the house). 

I originally wanted a Kindle Fire due to cheap cost and the fact that it could do most of the things I wanted (ie wifi, netflix, e-reader) but after seeing how small a 7 inch screen was up close, and that it wasn't really practical to browse the i-net with, I started set my sights on something higher.

At this point I wondered whether it was worth the extra money to get one of the ipads to get the larger screen, better web function and the additional apps that I wanted.  At $400-$500, I wondered whether or not I should just go with a cheap laptop, but I really didn't want to deal with a bulky power converter, crappy laptop keyboard (haven't found a single one that I like yet) and I liked the idea of having a touch-screen.  

So I started looking at the new Ipad.  I liked the 1080p display (it is still the sharpest of the bunch), but as others have noted the new ipad has serious overheating issues (to the point where it is uncomfotable to have it on your lap).  If I was going to spend $500 I didn't want to be dealing with that.  I was leaning towards the Ipad 2 as it was $100 cheaper and still had some great features.  That said I still didn't know enough about the nitty gritty on both of them to know which one would be best for me, so I turned to my good buddies over at cdfreaks for their advice.

At first I was shocked by the responses from multiple posters that I should seriously look into the Android Tablets.  At first I wondered why but then someone mentioned Apple's boxed iOS and then I started thinking about why I hated Itunes (ie overpriced MP3s with limitations) and didn't care for the Apple products in general (lack of 3rd party development, overcharging for things) and I immediately recognized that I really needed to look into the androids more closely.

To make a long story short, my wife and I went to best buy and compared the Kindle Fire, Samsung Galaxy 10.1, Asus Transformer, Ipad 2, New Ipad, etc. all side by side and my wife picked the Galaxy out of all of them.  She liked the interface and one of the drawing apps for it and the display was the best outside of the new Ipad.  Now, Best Buy didn't have any of the new Galaxy 2 10.1 model in, so we went down to Wally World, which had a couple in stock for $400, so we bought it there.

Right now down to the technical specs on the Galaxy 2 10.1" tab. 

1GHZ dual core processor
1GB RAM
10.1 inch Wide x 6.9 inch Height x .39 inch Depth
1200x800 resolution
Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0 OS
1.28 lbs
7000 mAh battery (up to 8 hours of life, although it drains faster when playing games, streaming video)
16GB  on board memory (can be expanded up to 32GB with a $20 SD card purchase)
wifi, bluetooth and USB (although you will need to purchase a USB adapter if you want to plug a USB device directly into the tablet)
1.2 MP front, 8MP rear digital camera/video
Peel interface and universal remote capabilities
Gorilla Glass-It isn't listed specifically but Corningware's site lists it as one of the products with it.

Supports the following media formats for Audio:

Compatible Music Files, MP3, AAC/AAC+/EAAC+, WMA, OGG (vorbis), FLAC, AC-3; Compatible Sound Files, AMR-NB/WB, WAV, MID, XMF, iMelody, SP-MIDI, RTTTL/RTX, OTA

Supports the following Video Formats:

Video Player; Compatible Video Files, 3GP, AMR, H.263, H.264, MPEG4,QCIF; Video, Streaming

Messaging:

Email (POP3/IMAP/SMTP/SSL/TLS); Exhange ActiveSync Email


Right, now on to personal observations and experiences:

The display is sharp and even though it's not 1080p, Samsung can still make it outshine the competitors in it's price range.  As mentioned above it has the super durable/scratch resistant Gorilla Glass.  That isn't to say it won't break but unlike a number of screens it won't pick up every tiny little scratch on it's screen and make it stand out.   The one thing is that the factory default on the screensaver is set super short (about 30 seconds) so if it doesn't have any activity for 30 seconds the screen dims and a few seconds after that it hybernates.  I for one have never liked the hibernate feature on PCs, it is more of a pain than anything else.  Yeah, it saves battery life but it's toll on one's sanity isn't worth it.  So I strongly suggest going into the settings and changing it immediately.

The screen is set up with Weather, Samsung Store and a couple of others (I don't use them) as the default, you simply swipe the screen to one side with your finger and it will run through the various screens with your apps with a swipe.  As mentioned above one of the great things about the Androids is that there are so many manufactuers involved with them (ie Asus, Acer, Samsung, etc.) and as such there are so many sources for apps (ie Amazon, Samsung Store, Google Play, etc.) and many of them are free (although most of the free ones will have a tiny ad bar at the top).  Among my favorites at this point are: Netflix, Angry Birds (careful this game is addictive), Picasso (this is a free drawing program, which is great for the kids) as well as some scripture apps and I haven't even scratched the surface on everything that is out there.  Netflix can be a bit pixelated at times but I suspect that has to do more with the streaming quality adjusted for a tablet than anything else (sometimes I get that on my PC as well).  Obviously you need a Netflix account in order to be able to watch netflix.  You can also pick up the Watch ESPN app and if you have an ISP that supports the service you can do Watch ESPN on any Android tablet.

The interface can take some getting used to if you have never used a touch screen device before but in some respects it is actually better for the less tech savvy (ie being able to shrink and enlarge the screen, scroll etc by finger swipes).  In the bottom right hand corner it has the back button, a home button which will bring you right back to the default start screen, a task manager button (also allows you to switch easily between recently used apps) and a snapshot of screen button (sometimes this one gets in the way though).   The touchscreen keyboard that pops up can also take some getting used to if you have never used a touch screen device before.  It is pretty standard though compared to other touch screen keyboards, with the prompts for inserting words as you begin to type, as well as having a voice function button, which allows you to speak words into the tablet, rather than type them.  It works pretty well but you need to speak clearly into the tablet.  My wife had an awkward experience when trying it out, she forgot to turn it off and spoke 4 words which the machine couldn't understand and so combined them all into a 4 letter word starting with s and ending with t.  We both had a good laugh about that one.  Either way it is a features that comes in handy when posting on a forum or doing something that requires more lengthy typing.

Battery life.  They claim it can go for 8 hours (and indeed it might with basic browsing and the default power saving mode), but realistically if you are playing games or using an app that requires a bit of juice (ie Netflix streaming) I would say it's probably closer to 6-7 hours of continuous use (no breaks).   Either way, I generally throw it on the charger each night and I am good to go. 

As mentioned above one of the big pluses of the Android Tablets is the ability to expand memory by puchasing a cost effective SD card.  I have the option to turn my tablet into a 32 GB capacity simply by purchasing one.  Good luck getting that with an Ipad.  The good news is that by and large though the apps do not take up much memory, so the 16GB capacity and certainly the 32GB capacity go much farther than one would think. 

Wifi is very easy to set up as long as you have your modem's key and pin handy.  I live in a 1400 sq ft house with no brick or thick walls, so I get pretty good reception regardless of where I am, although as with any wifi/wireless connection your mileage may vary.   To my knowledge there isn't any 3G with this particular tablet but that isn't a concern for me as I am not willing to pay outlandish fees for data service on my cell (I only use my cell phone to make calls).  I am primarily using this tablet around my house as a second computer, that said the number of growing wifi hotspots, still make it very practical as a portable internet machine and I will take a wifi connection over a 3G any day of the week, given the option.  It should be noted that I am using a 20Mbps downstream/1Mbps upstream landline with a wireless router for an internet connection. 

This tablet comes pre-loaded with an Amazon kindle app, so you can set up and interface and order e-books from Amazon just as if you had a kindle.  So in addition to everything else you have a large screen kindle with this tablet. 

This tablet also comes preloaded with the peel app.  This crazy software/device allows you to turn your tablet into a universal remote.  Yeah, you heard that right, the tablet has an IR sensor in it and with the app it becomes a fully interactive universal remote with display.  For a guy like me with a TV, blu-ray player, HD-DVD player, regular DVD player this could come in handy.  I haven't set it up or done anything with it yet, but I am excited about the prospect of going from 4 remotes down to one. 

Bluetooth.  This one can be a pain if you don't know the pin for both devices that you want to connect.  Be sure you have that info available before you attempt to do it. This one like the option to turn wifi on and off is in the settings option.

Map/GPS system.  This is an app built in to the tablet and it is pretty slick.  My wife just used it to run some errands and the voice activated system will prompt you just like an actual navigation system (but doesn't cost you an arm and a leg).  Certainly way better than printing out mapquest directions.

The Samsung does have a few little things about it that I wish would improve, as mentioned in my cons, it has a lack of external ports to plug devices directly into it (ie Flash Drive).  For $20 you can purchase a USB adapter for it that will allow this but it is an extra cost.  It also has a charger plug that can be a pain to plug in/remove (there are no spring tabs for quick plug in/release).  Sometimes the keyboard can seem overly sensitive or that it is easy to bump a button/feature that you don't want, but I think any touch screen has these issues and I am sure a lot of it just has to do with our inexperience with touch devices.  These IMHO though are small inconveniences compared to the great features that this device has to offer. 


All in all for $400 this tablet is worth it.  The apple/ipad fans will tell you that all androids are garbage, but it simply isn't the case.  The ipad seems to own the market for tablets but that is simply because they have been around longer.  There are very few apps that you can find for the ipad that you can't find for the android and in most of those cases the android tablets have a comparable app that is available for it.  Both kinds of tablets have a wide variety of cool apps that are available but unlike Apple, even though the Androids got a late start, they have much more potential and have quite a few more developers that work with them and in the long run I see them surpassing the Ipad with development (they aren't stuck paying development rights to Apple).  The Androids' capabilty of cheap expandable storage also gives them a leg up on their Apple/Ipad counterparts.  As for the Samsung itself, although there are quad core processor Androids (ie Asus Transformer) which have more potential, they have enough quirks with them that they just don't surpass the Samsung when it comes to every day use.  I have no problem recommending this tablet to anyone either as a competitor to the Ipad line or to other android tablets.

Recommended: Yes