Samsung P1000 Galaxy Tab 7-inch 3G + Wi-Fi Tablet (ARM Cortex A8 1GHz, 16 GB, 7-inch TFT LCD, Bluetooth, Android 2.2) - Sim Free

I've been looking for an e-book reader that has mp3 potential and video playback for awhile so its one device instead of 3. I did look at the ipad but its just massive and the whole point for me is to reduce the weight of a book in my hand and the ipad is quite weighty. The galaxy tab is the first item I have seen with all three at a relatively nice handheld sort of size.

The wireless on this system works straight away and in the welcome stuff it helps you get straight onto the net so you can immediately take benefit of the uses of this tablet.

This is really quick to use, the applications load up fast and it has some lovely features to it. The sound coming out of the tab is pretty decent for video playback and mp3's but I reckon if your listening to mp3's through it your more likely to have headphones in. The video playback plays seamlessly, no motion blur or pausing whilst the device finds more of the file. I only watched a 20 minute episode but it handled it well and it looked very pretty through this hd screen.

There is one game on startup and it doesn't look that interesting but there is a samsung games app linking you straight to their games. The same goes for their videos/films.

The e-book reader included is kobo and the prices on the store are quite high compared to amazons kindle. You can get a kindle app so you can run your tab as if it was a kindle and I have found that to be the best e-book software to use. With the book prices being about the price of an actual paperback even if some of them aren't yet in paperback and the features available on it with the white writing on a black screen and the various text sizes its definitely the better option. Of course you could buy a kindle but your kindle wont allow you to listen to music and watch videos, use the gps through google maps, browse the net, give you the news updates you want and updating your facebook status with very little effort.

This is my first adventure into the android system and I have found the apps available through the android market upscale to the screen size of the tab for the most part very well, my only let down so far has been a live wallpaper that wasn't quite the size of the screen but it was free and thus not a big loss.

The only thing that worries me is the charger, not owning a samsung mobile device before I've not noticed how alike the charger is to the ipod and such. With it not being a standard usb style charger it means you can't get a new cable to charge it on the cheap you have to buy the official one at least at the moment and they average between £15-£20. Mind you the battery does last for days when on standby and can be up to 12 hours dependant on what you are doing at the time of use, obviously movie/mp3 playback eats away at the battery, but just browsing the net doesn't use as much.

Overall a great all in one device that I'm very happy to have taken the risk on.

When Apple launched the iPad, I purchased one immediately. I remember being delighted by the large screen, and the effortless web surfing experience. After owning the iPad for a little over a week, however, I then wondered what exactly I was going to use it for - I had a Macbook Pro, and a smartphone - and the iPad failed to complete many tasks I wanted it to, and certainly failed to bring anything new in terms of functionality. Needless to say, it was sold on eBay shortly afterwards.

Since then, I have been waiting for a tablet device to come to market that offered a little bit more than just a large touchscreen. My wait is now over.

My Samsung Galaxy Tab arrived on November 1st, so I have been using it every day for just over a week. What a fabulous device! I have read various tech journals saying the iPad is better, and to those who just want a couch-surfer, maybe so. I guess the web experience on the iPad is a little more polished. But any criticism of the Tab ends there. After a week, I am used to the touch screen interface and the way it reacts to my inputs, I am happy with the smoothness of the scrolling when viewing websites, and I'm ok with the reported lack of apps available on Android market (by comparison with the app store). I followed the tip on sizing apps to fill the screen, and that works just great.

I use the device as a secondary phone, for personal calls, via a bluetooth headset. Call quality is excellent, and I haven't had a dropped call yet - can't say the same with my 3gs! The email client is fantastic, pushes my POP account and gmail over, and collects them all in a unified inbox. Keyboard is so easy for thumbing in portrait - I find it really fast and easy, but I'm no touch typist. Contacts and calendar synced up with google, great use of the extra screen size over a smartphone. I use google docs and thinkfree office for work stuff, mostly spreadsheet stuff, and it works well, and web browsing is just fine with full flash onboard. iPlayer looks a treat.

Many have wondered whether a 7" screen is large enough to be better than a smartphone - yes it is - way better. Screen size between 3.5" phone and 7" Tab may not sound much, but it seems about three times the size of my HTC Desire. Makes all the difference in the world - no more squinting! Camera works well, not fantastic by any means, but I've taken some reasonable snaps, and that's good enough for me. I generally take the pictures on my HTC Desire, and bluetooth 'em over to the Tab, then use the Tab to view the gallery - a nice visual experience, and great to pass around amongst friends and family.

Widgets, shortcuts, feeds and live wallpaper all help to make the Tab feel personal - I've got all nine screens pretty rammed. I have a 32Gb micro SD card in the slot, so bags of space - keep all the media on the card, works great - and you have the option of storing loads of media on lots of different cards - never run out of storage space.

I have used the device twice as a navigation tool - it has now replaced my TomTom. Enough said.

The Tab feels like a quality piece of kit - doesn't crease or flex, no creaking, screen seems tough, and plastics feel good quality - no scratches yet. Speakers are loud, and sound quality not bad at all. Battery life - 13 hours use including constant WiFi, bluetooth, regular surfing, email on push, calls, navigation, and angry birds, of course!

As an ebook reader, I am quite impressed - I loaded a couple of books up, and it seems great - nice, clear text, I can look up long words to increase my loquaciousness, and the device feels light and is easy to grip - even lying in bed. It is fab as a video player - seamless, good screen size, plays every format I've thrown at it.

I've downloaded PowerAmp from the Android market as a music player - works well - Angry Birds is cool on the bigger screen, FB works fine, what else do you want??? Notifications bar is useful, bluetooth is fast, multitasking is awesome, file manager helpful, and I've saved the best bit 'till last...

It fits in my jeans pocket!

I have never written a review before (as you may be able to detect), but the Samsung Galaxy Tab made me put my initial thoughts in writing - it really is that good. I doubt you could be disappointed, and if you are, an update to Gingerbread will probably sort you out!

I feel so guilty.

It was all that talk about the Kindle Fire. It got me all het up, and then let me down by saying that I couldn't have one here in the UK. I felt rejected.

:(

So my thoughts turned to finding consolation elsewhere . . .

Galaxy Tab 7 Wifi plus 3G

Love it! And the full extent of my Kindle-infidelity is revealed further down.

Spent more money, of course; a new love needs to be pampered if the romance is to blossom and last.

Vierra G-STAND Black Case Cover with Adjustable Stand for new Samsung Galaxy Tab P1000 & FREE Screen Protector, Samsung 7 inch Tablet, ARM Cortex A8 1GHz / 16GB / 7" Touch Screen / Android 2.2 Froyo / Tablet

Excellent, good quality, effective in use.

Then I read a Graudian review where the cable got lost, so bought these too:

Samsung Galaxy Tab Car Charger Black, 5V, 2A (Detachable Type)

UltimateAddons Extra Long 3 Metre Sync, Data and Charge USB Cable for Samsung Galaxy Tab 7" GT-P1000, GT-P1010

And then I travel a lot, so I needed:

UltimateAddons Worldwide Dual USB Mains Charger for Samsung Galaxy Tab (GT-P1000), with 2 Metre USB Cable, Charges 2 Devices at same time, including other Tablets, i.e. Apple iPad

Over the top, I know, but when the heart rules the head . . .

And finally : Usb Adapter For Micro sd Card - Supports Up To 32gb Micro sd Card by Serena

SanDisk microSDHC 32GB Card

Our romance was now perfectly equipped to begin, and also to last, I hoped.

I can get wifi with no trouble - and downloaded a WiFi Finder Free App for when I am out and about. 3G - got a T-Mobile rolling 30-day Sim Card with 100 minutes and 300 texts plus unlimited internet for £10 per month. Unlimited with an asterisk saying that it isn't actually unlimited but subject to fair use, which means that you can browse and e-mail with no limits, but streaming video and downloading or uploading large files will come up against a ceiling.

Fair enough - you can do that at home on the WiFi.

BBC i-player and watching videos is superb. The only glitch was that the ear-phones provided were fiddly. You had to wiggle them in or out to hear, otherwise 1mm difference either made it blare out so everyone heard, or gave complete silence. Plus the wiggling, 9 times out of ten, stopped the playback.

Solved by using a cheapo pair of ear-phones given free on an AVE train in Spain to watch the film.

The other slight drawback, also solved, was that while on the internet, some sites where you were required to sign in (e.g. Which magazine), the browser wouldn't let you. There's Chrome for you! Tried a number of browsers from the App Store. Finally discovered that sign-in was possible with Opera Mini browser, although I prefer Dolphin HD for general browsing.

Being an Android novice, I am still learning. The context-sensitive menus, while perfectly logical, are an occasional source of frustration as where you end up in the menu depends on where you start from, so I sometimes cannot find something I had before me 2 minutes ago. Still learning, and getting better at it by the day.

I find it excellent for browsing the internet; responsive, pages well-formatted (thanks to Dolphin - some in the in-built Chrome browser weren't so good and I needed to zoom in and out). A great experience overall, highly recommended.

E-mail (Yahoo) was set up with no problem; my contacts came over straight away. I am not a Facebook or Twitterer, so cannot comment on those, but text messaging is fine.

The camera - with lens both back and front, for self-portraits, seems good too.

And now I reveal the full shame of my infidelity.

The first App I downloaded was, of course, the Kindle. Took a few seconds to register my device with Amazon, then I was able to download whatever I wanted from my Kindle Archive on Amazon. I was flabbergasted by the download speed - it took me longer to click on a book than to download it.

I was also able to download from my computer via the USB lead. It IS nice to see the book covers, rather than just a sterile list, and in colour too . . . an attractive way of selecting what to read. Pity Amazon can't do it like this on its Manage My Kindle page for our Kindle Archive library.

The Kindle reading experience is very good; you can GoTo, consult the dictionary, change the font size, and have the option of changing the page from white with black text to black with white text, or sepia with brown text; the latter seems kinder on the eyes. The "Does the Kindle have a backlight for reading in the dark" is solved here, of course, but Mr Bibliofila find it more distracting in a darkened bedroom than when I use the Kindle with lighted case. Haven't yet tested the Galaxy Tab outdoors in the sunlight for obvious reasons.

But . . .

The Galaxy Tab also has a built-in e-reader, which is e-pub. It gives you one book for free, and then you can log on to a bookshop to buy more. Haven't tested the purchase option, but downloaded from my computer some e-pub books (non DRM) left over from when I had the Sony e-reader.

Yes, I'm afraid that I'm a serial adulterer in the e-reader world . . . Sony to Kindle to Galaxy . . .

Here the page is sepia too, although paler, and there's an interesting page curl when you turn the page. I really liked that. No way of changing font size that I have discovered yet, but there is an in-built dictionary. Page numbers on bottom of screen. But the big thing is . . .

Well, I am not only fickle, I am also shallow. Easily impressed by external appearances. Fall in love with a pretty face.

What I really love about the e-book reader on the Galaxy is . . . the way it looks when you open it.

It shows you open shelves in an attractive wood finish, with the books displayed cover outward. Just like in your local Library where they have some special section. You can browse the covers on the shelves to select your book. It's cute, I love it, I am so shallow.

Now actually this is more than shallow, it's daft, to like, to LOVE, a book reader because of this trivial point. It only lasts a few seconds, for goodness sake! Pull yourself together, woman.

The actual reading experience is better on the Kindle App (unless you miss that attractive page curl - a bit as though the e-pub reader is winking at you . . .), because it has greater functionality. But I do like those lovely bookshelves.

Overall verdict: the Galaxy Tab 7 is a great device. Does masses more than I thought it would, does it fast and effortlessly, and I still have a lot more to discover.

I wouldn't dream of giving up my Kindle, which is just perfect as a reading device, but my Galaxy, as well as offering so very many other things, will be a handy Kindle back-up.

If only Amazon would call in a carpenter to set up some shelves . . .

:)