Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 4G LTE Review
by Anand Lal Shimpi on August 15, 2011 1:23 AM ESTUsing a tablet outside of the home in areas where WiFi isn't prevalent is unbelievably frustrating. Sure it's nicer to use the larger screen of a tablet compared to a smartphone, but only if you can actually browse the web and check email on it. I suspect a large number of WiFi tablets are used in locations where free WiFi is prevalent. At homes, in cafes, on campus, in hotels, etc... But what about those who aren't so lucky?
You can always tether to your smartphone or get a MiFi, but if you want to carry only a single device there's always the option of a cellular connected tablet. While Motorola's Xoom shipped with the promise of a future upgrade to support LTE, Samsung and Verizon were actually first to deliver an LTE enabled tablet: the Galaxy Tab 10.1 4G LTE.
Based on the same design as the WiFi only Galaxy Tab 10.1, the 4G version is identical in dimensions and only 2 grams heavier. You get the same 1280 x 800 Super PLS display, the same dual-core 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 SoC, 1GB of memory and either 16GB or 32GB of NAND. The only change is the inclusion of VIA Telecom CBP 7.1 EVDO and CMC220 LTE baseband processors. You'll note that this is the same baseband configuration as the LTE enabled Samsung Droid Charge.
There's still no SD card slot on the Galaxy Tab, but the 4G LTE version gains a spring loaded microSIM slot:
The Galaxy Tab 10.1 4G is available through Verizon Wireless for an off-contract price of $699 for the 16GB version or $799 for the 32GB version. Agreeing to a two year contract drops the prices to $529 and $629, respectively. Even with the two year agreement, the 4G Tab is expensive. In a world where we're looking to see tablets hit $399 it's really tough to justify spending 50% more. If you want LTE on a tablet however, this is your only option.
| 2011 Tablet Comparison | |||||||
| Apple iPad 2 | ASUS Eee Pad Transformer | Motorola Xoom WiFi | Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 | Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 4G | |||
| SoC | Apple A5 (Dual ARM Cortex A9 @ 1GHz) | NVIDIA Tegra 2 (Dual ARM Cortex A9 @ 1GHz) | NVIDIA Tegra 2 (Dual ARM Cortex A9 @ 1GHz) | NVIDIA Tegra 2 (Dual ARM Cortex A9 @ 1GHz) | NVIDIA Tegra 2 (Dual ARM Cortex A9 @ 1GHz) | ||
| GPU | PowerVR SGX 543MP2 | NVIDIA GeForce | NVIDIA GeForce | NVIDIA GeForce | NVIDIA GeForce | ||
| RAM | 512MB | 1GB | 1GB | 1GB | 1GB | ||
| Display | 1024 x 768 IPS | 1280 x 800 IPS | 1280 x 800 | 1280 x 800 PLS | 1280 x 800 PLS | ||
| NAND | 16GB | 16GB | 16GB | 16GB | 16GB | ||
| Connectivity Options | WiFi, AT&T 3G, Verizon 3G | WiFi | WiFi, Verizon 3G, Verizon LTE (soon) | WiFi | WiFi, Verizon 3G, Verizon LTE | ||
| Dimensions | 241.2mm x 185.7mm x 8.8mm | 271mm x 175mm x 12.95mm | 249.1mm x 167.8mm x 12.9mm | 256.6 x 172.9 x 8.6mm | 256.6 x 172.9 x 8.6mm | ||
| Weight | 601g | 695g | 730g | 565g | 567g | ||
| Price | $499 | $399 | $599 | $499 | $699 ($529 with 2-year contract) | ||
Verizon offers three LTE plans for use with the 4G enabled Galaxy Tab:
| Verizon LTE Dataplans for Tablets | |||||
| Monthly Download Cap | 2GB | 5GB | 10GB | ||
| Monthly Price | $30 | $50 | $80 | ||
| Monthly Overage per GB | $10 | ||||
Unfortunately there are no pay-as-you-go LTE plans yet and none of these options are particularly reasonable, especially considering how fast LTE is. Even with the $80 10GB plan, if you're downloading at 25Mbps you can blow through your entire month's allowance in 53 minutes. While I don't expect many users to be downloading full Blu-rays onto a Galaxy Tab 10.1, it won't be too long before that's feasible for playback on a tablet. LTE is great, but these plans need serious work.
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jigglywiggly - Monday, August 15, 2011 - link
such a useless device with the shit plansATOmega - Monday, August 15, 2011 - link
At $699 on contract, there is absolutely zero reason to buy one of these things. Not to mention, data plan prices are prohibitively expensive.This device should be tops $350 and available without a contract at any store that wishes to carry it.
Android tablets will *never* take off so long as this kind of nonsense is happening.
Lord 666 - Monday, August 15, 2011 - link
Anand,Hold that unit in both hands, twist, and watch the screen flicker. The Xoom and iPads have great torsion resistance. The Samsung 10.1 series could be snapped in half.
medi01 - Monday, August 15, 2011 - link
Did you try hitting it with a hammer?EnerJi - Monday, August 15, 2011 - link
GTFOH!! A total, and blatant rip-off, which I suppose they feel they can get away with as the only game in town. This device will be selling for (at least) $100 less by Thanksgiving, by which time the Xoom, PlayBook, and possibly others will also be shipping with LTE. Most folks should probably wait for more options and for competition to drive down prices later this year.heulenwolf - Monday, August 15, 2011 - link
I agree with earlier comments that the price of the device and plans severely limit the product offering. VZW is no dummy so I wonder whether they are, in fact, aiming for lower volume. If they keep the customer count down on their 4G LTE network while they're still rolling it out, they can delay the capital upgrade investments for the additional backhaul bandwidth that would be required and, at the same time, make their existing 4G offering a premium service because its not so busy. Were there suddenly a few hundred thousand 4G LTE devices on-line simultaneously in the Charlotte area, I wonder whether they'd all be getting the incredible bandwidth shown in Anand's results. If, instead, they keep both the device and service plan costs high, they can simultaneously limit the data load on their new network so it appears hyperfast and make a high profit. Until they have viable competition, lower volume may be the better business case.eanazag - Monday, August 15, 2011 - link
I don't think it looks enough alike to justify the patent infringement. I can see some similarities on the front side, but on the back end - no. The button and camera placement is different also. I think if Samsung had went with a different color other than black (and now white) on the front bezel of the screen or some extra distinguishing mark it would have not had an issue at all. I don't agree with the sales blocking, but I can see how if someone is looking to block the device that they would have a better chance than some other devices. I don't see how the OS side could provide a "look and feel" issue. It is mostly a cheap trick unless there is something that most reasonable people are missing. I would guess Apple is just trying to buy time till the next hardware release and knock off the best competing hardware available. I have an iPad 2 and would consider this device as the best alternative in the Android environment. I like Samsung as a manufacturer.The killer feature here is 4G. After using the iPad 2 and BB Playbook I would say that 4G speeds make this type of device much more useful. 3G where I am sucks. It is adequate for some web, but the next gen uses will require 4G such as remote desktop. Remote desktop is still pretty weak because of 3G, but can be done.
I use my device for work and play.
jrs77 - Monday, August 15, 2011 - link
A MiFi I can use with basically any of my mobile devices and overall it's cheaper aswell. I'm way more flexible with MiFi and I can even have friends use it, as good MiFi allows for more then one connection simultanously.So yeah... MiFi all the way.
milan03 - Tuesday, August 16, 2011 - link
Just did a few tests on Thunderbolt in NYC just for testing sake. I'm sure Samsung Galaxy Tab would hit even higher here in NYC especially on the uplink: [IMG]http://i55.tinypic.com/209lrmu.png[/IMG]shenjing - Tuesday, August 16, 2011 - link
Come go and see, will not regret it Oh lookhttp://www。ifancyshop。com