Samsung Galaxy Tab: as good as Apple iPad?

Samsung has unveiled its new Galaxy Tab device, which it has hailed as the missing link between smartphones and the fast-selling Apple iPad. The company has bravely described the device as a "paradigm-shifter".

With its 7-inch screen, the Galaxy Tab is smaller than the 9.7-inch iPad. The machine, which runs Google's Android operating system, was unveiled in Berlin this week at IFA, Europe's biggest consumer-electronics trade event.

Samsung has not yet revealed how much the Galaxy Tab will cost. But provided it is not an astronomical amount it looks as though the iPad will have a serious challenger when the device is launched in October, initially through Vodafone, because so far the reviewers like what they see.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING:

Matt Warman, the Telegraph: "Get hands-on time with it, and it's clear that the Galaxy Tab presents a genuine rival to Apple's iPad. At almost exactly the same size as the highly praised Amazon Kindle, it's light, thin and industrial in its design."

Mobile Tech Review: "It's not burdensome to hold nor is the screen too small to work with for longer periods of time. If you find the iPad a bit too much to hold for an hour or too big to add to your bag for travel, then the Tab will feel just right."

Chris Davies, Slash Gear: "Is it 'better' than the iPad? That's one of those questions everybody will be asking, but in our experience this is a very different device to Apple's slate... Instead, the Galaxy Tab feels more like a Dell Streak rival."

Kat Hannaford, Gizmodo: "A limited look at the Galaxy Tab showed me all I needed to see: this thing is great. I'm no fan of Samsung phones, and worried it would feel cheap, with TouchWiz an albatross around Android's neck. I was wrong."

Taylor Wimberly, Android And Me: "It's the best Android Tablet I have seen yet. The Galaxy Tab offers all the performance we have come to expect from the Galaxy S lineup with the addition of a larger display, which makes this a great device for watching movies, playing games, and reading e-books."

Paul Miller, Engadget: "A lot rests on the shoulders of developers, as usual, to make or break this quasi-new platform, but for Samsung's part we think the company has set the gold standard for Android tablets, and might have just enough differentiation, quality, and moxy to set its 7-inch contender up against Apple's 9-inch juggernaut." ·