Samsung’s been moving PMP’s in one guise or another for some time. With the Galaxy Player line they claim to have the OS that can bring their media players to the next level, serving a user's media, gaming, internet and communications needs in one device. So what are these iPod Touch competitors like? Each is driven by 1GHz Hummingbird processors (single-core ARM Cortex A8, of course) and include 8 GB of on board NAND, expandable by microSD. Both models have 3.2 MP rear-facing and VGA front-facing cameras. The Galaxy Player sports Android 2.3 and the usual assortment of DLNA and Google Apps. If it sounds like these are Galaxy S phones without the phone part, it’s because they are. 

They’re distinguished by their screen size, however users accustomed to Samsung’s brilliant Super AMOLED displays might want to hold off from these particular models. The 5.0 comes with a 5” TFT-LCD at just WVGA (800x480). Contrast is less than stellar and the black notification bar was a murky grey. The 4.0 receives a 4” Super Clear LCD, analogous to S-LCD, which drastically improves viewing angles, and contrast. As a test for how the WVGA resolution works on larger screens, the 5.0 doesn’t bode well. If nothing else, when you open a website on such a larger device, you really expect to see more content than on a 4” screen.

 

Form factor is vanilla slate; more vanilla than chocolate certainly, with the only case color an attractive white. The edges are slightly rounded, but the thickness of the devices lend a very blocky character to them. These are not thin, sleek devices like the iPod Touch. Why so thick? Batteries. The 4.0 packs in a 1200 mAh battery while the 5.0 uses a rather large 2500 mAh battery. The software is only lightly infused with TouchWiz, these ROMs sporting less than the full gamut of recent TouchWiz updates. 

 

Samsung 2011 Galaxy Player Lineup
	Samsung Galaxy Player 4.0	Samsung Galaxy Player 5.0
Network	802.11 b/g/n	802.11 b/g/n
OS	Android 2.3.5 (Gingerbread)	Android 2.3.5 (Gingerbread)
Display	4-inch S-LCD WVGA (800 x 480)	5-inch LCD WVGA (800 x 480)
Connectivity	Bluetooth 3.0, Mini USB	Bluetooth 3.0, Mini USB
NAND	8GB, microSD slot (up to 32GB)	8GB, microSD slot (up to 32GB)
Battery	1200 mAh	2500 mAh
Dimensions	2.53 x 4.87 x 0.39"	3.07 x 5.56 x 0.46"
Weight	4.27	6.42 oz
Price	$229	$269

 

Pricing places these in direct competition with the iPod Touch; the 4.0 matches Apple’s wares at $229, while the 5.0 merits a $40 premium for its extra inch of screen real estate. Availability starts October 16th.

 

When we reviewed the Galaxy Tab 10.1 (a few times), we made clear that Samsung has spent a lot of time and effort to make these feel solid and well built. We also had kind words to say about the PLS display, and zippy performance from the Tegra 2 SoC and Samsung’s software optimizations. All of that still applies to the 8.9, but with the added benefit of a much more comfortable form factor. When in landscape, the 10.1 is narrow for Android tablets of that size, but that doesn’t make it any easier to thumb-type on without having to stretch for those G’s and H’s. Moving to 8.9 inches allows the user to hammer away without ever having to awkwardly change grip in order to get to the middle keys. In addition, this is one of the first Android tablets that feels comfortable to hold in portrait, with just one hand. The increased lightness and the ability to have less of the weight hang out beyond your grip makes this an easy device to use as a reader or media tablet. 

Shrinking the size and maintaining the resolution brings pixel density up to 170 pixels per inch from 150 in the 10.1. Though this is barely more than a 10% increase, it is noticeable, and the superb PLS display Samsung uses produces vibrant colors and excellent viewing angles. With internals that match its larger brother, performance is equivalent, both in benchmarks and in user experience. TouchWiz UX is on hand, along with Android 3.1. Samsung expects to have Android 3.2 within the next few months, and it’s expected to launch on the 8.9 and 10.1 simultaneously. That should bring along some performance tweaks, as well as improved compatibility with varying screen sizes. 

 

Samsung 2011 Tablet Comparison
	Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9	Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1
SoC	NVIDIA Tegra 2 (Dual ARM Cortex A9 @ 1GHz)	NVIDIA Tegra 2 (Dual ARM Cortex A9 @ 1GHz)
GPU	NVIDIA GeForce	NVIDIA GeForce
RAM	1GB	1GB
Display	1280 x 800 PLS	1280 x 800 PLS
NAND	16GB	16GB
Dimensions	230.9 x 157.8 x 8.6mm	256.6 x 172.9 x 8.6mm
Weight	447g	565g
Price	$469	$499

 

Apple threw down the gauntlet when they made their already svelte iPad even thinner with the iPad 2. At 8.8 mm, it’s hard to believe that tablets can get much thinner. Samsung  positioned the Tab family to get just a little bit thinner at 8.6 mm, a feat both the 8.9 and 10.1 accomplish. We put the 8.9 alongside some of its contemporaries in the gallery below, suffice it to say, no one does Android tablets as thin as Samsung. Is there value in thinness though? At times these paper thin devices feel awkward to grip, their flatness providing no edge to capture in your hand. In contrast the TouchPad’s curvy frame is easy  to maintain a solid grip on, and even the Acer Iconia Tab’s chunkier metal frame feels easy to grasp. What makes it easy to overcome the thin frame is it’s lightness. At just under a pound this easily the lightest Android tablet I’ve held and the difference between it and even the 10.1 is the difference between something I would feel comfortable reading in bed with, and something I would fear dropping sleepily upon my head. 

Galaxy Tab 10.1 (left) vs. Galaxy Tab 8.9 (right)

 

The Galaxy Tab 8.9 is a welcome addition to the swarm of Android tablets being introduced this Fall. Manufacturers now free to stray from the 10.1” form factor will finally be able to differentiate with more than just skins. In the case of Samsung’s latest, they took all the best traits from the best Android tablet available today, and shrunk it down to a more comfortable size. Does this make the 8.9 the new best? Stay tuned for Anand’s review.