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Top 10 uses for your Samsung Galaxy Tab

The Samsung Galaxy Tab is a serious gadget for something that weighs less than 400g and will fit in the back pocket of your jeans. But what would you actually use it for, aside from the all-too obvious pick of “web browsing”? We take a look…
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Portable video player
The Samsung Galaxy Tab’s number one usage is as a portable video player. Why? Becuase it’s probably the best portable media player device ever made, so far at least. The screen isn’t flawless, with the TFT-based screen lacking the ultra-dark blacks of an AMOLED alternative, but the Samsung Galaxy Tab’s exemplary video support more than makes up for this tiny complaint. We tried the Tab with DivX, Xvid and WMV, including 720p HD vids, and the tablet didn’t stumble once. No conversion required — which you will have to do with an iPad. At 380g, the Samsung Galaxy Tab is portable enough to take with you all the time. As long as you have a bag. Or huge pockets.

Retro gaming system
The Android Market offers a handful of retro gaming emulators, including those for the Nintendo NES, SNES, Sega Megadrive, Sony Playstation and Gameboy Advance, among others. Android may not have the vibrant game development culture of the iPhone, but you won’t find any of these sorts of retro emulators on the App Store. The apps don’t include any games, but if you source ROMs from elsewhere and drop them onto your Samsung Galaxy Tab’s internal memory, you’ll be in retro gaming heaven.

Home media centre unit
The Samsung Galaxy Tab’s supreme video skills aren’t just useful when you’re out and about. They also come in handy at home. The DLNA-powered AllShare feature lets you stream your vids to DLNA-compatible devices. It’ll work best with other Samsung AllShare devices, but it’ll play with plenty of others too. We checked the Samsung Galaxy Tab’s skills out with a Sony PS3 games console and were streaming away within minutes.

Recipe book
Even without one of the many recipe books available from the Android Market, the Samsung Galaxy Tab is still a stellar foodie gadget. It won’t grate your ginger or sautee your new potatoes, but with a great web browser on board, you can find any recipe you’d want online. That said, there are hundreds of food apps on the Android Market. It’s just a pity that some of the iPhone’s top hitters, like 20 Minute Meals from Jamie Oliver, haven’t made the leap to Android. Yet.

GPS navigation gadget, plus a superb map
Google’s built-in GPS Navigation software is great, and it keeps on getting better. It’s already on-par with a dedicated GPS gadget in spec terms, with a proper 3D navigation view and turn-by-turn voice instructions. The large screen of the Samsung Galacy Tab, compared with Android smartphones, makes it much more comfortable to use as a map too.

In-bed iPlayer buddy
The Samsung Galaxy Tab gets on famously with the BBC iPlayer thanks to its full Flash 10.1 support. You can watch the service’s wares full-screen on your tablet, and download rather than streaming if you fancy. It’s perfect for chilling out on the sofa while your housemate or other half watches something dreadful like the X Factor/Ross Kemp on Gangs. The only downside is that when streaming iPlayer defaults the Samsung Galaxy Tab down to the mobile versions of programmes, which are of lower quality than you’ll see on your PC.

ebook reader
With the built-in Kindle app, you can turn your Samsung Galaxy Tab into a fully-fledged ereader. Amazon’s Kindle service offers you many classic reads to download for free, so you don’t even have to spend a penny to check out the Tab’s ereader skills. We recommend turning down the backlight to save battery life and your eyes. The one advantage devices like the Kindle still have over the Samsung Galaxy Tab is that they use backlight-less E-ink screens, which don’t strain your eyes any more than reading a normal book.

Superior video calling device
The Samsung Galaxy Tab is the first next-gen tablet device to land in the UK with dual cameras, which is what you’ll want in a video call/chat device. The 1.3MP camera that faces you in normal use is powerful enough to capture great-quality video (many webcams only have 640×480 sensors) and the large screen of the tablet makes you feel closer to whoever you’re talking to than with a dinky smartphone.

Wi-Fi radio player for the kitchen
There’s a handful of Wi-Fi radio apps available on the Android Market. Not used Wi-Fi radio before? It simple collates radio streams being broadcast across the internet. And there are lots of them — tens of thousands of them. Our top recommendation is TuneIn Radio. Your favourite FM and DAB stations are available too, including all of the BBC’s top offerings. Plug an active speaker into the Samsung Galaxy Tab’s 3.5mm headphone jack, or grab yourself a dock, once they hit the market, and you’ll be ready to rock.

Desktop PC killer (with accessory)
Android isn’t a full Windows-style operating system, but with the help of a few apps and an accessory, it can make a good stab at replacing your PC or laptop. The official keyboard dock accessory isn’t available yet, but it’ll boost the tablet’s office skills hugely. The keyboard dock will reportedly cost $99.99 in the US, so keep an eye out for it if sounds up your street.

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