----------- Original review:
I bought the Tab because I wanted something larger than my iPhone, but not as large as the iPad (or the new larger Tabs coming out soon). I chose the WiFi model because I only expect to use the Tab at home and when traveling (where I can usually get WiFi access), so it wasn't worth paying for monthly 3G service. I can always use my iPhone if I have access to 3G but no WiFi.
The Tab is my first Android device. I knew that the Tab wouldn't support Honeycomb, but there weren't many 7" tablets to choose from, so I figured I could live without Honeycomb.
I've had the Tab for a couple of weeks now, and my initial impressions are mixed. On the plus side, it seems well built, the display is good, the e-mail app (which I use more than anything else) is pretty good, and it does what I bought it for. However, there are a number of things that are quirky or could stand improvement. Here are some of them, in no particular order:
* Battery life isn't what I expected. I was expecting about 10 hours of battery life with moderate use. Even if I hardly use the Tab, meaning literally 15 minutes in a day, it will drain the battery in 2-3 days. Yesterday it was completely dead, wouldn't even turn on until I plugged it in. I have it configured to check e-mail every 15 minutes, it must be doing a lot of other background stuff. I don't see how the battery would last more than a few hours if you were using the Kindle app, for example. I'm sure there are settings I can disable or change to improve battery life, but I'm a bit disappointed.
* I use Yahoo mail, but there's no way to sync Yahoo contacts directly with the Tab's contacts. There's a Yahoo Mail app that can allegedly do this, but it doesn't support the WiFi Tab (note that the Yahoo Mail app is different from the Yahoo app, which does support the WiFi Tab, but doesn't sync contacts). I managed to do this indirectly by syncing my Mac Address Book with both Yahoo and Google, and then syncing the Tab contacts with Google, but this option isn't available to Windows users (without third-party apps).
* Like the Yahoo Mail app, there are other Android apps that don't support the WiFi Tab. I tried to install the Android versions of apps that I have on my iPhone, and I think at least 3 of the apps that were available in the Android Market don't support the WiFi Tab. Of course, some iPhone apps aren't available for Android, but I was expecting that.
* Samsung makes a PC application to sync the Tab, but it's not available in the US, so you have to use WiFi for everything.
* The Tab is very thin and smooth, like the iPhone. It looks really nice, but it makes the Tab hard to pick up -- I'm always afraid I'm going to drop it. I've ordered a case, which should help.
* Like the iPhone, the Tab lets you set a passcode to help keep your content secure. Unlike the iPhone, the Tab locks whenever the display turns off, which means you have to enter the passcode every time you turn on the display. (I disabled the passcode after discovering that). On the iPhone, there's a separate setting for how long the device remains unlocked, and the passcode is only required to unlock the device, not to turn on the display.
* One of the oddest and most annoying things I've found is the placement of the underscore ('_') character on the virtual keyboard. To get an underscore, you have to tap the 123 key to select the number/symbols keyboard, and then tap 123 again to show the second number/symbols keyboard (there are 3), and that's where the underscore is. My e-mail address, like many others, has an underscore, so I would expect the underscore to be more accessible.
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