SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB 10.1V

Originally designed to compete with the first edition of the Apple iPad, Samsung (perhaps a bit hurriedly) released its Galaxy Tab 10.1 in collaboration with Vodafone. When a slimmer, trimmer version of this tablet was later released, the original model was rechristened as the 10.1V.

The first aspect a user will surely notice today when looking at a Galaxy Tab 10.1V are the strange dimensions. This tablet is slightly smaller at 246.2mm x 170.4mm (9.7” x 6.71”) against the standard 10.1’s dimensions of 256.2mm x 172.9mm (10.1” x 6.81”). It’s also a little thicker at 10.9mm (vs. 8.6mm) and 34 grams heavier with a weight of 599 grams (1.32 lb). These slight differences make the 10.1V stand out a bit, but essentially it’s still a 10” tablet.

While the touchscreen is smaller, Samsung picture quality remains as sharp as ever in the Galaxy Tab 10.1V, making this one still a good choice for video-first tablet user. Most of the other major specs are identical to Samsung’s other 10.1 tablet models, including WiFi functionality, the fast 1 GHZ dual-core processor and up to 32 GB of internal storage.

Differences include the rear-facing camera of 8MP (as opposed to 3MP in the other Galaxy Tab models) and that Android 3.1 operating system (Samsung’s other 10.1 tablets have the 3.2 edition) which some users have noted produces some lag time in heavier applications. The Bluetooth is only the 2.1+ EDR version, but this works well enough with most essential plug-ins.

With prices on this tablet dropping, the Samsung Galaxy 10.1V can be recommended to those budget-conscious users mainly interested in using the device for video viewing – and for Vodafone customers, of course.