7" Galaxy TabThe Samsung Galaxy Tab is a 7-inch Android-based tablet computer which, at the moment, is a direct competitor to the Apple iPad. Yes, iPad has a head start on all the tabs and is sleek and sexy, but I’m here to say do not write off the Galaxy Tab just yet!

As I listened to a speaker talking about mobile devices at the recent ASAE Technology Conference, it got me excited about all the possibilities that lie ahead!

As soon as the session ended I slipped the Galaxy into my back pocket and headed down the hall to my next motivational session. I don’t care how baggy your pants are, you can’t do that with an iPad! Next, I opened the Evernote note-taking, app. I prefer to hold the tab so I can type with my thumbs; the full keyboard is still a little odd for me (see picture below).

Galaxy Tab

I used the factory-installed Media Hub app to rent and download “Robin Hood,” which is a great movie by the way, and had a nice evening watching a high definition movie in my hotel room.  At the conference I used the front facing camera to video chat with my family and read the news through one of many news apps.  Of course I checked my e-mail and sent a few text messages too.

There are so many ways to integrate this device into your daily routine I cannot possibly cover them all here. The fact is you have to ask yourself what you need the device for.  I wrote this entire blog post on the Galaxy but a full-size keyboard docking station is available as well!

I am using the Verizon Galaxy Tab with a 3G data connection but even if you don’t have the data plan you can still connect to the Internet via Wi-Fi.

Keyboard Docking Station

Here are some apps I enjoy on the Android-based Galaxy Tab (not all are free and most can be found on the iPad as well):

  • Mint (finance app)
  • Google Reader (RSS feed reader)
  • Dropbox (access to files stored on the cloud)
  • QTip (tip calculator)
  • The Weather Channel
  • Maps
  • Navigation
  • Scan2PDF (scans paper into a PDF file)
  • Evernote
  • LogMeln (Remote desktop control)
  • Camera/video (works great!)
  • Facebook

For more Samsung Galaxy Tab information visit Samsung

(These opinions and comments are the author’s and not necessarily those of the Illinois Association of REALTORS®).