It's time to tab...

The first review on my brand spanking new blog has got to be my most-used gadget, and my favourite one. One that I acquired less than a month ago, the amazing Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1.

I spent about 4 months deliberating on what tablet to buy, and when I finally decided on the Samsung Galaxy Tab, I knew I had made the right choice. The bundle I bought came with the official Samsung Bluetooth Keyboard, which is the perfect accessory for taking notes during class. (It also makes it easier to play Angry Birds Space for those moments when you've finished your work).

Chances are, if you are reading this, then you probably know the basic specs of the Galaxy Tab 10.1. If you don't, an easy way to remember is the following: everything the iPad 2 has, just a little better. Whilst some prefer the Apple brand name, my free mind and spirit much prefers the ability to customize further, on Android Honeycomb 3.2.

The camera is of sufficient-to-good quality, and I find the processor and RAM to be perfectly adequate. However, some games, especially "SushiChop" sometimes freeze or take a while to open properly. And so, that brings me to my next point. The games. As a teenager, I love to do nonconstructive activities, and playing Temple Run for half an hour is not an abnormal thing for me. I was thrilled at the level of games available, such as DrawSomething, Fruit Ninja, all the Angry Birds, and of course, the game that I am currently addicted to, SushiChop.

Whilst games are really fun, sometimes you actually have to get down and do some... social networking! For this, I use TweetDeck. Being able to tweet from all my different Twitter accounts (Follow me @lukemeiklejohn or @LMWebDesign1), as well as from my Facebook page, is just a necessity for the socialite hidden deep inside of me. But seriously, made by Twitter, TweetDeck is my favourite Twitter client, but just in case, I have both Facebook for Android and Twitter for Android installed on my Tab, both of which I use regularly.

The Internet Browser that comes pre-installed on the Galaxy Tab is quite terrible actually. For someone browsing the internet, interface is everything, and this browser's interface is just ugly. To combat this problem, I downloaded Dolphin Browser HD, which is sufficiently better, as well as offering the option of saving web pages as PDF's. I also downloaded the official TEDtalks app, with which I have downloaded quite a few interesting talks. Note - the "low quality" option is just not worth it! Dropbox is a necessity, as it makes transferring files from your PC/laptop to the Tab a breeze. I was thrilled that Instagram was made for Android just a week before I purchased the tab, and although I don't use it everyday, Instagram is just a wonderful app that I enjoy.

For the classroom, I use the pre-installed Polaris Office, which has quite a nice interface, yet at times seems a little simplistic for my advanced computer needs. I also have the Merriam Webster dictionary installed, which gives me access to their database of words both offline and online. The eBook app that came pre-installed, I just didn't like, and so replaced it with Aldiko, which I find to be a much better option.

As a teenager, I don't have the biggest budget for these types of things, and so when I am out of wireless coverage, I sometimes just plainly refuse to use 3G, because of the price of it. I don't have a data bundle, so my data is very limited! I am pretty sure that with all my various apps installed, if I were to leave my 3G data turned on, I would run dry pretty soon, and I have to admit, the button to turn it off and on isn't exactly easy to reach. Easier than trying to upgrade it to the unreleased version of Ice Cream Sandwhich, I suppose, yet harder to reach than the Wi-Fi button, which is but two taps away.

Not a day goes by when I am not tapping away at it's beautiful 10.1" screen.

Samsung FTW.