Nov 20, 2010
I'm a gadget guy, as anyone who follows me knows, and as a gadget guy I have naturally been keeping up with the development of the Galaxy Tab from Samsung, which finally became available for purchase last week after a long build-up. It's a gorgeous 7 inch Android-based tablet device that, in my Goldilocksian view, is not too big, not too small, but just the right size. Perhaps best of all, it runs on an open platform, requires no "mother ship" to use, is available with 3G access on a variety of carriers, and has been widely reported as the first real contender to Apple's iPad (which is certainly not my favorite product - but that's another blog post.)

When the official Engadget review of the device was posted a few days prior to the Tab's release, I was all over it. A thorough breakdown of the pros and cons, plenty of pictures and media, all-in-all an excellent piece of reporting. And in the end, as I sat there watching the video on my netbook, reality set in: I still want one, I just don't want to pay for it. And by "pay" I mean more than just in dollars (although that certainly is a big factor).