Samsung's Galaxy Tab in Pictures

Welcome to our first close-up look at Samsung's new Galaxy Tab. This front view of a preproduction international unit shows one of four home screens, with a Google Search bar in a prominent spot. Also shown are some core applications, including for video, maps, YouTube, the Web browser, e-mail, and the Android Market. Although a phone app is here too, Samsung has confirmed that the U.S. model will not be voice-enabled. To the right of the Samsung logo, you can see the front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera; on the back is a 3.2-megapixel camera.

We've seen comparison images before, but this shot clearly illustrates the dramatic size difference between the Galaxy Tab and the Apple iPad. The 0.08-pound Galaxy Tab measures 7.5 by 4.7 by 0.5 inches. By contrast, the 1.5-pound iPad measures 9.6 by 7.5 by 0.5 inches (in rounded-off numbers--the iPad is actually thicker by 0.05 inch).

This sideways view shows clearly how the two tablets are of nearly comparable depth, but the Samsung Galaxy Tab is the shorter of the two.

The right side of this preproduction unit has the flap doors for the SIM card and MicroSD card, as well as the volume rocker and the power button.

This view of our preproduction unit shows a microphone.

At the top-left corner of the Galaxy Tab (shown here in a head-on view, with its screen facing up) sits a microphone jack…

...while this view of the Tab's underside shows the large power/dock connector in the center, flanked by two speakers.

Like other Android devices, the Galaxy Tab has a drag-down notifications bar; shown here is a build of what it looks like on our preproduction unit.

The e-reader app, available on this international version of the Galaxy Tab, looks remarkably similar to how Apple's iBooks presents books in your collection...

...and like Apple's iBooks, the Tab e-reader app provides more than one way to view your reading library.

Even the book reader itself, shown here with this illustrated Alice in Wonderland, behaves similarly to the iPad offering, with cool page turns. The book shown here is an ePub file.

The Galaxy Tab's calendar changes orientation depending on whether you hold the tablet vertically or horizontally; the calendar also shifts accordingly to maximize the available space, as shown here in the monthly view...

...and in the weekly view.

Samsung has also customized the Tab's Contacts app, shown here on our preproduction unit, to fit the 7-inch screen, and it works nicely in either vertical or horizontal orientation.

...you may want to read:

* First Impressions: Samsung's Galaxy Tab

* Wireless Carriers Tease Samsung Galaxy Tab Plans

* Video: Samsung Galaxy Tab, Up Close and Personal