I obtained it from Expansys, who presumably imported from Hong Kong or Korea.

Please note this post is not a technical review. It’s a comparison of the Samsung Tab and the iPad from a user’s perspective. For technical stuff, please look elsewhere.

The Samsung Tab is more rectangular; slightly longer on the outside and shorter on the sides. It also feels a little lighter. I can’t say it’s any different to hold.

There is no home button, like on the iPad2, but I soon got used to the equivalent in the lower taskbar.

Screenshot of the Samsung Galaxy Tab.

Appearance

It’s not easy to tailor an iPad, except to choose your wallpaper, apps and where the icons go. The Tab can be customised much more extensively thanks to widgets (screenshot above). 1-0 Samsung

Choice of apps

Many iPad apps also available on Android, but Apple has sheer numbers in its favor. Despite Android tablets being available for a year or so now, there is still a limited repository to choose from. 1-1

Browser

Safari is fine on the iPad, but doesn’t have Flash. It now has tabs, which is a welcome improvement. The stock Android browser is excellent and can use Flash. Alternative browsers can also be selected as default, unlike the iPad, and I rather like Maxthon’s tablet offering. 2-1 Samsung

Email

Not much difference here. I like the Gmail app for Android and slightly prefer the stock offering on iPad for other accounts, but that’s probably just because I’m used to it. 2-1 still

Multimedia

Playback quality seems similar to me on both devices. The Samsung Tab edges ahead because it has Google Music, which synchronises all my songs. For others, who use different services, the outcome here will be different. 3-1 Samsung

Document handling

The Tab comes with Polaris office, which is excellent for handling Microsoft Office files. Adobe Reader is fine on both products. 3-1 still

Synchronisation

Honors are shared here too. Box and Dropbox have apps for both. The Android tablet shares the Google love, while the iPad has iTunes. Take your pick. Still 3-1

Specific apps

Here I give points according to the apps I use regularly and rely on the most.

No difference: Springpad, WordPress, movie times, Maps, Skype, Notes, Family Tacker, image handling, audio recording, TuneIn radio, converting measurements, bus timetables, Kindle, Contacts and Calendar. 3-1 to Samsung

Samsung ahead: Google+ (as you’d expect) 4-1

Apple ahead: PressReader (looks scratchy on the Tab); RSS reader (Mr Reader is nicer for Google Reader than the native app on Android) IMO; Twitter (Hootsuite on iPad is much better for me than TweetCaster or anything else on Samsung); Instapaper (no Android tablet app), read the developer’s post here. 4-5 Apple

iPad nudges the Samsung Galaxy Tab

I’ve scored the iPad marginally ahead, mainly because it has more and better apps.

I like Android, I like Google integration and I like being able to customise the design with widgets. If I had started with a Samsung Galaxy Tab, I might have rated it higher through familiarity.

However, having started with an iPad I became used to its quality, style and consistency.

Although the hardware of the Samsung Galaxy Tab is excellent, the lack of third-party apps means it is slightly behind in overall usability.

As an Android fan, I can accept that and enjoy both devices. Others may be less forgiving.

Update: I bought the tab several weeks ago when the injunction was in force. Harvey Norman advertised today (December 18) they will have the Samsung Galaxy Tab on sale in stores before Christmas.

Mr Reader is an RSS news reader for iPad that synchronises with a Google Reader account. It's easy to mark items as read, and to search and add new feeds.

Mail

The built-in email app is the iPad tool I use the most. Whether at home or mobile, it keeps me informed of new messages in my work and personal accounts.

The alerts are unobtrusive and useful. The reading pane is wide and clear; threads are easy to follow. Typing is much easier than on a phone.

Mr Reader

Mr Reader is an RSS news reader for iPad that synchronises with a Google Reader account. It’s easy to mark items as read, and to search and add new feeds.

Mr Reader supports starred, shared, friend’s shared and tagged items, although these features will be phased out of Google Reader soon when it’s integrated more closely with Google+.

Mr Reader has a host of options and can fully manage a Google Reader account from the iPad.

HootSuite

My favorite Twitter tool for the iPad is HootSuite. I have set up six viewing columns on two pages for the home feed, mentions, direct messages, sent tweets and two searches.

Reading and composition are easy. You can future date tweets and there’s an in-built URL shortener with stats.

You can also update Facebook and Foursquare accounts if you want to.

Facebook

The ubiquitous Facebook now has an official iPad app. It’s okay, but not as fully featured or intuitive as the desktop version.

Nothing beats it on the iPad though.

PressReader

I cancelled newspaper home deliveries after installing PressReader and buying a subscription for about $30 a month. This gives me access to more than 2000 full-content newspapers from 95 countries in 51 languages.

It’s basically a PDF version of the newspaper designed for the handy iPad format.

My weekday routine is to read The Advertiser for half an hour after the alarm rings at 6am. I usually read The Australian on the bus and The Age if I have time.

It’s easy to scroll in and out to magnify stories. You can send articles by email or share them by social media. You can even have them read to you!

I’m a little concerned that News Limited papers may drop off PressReader though after they introduce paywalls.

Safari

I mainly use the built-in Safari browser now that it has tabs. I previously used Mercury and sometimes experiment with Dolphin.

The problem with alternative browsers is you can’t open them from third-party applications like HootSuite and Mr Reader.

Safari does the job well enough, but sometimes insists on opening the mobile version of a site, instead of utilising the full screen.

Pocket Weather AU

This visually appealing weather app offers up-to-the-minute details for Adelaide and other Australian cities, sourced from the Bureau of Meterology.

The forecasts lack some detail, but everything you need is there including warnings and a radar.

iPad apps summary

The iTunes store has a vast array of quality apps that can become part of a user’s daily routine. There are solid alternative choices for all the iPad apps listed above, except email.

Update: I’ve stopped using Facebook, but still recommend the app for iPad users with Facebook accounts.

Google Currents competes with virtual magazine readers like Flipboard.

It packages news sources in a magazine format, giving the reader a headline, text extract and picture, if there is one attached to the post.

Google says it has worked with more than 150 publishing partners to offer full-length articles from more than 180 editions including CNET, AllThingsD, Forbes, Saveur, PBS, Huffington Post, Fast Company and more.

Content is optimized for smartphones and tablets, allowing you to intuitively navigate between words, pictures and video on large and small screens alike, even if you’re offline.

Google Currents also allows Google Reader feeds to be added, enabling any site with RSS to be viewed. You can also add public Google+ streams.

There is a self-service platform for publishers to create branded content.

Terrific, it looks good and works a treat, especially on tablets.

But as Google tends to do, the app is only available for official download in the United States.

Presumably this is because of the partnership agreements, but fortunately there is an easy solution.

Download Google Currents

Search for Google Currents APK online to find the package or visit the XDA Developers forum.

There you will be able to download the app and install it to your Android tablet or phone. iPad users will have to wait for an authorised release.

Although Google probably has legal issues with releasing products like this simultaneously around the world, it is frustrating that a global operator can’t operate globally.

An example of how users react to this discrimination can be found in comments such as: “Has someone told you guys that the Internet is global? and does not stop at the border of the United States, it would be nice if you release products same time worldwide. And do not worry we do not go to court if it doesn’t work properly, at least not in Finland!”

The cricinfo RSS feed as it appears on Google Currents using a Samsung Galaxy Tab.

The more we collect the more we stand to lose.

That’s very true of electronic gadgets. In a household with four kids, there are numerous mobile phones, digital cameras and laptops.

Discarded models get handed down to the youngest ones, who are less reliable than adults at keeping the associated paraphernalia.

Throw in a couple of recent shifts and the problem is compounded.

Battery chargers are the worst.

The twins are currently missing the charger for a small netbook computer. We have no idea where it might be.

There are a couple of old digital cameras missing their chargers. I often struggle to find (but usually do) the chargers for a small video camera and compact camera, which don’t get used often.

There’s an old mobile phone missing a charger and it may as well be thrown out.

While at one level it may be careless to lose these items, it’s frustrating that industry standards are non-existent.

Why can’t there be a single standard each for laptop computers, mobile phones and digital cameras? Instead, every brand has its own unique size for the adapters.

New chargers are expensive too. A cynic might suggest there is profit to be made in selling accessories.

• Color television
• Video recorder
• Electric typewriter
• Desktop computer
• FM radio
• Facsimile machine
• Air conditioning
• Telephone answering machine
• Windows 3.1, 95
• Internet and email
• Mobile phone
• Personal organiser
• Pay television
• Windows 98, XP, Vista
• Smartphone
• Plasma television
• iPad

Considering I started work in 1985 without computers, fax machines or mobile phones, that’s a lot of changes.

Twins James and Maggie, aged 7, took a netbook computer to the match. They played games on it and listened to music.

When I was seven years old, the high-tech gadgets in our house were a television (black and white), a wireless (that’s what we called the radio), an LP player and (unusually) a tape recorder.

The tape recorder was a bulky thing with two reels. Dad used it to record and play some of his music.

We kids were allowed to play with it sometimes, but I recall that winding the tape was often a tricky exercise.

It was my first purchase of an Apple product and followed frustration with the delay in getting quality Android tablets onto the market at an affordable price.

I have no regrets, and while I’m still watching and waiting for an Android tablet, I’ll probably stay hooked on iPad for some time to come.

For the sake of this post I’ll assume that everyone knows what an iPad is.

What I like about iPad:

• It’s a small computer that’s easy to handle, ie you can read in bed and carry it around easily.
• The screen is big enough for proper web browsing and typing.
• The apps look terrific, much better than on a phone.
• It’s fast.
• The price isn’t bad for the value it offers, compared with netbooks and laptops.

Things that could be improved:

• The weight. It’s a little heavy to read books in bed.
• Multi-tasking. Shouldn’t have to close an app to open another one.
• File management. Should be easier to create folders and store documents.
• Fonts. Should be a way to add fonts for compatibility with MS Office documents.

Apps that I use the most include:

• The stock email program. It syncs to my work exchange service and pushes emails. I’ve also added Gmail, but only check this manually.
• Calendar and contacts. These are synced to my Exchange server and Google accounts.
• Browser. Safari is fine, but I now use Mercury because it has tabs.
• HootSuite is a clean Twitter tool with multiple display options.

Specialty apps that I like include FoxSports, Kindle, a weather checker and Wikipedia.

I’m in no hurry to get an iPad 2. If I do, I’ll trade in the original or give it to one of my kids.

Apparently the technology has been around for several years to monitor school attendance and library books.

Seems like a good idea to me. According to this (pdf) explanation:

“Finger scanning in schools allows for accurate tracking and monitoring of attendance in and out of school gates as well as study periods. The primary focus is fulfilling the schools duty of care and enhancing student safety by increasing the accuracy of attendance data.”

According to Wikipedia:

“The most common misconception about fingerprint systems is that they are thought to store a fingerprint image or other biometric information, which calls into question legal and data protection concerns. However these systems actually work by running key features of the fingerprint through a complicated encryption algorithm. This produces a result which cannot be ‘Reverse Engineered’ to produce any biometric or image information.

“This means the data kept on file can only be used to verify an identity against another scan through the same system; the information would be effectively useless to police and third parties.”

For my son’s school, parents who elected to opt out of the system were told their children would be issued with scan cards.

I would like to see the biometric system introduced at my workplace. I have four different cards there for the three offices I have to work from and the carpark.

Cards can be stolen, but my finger is going nowhere I don’t want it to go.

A combination of factors are responsible. Time is a major one, also the need to be cautious in the opinions I publish.

With regards to time, I’m using some short messaging services more frequently, including Posterousand Twitter.

I’m also hooked on the notebook/organiser application, Springpad. Most of the notes are private, but I’ve made some public.

This blog will continue, but posts may be infrequent.

At the unit I used a Telstra Turbo wireless modem to connect to the internet.

Now I have a desktop PC and a wireless network. With the twins moving to Adelaide soon I thought I’d get the mini ready for them to use.

Initially it failed to identify any wireless networks, despite being six feet away from the router.

Thanks to Google, I found that I had to activate the wireless switch using the FN and F2 keys. That tip didn’t rank highly in the search, so I’m posting it here for the potential benefit of others.

My next problem was that a connection couldn’t be established to the home network. It kept failing to validate.

The solution was to change the network security from WEP to WPA. I don’t know why that was necessary, but it worked.