Comparison : Olivepad vs Samsung Galaxy Tab

Now that Samsung Galaxy Tab is launched in India and will be available from Nov 10, it is time to compare it with its nearest competitor, Olivepad. Olivepad is the first 3G tablet to be launched in India. Dell Streak was launched after Olivepad but Streak’s 5-inch screen puts it in no man’s land. Samsung Galaxy Tab is a perfect 7-inch tablet and probably the second 3G tablet to be launched in India.
Olivepad and Galaxy Tab are comparable on every spec. There aren’t any notable missing features on either of them. Let’s start off with the foremost comparison – the price. Samsung Galaxy Tab comes with an exorbitant Rs. 38000. This is more than the retail price of Galaxy Tab in the US which is sold for $600 without contract. On pure dollar terms, that comes to less than 30K in India.  Olivepad comes with a price of Rs. 25000. That is a price difference of 13K. Significant difference to start with. Let’s check out other features as well before we make a decision.

What’s common between Olivepad and Samsung Galaxy Tab

Touch screen 
Both has a capacitive touch screen with 7-inch screen. By now the trend is clear. The price point to get a capacitive touch screen tablet is 25K+.
Operating system
Both run the latest Android operating system Froyo or Android 2.2. This might not look much of a deal but if you think about, Android has made hardware manufacturers job much easier. If Android didn’t exist then think of all the proprietary softwares that has to go on-board and the frustration that would have followed.
RAM
512 MB RAM is on-board for both Galaxy Tab and Olivepad. A 512 MB RAM has become the de-facto standard on the tablets. I am yet to see a tablet which has more than 512 MB RAM.
Connectivity
Galaxy Tab and Olivepad come with in-built 3G, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPS. 3G+Bluetooth+Wi-Fi is a must on a tablet as the selling point for tablet is mobility. Only Wi-Fi is just not good enough for a tablet.
Weight
Olivepad weighs 380 grams and Galaxy Tab weighs 375 grams. A difference of 5 grams can be easily ignored. Of the tablets we have reviewed so far, Infibeam Phi is the lightest with 332 gms. Olivepad and Galaxy Tab could end up being one of the lighter tablets in the Indian market.
USB
Galaxy Tab and Olivepad come with USB connectivity. This is a feature which is missing on iPad and yet no one is complaining. For Olivepad and Galaxy Tab you don’t have to complain about USB, because not everyone is Steve Jobs.
Video conferencing
A notable miss on iPad, Olivepad and Galaxy Tab has made amends to include this important feature. There is a 1.3 megapixel front facing camera and 3 megapixel rear facing camera with LED flash for both Olivepad and Galaxy Tab. These are quintessential for video conferencing. If a device doesn’t have a front-facing camera then it’s not ready for video conferencing. Period.
Dimensions
Looking at the specs, Olivepad is thinner than Galaxy Tab. Not sure if you get the same feeling after holding them. Galaxy Tab has a 11.98mm thickness and Olivepad has 11.5 mm thickness. Galaxy Tab has a width of 120.45 mm and Olivepad has a width of 110 mm. The height of Olivepad is less too. Olivepad has a 179.4 mm height, Galaxy Tab has a 190.09 mm height. Though Olivepad weighs 5 grams more than Galaxy Tab, Olivepad could actually feel much lighter. The pictures do not necessarily reflect that. Olivepad somehow feels bulkier than its specs.

What’s different between Olivepad and Galaxy Tab?

Resolution
Galaxy Tab comes with a screen resolution of 1024×600 and Olivepad comes with a screen resolution of 800×400. The videos on Galaxy Tab would play much better.
Storage
This beats me. Olivepad has an on-board flash memory of 512 MB. This is probably the lowest on-board memory I have seen in the tablets. The minimum storage capacity  has been 2GB. Olivepad has a microSD slot which can be expandable up to 32 GB. Galaxy Tab has an on-board memory of 16GB and can be expandable up to 32 GB. Even if you add a 16 GB microSD card for Rs. 3000, the net price of Olivepad will be Rs. 28000.That would still be a price difference of Rs. 10000 rupees which is equivalent to buyingBinatone Home Surf or Accord @Pad and getting some change back.
Processor
This is by far the most significant difference between Olivepad and Galaxy Tab. Galaxy Tab is fast. It comes with a Cortex A8 with 1 GHz speed. Olivepad comes with ARM11 600 MHz speed. A noticeable difference for gamers and video aficionados.
Battery
Galaxy Tab comes with a 7 hours of video playing time. Galaxy Tab didn’t mention how long would the battery last on videos alone but it gave a 9 hours for talk time.
Video out
Galaxy Tab comes with HDMI port, the accessory is sold separately. Olivepad has no such feature.
Finally
The stand out feature for Samsung Galaxy Tab is its 1 GHz Cortex A8 processor. The fastest processor available on current crop of tablets.
The is no stand out feature for Olivepad if we put it next to Galaxy Tab. If we don’t compare with Galaxy Tab, Olivepad is a fully packed Tablet PC.

A price tag of Rs.27000 – Rs. 30000 is an ideal price for Samsung Galaxy Tab.

Verdict

If you think you can pay Rs.10000 extra for an extra 400MHz speed then Galaxy Tab could be your tablet of choice. Other than that I really can’t find a reason to pay 38000 rupees for Galaxy Tab. I would rather buy an OlivePad.