By Joe Procopio

Man! Why did I use up all my clown phone jokes on the Droid X column? The Galaxy tab situation is ripe, RIPE I tell you, for a plethora of this kind of thing:

And while calling the Droid X a clown phone was just a way to poke harmless fun at the (viable) oversized handset trend, there is actual substance to said comparison when it comes to the Galaxy.

On first glance, and even over several slapstick-style double takes, the Samsung Galaxy tab is a giant Android handset. Same buttons, same interface, same apps, same screens. It also runs current Android 2.2, which we know isn’t optimized for tablet performance, so for the early adopter, the Galaxy really is a giant Android smartphone that can’t make calls.

Although why they didn’t support basic mobile phone is a puzzler. Give me a headset and there’s no reason why I wouldn’t make calls on the device. In fact, that very capability would allow me to leave my mobile at home in the exact same scenario that would make me choose to leave my laptop at home and bring along only the Galaxy.

Business Lite

That’s the scenario I’m referring to. I think the iPad has been in existence long enough to make this concept self-explanatory, but I’ll summarize it just to make sure. My mom reads this column, you know?

I got my hands on the Galaxy exactly five minutes before leaving for this year’s Internet Summit. The device was absolutely perfect for the event. I could take notes, write, follow the tweetstream and add to it, check my mail, even do some light work.

The Galaxy allowed me to accomplish way more than I could with my smartphone, and I didn’t miss any functionality from my laptop – based on the fact that I knew ahead of time that I wouldn’t be doing anything labor-intensive at the conference.

Except groaning at puns. A whole lot of Internet puns.

The Third Device Niche

That opens up the third device niche. My laptop replaced my desktop long ago, allowing me to work anywhere. My smartphone replaced a razor thin slice of said laptop functionality, allowing me to go to some meetings, events, and weddings without lugging around a bag. The tablet expands that thin slice dramatically.

So unless I’m in my home office or my office office, I can keep the laptop on my desk or at least in my car (it’s in the trunk so step off, thugs!), and just bring the Galaxy. Thanks to the cloud and the size of the device, I can even get work done.

Android vs. Apple?

If you’ve read me before, you know I just want everyone to shut up about Android versus Apple. These arguments usually make New Kids on the Block versus Backstreet Boys screeching contests sound nuanced. And yes, I’m aware of the irony of that reference being relevant again. Also depressed.

Anyone in their right mind has to give Apple props for inventing the gadget with the funny name that was the wrong size and didn’t do anything new. Once everyone realized that this was way more than just a really cool multimedia player, the third device niche became a real possibility.

The Galaxy ups the ante in two ways.

One: The entry of a second established player into the niche creates competition, which creates choice, which creates mainstream acceptance.

Two: The Form Factor.

Having used both devices in my day-to-day, I can say without hesitation that the 7-inch Galaxy is a much better size for my (and to repeat as a preemptive strike before the comments start getting all flamy) MY third device niche.

It’s actually not a clown phone, it’s a little tiny iPad.

Let me explain. Much like the iPad and iPhone, it takes about ten seconds for an Android user to figure out how get everything they need out of the Galaxy. It’s the same device, true down to the OS, with some cool add-on functionality to take advantage of the bigger screen.

But unlike the iPad, I can hold it vertically and type, like I would hold my smartphone (well, not exactly, but I can do the thumb thing). It’s big enough for apps and video, big enough to use on a desk and type, and small enough to fit in a jacket pocket.

However, beyond that, the differences are just flavor.

But how great is it that amidst the dawn of the tablet wars Microsoft finally released a working smartphone? Momentum!

Android + Apple vs. Amazon

This is the real battle now. The addition of Android to the tablet mix creates a kind of a Venn diagram of what you can do in the third device niche, where the limits are, with the common area being what should become the norm.

And if “Read E-Books” is in that common area, you can draw another little tiny circle around that and label it “E-Reader.” Yeah, they do other things. In fact, the Nook is basically a skinned down Android tablet, but that actually makes my point stronger.

Again, Apple created the market, Android expanded it, and the two together force the Kindle into obsolescence. Or at least shrink its niche market way down to basically people who read a lot and straight-up technophobes.

Building products for either one of those groups is pretty much a sign you’ve wandered off the cutting edge.

Chick Magnet?

This is not a groundbreaking device on its own. When my friends first brought their iPads to conferences (and who’s the man now?), they were inundated with attention. This did not happen with the Galaxy. The looks I got were either along the lines of “damn, that’s a big phone” or “wow, that guy has HUGE hands!”

I’m paraphrasing.

As Android has done before, it provides the alternative, nicely done, with a lot more freedom and all the issues that come along with that. It’s reportedly selling like crazy, so when the tablet-optimized Android OS is released, the Pad Wars will heat up again.

The cool thing is that regardless, you and I win.

Joe Procopio heads up product engineering for StatSheet. He also owns consulting firm Intrepid Company (intrepidcompany.com) and creative network Intrepid Media (intrepidmedia.com) He’d like to reiterate that he’s ready to be an Apple fanboy as soon as they return his phone calls and potentially creepy emails. He can be reached via twitter @jproco.

 

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Tags: column, Internet Summit, Joe Procopio, Samsung Galaxy review, Viewpoint