Tripping on the Galaxy Tab

MANILA, Philippines – What’s in a name? Much more than we think.

What’s in a brand? Even more than we imagine.

Let’s see, there’s Colgate for toothpaste, Kodak for picture-taking and even Frigidaire for refrigerator.

And then just recently there was the re-branding of the Philippines by the Department of Tourism (DOT) that got a lot of flak because it seemed not to capture what the Philippines is really all about.

Really, every Juan, Juana and Jose has some idea of what would make the perfect brand for this country. So, the brouhaha that the new re-branding has caused is a good wake-up call for the people at DOT.

The person behind it, at least the one who admitted to be the mastermind, DOT Undersecretary Vicente Romano III, has resigned — let’s move on and find a new logo that would be more real, more appropriate and more widely accepted.

I was amazed at the response that the logo got, on the Web, that is.

Twitter was alive with all the comments and suggestions that might make for a better logo for the DOT. Facebook had its own comments, too.

I was happily and closely following, too, the developments on the Samsung Galaxy Tab. I just loved the way this smartphone/Internet device was really quick on the draw and how it kept me updated as each new tweet came in. I also loved how quickly I was able to keep abreast of the latest developments by logging in to the news websites — which gave updates quickly over the weekend.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab is loaded with a one GHz processor, full Flash support of Android 2.2, dual cameras, support for up to 32GB of storage and WiFi/3G connectivity — which is truly interesting and amazing, I might add. 

In this world of gadgets coming up every minute, at least it seems that way, it is hard to get the attention of a finicky and spoiled techie community.

I must say that as soon as I saw the Samsung Galaxy S Tab, I had to have a go at it. I was not disappointed. The Korean manufacturer has done a great job setting the Tab a notch above the other smartphones and even some of the netbooks.

Look at this

I like the black-and-white contrast of the Tab. The back of the rounded-off device is coated in white shiny plastic. The front has a black bezel and glass screen.

I like how neat the device puts itself together. I might even say that it has a minimalist look. There are four touch buttons on the front, a headphone jack on the top and a volume control, microSD card slot and power button on the right side. 

And then there is the size of this nifty gadget; it’s a seven-inch tablet which is light enough to hold up in bed. And even if it is not loaded with the AMOLED screen that all Samsung Galaxy cellphones come with, its LCD screen still gets a good job done.

I also liked that even when I tilted the screen off to the side the photos on the screen did not get distorted. So it was fun showing off the photos I had taken to the folks who were seated beside me. The screen responded to touch really quickly. Its level of sensitivity was quite exceptional.

See how it runs

The Tab software is the old-reliable TouchWiz 3.0 Android which made downloading apps like Facebook, Amazon’s Kindle and Twitter really easy to download and even easier to log onto.

I also liked that I was able to set up my Yahoo and Gmail accounts in three steps. Even better was that I was kept in the loop — with my friends and relatives abroad through Skype. How much more fun can that be.

I also got to play with the talking Tom Cat app that I so love. It’s that app that has a really cute cat repeating every thing that I say. When I am angry I get to tap Tom Cat on the stomach or tap his foot and he would get angry at me. Really fun.

I downloaded a few ringtones with the Star Wars app, which gave me lots of my favelines from movies. More so I loved the Yoda wise sayings, which are always a favorite. 

Say hello

Yes, yes, it’s a cellphone too.

I got a kick out of making calls on this seven-inch gadget. I was even more delighted while I texted using the Samsung Galaxy Tab.

It also brought me back to using a headset. Although as a cellphone that is seven inches it was kind of attention-grabbing. I mean really receiving a call on the Galaxy Tab meant that I had to take the gadget out of my bag to answer it.

While driving, it is quite a good companion because I had to use a headset to answer it — so that meant I kept two hands on the wheel. Safety always comes first.

I did my texting when I was in places where I could have a seat because I could not text with just one hand — I needed both, of course. Just let me add that it did not make texting slower — just more concise, perhaps.

The clear display, compactness of the device factor, its uber touch-friendly software and dual cameras make the Samsung Galaxy Tab the must-have gadget for the moment.

What’s in a brand? Everything, it seems. One has to capture the essence of what its market wants. One has to have a feel of what are the most important nuances of whatever it is that is being branded.

For now, it seems that the Samsung Galaxy S Tab has done this. So let me say it this way, what is the most exciting gadget on the market? The Samsung Galaxy Tab, of course. 

And to borrow from the DOT, Wonder on the Web (WOW) Samsung Galaxy Tab.