Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 might be the first Super AMOLED Plus-screened tablet to launch, but it was beaten into second place here at IFA 2011 by its littler sibling, the Samsung Galaxy Note.

Normally this tab would have stolen the show – it's just 7.89mm thick like the Galaxy Tab 10.1.

The most remarkable thing about Samsung's latest gen tablets is that they seem light years ahead of the original Samsung Galaxy Tab that debuted at last year's IFA

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Of course, there have been two major advances for Android tablets since then. The first, Android Honeycomb. The second, dual-core processors. Both are in evidence here (Android 3.2) in what is a remarkable device weighing just 335g. An iPad 2 weighs 600g.

Like the Galaxy Note, the dual-core ARM Cortex-A9-based processor is clocked at 1.4GHz.

What's more, the screen has to be seen to be believed - it's stunning.

The Super AMOLED Plus screen has a1280 x 800 pixels resolution -at 196ppi that's the highest pixel density of any tablet - it towers above the 132ppi iPad screen.

Given the price point of the 10-inch Galaxy Tab, you have to hope this will be the Android tablet to come in at a reasonably lower price point than the iPad 2. As ever it's all about the price point, but either way this is a fantastic device, as is the Galaxy Tab 10.1

The WXGA screen has superb colour reproduction and is hugely impressive in terms of viewing angle. If a 9-inch plus tab represents a workhorse device, this metallic unit is truly a portable entertainment screen. It's scary how thin and portable this thing feels. And it's every bit as capable as larger tablets – not least due to the remarkable feat of retaining a 10 hour battery life.

The Galaxy Tab 7.7 is too big to be pocketable, but it's totally portable and supports 3G/HSDPA as well as microSD up to 32GB. There's also capability for Full HD 1080p playback as well as DivX encoded footage.

As with the Samsung Galaxy Note, Android has been overlaid with Samsung's latest version of TouchWiz – TouchWiz UX. Optimisation work has taken place to ensure that apps designed for different sized screens still feel at home on the Galaxy Tab 7.7.

We still prefer the larger Galaxy Tab 10.1, but this screen is certainly making us think twice about that. It will be extremely interesting to find out that price point. Expect the 7.7 to hit the streets in plenty of time for Christmas.