Jonathan Takiff: Is Apple afraid of Galaxy Tab?

THE GIZMO: Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 with Verizon 4G LTE mobile access (if you want) brings the game.

APPLE CORED? Steve and company have done good Jobs laughing away iPad competition. Just imagine the party they threw last week when HP exited the tablet computer biz after giving its TouchPad the best darned six-week retail run they could muster.

Still, there's one rival product Apple sees as a serious threat - Samsung's new Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet. Enough so that Apple took Samsung to court in Düsseldorf, Germany, earlier this month and won a temporary injunction banning sales of the tablet in 26 European Union countries based on the physical resemblance of the device to the E.U.-design-patented iPad. The ruling has since been reduced and an appeal will be heard later this week.

Here in the States, "trade dress" infringements are harder to prove. While similarly glossy at first glance, the 10.1-inch-screened Galaxy Tab is a tad more rectangular and less boxy than an 9.7-inch iPad, though it's equally slim and light.

A wide-screen movie or TV show actually exploits more screen real estate on the Samsung, with smaller or no black bars at top and bottom. The Tab's slightly larger screen also improves touch typing and hot button activation.

ON THE OTHER HAND: Some fans have declared the Tab's display the "equal" to the iPad in clarity. Watching Radiohead's newly posted (to YouTube) studio concert "From the Basement" on both tablets side by side, I found the iPad image a tad sharper and its skin-tone reproduction more accurate. (Early next year, it's been leaked, a "high definition" iPad3 will double the current picture pixel count.)

Other distinguishers: The Galaxy Tab doesn't have a convenient "home" button on the front side. And you can't do that clever two-finger "pinch" move that Apple invented to shrink/expand an image. Zooming's done instead by tapping on the Tab screen or sweeping fingers at opposing corners.

Infringement case dismissed?

UPPING THE ANTE: Galaxy tablets run a distant second in popularity, claiming a 12 percent market share. Still, Samsung seems committed to building that number. Higher-resolution front and back cameras are onboard and speakers deliver actual stereo separation.

The Android 3.1 operating system feels almost as polished as the Apple iOS, though I have issues with the Adobe Reader implementation. Most of the cool apps introduced on the iPad/

iPhone are now on the Android platform, too.

RATIONALIZERS: Maybe the best reason to chose a Galaxy Tab is that it makes a more logical companion to your Android mobile phone. You can tether the two products and load apps purchased for the phone onto the Tab for free (just as iPhone customers can do when they then get an iPad).

Road warriors will appreciate the special version of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 that runs on Verizon's super-robust 4G LTE service, not accessible on iPads. I've been playing with a Verizon-linked Tab and been floored by the performance. Sites open and content downloads in a blink. Music and video streams are glitch-free. And you can use this enhanced Tab as a wireless hub.

BUYER NOTES: To improve its market share, Samsung is essentially giving away a 16GB, Wi-Fi only Galaxy Tab 10.1 (a $499 value) at Best Buy stores through Saturday as an added incentive for buyers of Samsung LED-edge lit 46- and 55-inch HDTVs. These spiffy sets also deliver Samsung Internet Apps and 3-D playback. They even come with a nice "3D Starter Kit" of glasses and movies. All for $1,500 and $2,000, respectively.

Verizon sells the mobile network- (and Wi-Fi-) enabled Galaxy Tab 10.1 for $530 (16GB) or $630 (32GB) with a two-year service contract. Gotta agree to a monthly commitment of $30 for 2GB of data (adequate if you're not streaming much entertainment), $50 for 5 GB, or $80 for 10 GB.

Rarely work or play outside Wi-Fi zones? Consider purchasing a Verizon-networkable Tab without a contract. The hardware cost jumps $170; per month data pricing remains the same.