The Galaxy Tab 10.1 as a device is very much like the iPad 2: the same thinness, with roughly the same dimensions; due to its widescreen display, it's wider but shorter than the iPad 2. But the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is 12 percent lighter, shaving 2.5 ounces off the iPad's 2's 21.5 ounces; you can really feel the difference when you hold one in each hand. The iPad 2's aluminum back can feel dangerously slippery, whereas the plastic (your choice of white or gray) of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is a little more grippable.
The Galaxy Tab 10.1's bezel is simple and clean, like the iPad 2's, with just the hardware features you need: well-positioned power and volume controls at the top, front and rear cameras placed unobtrusively (with better image resolution and quality than the iPad 2's), an audio jack at the top, small speaker notches on the sides, and dock/charging connector at the bottom.
The Galaxy Tab 10.1's power button also doubles as a battery indicator switch: Press it quickly when the device is powered down to see the battery status on screen; press and hold it a few seconds to turn the device on. The iPad 2 has no such battery indication while it is powered down. But the iPad 2 wakes itself automatically if its (optional) Smart Cover is opened -- nice. It also has the rotation lock button that the Galaxy Tab 10.1 does not.
The iPad 2's is smartly designed. It snaps into place quickly, folds out of the way easily, helps clean fingerprints on the screen, and remained snuggly attached in my backpack tests. The cover ($40 for polyurethane and $80 for leather) does not protect the iPad 2's aluminum back, which may concern some users fearful of scratches, but there are plenty of cases, skins, and portfolios for such folks. I was disappointed that the Smart Cover doesn't affix magnetically to the back of the iPad 2; it only does so to the front. There are a few cases, skins, and portfolios for the Galaxy Tab 10.1 should you be concerned about damaging its screen or plastic case, but none have the imagination of Apple's Smart Cover.
Neither the iPad 2 nor Galaxy Tab 10.1 have ports in addition to the 30-pin dock/charging connector; the Galaxy Tab is much , which boasts both a MicroUSB port and a Mini HDMI port. Both devices require USB adapters to connect to USB devices; the $29 iPad 's USB connectivity is limited to cameras and SD cards, whereas the Galaxy Tab 10.1's $20 connects to storage devices, cameras, and input peripherals. The iPad 2 can mirror its display to VGA or HDMI using a $39 dock-to-HDMI cable or $29 that other iOS devices also support. The Galaxy Tab 10.1 can connect only to HDMI using a $40 . If you do a lot of typing, you can use Apple's $70 with the iPad 2; Samsung sells an $80 for the same purpose, though some Bluetooth keyboards also work with it. Note that the Samsung peripherals were unavailable for review, so I could not test them; the Apple peripherals all worked fine.