Samsung Galaxy Tab Tips, Tricks and Hints

The Samsung Galaxy Tab gave Android users the chance for tablet goodness months before Google developed the Honeycomb OS for these type of devices. The result is a great, but flawed, little tablet that needs a few tweaks to really get the best out of it. I've been the proud owner of a Galaxy Tab since November 2010. I love the smaller form factor, it's extremely light and portable but also has a screen big enough for comfortably browsing the web, working and consuming multimedia. Here are my tips, tricks and hints for getting the most out of your Samsung Galaxy Tab.

Upgrade the browser
The stock Samsung web browser that comes pre-installed on the Galaxy Tab is terrible. It's slow and handles Flash really badly, which is very poor when you consider that Flash should be a selling point for any Android device. Luckily, there is a simple solution to this problem, download a new browser from Android Market.

I can recommend Dolphin Browser HD from the Dolphin Browser team. It's a very fast mobile device optimised browser that has lots of fantastic add-ons,  tabs for multiple web pages and handles Flash very well. Any Flash elements on the page aren't downloaded immediately, so that pages load faster. To view the Flash you simply click on that area and it will work right away. If you hate the idea of that and don't mind a slightly slower browsing experience you can disable this feature.

Make all apps scale to the screen size of the Galaxy Tab
Not all of the apps within Android Market are optimised for the Galaxy Tab's 7inch screen, which means that some apps display with a large black border around them on your tablet. Annoying, but again there is a way to fix this and ensure that all apps scale properly on the Galaxy Tab. Here is a step by step guide on how to solve the problem.

Step 1: Download Spare Parts app from Android Market
Step 2: Launch Spare Parts, scroll down to Compatibility Mode, untick it and then tick it again.
Step 3: Turn off your Galaxy Tab and then turn it back on again.
Step 4: Launch Spare Parts again and then untick Compatibility Mode once again.
Step 5: Turn off you Galaxy Tab and then turn it back on again for a second time.
Your apps will all now display at the correct size.


Why do apps disappear from my Galaxy Tab homescreen?
The Samsung Galaxy Tab will sometimes delete apps from your homescreens when you switch the device on and off. It's a very annoying bug which means that I very rarely switch my device off. Personally, I don't find this a big issue, as I'm used to keeping devices like my phone on all of the time and the Galaxy Tab seems to use up very little power when sleeping. However, it's a riddiculous to think that Samsung missed this problem.

Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any solution to fix it. Apps are deleted because the Galaxy Tab links apps from your homescreen to the applications list on your device. When you add a new app, which if you're anything like me is often, the two lists no longer match-up, the Galaxy Tab can't find the app when you reboot it and so deletes it from the homescreen. Stupid isn't it? Hopefully, future updates to the Android OS on the Galaxy Tab will resolve this.

Will my Samsung Galaxy Tab be able to run Honeycomb?
I wouldn't hold out too much hope for an official Honeycomb update from Samsung, even though the company has claimed that Google's official tablet browser is on the roadmap. Samsung have a poor record with Android updates, with the Galaxy S taking forever to receive Froyo. However, there will be unofficial builds of Honeycomb onto Galaxy Tabs, if you're brave enough to try to update the OS yourself. Personally, I'd wait until these are properly tested before trying them myself, but if Honeycomb can be made to work on a Nook Color there's no reason it can't run on a Galaxy Tab.