It’s not clear why Samsung has not yet officially released this 8.9in Android tablet locally, particularly as Apple's court case against Samsung (temporarily) prevented the sales of the bigger Galaxy Tab 10.1 only. Perhaps it’s because the Galaxy Tab 8.9 is essentially just a smaller clone — size aside, they’re indistinguishable from a looks, features and software perspective. However, shaving 10% off the size has made the 8.9 a whole lot more portable, weighing over 20% less at 440g (the 10.1 is 560g). If that appeals, you'll have to hunt around online stores/importers for one — we received our review sample from Mobicity.
Thankfully, the smaller size hasn’t compromised 8.9's usability. Android’s icons and buttons are still adequately big to be easily stabbed and the smaller screen retains the 1,280 x 800 pixel resolution of its 10.1in kin, meaning it has a higher pixel density, which makes things look even sharper. If you have unimpaired vision, text is still easily readable in the browser and other apps without needing to be rescaled, and the 8.9 still has one of the most colour-rich and pleasing screens we’ve seen.
On the downside, the 8.9 is a bit limited or dated in some spots — it’s still running Android 3.1 and there’s no microSD card slot for adding more storage, nor is there an HDMI port for video output. There's also the cost: when you can pick up a competing 10.1in Android tablet for under $400, you’d need a pretty compelling reason to splash out on the 8.9.
