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Samsung tablet good, but not good enough

SAN FRANCISCO - When Apple released the iPad in April, it set a high bar for tablet computers. The first real competitor has arrived in Samsung's Galaxy Tab.

With a screen that measures 7 inches diagonally, two shorter than the iPad, the Tab is good - but not good enough.

The Tab is nearly the same size as Amazon's Kindle e-reader, but slightly thicker. It's a bit more portable than the iPad, but has a smaller screen to play with.

For me, at least, this in-between size - bigger and heavier than a smart phone, smaller and lighter than an iPad - made for an in-between experience. It was more engaging than playing around with a phone, but less immersive than what I've felt with the iPad.

The Tab, currently available from T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon Wireless and coming soon from AT&T, costs $400 to $650, depending on whom you buy it from and whether or not you agree to a two-year contract. It runs Google's Android operating system, which is mostly used for smart phones.

The Tab I tested, which worked over Sprint's cellular network and Wi-Fi, had a bright and brilliant screen. That makes it well-suited to surfing the Web, watching videos and reading e-books with Amazon's Kindle app.

But when I bought and downloaded an episode of "Law & Order: SVU" from Samsung Electronics Co.'s online store for TV shows and movies, I found I couldn't quite lose myself in it as I could when watching videos on the iPad. The Tab's screen simply felt more appropriate for media snacking than gorging.

The Tab runs the most recent iteration of Android, version 2.2, which means it can play Flash videos - a trick the iPad and Apple Inc.'s iPhone haven't learned. This came in handy when surfing the Web, as it let me watch videos I usually can't access unless I'm on a computer.

The device has a speedy processor and sensitive touch screen, and it is suited for the typical Android layout of having several hidden home screens that you swipe to see. These home screens can fill up with applications and widgets that let you do such things as check the news or weather.

A number of apps I downloaded from the Android Marketplace looked fine on the Tab's screen, but they don't all magnify to fill up the available space. While the Yelp app and the disturbingly addictive game "Angry Birds" worked well with the

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