Study says Galaxy Tab returns very high

The fallout surrounding the Galaxy Tab has been compounded as a new study has suggested Samsung is losing a significant number of its customers. Tracking by ITG since mid-November suggests that the return rate for the Android tablet is as high as 15 percent. Apple's iPad in contrast saw just a two percent return rate and hinted that there was brewing dissatisfaction with the Galaxy Tab.

"[People] aren't in love with the device," ITG analyst Tony Berkman told the New York Post.

The observation came just as Samsung itself revealed that its sales were much lower than shipments. Combined, the two suggest that only a small portion of the two million Galaxy Tabs shipped to date have been bought and kept by users. Samsung has so far declined to discuss either the activation rate or the return rate.

Most of the blame from critics has been on the lack of significant differences in interface versus a smartphone. Samsung has some optimized apps, such as the browser and the Reader Hub, but most of the core interface is virtually identical to that on a Galaxy S smartphone like the Vibrant, including upsized icons. Apple's own iPad interface is also somewhat upscaled but has far more native-sized apps as well as pervasive controls that don't exist in the smartphone version, such as pop-overs.

Google has echoed this view and even advised against using Android 2.2 for tablets through the lack of optimizations. The Galaxy Tab is potentially an orphan as there aren't any known plans to upgrade to Android 3.0's tablet-ready interface, which could be the the centerpiece of the Galaxy Tab 2.

By Electronista Staff

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