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On Monday I had lunch with 4,500 of America’s finest at the U.S. Naval Academy. Conversation, of course, eventually turned to technology, and I asked my dining partners what kind of phone they used. All them said, “iPhone” with a twinkle in their eyes.

Then it dawned on me: Apple has so kicked butt that “thinking different” now means considering non-Apple products. Hallelujah! But to show you that I can still “think different,” here are ten screenshots and a photo of eleven things that a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 can do that an iPad cannot do.

However, there are elements of the Tab that I wish were like an iPad:

1. The power switch is on the top edge of the Tab, and it’s sensitive. Hence, it’s very easy to inadvertently turn it off and on.

2. It’s too symmetrical—so much so that it’s hard to figure out which way is up when you first pick it up.

3. I truly miss the hardware “home” button of my iPad. The Tab has a software home icon which moves around whereas you know exactly where the home button always is on an iPad.

4. The Tab uses a proprietary USB cable for charging. This fries my brain. How about a micro USB instead? If I lost the cable that came with the Tab, I’d be shiitake out of luck until I ordered one from Samsung.

5. There’s no such thing as a Samsung store like there is an Apple store. If/when the Tab needs service (or I need a cable), it’s not going to be a simple as driving to the Stanford Shopping Center for me.

Having said this, I did give my iPad to my daughter for five reasons:

1. The dashboard view of multiple windows running multiple apps (actually the widgets of email, Gmail, calendar, and Google+) and aliases to my other key apps is killer.

2. The ability to delete or report multiple comments at once makes managing Google+ much easier. I suppose Google could make the iOS version of the Google+ app work this way, but I’m not holding my breath.

3. Verizon 4G LTE just smokes. Tethering is finally a reality. I’m not going to be paying hotels $12.95/day for 1 mbps access much anymore.

4. Dropbox, Evernote, and TripIt, three of my essential apps, run just as well on the Tab as on the iPad—maybe even better because of Verizon 4G LTE. (Did I mention that Verizon 4G LTE just smokes?)

5. When my daughter is happy, I’m happy, and “her” iPad makes her happy.

Could Apple make the iPad work like this? Multiple apps in multiple windows sounds hard. A better version of the Google+ app sounds easy but perhaps a religious/political issue inside Google. Verizon 4G LTE access has got be coming in the next versions of iPhones and iPads, or Apple will face a chorus of people saying, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

We shall see. Until then, I’ll be thinking different.

(Disclosure: my buddies at Samsung sent me this Tab to review)

All about Android.