Can’t decide which annoys more: iPad that won’t tether automatically or Galaxy Tab that auto-joined when it was asleep, inside my bag.

The daily pairing of iPad and iPhone require accessing settings on both devices. The Galaxy Tab would tether even when the screen was locked. If I left the house and came back hours later my iPhone would indicate the Galaxy Tab had connected. Now I’m left wondering if the Galaxy’s poor battery life was because it was looking for and connecting to WiFi all the time.

At a time when tethering data is at a premium and battery life is paramount, both the iPad and Galaxy (Android Honeycomb) need a better UI solution. Apple’s method at least errs on the side of deliberate, not accidental, pairing.

What will I miss about the Galaxy Tab?

I borrowed the Galaxy Tab 10.1 from the Punchcut device library back in November so I could immerse myself in Android land. When I replaced it with the new iPad my daughter asked what I would miss about the Galaxy tab. My wife just laughed.

Android widgets. I’ll miss Android widgets, honestly. Apple’s still not ever done anything serious about their lacking iOS home experience.

Native Gmail on the Galaxy Tab stands out. It’s solid. It looks great and it’s fast. Gmail on the iPad’s Mail app is weak – it misses tags and filters that make Gmail great. Gmail in iPad’s Safari could be so much better.

Featherlight. I don’t know how the Galaxy Tab manages to be so lightweight. I never tired of it as a reader (but I missed my iBooks library!). The iPad 1 felt like a brick by comparison. With the new iPad 3 I’m trading up to better battery life and getting a slightly heavier device (still lighter than iPad 1, thankfully).

Sadly, the one app, that hardly qualifies as “must-have,” is the NXT Remote that controls the Lego Mindstorms NXT robot. I’ll have to check out one of the Android handsets lying around for that.

Moment of delight: Discovering Android browsers can access the device image gallery and albums for – get this – web based uploads.

Switched from the Samsung keyboard to stock Android (Honeycomb) keyboard. The world is right again.

Day 3 with the Samsung Galaxy Tab. Why does Android hate passwords with mixed case?