Sep 012011
Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7-Inch, Wi-Fi)
- Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) OS
- 7-inch Multitouch Screen (1024 x 600)
- 8GB Internal Memory; microSD expansion up to 32GB
- Wireless N Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n); Bluetooth 3.0
- 1GHz Dual-Core Processor; 1GB RAM
Samsung GT-P3113TSYXAR 7.0 inch Galaxy Tab 2 1.0GHz/ 8GB/ Android 4.1 Jelly Bean Tablet Computer (Titanium Silver) Keep yourself entertained at home and on the road with the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0). Weighing just 12 ounces and sporting a vibrant 7-inch touchscreen display, the Galaxy Tab 2 runs the Android 4.0 (“Ice Cream Sandwich”) operating system and is powered by a 1.0 GHz dual-core processor to help you achieve maximum usage across various demanding applications. Exceptional 7-inch mult
List Price: $ 219.99
Price: $ 179.00
Went from an iPad 1 to Galaxy Tab 2 and love it,
So this device just came out this morning, and I hadn’t planned on buying it but I was down at my local best buy store and played with it just to see what it was and loved it! Let me say I used to have all apple stuff, apple computer, iphone, ipad, etc. Over the last year my apples have rotted, went bad and needed to be replaced. Instead of paying high dollar for all new apple stuff I went back to a windows PC, an Andorid Galaxy S2 phone, still had the iPad but it was in need of replacement.
So I got to Best Buy they didn’t have these out yet but they pulled one out and let me play with it while they set up the are for the demo unit to go. I liked it, very snappy, great screen. The device comes preloaded with ICS on it, it’s VERY snappy with zero lag so far.
The screen while not a retina display like the iPad is still clear enough for me. After all I’m not holding this inches from my face. if you do you get a chance to play with 1 of these before you buy go to the movies app on the device and play the life demo to see how clear and crisp the display is.
It quickly synced up with my Google account and I was already able to start downloading apps from the play store within minutes of getting it turned on.
So far this device is excellent. It feels like it’s built well, the back is not as fancy as the Galaxy S2 phone however I plan on getting a case for this so the back battery panel to me doesn’t matter much.
I’ll update this later after I get more time to play with it, so far though for $250 this is a great deal. I also played with the Kindle Fire and the Blackberry playbook both which were available for $199, but I opted to spend the $50 more for the Samsung as I’ve been impressed with Samsung quality over the years. (Currently my TV’s, blu ray players, computer monitor, phone and now tablet are all samsung brand. They make good products in my opinion.)
–UPDATE 8 hours later–
I used the GPS on this earlier and google navigation/maps to get me to the hardware store. Ok I didn’t NEED it but I wanted to test it out. I found that you MUST have internet for google maps to give you directions, I had a hotspot in my car so I turned it on and navigation worked perfect. If you don’t have wifi you can still use GPS, it does lock on fast however it can’t query to get you directions. If you used an offline GPS program like navigon or something that would do the trick, but YES gps is accurate and fast.
I also used the bluetooth on this to stream music from the Tab 2 to my car, quality was excellent.
Apps and stuff, so far every app I have tried is compatible with the exception of one, and I can’t remember what that one was so it was one I really didn’t use much at all I guess. I have put a few games on to test it, so far so good and still no lag.
Hows the keyboard? It comes with stock ICS keyboard and it works well, if you start typing fast there is a tiny lag between hearing the click of the feedback and seeing the character appear, however all letters make it without any vanishing. I am looking for another keyboard though as spelling isn’t built in it appears… I am probably switching to Swiftkey or swype both which appear compatible with the device.
Also, the IR Blaster = awesome! I was going to buy a $100 harmony remote for my entertainment system, well this Galaxy Tab 2 has an IR blaster built right in and the application for it is simple to configure. Less then 3 minutes I had it set to turn my TV on, control my bose sound system and also control my Tivo HD and Blu Ray player. Very slick!
More to come, if you have questions on how this works please leave them in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer them quickly. Also, if you find this review helpful please make sure to mark it as such!
–UPDATE–
Morning after, do I regret buying it? Nope, still a fantastic device and I’ll tell you a few more things I found out.
1. I use Dropbox on my home computer and put the app on this tablet. I also use a tivo at home and thought about how could I get my shows on my tivo to my computer then to my tablet? Well I use TivoToGo to transfer shows to my computer, then I place them in a drop box folder and they sync automatically to my dropbox account. I then on the tablet have an app (free and paid versions) called “Folder Sync” and I have that set to every hour check my drop box Tivo folder and download any latest tv shows my computer has copied. This means that in the morning when I leave for work my tablet has all my shows from the previous night I didn’t get to watch on it so I can for instance watch one or two on my lunch break, without having to have a wifi connection at work!
2. Need to make a phone call? Unfortunately this device doesn’t have phone support. However Skype works great with both video calls and audio calls. You can pay for a phone…
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|Why I prefer the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 to the Kindle Fire,
I have a Kindle Fire and do enjoy using it (for the most part) — love the form factor, enjoy the apps that I can get for it and am very pleased with the Kindle eReader app and ability to share books across all our Kindles. But when we were offered an opportunity to check out the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 a few days early, we jumped at the chance. The Kindle Fire is great at what it does, but its custom Android O/S, non-standard Web browser, limited selection of apps, lack of expandable storage and lack of Bluetooth support leave me cold.
*Browser Issues*
I’ve experienced multiple issues trying to browse web sites with the Kindle’s Silk browser which work fine on the Galaxy Tab 2 and other full-fledged Android devices. Although Flash videos can be played on the Kindle Fire (if you enable Flash in the Silk browser’s setting menu, which is OFF by default), Flash-based games on the Web such as Words with Friends and Bejeweled Blitz (both on Facebook) are painfully jittery and sluggish on the Kindle Fire. The native Words with Friends app does work well on the Kindle, for the most part, but not the web browser-based version. But Flash support on mobile devices is spotty at best so this is not the worst flaw in the Kindle. Also, the content management system we use on our web site is able to load pages (articles) on the Fire, but unable to scroll within large text input windows. The same problem does not occur on the Galaxy Tab 2′s browser. The Silk browser is able to access many web sites properly, but when it fails, there isn’t much you can do since updates to the Silk browser have been few and far between.
*App and content space*
The Kindle Fire and Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 each come with 8 GB of internal storage on board. Some of this is used for O/S and system files which leaves even less available for apps and media content. The Kindle Fire has no expandable storage, as it is designed to work in “The Cloud.” In other words, they expect you to store music and movies on an internet-based cloud storage area for access when you want it. The big caveat here is that the Kindle Fire offers only WiFi access (no 4G support) so if you do not happen to have a WiFi hotspot or home network handy (like, for example, on a long distance car trip), your cloud-based content is completely inaccessible. I filled up the Kindle Fire’s internal storage within the first six weeks of ownership. If I want to install more apps or add local content now, I’ll have to remove some from the device. These apps and content are still available to download later from the cloud, if I wish to do so, but this really isn’t convenient. The Galaxy Tab 2 also lacks 4G support (in its current version) but its standard microSDHC slot allows you to expand the on-board storage up to an additional 32 GB, which is plenty of room to move your movies, music and additional content to be stored locally without requiring access to the internet.
*Bluetooth Support*
When I am taking notes at an event or meeting, there’s nothing like a full sized QWERTY keyboard. With the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2, you can connect just about any standard Bluetooth keyboard and happily start typing away at full speed. With the Kindle Fire, since it lacks Bluetooth support, you do not have this option. Also, when you want to listen to music, movies or apps on the Fire without bothering those around you, you’ll need to plug in a pair of standard headphones (with the jack awkwardly placed on the bottom of the device instead of the top). With the Galaxy Tab 2, not only is the jack placed more logically at the top, but you can also use Bluetooth 3.0 stereo headphones for high quality sound without the wired tether.
*Cameras*
The Kindle Fire lacks an on-board camera while the Galaxy Tab 2 includes both a front and rear-facing camera. Admittedly the camera on the Galaxy Tab can’t really compare with a real digital camera (particularly indoors) but having the camera available on the Galaxy does allow you to snap a quick pic when the real camera may have been left at home, or participate in Google+ Hangouts (not an option on the camera-free Kindle).
*Limited App Support*
Amazon’s Kindle Fire, like Barnes and Noble’s Nook Tablet, is not compatible with the Google Play Store app market without rooting the device (not for beginners). To install apps on the Fire, you have to use the proprietary Amazon app market which has a limited selection of apps. There’s no access to cool apps like the Logitech Harmony app, or the Samsung or Panasonic remote control Android apps for their TVs and Blu-ray players. The list of Android apps you can’t get for the Fire goes on (and on… and on). And speaking of remote apps, the Samsung Galaxy Tab…
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|Breakthrough Price & Value,
This is a brand new product from Samsung that breaks the $250 price barrier. There are a lot of tablets at or below this price but they are mostly very low end devices with slow CPUs, poor screens and built for non-US markets. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 makes none of the compromises typical of this price point and provides the same kind of performance you’d expect from the rest of the Samsung Galaxy Tab portfolio. It’s fast, slick, has a great screen and even has Android 4.03 (Ice Cream Sandwich). I do like the new operating system and adapted to it in minutes. In addition to front & rear cameras there is bluetooth and even an IR blaster so you can use it as a remote for your TV. It only took a minute to set that up and get a program guide downloaded. All the apps on my Gingerbread phone loaded up to the Tab and run fine on the ICS platform. I can’t comment on battery life yet as I plugged it for the initial charge and setup and haven’t run on battery yet. As far as WiFi reception goes, it picks up all the same signals at the same strength as my laptop so no problem there.
If you’ve been waiting for a 7″ tablet with Android 4 your wait is over.
UPDATE: Now that I’ve had it for about 10 days I can report that battery life is very good. After being online for several hours the battery still had more than 70% remaining.
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