About a year ago, Samsung introduced its “answer to the iPad 2,” releasing new models in the Galaxy line. Unlike the Apple tablet, the first “tabs” were offered with two different screen diagonals - 8.9 and 10.1 inches. In addition, a little later modifications with diagonals of 7 and 7.7 inches appeared. The models were equipped with different amounts of memory. A year later, it's time to update the line. New items are offered only in two screen sizes - with diagonals of 10.1 or 7 inches. They differ from their predecessors in their lower price, fixed amount of internal memory (16 GB for all versions) and support for flash memory cards up to 32 GB. In addition, there are changes in the appearance of the tablets and innovations in functionality.
The prospects of the Android OS in comparison with iOS as a more “open” platform are beyond doubt, but will Samsung now be able to compete on an equal footing with Apple in the fight for the “tablet” segment of the market? We mentioned a couple of advantages of the new “tabs”. We will try to go through the remaining strengths and weaknesses of the tablets in our review.
Appearance
The appearance of the new generation models has undergone minor changes, but they are still present. Speakers appeared on the front surface. They are located on the sides of the screen at the top of the case. The back of the device is made of gray matte plastic (the previous model had glossy plastic on the back).
Comparing the dimensions, you can see that the new model has become a little thicker and added 23 grams in weight, apparently due to the speakers. However, it remains lighter than the new iPad 3 by 34 grams.
The build quality is not satisfactory. We will reassure potential buyers of the device who were afraid that in order to reduce the price the manufacturer would use lower-quality materials for the case or bring build quality for the sake of cheapness. The model is perfectly assembled from the same materials as its predecessor.
Above the screen on the right is a camera and a light sensor. There is also a camera on the back. The power button, volume control, connector for a flash memory card, audio output for headphones and a slot for a SIM card are located at the top end. On the bottom you will find a microphone and a connector for connecting the charging cable.
Screen
The new model received virtually the same display as its predecessor. Samsung did not please us with anything new or revolutionary. The screen resolution with a diagonal of 10.1 inches is 1280x800 pixels, PLS-LCD technology is used, which is a type of IPS matrix. Sensor type - traditional, capacitive. There is support for 10 simultaneous gestures. The screen is covered with Gorilla Glass - it will be difficult to scratch, which is good news.
Viewing angles are quite decent, and only at maximum tilt does the image acquire a certain purple tint. The brightness is adjusted not only automatically using a light sensor, but also manually. It is impossible to say unequivocally that the Tab is brighter or dimmer than the new iPad. The displays of competing tablets are quite comparable in terms of brightness.
Performance
If the tablet screen remained almost the same, then Samsung made changes to the “stuffing” of the tablet. The company replaced the previous NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor with the Texas Instruments OMAP 4430 chipset, which is equipped with devices such as the Amazon Kindle Fire, Blackberry Playbook, and LG Prada 3.0. There is also a PowerVR SGX540 graphics chip and 1 GB of RAM - almost all modern powerful toys will go with a bang. In comparison with the stand-out Galaxy Tab 7.7 model, in terms of performance, the second “tabs” look a little worse, but in a number of indicators they are superior to the previous model on NVIDIA Tegra 2, in particular, due to the use of the ARM-Cortex A9 core with a SIMD command processing unit, allowing to increase the performance of the dual-channel LPDDR2 memory controller (as opposed to the single-channel one used on NVIDIA Tegra 2).
Battery
The tablet uses a 7000 mAh lithium polymer battery. According to the manufacturer, in standby mode the device will hold a charge for 2000 hours. In operating mode, it turned out that the tablet was “enough” for 7 hours of operation with maximum display brightness and the 3G module turned on. In the mode of periodic use of 3G or Wi-Fi, average screen brightness, watching one movie and a couple of hours of listening to music, the tablet worked for 8 hours. That is, roughly speaking, the battery allows you to actively use the device for one day. Not a bad result, although not outstanding.
The tablet computer is charged only from the network, which is understandable. Charging with a small current from a computer would take a whole day, while from a wall outlet the device is fully charged in 3.5 hours.
The tablet has a power saving mode that allows you to change the processor and screen settings to reduce power consumption. But as it turned out after a week of testing, using the mode does not give any tangible results, and the operating time on one charge practically does not increase.
Mobile Internet and data transfer
Unlike the first “tab”, the new device allows you to make calls, as they say, “out of the box”. That is, it does not require installation of any additional software. The conversation can be carried out either using a wireless headset or without it.
The device operates in 2G networks (GSM 850/900/1800/1900 standards), as well as 3G using HSDPA+ technology (data transfer rates up to 21 Mbit/s) and HSUPA (up to 5.76 Mbit/s).
There is support for Bluetooth 3.0 with support for the extended A2DP profile for transmitting stereo sound, for example, to wireless headphones. And of course, from the tablet you can also access the Internet via Wi-Fi or “distribute” the Internet using this wireless module as a Wi-Fi Hotspot access point.
We also mention the presence of a proprietary USB 2.0 connector. It is used only for transferring files from a computer or charging from the network. To connect a USB flash drive, mouse or keyboard, you need to use a special adapter, which you will have to buy separately.
Cameras
The device has two cameras. The front one has a resolution of 0.3 megapixels for video calls and the main one on the back cover is 3.2 megapixels. It doesn't have autofocus or flash. On the previous device, the front camera was equipped with a resolution of 2 megapixels, and the main one had an autofocus function and LED backlight.
And although the camera characteristics look worse in comparison with its predecessor, the rear camera has proven itself to be quite good in operation. In good lighting conditions, there is practically no noise in the photo, and the automatic white balance works well. Clarity and color rendition for a resolution of 2048x1536 (maximum camera resolution) are satisfactory.
The camera interface is intuitive. At the top of the screen on the right is a photo/video switch, as well as activating the shutter and going to the gallery. On the left is the front/external camera switch, shooting mode selection, timer, brightness (from -2 to +2), settings. The location of all these icons can be changed.
Videos can be shot in 720p resolution (1280x720) at 30 frames per second.
Interface
The tablet runs on the Android Ice cream Sandwich 4.0.3 platform. Among the differences from the interface from the previous version of the software, Honeycomb 3.2, which was installed on the first “tab”, we can highlight widgets, the size of which the user can change at their discretion (stretch to size), a more “transparent” design of wallpaper and working words (dark colors were replaced with lighter tones that are easier to perceive) and an increased number of various S-services (Samsung branded applications).
The tablet has a lot of both useful widgets and not so useful ones. For inexperienced users, let's say that widgets are interfaces with the help of which information is delivered to the device from some network resource (weather forecast, news feed, email client), and which displays some brief information (news headlines or notifications about new letters).
There is a lot of pre-installed Samsung software. These are numerous S-services: a branded application store (Samsung Apps), a game hub (Game Hub), pre-installed games. It is unlikely that they will be of interest to most users, because all of them have much more convenient and popular analogues. In general, installing such programs looks like an obvious marketing ploy to promote services - there will be little real benefit to the user.
There is also pre-installed third-party software: Yandex services and a number of useful programs, such as the office application Polaris Office, the application for paying for online services Ubank, as well as a simple video editor and photo editor.
As we have already said, unlike the first “tab”, the current model allows you to make calls. Of course, few people will put a 10-inch tablet to their ear, but with the help of a headset, the device can well act as a replacement for a phone, and in some cases will allow you to get by with only one device, especially since the user-friendly application interface allows the user to also send SMS . It is possible to use both voice and handwriting input.
In the continuation of the review, we will separately go through the functions that will be most in demand among the user and the applications corresponding to them.
Reading books
For reading books, newspapers and magazines, an already installed “Books and Press” application was found. The reading program integrated into it was developed based on the popular FBReader application.
A set of free books is available that can be downloaded in one click, and in addition, you can purchase works in EPUB, PDF, etc. formats, paying for purchases from the mobile Internet SIM card you use in the tablet, or by SMS messages.
In the “Newspapers” subsection you can receive 7 free issues of the most popular Russian publications as a gift, and after that, if you wish, you can sign up for a paid subscription to them.
Naturally, you can use other programs to read e-books. A great option among the many popular apps is the user-favorite Cool Reader, which can be downloaded for free from Google Play. The advantages of the application are a user-friendly interface and support for all the most common e-book formats.
Thanks to its excellent performance, there are no problems in enjoying video games. All toys (including AngryBirds, beloved by Russian deputies) work stably. The entertainment function of the tablet is enhanced by a special Game Hub application.
Samsung calls it the "Game Portal." Game Hub lets you connect to popular games from social networks, as well as play 3D HD video games.
Internet browser
The tablet, as usual, has its own browser, which has undergone virtually no changes in comparison with the previous version of the device. But he's not bad anyway. The set of settings has expanded slightly (such items as “Save for offline reading” have appeared, for example).
The browser is fast, supports tabs, and scales web pages well. There is a function to display sites you frequently visit (they are visible when creating a new tab).
MailThe email client looks and works the same as in the previous version of the tablet. It is very convenient to attach photos from the camera or screenshots of the screen saved in the gallery to letters.
You can configure the client to work with any personal address, not just a Google account. There is a separate application for Gmail.
Youtube
The tablet has a convenient application for quick access to the Youtube video service. Current videos are sorted by topic on the left side of the screen. There is a convenient search for videos.
Video
A basic video player is installed that supports a decent number of formats. MPEG4, H.263, H.264, VC-1, DivX, WMV7, WMV8, WMV9, VP codecs and 3GP, ASF, AVI, MP4, WMV, FLV, MKV, WebM video formats are supported.
According to user reviews, not all formats are played back without problems (there is video, but no sound, the video is slow), but the standard player plays movies in AVI, MP4, FLV and 3GP perfectly. Therefore, if you watch videos in the most popular extensions, you can get by with a basic player. Picky users can choose an alternative to the pre-installed player, since there are a great variety of them.
Movies are selected with the ability to preview the video, by lists or by folders (by default, viewing the "Video" folder is set).
Music
The standard music player is also nice. Various playback modes, possibilities for sorting and selecting music tracks are offered.
Navigation
The device has a GPS navigator. Several applications are installed: “Addresses”, “Maps”, “Locator”, “Navigator”, which work using GPS.
Keyboard
The keyboard is used in many applications, the layout is convenient and has undergone virtually no changes compared to the previous version of the device.
On each of the symbol keys, a long press calls up the full catalog of symbols. There is a separate button with a smiley face, which can also be held to bring up a full set of emoticons.
The settings are made almost the same as in the iPad. And this is a plus, since Apple’s design looks like the most convenient option for such a section. The only difference from the previous version of the Galaxy Tab is that the settings are divided into subsections “Network”, “Device”, “Personal” and “System”. Previously, they were displayed in a simple long list. In our opinion, with subsections it has become more visually convenient.
05/30/2013 12:37 (19 vote(s))Review of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 tablet
If you're looking for a compact device that's smaller and lighter than an iPad, there's good news for you. This year there have already been quite a few 7-inch new products that have excited the AV market. Among them were Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7, Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9, Motorola Xoom 2 Media Edition, and there were even rumors about . It's time to review the new Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0).
Since the release of the Galaxy Tab 10.1, Samsung has become one of the leaders in the field of Android tablets. And to this day, a whole range of add-ons and applications are released with the Tab 2 marker. But, despite the success of the Galaxy Tab, it was never able to create the same hype around itself as the iPad.
Therefore, Samsung decided to try its luck again and release another 7-inch tablet on the Android 4.0 operating system, nicknamed “Ice Cream Sandwich”. We hope that the new product will be different from the iPad and will cause a new wave of customer interest. The tablet will have 8 GB of RAM and access to Wi-Fi, and its cost will vary between 10-13 thousand rubles.
With the new Tab 2, Samsung will be able to seriously compete with tablets such as the Amazon Kindle Fire, Nook, and the top sellers in this price category, also based on ICS - the Disgo 9104 and Scroll Extreme 9.7.
We've been waiting for the release of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0) for quite some time, and we finally got the opportunity to test it.
Currently, the Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0) can be purchased for about RUR 10,000. for the version with 8 GB of memory and 13,000 rubles. for the model with 16 GB of memory.
Functions
Despite creating a very stylish design for the Galaxy mobile phone, Samsung has still not been able to develop a single concept for the design of all of its devices.
For example, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 has a lovely brushed metallic finish, while the look of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0) is very similar to the Samsung Galaxy S3, which has a plastic body that looks cheap and unattractive.
From the previous model, the Galaxy Tab 2 has curved edges and a glowing company logo located on the bottom panel of the case under the screen. The logo clearly indicates that the tablet developers recommend using the device in portrait orientation, unlike the Samsung Galaxy 10.1, which is more suitable for landscape orientation. In this regard, we can assume that the Galaxy Tab 2 is considered by Ssmsung developers as a direct competitor to tablets such as the Amazon Kindle Fire and Nook.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 has a nice silver color, borrowed from its Galaxy Tab sibling. There are three buttons in the top right corner, one of which is for turning on sleep mode, waking up from sleep and turning off the tablet, and the other two adjust the sound volume.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0) measures 193.7 x 122.4 x 10.5 mm and weighs 344 grams, which is slightly more than half the weight of the iPad, and quite a bit lighter than the Motorola Xoom 2 Media Edition, which also has a 1-inch larger screen.
The small size of the device is very convenient for reading with one hand. This will be very useful for people living in a suburban area and forced to travel a long time by transport to work, or for young mothers who can simultaneously rock their child and read from a tablet.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0) is equipped with a TI OMAP 4430 dual-core processor operating at 1 GHz. Of course, we are already accustomed to more powerful processors, and the quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 was recently released. However, in addition to the processor, the device must have enough speed to handle several tasks simultaneously. Therefore, the Galaxy Tab 2 is equipped with 1 GB of internal memory, which will allow the tablet to respond quickly enough and perform multiple tasks simultaneously.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 will be sold with 8, 16 and 32 GB of memory. In addition, you can add a memory card with a capacity of up to 64 GB to the tablet, thanks to which media lovers will not have to spend more money on purchasing a model with 32 GB of internal memory, but only purchase a microSD card for the tablet. There's also a 3G option, the price and availability of which have not been confirmed at this time.
The 7-inch TFT screen has a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels, and there is no hint of the AMOLED screen that was once predicted for the entire Galaxy Tab line. The display itself is quite dim, dull and lifeless, and certainly won't impress movie buffs.
To test the video quality, we took the HD version of Kanye West's film "Runaway", and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0) managed to present even such a rich and varied color gamut in very dull and completely uninteresting shades, and the black color make it gray.
For the next test we chose the game "Temple Run". Most recently, we have already tested it on the new iPad and Asus Transformer Pad 300 tablets, but this time we were disappointed with how the device displayed the incredibly beautiful golden world of the game. Even after we set the screen brightness level to maximum, instead of a beautiful bright picture, we only got faster battery drain. But, at the same time, we noticed that even a lower screen resolution, compared to that recommended for “Temple Run,” does not spoil the impression of the game at all. In addition, we were able to achieve the highest scores in "Temple Run" and even considered purchasing a subscription for this game.
Compared to the 10-inch iPad, the difference is, of course, noticeable, but the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 holds its own quite confidently among Kindles and similar smartphones. We were able to fully enjoy applications, reading books, playing games and watching television series without feeling any discomfort. or discomfort.
Unfortunately, we can't say the same for the tablet's touchscreen. His sensitivity was a little lower than we expected. For example, we had difficulty registering on the site because the sensor did not respond well when trying to follow links or click on small browser buttons. Also, while watching video materials, due to the weak response of the sensor, rewinding films became a problem.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0) is equipped with two cameras. The rear camera is suitable for taking photos, and the front camera is suitable for video conferencing. Considering the 3MP rear lens and the VGA quality of the front camera, we can safely say that photography is not the tablet’s strong point. But the Galaxy Tab 2's rear camera can shoot 720p video, so you can use it as a video camera and even add special effects to your footage thanks to the built-in app.
Galaxy Tab 2 is based on the latest Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) operating system, which is a continuation of the Android Honeycomb line. This means that it has all the latest improvements and benefits of the previous OS.
Ice Cream Sandwich is a more flexible operating system, with increased multitasking, a better browser, better video processing and more customization options.
The Korean company Samsung decided to release Android with its own TouchWiz interface, which has a unique and original appearance. TouchWiz is a very decent and intuitive interface, which, however, looks a little outdated in some places and does not give the same polish as classic Android 4.0.
A good example of this is screen locking. It looks kind of uninteresting and old-fashioned, besides, Ice Cream Sandwich does not have the ability to quickly bind a button to lock the screen or camera, which would make using the tablet much easier and faster. Even the way the time is displayed on the screen still does not evoke admiration and a burning desire to immediately purchase the Galaxy Tab 2.
Let's move on to the main features of the operating system. For ease of use, Android 4.0 ICS has five home screens, which you can access by hitting the right or left edge of the screen (remember, the sensor has a weak response, so you need to hit the screen quite hard). The main screen is filled with applications for displaying weather, time, a media player for listening to music or watching movies and many other applications.
Quite quickly we cleared the home screen of all this garbage and filled it with only the add-ons we needed. To do this, we used the toolbar, which can be accessed by long-pressing the settings icon at the top of the screen.
In addition to the standard buttons that allow you to go back or to the home screen and the button that opens the last closed application, there are several more buttons added by Samsung developers on the bottom panel of the tablet. For example, one of them was a button for taking screenshots, which we especially found useful for this review, and a small arrow pointing up. We didn't notice it initially, but the arrow ended up being a customizable dock for your most frequently used apps that you can call up at any time. This is a great addition and we liked it immediately.
I was also pleased with the on-screen keyboard, which is especially well suited for such a small device. I especially liked the placement of the number buttons 0 to 9 at the top of the QWERTY keyboard. Keyboard input was very accurate and made it easy and quick to enter passwords, email addresses, and write letters without having to end up with an illegible string of letters misrecognized by the keyboard, as is the case on most modern tablets.
Navigation across the screen, applications and settings of the operating system was also able to please with its loading speed and there was no noticeable delay in response, which is usual for Android users.
As for the capabilities of the dual-core Ice Cream Sandwich chip, we tested many applications and games, including editing our library, but were never able to push the 1 GHz ARM chip to its limits.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0) was victorious, receiving 5322 points in AnTuTu Benchmark testing. This score is about half that of the Tegra 3-based Asus Transformer Prime, and slightly higher than the Kindle Fire, Asus Transformer and Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. Moreover, the Galaxy Tab 2 wins due to its higher performance.
All games ran quite well, and only in “Temple Run” the image shook a little, which, however, did not interfere with the gameplay itself. You could even say that image processing was smoother than on the ever-popular Apple iPad, further proving that the Galaxy Tab 2 isn't lacking in performance at all.
As we already mentioned, the quality of the camera on the tablet leaves much to be desired. The resulting images were grainy, blurry and dull, and this was noticeable even before we started viewing them on a PC.
Usually we don't attach much importance to the poor quality of the camera, since this is far from the primary task of tablet PCs, but just a nice addition. But the camera would be very useful for capturing some important moments in your life when you don’t have a normal camera at hand. And the photo quality of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0) is much worse than its competitors.
Video footage was no different from photos and also suffered from graininess, especially in low-light conditions. And that's with excellent frame rates and 720p quality.
When listening to audio recordings, we were also disappointed by the volume level. The speakers were so quiet that the sound was barely enough even for one room. For example, the Samsung Galaxy S3 is much louder, so if you want to watch a movie or listen to music in a hotel room or at home, you will have to connect additional speakers to the tablet.
Of course, the Galaxy Tab 2 has Bluetooth headphones, but we still think this tablet has enough power to reproduce sound at a normal volume.
Battery life
Battery life was very average. Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0) lasted about 5 hours of streaming video from a YouTube channel. This is a very mediocre indicator, and even with light use of the tablet, you will still have to charge the device about once every two days.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0) has a battery capacity of up to 4000 mAh, which is twice the capacity of the Samsung Galaxy S3, but still significantly smaller than the battery of the Asus Transformer Pad 300. As an excuse, you can, of course, take into account the small size of the tablet itself, but in any case, if you need a reliable and durable device, then we would recommend turning your attention to larger models.
By default, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0) has an Android 4.0 browser, which provides very few settings or options to change the display of pages. But, nevertheless, the browser can open several tabs at once, and when you open an empty tab, several previously visited sites will be displayed on the page.
The problem with all 7-inch tablets is that such a screen is very inconvenient to view web pages. This is especially true for portrait orientation. All sites are displayed very small, so every time you read information from the page, you will have to zoom in. The problem could be solved if the tablet automatically loaded the mobile version of sites, but unfortunately this is not the case. And even in landscape mode, you'll only be able to see part of a web page, not the whole thing.
Of course, this problem is not only due to the small screen, but also due to the settings of the sites you visit. But if the tablet loaded pages in smartphone mode, it could really make things easier. Therefore, if you are a fan of surfing the Internet, then you should still take a 10-inch tablet model.
We found the Galaxy Tab 2 browser itself to be very inconvenient to use. It creates very small tabs and has a long response time, so you won't be able to close any site quickly. If you still choose a 7-inch model, we recommend that you download the beta version of the Google Chrome browser for your tablet, which will work faster and more efficiently than the built-in browser.
We also didn't like the bookmarking process in the browser. To save a page and add it to your bookmarks, you need to click on the star, then you will have access to all your browser bookmarks, which can be opened using the small icon located on the right. In your bookmarks you will find many folders that the browser created automatically and we don’t like this at all, because half of them are not needed and we would not want to clutter our bookmarks with all this. In addition, new saved pages are attached to the end of the list, which means you have to scroll through the entire list each time to open them.
You can start incognito mode using the button in the upper right corner, then any new tab will open without unnecessary fuss and you can secretly choose gifts for them in online stores or search for some personal information in secret from your family and friends.
To view flash video, we installed a plugin that started working immediately, without the need to restart the tablet. After installation, we were able to view all types of video materials posted on various sites, which is very pleasing after using the iPad, which does not have such a plug-in.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0) has access to the Google Play Store, which was previously known as Android Marketplace. In this online store you can find many Android applications, including games, movies and a large library of books. Of course, the choice is not as wide as in the App Store, but Google Play is also actively working to expand the list of applications, and, quite possibly, they will soon be able to compete with Apple. In addition, Google Play developers also focus on relevant video content and popular applications. The purchase process itself will also not be difficult, and the updated Ice Cream Sandwich interface will allow you to save purchased video materials in one folder. And prices on Google Play differ from the App Store to a lesser extent. For example, the film “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” cost us 50 rubles less.
Some tablets, like the Motorola Xoom 2 Media Edition, force you to use only the built-in software to be able to add photos or video files, and these programs are often completely unfinished and clunky. Luckily, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0) doesn't take on that legacy.
All you need to transfer files to your tablet is a PC connection. The computer will recognize the device as a removable disk and will allow you to easily copy or move files without resorting to the use of additional programs.
Android tablets have always behaved very strangely towards different file formats. They can either read or not read any formats, without at all justifying their choice. With the advent of applications, this problem became a little easier and it became possible to expand the list of readable files. But Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0) can read almost all formats of audio and video content, even without additional applications, including even HD mkv encoded in H.264. Just a couple of years ago this was almost impossible, but now we can safely enjoy smooth playback of high-quality video.
You can also easily read books from your tablet thanks to the Reader Hub app, which is a cross between Kobo and Zinio. The text on the screen is visible very clearly, and the application has a user-friendly interface. You could even say that the Galaxy Tab 2 is one of the best tablets for reading, but unfortunately, it still can't compare with E-Ink devices like Amazon's Kindle.
Applications
As we have already said, Google Play is used as a source of applications for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0), which can really compete with the so popular iPad due to the presence of free applications and a very impressive catalog of paid content.
The Google Play store shortcut is always located on the tablet's home page and launching it takes only a few seconds. And the process of downloading applications itself requires only clicking the “download” button, and after downloading the application will be ready to launch.
Google Play also has a specialized section for Samsung devices called “Samsung Apps”. In this store you will find a mix of their popular apps from Google and some apps from Samsung developers.
For example, we found Angry Birds in the list of free applications, and, perhaps, it was the only familiar name from the entire list. Of course, there are also games such as Tetris or Sudoku, but all of them cannot become strong arguments in favor of the Galaxy Tab 2.
Games
If you are a fan of simple, unpretentious games, then the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0) will be a real discovery for you. The tablet's screen is too small to run full-fledged serious games on it, but it has enough performance to play them without a hitch. For example, Temple Run and Riptide ran very smoothly and flawlessly, and the 25 seconds for which we were interested in the Angry Birds game also did not reveal any performance shortcomings.
The list of applications is quite impressive and soon we filled the entire tablet with free games: Sims, Tower Defense, cricket and cards, as well as a very interesting Color Splash application.
The small screen did not affect the quality of all these games, but we still felt more confident on the 10-inch tablets. Although at 7 inches we were able to have fun and pass the time pleasantly.
Samsung developers have done a lot of work to make the Galaxy Tab 2 competitive with models like the Amazon Kindle Fire and Apple iPad. And one of these successful steps was the use of the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system and an online application store.
But don't forget about the shortcomings: a dim screen, a cluttered TouchWiz interface and poor sensor response will prevent the tablet from becoming a direct competitor to leading models.
pros
At the moment, there are many models on the AV market, the cost of which varies between 10-13 thousand rubles, but not all of them have the same capabilities as the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0).
Samsung was able to release a multifunctional tablet that can seriously compete with the Apple iPad and fill the gap in the line of Android devices. In addition, the tablet has a very affordable price.
In addition, despite the rather small screen of 7 inches, we were able to fully enjoy watching HD movies and playing games on it.
The tablet was able to show off all the advantages of the new Android Ice Cream Sandwich OS, including a very easy and simple way to copy and move files from a personal computer. And this is just one of many indicators that bring the Galaxy Tab 2 closer to the iPad.
Minuses
Throughout our testing, we noticed a number of shortcomings that could prevent the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0) from becoming a top seller. Most of the shortcomings are most likely caused by the developers' attempt to reduce the cost of the device, but this does not stop them from being unpleasant.
For example, the Touch Wiz user interface, which has already proven itself on other devices, suddenly appears in a very boring and old-fashioned light. And the screen of the Galaxy Tab 2 itself looks very lifeless and pale.
In addition, it is difficult to use a browser that displays pages extremely small and has an inconvenient configuration system.
Conclusion
If you are ready to part with 13,000 rubles for a small, convenient, fun and multifunctional tablet, then the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0) will be the best option for you.
However, those who are looking for a reliable, high-quality device with a good screen and excellent build quality should look past Samsung.
In any case, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0) can confidently occupy a niche among budget tablets and please its users with excellent performance and versatility.
2 years ago
I really like the tablet, I bought it about a week ago. I was choosing between the new iPad and the Tab. I chose Samsung because it supports flash, a lot of video formats (including avi), bluetooth is well organized here, unlike iPad. And the camera is also good. It’s convenient to watch movies (well, this is most likely on all tablets with this diagonal and resolution). Yes, I almost forgot, you can also insert a flash drive into a tablet, but not into an iPad (this, of course, is not necessary for everyone, but for me it is desirable). + You can install a SIM card (well, that’s understandable, I bought a model with 3G). Screen good, rich colors, especially when you watch movies in high quality. The sound is good, loud, it’s nice to have a video editor, a photo editor, and an equalizer. It’s also cool that there is a function for selecting the music playback speed. Well, there’s also
2 years ago
Stereo speakers, display, design.
2 years ago
I took the white tablet. From the main thing: beautiful, “smart”, works stably, without problems. The charge also lasts a long time.
2 years ago
Screen, design, 3G, sound, ease of use.
2 years ago
The battery lasts a long time. Convenient to use. Good speakers. Quite fast. Nice price and build quality. Wi-fi is fast and good. You can take pictures directly from websites.
2 years ago
Large screen, good speakers, ease of use, stylish design.
2 years ago
High-quality case, light, thin, comfortable. Good sound and picture. Holds a charge for a long time and charges quickly. Excellent WiFi connection throughout the apartment and office. Quite fast, movies without lags, including TV via ALL Share via WiFi - LAN. I haven’t tried Full HD and don’t plan to, for this there is a PC, LAN and external HDD.
2 years ago
price-quality is very good, bought for 12.5
2 years ago
Ease of use, -High functionality, -Plays games without lags, -Good battery, -Useful built-in applications (CHATon, S Suggest, etc.), -Fast loading of pages on the Internet, -Strong case (I dropped it hard 5 times without a case or scratches), -Clear sound.
2 years ago
Good memory, does not lag, does not pick up viruses
2 years ago
The case is made of plastic, holding it in your hands you are afraid to break it) the interface falters when turning pages.
2 years ago
I haven’t found any shortcomings yet, I hope there won’t be any. :) Although, there is one drawback, but this is not a drawback of the device, but a lack of equipment - the USB cable is too short, when I connect it to the computer, I have to put the tablet on the computer table, that is, it takes up space and interferes with working with the mouse and keyboard. But this the disadvantage pales against the background of the advantages.
2 years ago
It often freezes, you can’t play heavy toys on it, and sometimes it crashes. The camera is a bit bad, but that's normal for a tablet.
2 years ago
Like many people, you want everything the best and cheaper.
The price, it seems to me, is a little high, but the brand, what can you do? And so, I haven’t noticed any shortcomings in the work yet.
2 years ago
The camera is weak, 2 cores, but enough)
2 years ago
Thin power cord.
Inconvenient to use when charging,
since the food is from below.
Plastic case.
2 years ago
Sometimes there are glitches, a very bad camera.
2 years ago
If we talk about shortcomings, then most likely they are related to the system, and not to the tablet, that is, Android problems. Therefore, it is not appropriate to write about them here.
The only drawback, in my opinion, is the lack of a full-fledged USB port and an unsuccessfully located universal port (bottom). For example; It is very inconvenient to use the tablet while charging or with a USB adapter connected to it, which, by the way, is purchased separately.
2 years ago
The camera is rather weak and there is no flash, in low light it is difficult to take pictures
2 years ago
Barely noticeable braking during prolonged use
The dimensions of the device are determined by the diagonal of the display and the small frame around it. The weight and thickness have increased slightly compared to the first Tab 10.1, but the appearance has changed noticeably - the tablet no longer looks like an iPad. Unlike the monolithic metal competitor, the Korean product is enclosed in a plastic prefabricated case. The matte gray material of the “back” transitions into a glossy dark gray edging of the body and a black frame of the front panel. The quality of the plastic is high, but it is still not unibody aluminum. In addition, the assembly of our test sample did not go smoothly: the upper corners of the front panel protective screen in our case had some play or simply came off. However, perhaps this is a feature of a particular specimen or the batch that was brought for the press. Just in case, I went into the store, turned the demo sample in my hands - and it turned out to be well assembled. In general, check before purchasing.
When describing the design elements, we will assign a “coordinate axis” based on the location of the logos, that is, in landscape orientation. Let's start, according to tradition, with the front panel: here above the screen there is a front camera with a modest 0.3 MP matrix. In addition, on both sides of the display we can see metal mesh speakers. There are no keys on the front: neither touch-sensitive nor mechanical – all manipulations are performed through the display.
And in this review we will look at the younger model of this family – the Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0), which has a 7-inch display, but the differences between the two tablets do not end there. So, first things first.
The Galaxy Tab 2 is quite similar to its predecessor, the P1000 from the Galaxy Tab line of tablets. But it is worth noting that the thickness has decreased, now it is only 10.5 mm, and the surface has turned from a smooth gloss into matte gray plastic. The height and width of the device are 193.7x122.4 mm, and the weight is only 344 g. Given the relative lightness of the device, it is very comfortable to hold in your hand.
There is a touch display on the front side, and a camera “eye” on the back.
The assembly was performed at the proper level - there are no backlashes or squeaks during operation.
Performance, operating system and applications
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0), like the model with a 10.1-inch screen, has a 2-core TI OMAP 4430 processor, which has a clock frequency of 1 GHz. There is 1 GB of RAM, and 8, 16 or 32 GB of built-in flash memory, depending on the version. This parameter can be increased, since there is a special slot for memory cards with a maximum capacity of 32 GB. Taken together, these parameters provide fairly high performance that can satisfy almost any, even the most demanding user.
The tablet is running the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system with an integrated TouchWiz shell.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0) has a standard set of applications: audio and video players, browser, e-mail client.
In terms of communication capabilities, the gadget supports Wi-Fi, Bluetooth3.0, GPS modules, and, depending on the modification, may or may not have a 3G module.
Screen
The tablet is equipped with a 7-inch capacitive touch screen, made using PLS TFT technology, with a resolution of 1024x600 pixels. This device differs for the worse from the Galaxy Tab 2 model with a 10.1-inch display, where the resolution is 1280x800 pixels.
The viewing angles of the gadget are excellent, fading in the sun is not very strong. It is worth noting that the image on the display is quite bright and of high quality.
The screen has a protective Gorilla Glass coating.
Camera
The Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0) has a 3.1 megapixel camera that allows you to shoot at a maximum resolution of 2948x1536 pixels, with autofocus. Video recording can be carried out in Full HD format at a speed of 30 frames/second.
There is a front 0.3 megapixel camera for video telephony.
Battery
The LI-Ion battery in the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0), unlike the older 10.1-inch model, has a capacity of only 4000 mAh, so the device will last for a maximum of 5-7 hours during average intensive use.
Price
The cost of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0) was not officially announced, but it became known that the price in European countries will be about 500 euros for a model with support for 3G networks and 400 euros for without support for 3G networks.
As of May 25, 2012, the cost of the new product became known. The price for the Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0) modification with memory will be 9,990 rubles (with Wi-Fi support) and 13,990 rubles (with Wi-Fi + 3G support).
Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0) tablet video review:
