MWC: Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 hands on review

MWC: Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 hands on review
Samsung keeps the heat on Apple
By Khidr Suleman in Barcelona
Wed Feb 29 2012, 16:50

WITH KOREAN HARDWARE GIANT Samsung adding more tablets to its expanding portfolio, The INQUIRER managed to get its hands on the 7in Galaxy Tab 2 running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

The Galaxy Tab 2 retains most of the design and traits that made the original Galaxy Tab popular with enterprise users and consumers. However, in terms of looks, the Galazy Tab 2 isn't the sexiest and slimmest in the Galaxy Tab range and we prefer the original 7.7in Galaxy Tab.

Samsung hasn't gone over-the-top with the specifications on the Galazy Tab 2 either, in a deliberate attempt to keep the price of the device as low as possible to try to entice first time tablet buyers.

The main area where Samsung has made cost savings is the 7in display, shipping the Galaxy Tab 2 with 1024x600 resolution. This is not as good as the original Galaxy Tab's Super AMOLED screen with 1,280x800 resolution.

However, under the hood Samsung has not skimped on components. The Galaxy Tab 2 is powered by a 1GHz dual-core processor, has 1GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. There is a microSD slot that allow users to boost storage by another 32GB, which is always handy.

We found the performance of the Galaxy Tab 2 to be smooth, although not as quick as that of the quad-core powered Transformer Prime.

Samsung has also pre-loaded Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich onto the tablet so it is capable of offering the most up-to-date software experience of any tablet, which is important, as Apple gears up to unveil the Ipad 3.

The 3G device also retains the ability to make calls so you can use it as a smartphone if you wish, although using a Bluetooth headset is probably best though, to avoid getting strange looks.

HSPA+ network connectivity of up to 21Mbit/s, plus 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are also supported, but no LTE model is planned. µ

Source: The Inquirer (http://s.tt/15VCO)

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