Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 review: Take two

2 July 2012
It seems that Samsung have taken it upon themselves on literally making a tablet for everyone. With all of the Galaxy Tab variants out there, the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 it seems like systematic attempt by Samsung to put a unique tablet variant in the hands of every living person on the planet...

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  • j
  • johnex
  • YT@
  • 04 Jul 2012

i believe nexus will have a 3g upgrade and I hope it is still around a good budget. price may jump a $100 more.

    • m
    • me
    • FFh
    • 03 Jul 2012

    Tab all the way. Google no flash and no SD. This is for Mr crapple man, got a friend at work with a crapple 64g iPhone and his charge port took a dump and know way to get 50g of pix movies and other things off his phonewithout shelling out $100 for online storage . SD card is paramount

      • p
      • praju
      • 7jW
      • 03 Jul 2012

      I bought this tab for 19300.A cheap tab from Samsung with icecream sandwich.I like the internet experiance and gaming still no lags experianced.....hope u would buy it

        • L
        • Lupo
        • xVD
        • 03 Jul 2012

        AnonD-10768, 03 Jul 2012That is right if you are living in the USA with high speed ... moreActually, outside the USA, tablet owners are even less likely to sign up for a second data plan. It's mostly a first world thing to be able and willing to pay for multiple data plans.

          • L
          • Lupo
          • xVD
          • 03 Jul 2012

          This has fail written all over it.

          Here's my bet: Google will sell more in pre-orders in the first week than Samsung will sell in total for these.

          The complaints about the Nexus 7 are irrelevant. Limited storage? Hasn't stopped the 16GB iPad from selling. No MicroSD? Guess what? The entire iOS lineup doesn't have any. Neither does the Nexus lineup (except the Nexus One). Hasn't stopped those sales. People are going to have to get used to the idea that the Nexus lineup will never carry MicroSD again. They are Google Experience devices and part of the Google Experience is emphasis on Google's (mostly cloud based) services.

          As for this tablet, there are two things that should kill it from consideration:

          1) screen resolution/pixel density
          2) VGA Front Facing Camera
          3) Horsepower - terrible processor.
          4) Price

          Given all that, is it really worthwhile to pay more than what a Nexus 7 would cost just so you can get MicroSD?

          The main purpose of a 7" tablet is content consumption. And the biggest impact on content consumtpion comes from the screen. A poor screen, just ruins it. When you can get a screen with 215 ppi why would you go with 170 ppi? That's a 26% difference! It's not even close.

          Another significant purpose of a small tablet is video conferencing. The Front Facing Camera matters. VGA in the front? That's horrible. The rear camera may be great. But how often will you use your rear camera on a tablet?

          Next. Look at the way the Nexus 7 was designed. The larger bezels at the top and bottom were intentional according to Matias Duarte. He pointed out that the size of the Nexus 7 is similar to an old Sega Game Gear. It should have similar ergonomics in landscape mode. Clearly, the Nexus 7 is being aimed at game developers. And when these games come...the Galaxy Tab with its pathetic processor won't be able to handle/support them.

          The Galaxy Tab 2 is yet another sad attempt by Samsung to try and make Apple-like margins in the 7" tablet segment. It's not going to happen. And it actually holds back Android tablets as a class. Really, if Samsung wanted to, it could offer a more capable device than the Nexus 7 (and overcome all the Nexus 7's shortcomings...like MicroSD, 3G connectivity, etc.) for around $250. They could still rake in a decent profit margin. But they didn't. The pathetic specs leading to an even worse value proposition for the Galaxy Tab 2, is exactly why Google had to launch the Nexus 7. Hopefully, the Galaxy Tab 3 finally offers competitive specs.

            • O
            • OLPS
            • Khu
            • 03 Jul 2012

            Google nexus has mini usb,so memory should be expandable with OTG Cable,apart frm sd card slot this galaxy tab has no advantage over google nexus 7 whatsoever

              • ?
              • Anonymous
              • Rbq
              • 03 Jul 2012

              No comparison, g-tab2 supports full desktop internet with flash while the nexus is limited to old fashioned mobile sites and crippled desktop that's missing 70% of online media

                • D
                • AnonD-10768
                • K7g
                • 03 Jul 2012

                AnonD-53018, 03 Jul 2012Actually for the same price of a Galaxy tab 2 you get a Nex... moreThat is right if you are living in the USA with high speed home wifi. It is different in some parts of the world where internal storage is more important than cloud storage (cloud storage to some is more$$$ per kilobyte). And where you don't have wifi in all places the SIM card is essential most specially for the pre-paid internet access crowd. But you are right, these mostly do not apply in the western world. :)

                  • D
                  • AnonD-53018
                  • 8yH
                  • 03 Jul 2012

                  Anonymous, 03 Jul 2012thts the main problem....the GALAXY TAB 2 is only better bc... moreActually for the same price of a Galaxy tab 2 you get a Nexus 7 of 16gb, meaning at least 12gb space for apps and caching streams, since nexus is a Home device for content consuming, you use it with wifi so there is no restriction on your data, you can stream all your music, videos and movies, so there is no need for a sd card. Because of the same reason its stupid to have a sim card on this, you dont want all this streaming with a 3g connection, unless you want to pay a big bill to your carrier. I will pick Nexus 7 over Tab 2 when its out, but that's just my opinion. If I want phone calls, back camera I will use my Galaxy, and if I'm out and want stream on my tablet then I will hotspot wifi to it. I have 10000 songs on google music which I stream from my 16gb phone, so please don't bring excuses about internal memory, I will pay $250 for a Nexus happily. Screw the SD card!

                    • ?
                    • Anonymous
                    • K2I
                    • 03 Jul 2012

                    2x, 02 Jul 2012So Samsung why should we choose this over the Nexus 7? I... morethts the main problem....the GALAXY TAB 2 is only better bcz it has a MICRO Sd Slot...which matters...and GOOGLE Nexus 7 has only 5.92GB User Usable in the 8GB Version...

                      • j
                      • johnex
                      • YT@
                      • 03 Jul 2012

                      the only reason you can pick this rather than nexus will be its gsm capability. nexus can't make calls in its tablet. so its your call how you want to use your tablet. me? i want a call option so i carry only 1 device

                        • p
                        • pkloo
                        • Pxu
                        • 03 Jul 2012

                        Just another device that will not survive in US....
                        After the Samsung Google Nexus, the following will be Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Tab2 7.0 on the patent war with Apple.......Hope Samsung get ban with a copycat culture.

                        Really not a great tablet in the market and Samsung was good on the high end smartphone not tablet.

                          • s
                          • sam song
                          • Dn{
                          • 03 Jul 2012

                          what the F???

                          To be honest, i dont like this!

                          i will not waste my money on this.

                          poor specs

                            • ?
                            • Anonymous
                            • BN5
                            • 03 Jul 2012

                            2x, 02 Jul 2012So Samsung why should we choose this over the Nexus 7? I... moreTHis one has 3g support and does calls, enough to make up for the price. I still like the google one better though. wish they had 3g support.. but how will they sell upgrades otherwise right?

                              • ?
                              • Anonymous
                              • tA$
                              • 03 Jul 2012

                              2x, 02 Jul 2012So Samsung why should we choose this over the Nexus 7? I... moreSamsung Galaxy Tab 2 supports cellular networks connectivity. Nexus 7 doesn't.
                              and that's a huge difference.

                              http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=4850&idPhone2=4543

                                • D
                                • AnonD-61519
                                • LaA
                                • 03 Jul 2012

                                could you please include in the review how ebook reading is like on the tablet?perhaps with the preinstalled app or with an app from google play

                                  • 2
                                  • 2x
                                  • Ss@
                                  • 02 Jul 2012

                                  So Samsung why should we choose this over the Nexus 7?

                                  I see no reason for the 250$ price, as the nexus has a better screen, better processor, Android 4.1 (will receive the updates first).

                                  The only good thing about the Samsung is the microSD slot.

                                    • D
                                    • AnonD-55045
                                    • N9x
                                    • 02 Jul 2012

                                    It's interesting. I thought the Google Asus Nexus 7 would render this device useless. But it seems like it didn't. Nexus 7 is still better and cheaper, but the distance from this one isn't really that long.

                                      • D
                                      • AnonD-44275
                                      • 0x7
                                      • 02 Jul 2012

                                      exe, 02 Jul 2012it takes two to tango.nice one

                                        • e
                                        • exe
                                        • mEB
                                        • 02 Jul 2012

                                        it takes two to tango.