Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 review: Make it two

3MP worth of stills, lovely HD videos

A 3.15 megapixel main camera capable of doing 720p videos and a 2 megapixel front-facing camera (with VGA video) is what you get with the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1. Given tablets aren't the most photography-friendly devices, it's probably as much as you are going to need anyway.

The two cameras are mostly there to cater for video-chatting and augmented reality, and the possibility to snap a label or two as a memory aid comes as a welcome bonus.

The camera interface is an oversized version of what you find on the Galaxy line o fsmartphones, with the available settings on the left and the shutter key and the video/stills switch on the right.

The still camera interface

We've got a few samples to demonstrate the image quality of the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 camera. We found it to be pretty good for the 3 megapixel league - low noise, enough detail, accurate colors and a good balance between contrast and dynamic range.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 camera samples

Photo quality comparison

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 in our Photo Compare Tool

Very good HD videos

The camcorder interface is not much different, really. There are fewer options available here, but the layout is basically the same. The Galaxy Tab is capable of recording 720p videos at 30fps.

The video camera interface

The 720p videos are top-notch with stereo audio recording, full of detail, low in noise and, generally, nice and smooth.

Check out the 720p sample that we captured with the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1.

And here goes a 720p video sample from the slate that we uploaded to YouTube.

Video quality comparison

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 is a match for most of the HD capable flagships and tablets and our video compare tools is here to prove it. Of course, there are a few 1080p capable camcorders using the same hardware so there is room for improvement.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 in our Video Compare Tool

Rich connectivity

To begin with, you get quad-band GSM radios with 3G speeds of up to 21 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA. It is GPS equipped as well.

There's a/b/g/n Wi-Fi support, with both 2.4GHz and 5GHz band compatibility. Wi-Fi Direct and DLNA support are also available.

There is a microSD card slot as well, on top of the 16/32GB of internal storage.

Naturally, Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 supports USB-on-the-go, but you will need to buy an adapter for that (the original connectivity kit with 2 adapters - SD reader and USB port - costs $25). Using one you can connect card readers, USB flash drives and other compatible devices to your tablet and access their contents through the file manager. Mice and keyboards are supported as well.

You can also buy an HDMI adapter and connect the tablet to your HDTV with a regular cable.There's no NFC connectivity on the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1, though.