The Samsung Galaxy Tab 7"
The Galaxy Tab
The Galaxy Tab has already been offered here in the United States for some months. This article covers the one slated for release in February or March 2011.
The upcoming model will be designed for "4G" networks though 3G will also be supported. The tablet features a seven (7") inch diagonal screen (in landscape orientation) with a LED/TFT display. The resolution of the display is 1024 x 600 pixels (WSVGA). It comes with 16Gigabytes (Gb) of internal storage flash. A microSD expansion slot supporting up to 32 GB is also included. The tablet has a rear-facing 3Megapixel (Mp) camera and a front-facing 1.3Mp camera designed for video chat. Of course, both cameras can take still as well as motion video.
The tablet currently runs Android v2.2 and support for Flash Player 10.1.
Specifics
The Tab supports HSUPA 5.76, HSPDA 7.2Megabitspersecond(Mbps) in the 900/1900/2100 ranges. It also supports GPRS 850/900/1800/1900, as well as WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n.
The unit is 7.5 x 4.7 x 0.47 inches [190 x 120 x 12mm] in dimension. It has a seven inch diagonal screen listed at 169ppi. The screen is a capacitive multi-touch affair which recognizes gestures. It runs Android Froyo (though I'm sure Honeycomb [3.0] will be available shortly). The Tab weighs thirteen and a half (13.4oz) ounces or three hundred eighty grams.
Communications support includes SMS, MMS, eMail (including Microsoft Exchange & ActiveSync), Instant messaging, and calendar accounts. It also supports Google's suite of apps include mail, maps, calendar, etc. as well as Facebook and Twitter.
The processor is a 1.2GHz Cortex A8 Hummingbird.
The battery is a 4,000 milliamp hour (mah) Lithium polymer type that will play up to seven hours of hi-def video per charge.
The rear-facing camera is a 5Mp with built-in LED flash. As mentioned before the front-facing camera is 1.3Mp with no flash.
The unit has a GPS-A processor for navigation and location.
Video playback is full HD 1080p and the unit has a miniHDMI port as well. Video recording is 720p at 30 frames per second (fps). If playing from self-recorded media the 720p is up-converted in the unit to play back at 1080p.
The Galaxy can be ordered with sixteen (16Gb) or thirty-two (32Gb) of internal storage.
As an eReader the Tab can support magazine, newspaper or book formats.
The Tab includes the Swype typing application and ThinkFree, a document viewer editor.
WiFi HotSpot
The Tab will work as a mobile WiFi hotspot, though the number of connected devices are unknown at this point.
External Connections & Buttons
On the top of the Tab is a 3.5mm headphone jack. On the right hand side from the top is a volume control rocker & power control. On the both is a data/recharge slot. On the left hand side a microSD slot and a SIM card slot.
Pricing and Availability
Pricing is all over the place. About two months ago Samsung's CEO, Geesung Choi, stated that Samsung would probably have to rethink its position on tablets after the iPad 2 was announced. They've done that.
The response has been to seek more carriers for the Wi-Fi signal, include Adobe Flash (and Flash 10 when available) as well as bring the price down.
They have also announced that a number of retailers (link to list) will be offering the Wi-Fi only version for $349.99, That's one heck of a repositioning.
For a full list of specification see the table below.
Samsung Galaxy Tab
| |
|---|---|
Manufacturer
| Samsung
|
Operating System
| Android 2.2 (FroYo)
|
Carrier
| Verizon
|
Screen
| 7" TFT/LED Capacitive Touch
|
Camera (rear facing)
| 5 Megapixel autofocus with LED flash
|
Camera (front facing)
| 1.3 Megapixel for video chat (no LED flash)
|
Input
| touchscreen
|
single microphone
| |
Central Processing Unit
| 1.2GHz Cortex A8 Hummingbird
|
Connectivity
| HSUPA 5.76
|
HSPDA 7.2Megabitspersecond(Mbps) @ 900/1900/2100
| |
GPRS 850/900/1800/1900
| |
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n
| |
BlueTooth 2.1 (stereo)
| |
GPS
| GPS for location and navigation
|
FormFactor
| Tablet (7.5 x 4.7 x 0.47") [190 x 120 x 12mm]
|
Weight
| 13.4 oz (380 g)
|
Battery
| 4,000 milli-amp hour Li-Ion
|
Coda
The current Samsung Galaxy Tab 3G is available from Verizon Wireless for $499.99 with a two year contract. It is likely that the new Tab 4G, when introduced, might be slightly higher, but will almost certainly require a contract as well.
February 26, 2011
Verizon has announced that it will now start selling this first version of the Tab for $299.99. Of course, this requires at least a two year commitment on a data plan. If no plan is selected then the Tab 7" will sell for $499.99.
Disclaimer
The author was not compensated in any way, either monetarily, with discounts, or freebies by any of the companies mentioned.
Though the author does make a small profit for the word count of this article none of that comes directly from the manufacturers mentioned. The author also stands to make a small profit from advertising attached to this article.
The author has no control over either the advertising or the contents of those ads.
