Samsung galaxy tab 3 10.1
Prologue
Samsung's newly-announced Galaxy Tab 3 10.1-inch tablet reached our filthy mitts, and we are pretty curious to examine the first Intel Atom-based Android slate from Sammy. It is thinner and lighter than its Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 predecessor, and runs the newest Android 4.2 Jelly Bean.
Landscape mode
It feels quite sturdy yet very light at 510g, plus it is thin, at sub-8mm, and compact. A 10-incher should be meant to be held in landscape mode, yet here the side bezel is thinner than the top, which houses a physical home key, as well as capacitive navigational buttons.
Touch keys
These touch keys can be involuntarily pressed very easily when the tablet is held in portrait orientation, though the tablet includes a sensor to turn them off in that situation if you wish. There is an infrared sensor at the top, meaning you will be able to control your TV, home stereo and the like with your tablet from the couch always a plus. The two stereo speakers on the sides are thoughtfully placed high, so you do not cover them with your palms while holding the tablet.
Display
The screen, at 1280x800 pixels and 145ppi, is pretty basic for today's tablet standards, indicating that Samsung did not want to throw the kitchen sink in its first experiment with Intel and Android. It displays decent colors and good viewing angles, though, so the only gripe is about the comparatively low resolution, which makes things look pixilated to our spoiled eyes, even from a normal viewing distance. Well, depending on the price, as if this thing lands at rock bottom, all our complaining is off.
Features
Samsung has added two new Android tablets to its Galaxy Tab 3 range, an 8-inch model and a 10.1-inch model, each running Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. The Galaxy Tab 3 8-inch has a 1280 x 800 display, 1.5GHz dual core processor, and optional 3G/LTE, with a 5-megapixel camera on the back, and Samsung claims it’s designed for single-handed use with a weight of just 314g. As for the Galaxy Tab 3 10.1-inch, that has a 1280 x 800 display and a 3-megapixel main camera, along with a 1.6GHz dual core processor which happens to be the first Intel has supplied for a Samsung tablet.
Both tablets get a 1.3-megapixel front camera, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, and Bluetooth 4.0. There’s also a choice of 16GB or 32GB of internal storage, along with a micro SD card slot to add to it. The 8-inch model has 1.5GB of RAM, while the 10.1-inch model has just 1GB.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 7-inch
There is also A-GPS and GLONASS for positioning, and the usual brace of sensors: accelerometer, magnetometer, and ambient light. The 10.1-inch version offers MHL-HDMI output, too, for hooking up to your TV, and both versions have Watch ON, Samsung’s remote control app for taking charge of your A/V rack.
Other apps include Samsung Chat ON, S Translator, Dual View and Pop-up Video, and the Samsung Hub for multimedia downloads across apps, games, music, video, and e-books. There’s also all the usual Google software.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 10.1-inch
Three versions of the tablets will be offered, depending on its connectivity. There will be a basic Wi-Fi only model, together with a 3G version, and then finally a 4G LTE model, though Samsung hasn’t said which bands the LTE radio will support. The two new models will join the previously-announced Galaxy Tab 3 7-inch, and will arrive on the market from June. No word on pricing at this stage.
Both versions of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 run Android 3.1 Honeycomb. The 10.1v runs a Pure Google version with no customizations while the 10.1 runs a custom Touch-Wiz overlay.
Pricing and Availability
Samsung says the Galaxy Tab 3 10.1-inch and 8-Inch will be released in early June, but they do not appear to be out now, as they are not listed on the Samsung's U.S. web store. The company has not announced what either tablet will cost. Overall though, for $29.99 there is no way you can go wrong with this purchase.