Recensione Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 - Review [eng sub]

Hi, two weeks after the unbox video,
here comes the complete review for the 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab 2.
Is sold in Italy from May
with a list price that at best is 200-240 Euros.
The screen is 7-inch,
the resolution is 1024x600 pixel,
8 Gb of internal memory,
two cameras, a front-cam and a 3-Megapixel back-cam.
Unlike other Samsung models
here we have the micro-SD slot for cards up to 32 Gb,
two speakers on the bottom
and an infrared sensor
that linked to the pre-installed Samsung app
allows to control directly from the Tablet
other Samsung devices
It weighs 340 grams so it’s extremely light,
it’s not among the thinnest on sale,
but it has these beveled edges
and particular matte finishes that ease the hold
so in my opinion the ergonomics is well done.
In view of the price range, the construction quality is really good,
the Tablet is firm without the slightest bit of flex,
even if you press on the center.
Other Tablets tend to make some noise, creak a little bit
this one is instead really firm from this point of view.
The screen, not IPS by the way,
shows a brightness that, if set to full,
is good enough for all contexts,
but you can actually set it to half
to save some energy and to not strain the eyes.
The audio system gives you good volume and sound.
And the two cams,
mainly the 3-Megapixel back-cam,
allow to take good quality pictures
and to record videos up to 1280x720 pixel.
Actually the rear-cam tends to have a bluish effect
but you can manage the white balance and get a better image.
Talking about hardware there’s not much else to say,
just take a look at what the OMAP dual core 1 GHZ processor can do.
Curiously in this model we find a downgraded version
compared to other similar products already on sale.
Actually Samsung preferred to slightly downgrade the processor
and cut the sale price,
to offer a Tablet among the cheapest on sale.
Believe it or not, in the US it’s sold for just $50 more
than products like Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet,
that are the cheapest Android devices on the American market.
As you can imagine, considering the hardware,
we do not have top range performances by Android,
but still we don’t have a slow
and little responsive operating system.
The only main problem I found
in these weeks of testing
is some lag in the graphic interface,
mainly when many apps are open
and you try to move through them,
without waiting those necessary milliseconds.
We have a good software package,
with all the Samsung Touch Wiz customization,
already seen in other models,
even if here we have Android 4 ICS.
We have an all new set up menu, graphically talking:
new modes with new options,
mainly the mini-apps down here,
that are extra apps you can open in overlay on Android,
the Android we used to know, but now is ICS,
open another one..
they can be moved as you want
and then you can just close them touching the X,
otherwise they remain on the screen.
In the everyday use, the response time
with the standard apps, is good.
I didn’t find any important problem.
Well, we don’t have a very fast interface
but it doesn’t mean we have to wait too much
so that it gets frustrating to use.
Despite the LCD display,
reading books with the pre-installed Google Play app
is easy and fast,
it’s a thing you can do without problems,
you see pages scroll without delay.
In this case there’s no problem,
so if you do quick readings,
obviously you can’t read for hours
because the LCD display ends up straining your eyes,
you’ll be fine with this Galaxy Tab 2
because the screen shows good darkness and contrast,
now I’m trying to let you see the viewing angles
that remains wide even moving the Tablet this way.
We have other pre-installed apps:
Polaris Office that surely you already know;
Music Cab, it’s nice to buy music;
the customized Video Player;
the S Planner that integrates
the mini-app we’ve seen before.
But anyway, let’s move on to something harder,
like Web navigation.
Let’s open the stock-browser,
here I am on Netbooknews.it.
The Web navigation with the stock-browser
is one of the best thing you could do with this Tablet,
despite the little powerful processor
and despite the fact this Tablet is a cheap model.
Click on an article.
This is one of the few Tablets
where I didn’t feel the need to install third-party browser
like Opera.
Well, I did it just on a whim.
You can go through pages and have a good response time
with the pre-installed browser,
more than some higher quality products
for example the Asus Transformer Pad300
that has a stock-browser slower than this one.
Here the article on the unbox video,
meanwhile I open another tab, Eeepc.it.
Eeepc.it is lighter than Netbooknews.it,
therefore more responsive..
.. let’s go on an article,
it’s still loading but actually I guess it’s working.
If you’d like to watch YouTube,
well it doesn’t work,
it shows this gray screen.
But you just need to double-click and use the app.
I don’t know if in the near future
would be released a patch to correct this issue,
I didn’t go in depth on that,
because after all it’s easy to use the app,
even with HD videos.
These are the viewing angles,
well we’re near a window so this light doesn’t help.
Then, when you have some rendering problem,
as the one we’ve seen,
maybe you can just switch to another browser ..
now I keep going with the stock one
to prove you that this 7-inch Galaxy Tab2
shows better performances than more powerful models.
Let’s close some apps I was using..
and now let’s talk about games.
Let me start by saying that games
are not the strong point of this Tablet.
We don’t have high multimedia performances
while playing games,
I’ve had problems with some of them,
like GTA 3: it moves jerkily.
Anyway, now I show you Mini Motor Racing,
it’s started.
This kind of games, at this level
is usable without big problems,
don’t pay attention to my performances..
it’s just to show you that these games
are usable even with that downgraded processor.
Let’s create chaos here..!
This is Shine Runner..
So, despite the low clock rate of the CPU
and a less powerful dedicated GPU
than most next-generation Tablets with Android,
we still have fun someway.
Now, let’s see GTA3,
since I’ve mentioned it.
Well, after these minutes of testing
while the processor was at full speed,
on the rear the Tablet got a little hot,
especially the right side near the Samsung logo.
Actually you feel this heat also on the glass of the screen,
and this is one of the worst faults of the model,
that you can solve, though.
You just have to turn the tablet upside down
and hold it this way,
leaving the heat in the upper part.
Or you can turn it vertically
and use it in the portrait mode,
avoiding the hot part.
By the way, in the everyday use,
watching videos or surfing the Net,
the Tablet doesn’t reach a troublesome temperature,
it just happens while playing games
for several time with processor at full speed.
Well, to close: a few words about battery life.
I succeed in keeping on this 7-inch Galaxy Tab2
for 6-7 days, using it as usual:
Web navigation, YouTube videos, reading on Google Books,
with Wi-Fi and notifications on,
I did that because otherwise the Android Tablet loses its charm,
cause it’s actually made to be used this way.
I guess that the real battery life is about 2 days
with nonstop use of the Tablet,
maybe because, say, it’s the only travel device
for the e-mail, Web navigation, videos and games.
So from this point of view I’ve nothing bad to say,
the Tablet is really good
mainly considering its price range.
It isn’t a perfect product, though.
For example it lacks a HDMI slot,
that could come in handy to watch videos
on a bigger external monitor.
Here we don’t find the USB port,
even if you can buy a USB dongle
and connect it to the proprietary interface connector,
but it’s an extra expense.
And it’s a shame because it could have been convenient
to interface this small and portable device
with USB keys or external disks.
Anyway, for less than 250 Euros
- this is the price of this Galaxy Tab 2! -
you couldn’t ask for more.
It’s not a Tablet that let you rest up till Christmas 2012,
because on Summer there’ll be a new generation of cheap Tablets.
But anyway, with a view to the holydays,
mainly for the price,here in Italy it’s a recommended product,
if you need a device to use
when you don’t have at your disposal the main computer
to take a look at your e-mail for example.
You’ll find more details and comments
on the 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab2
in the in-depth article at the link on the screen.
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‘cause in the next weeks you’ll find more videos
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