Samsung’s $249 Galaxy Tab 2 7.0: To Make U.S. Debut 4/22

[=X=]

It has a 1GHz dual-core TI OMAP 4430 processor, 1GB of RAM, the usual slew of WiFi and Bluetooth radios, an IR blaster, and 8GB of internal storage. If that’s just not enough space for you to work with, there’s also a microSD card slot capable of taking up to 32GB of additional storage embedded in the device’s left edge.
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It's also suppose to come with ICS (Android 4.0). Now that's a tablet I'm getting. The only thing that will steer me clear of this product if is Asus makes good and delivers a 7" T3 for $250

There's already a review (link)

=X=

[afv011]

Originally Posted by =X=

It's also suppose to come with ICS (Android 4.0). Now that's a tablet I'm getting. The only thing that will steer me clear of this product if is Asus makes good and delivers a 7" T3 for $250

=X=

Nice specs, not top of the line, but pretty good. I'm disappointed with the screen though, 1024x600 is not quite good enough. Had it been 1280x720 or 1280x800, that'd be a different story.

[tubemonkey]

Samsung is late to the show. This would've been a big hit if released last November during the holiday season. Now with quad-core tablets just around the corner, these specs are underwhelming at this $249 price point.

These specs could very well be the same ones Google/Asus bring to the table in the $149-$199 range. And $249 could see a quad-core tablet with higher resolution.

[Polyphemus]

This new tab seems to be a stripped down version of my gTab 7.0 plus, except for ICS.

[tubemonkey]

Samsung appears to be going backwards, but failing to drop the prices low enough. Their new 2nd gen Galaxy Players have worse specs than their 1st gen players, yet the price differential makes the 1st gen players a better buy.

[=X=]

Originally Posted by afv011

Nice specs, not top of the line, but pretty good. I'm disappointed with the screen though, 1024x600 is not quite good enough. Had it been 1280x720 or 1280x800, that'd be a different story.

Agreed I'd rather have a higher resolution, but 1024x600 is still good, its the resolution of my nook Color and I'm quite happy with it.

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Samsung is late to the show. This would've been a big hit if released last November during the holiday season. Now with quad-core tablets just around the corner, these specs are underwhelming at this $249 price point.

These specs could very well be the same ones Google/Asus bring to the table in the $149-$199 range. And $249 could see a quad-core tablet with higher resolution.

A couple things, one you're basing your facts on a rumor that has not been confirmed--while the Samsung product has hit the market, two ASUS constantly slips their Android products and seems to always struggle in their production, three Samsung just makes better hardware.

Also the rumor for the Asus tablet is it is a Google Nexus and it will not provide SD card slots, it will be a minimal device. Personally I would love to see the ASUS T3 they announced but I don't have a lot of confidence in ASUS

Originally Posted by Polyphemus

This new tab seems to be a stripped down version of my gTab 7.0 plus, except for ICS.

Yes it seems the areas the stripped down aren't that important compared to the savings they offer. The major changes seem to be the chip (1.2GHZ->1.0GHZ) and the memory 16GB -> 8GB.

=X=

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by =X=

A couple things, one you're basing your facts on a rumor that has not been confirmed--while the Samsung product has hit the market, two ASUS constantly slips their Android products and seems to always struggle in their production, three Samsung just makes better hardware.

Leaving aside the rumors, these specs still don't warrant a $249 price tag. And if Samsung has better hardware, then I'd hate to see ASUS; because I have both a GP4 and a GP5 and consider the hardware to be quite flimsy.

[JxK]

Originally Posted by =X=

Yes it seems the areas the stripped down aren't that important compared to the savings they offer. The major changes seem to be the chip (1.2GHZ->1.0GHZ) and the memory 16GB -> 8GB.

=X=

It looks like the galaxy tab 2 7.0 is going to use the tegra 2 chipset, instead of Samsung's own Exynos.

Considering the fact that the latter is able to reach performance levels which the tegra 2 doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of matching - plus the fact that the 7.0 plus is now available for $299 - and suddenly the tab 2 7.0 no longer appears to be a particularly impressive or enticing purchase. Honestly, tegra 2 was underpowered when it was first released. In 2012 there's no excuse to release a tegra 2 device at anything over the $200 pricepoint.

I'd say either move up to the 7.0 plus for $50 and get the extra power (and further future proof yourself) or get a a kindle fire/nook tablet for $50 less if you don't need the added processing power.

[afv011]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Leaving aside the rumors, these specs still don't warrant a $249 price tag. And if Samsung has better hardware, then I'd hate to see ASUS; because I have both a GP4 and a GP5 and consider the hardware to be quite flimsy.

I disagree, the specs are pretty much on par with the Nook Tablet 16GB (albeit it comes with half the storage). But the Samsung will have the market and Google apps out of the box, plus ICS, so it's pretty much on the same level. I would actually lean towards Samsung's, for the more up to date OS and Google apps.

[afv011]

Originally Posted by JxK

It looks like the galaxy tab 2 7.0 is going to use the tegra 2 chipset, instead of Samsung's own Exynos.

That's a bummer, the T2 is ancient and has a single channel memory controller, as opposed to the Exynos (or OMAP4). The T2 was king when it came out, but that was a long time ago.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by JxK

It looks like the galaxy tab 2 7.0 is going to use the tegra 2 chipset, instead of Samsung's own Exynos.

Considering the fact that the latter is able to reach performance levels which the tegra 2 doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of matching - plus the fact that the 7.0 plus is now available for $299 - and suddenly the tab 2 7.0 no longer appears to be a particularly impressive or enticing purchase. Honestly, tegra 2 was underpowered when it was first released. In 2012 there's no excuse to release a tegra 2 device at anything over the $200 pricepoint.

I'd say either move up to the 7.0 plus for $50 and get the extra power (and further future proof yourself) or get a a kindle fire/nook tablet for $50 less if you don't need the added processing power.

I agree with your assessment.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by afv011

I disagree, the specs are pretty much on par with the Nook Tablet 16GB (albeit it comes with half the storage). But the Samsung will have the market and Google apps out of the box, plus ICS, so it's pretty much on the same level. I would actually lean towards Samsung's, for the more up to date OS and Google apps.

Those are last year's specs. Had this tablet been released last November, then I'd say yes. But it's being released Q2 in 2012, so it should be priced no higher than $200.

[=X=]

Originally Posted by JxK

It looks like the galaxy tab 2 7.0 is going to use the tegra 2 chipset, instead of Samsung's own Exynos.

From the article....

1GHz dual-core TI OMAP 4430 processor

I'm guessing you didn't read it .

You bring up a good point about forking a bit more cash to get the extra features. Personally for me I don't think however the difference between a 2.4GHz and 2.0Ghz is worth $50. But that is just me. Now if the Asus with a T3 was released with a $250 price I would most certainly consider that device over the Tab 2.

[David Marseilles]

Originally Posted by =X=

Agreed I'd rather have a higher resolution, but 1024x600 is still good, its the resolution of my nook Color and I'm quite happy with it.

After several weeks with a nook tablet over the holidays, I decided that pixel density wouldn't do it for me. It looked great with video and games, but the reading experience, especially with a light color text and black background (my night reading layout) was uncomfortable, with the pixels a lot more visible than I like.

Different strokes for different folks, of course, but I'm probably willing to pay a little more for a better density, if only the right package will come out. I haven't given up hope completely on the 370t, and even if the price point ends up higher, or certain unimportant specs get cut (so long as they retain tegra 3, 1280x800, sd slot), I'd still be interested.

But I do hope this one works out for you. It's always nice to find a good fit.

[RainingLemur]

The resolution DOES leave something to be desired, but it doesn't look too bad for the price.