Samsung Galaxy Tab 7 Pouces 3g

TechRadar Verdict

Pros

+
Bright clear screen
+
Good bundled apps
+
Good battery life
+
Lite and thin
+
Fast processor

Cons

-
Not as many business organization apps
-
Smaller screen for movies
-
High cost
-
No built-in USB or HDMI ports
-
Some muddy movie playback

The Samsung Milky way Tab 8.9 is one of the all-time tablets yet released.

Taking a lesson from the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.i and adding a few features beyond what the Apple iPad 2 offers, this thin, light and longer-lasting tablet is the best option around if you're more interested in portability than in playing games and watching movies on a 10-inch screen.

The slightly smaller size is likewise a better fit for reading books, browsing the web and checking e-mail.

Some might wonder why this model even exists. After all, there's a slew of seven-inch tablets available, including the Acer Iconia Tab A100, the BlackBerry PlayBook and fifty-fifty the Cisco Cius, which is coming to the UK.

At its eight.nine-inch size, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 fits somewhere between those 'too minor for movies' 7-inch tabs and the larger 'also big for everyday mobility' x-inch models. That makes the eight.9-inch size virtually correct.

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The Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.ix is remarkably like to Samsung's 10.i version. Both run Android iii.ii Honeycomb - a modern operating system designed specifically for tablets. A few 7-inch tablets apply Android 2, which is designed for smartphones. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 besides uses the aforementioned Nvidia Tegra 2 processor at 1GHz every bit the 10.1 model, has 1GB of RAM and has 16GB of internal memory.

At that place'due south a 2MP front end camera for low-res video chats and a 3MP rear camera for taking photos. There are Bluetooth, HSPA net and Wi-Fi connections on board.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.ix, at 447g, weighs over 100 grams less than the Samsung Milky way Tab ten.1. Yous tin feel the difference in weight right away. Measuring 230.9 x 157.8 10 8.6mm, there's an extra degree of portability, but you do sacrifice some screen size for movies and games.

Samsung uses a 6100mAh battery, which it claims lasts for virtually 10 hours. In our tests, the bombardment lasted almost viii hours. The battery is a pilus smaller and not as long lasting equally the bigger 7000mAh battery constitute in the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1.

Samsung was wise to proceed most of the features from the 10.ane model intact. In that location are widgets that add to the value of the tablet and provide easier access to social networking feeds. Using a unique pop-up awarding bar, you tin can also run mini apps such as a calculator and clock that hover to a higher place the master screen. You tin can move these around the screen but you lot can't resize them.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 uses the same design artful every bit the Samsung Galaxy Tab x.i. There are only three hardware buttons - one for power and the 2 volume control buttons. That'southward a stark divergence from other Android tablets that provide several more than buttons, USB ports, SD card slots and HDMI ports.

You lose the USB port for adding files using a wink drive or connecting a keyboard, merely gain extra portability because the device is so thin and lite compared to more estimator-like tablets such every bit the Toshiba AT100.

Samsung did outfit the Galaxy Tab viii.nine with a few interesting tweaks across the original 10.1 tab. There's now a screensaver app you can use for playing animations when the tablet sits idle.

In the box, Samsung includes a charger and USB cable and earbuds, but no case or stand.

In the United states of america, the viii.9 costs $thirty less than the 10.ane version and then we tin expect the UK model to cost somewhere in the region of £400.

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Contributor

John Brandon has covered gadgets and cars for the past 12 years having published over 12,000 articles and tested nearly 8,000 products. He'due south nothing if not prolific. Earlier starting his writing career, he led an Data Design practice at a large consumer electronics retailer in the U.s.. His hobbies include deep sea exploration, complaining about the conditions, and engineering a vast multiverse conspiracy.