Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 (P3100) – review

A blend of style and utility value makes this Galaxy Tab 2 7.0, Samsung’s first Ice Cream Sandwich tablet to roll out of the box, a value for money

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 P3100 , the second generation Galaxy Tab that was unveiled at World Mobile Congress this year is the latest to join the Samsung tablet portfolio in India and the most affordable too from their lot.

Before we go deep into the device, here is a video to enjoy as well as understand the tab 2 7.0

Available in pure white and titanium silver colors,  this 7″ tablet that comes with both Wi-Fi and 3G and 16 GB internal memory with an expandable memory upto 32 GB and a video calling feature makes it a very good bet amongst the tablets available currently in India. So essentially we have here a compact tablet that can also double as a GSM voice and video communication device that handles  SMS, and MMS as well.

Wrapped in a plastic glossy shell like most of the Samsung ‘Galaxy’ family, Tab 2 looks good if not attractive. Slim? Yes. Light weight? Yes. Weighing 345 grams and measuring 193.7×122.4×10.5mm its pretty nice to hold and read. On the face of it is a 7″  LCD capacitive touchscreen.

Note the Samsung logo on the bottom? Well, it also means that the guys at Samsung assumes people would love to use it in portrait orientation. It does makes it good reading slate for e-books  in this mode (but then no one stops you from using it in landscape orientation either)

The back gleams in what going by Samsung’s words is titanium silver color! Edges smoothly curved inside the back looks neat.

On the top is positioned  a 3.5mm headphone jack…

On the right hand side and to its top sits the stand by button and the volume rocker.

On the bottom you get the connector port for charging (as well as syncing with your comp) flanked by two speakers.

Galaxy Tab 2 P3100 sports a front and rear camera. A VGA camera in the front that sets you up for video chatting and a 3 MP rear camera for err photography, i assume. Though I still find photography with tablet an amusing thing. Hey, most of our smartphones can do a pretty decent and easy job at it, don’t you think? In any case if you are still adamant in shooting with P3100, 3 MP is not a very exciting spec but still you can manage with.  Coming to video, Tab 2 7.0 can shoot 720p video at 30 fps. So go about happily on a shooting spree and edit it with the video editor app that comes along.

So you saw the  bold  markings saying the obvious SIM and microSD? Well its where you fit into the cards. The next two images are  self-explanatory.

A flimsy latch secures both the slots. Its easy to open and shut and judging by my experience handling various such flimsy slots, it should hold on well too on normal usages.

Interface, Apps and  Widgets of Tab 2 7.0 P3100

Alright Tab 2 7.0 is Ice Cream Sandwich version of Android. But like all the Galaxy family it is overlaid with Samsung’s TouchWiz UI. Is it good or bad over here? Let’s dig into.

To begin with a dismal note, all those who fancied the face unlock feature that comes with ICS, sorry folks Tab 2 7.0 P3100 does not bundle that magic. Nor does it support the ICS easiness of snapping a feature / app to the lock button to reach the most used app faster. Dismissing all this sore notes, otherwise TouchWiz UI is as usual intuitive and neat.

On the bottom along with the usual listing of back, home and recent apps, there is the Samsung Galaxy tablet’s familiar soft key which is a  shortcut for screenshots. Did you see that small arrow mark? It is a customisable dock for frequently used apps. A very good value addition that comes very handy.

There are 5 homescreens that can be accessed by swiping left and right.

There two more additons to the device options – Data network mode and a restart option…

Tab 2 7.0 (p3100) comes loaded with apps. Along with the good number of google apps, samsung also has dished out its own apps like S memo, Chat On, All share, Readers hub, Samsung apps, Video editor, Game hub etc…

and good number of widgets to play with…

Readers hub and Games hub gives you access to choicest of premium reading and gaming…

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Then there is Google Play store for all the free and paid games across various categories of your choice. Though the selections for tablets pale in comparison to the arsenal of iPad, still there is plenty to keep you engaged.

7″ tablet is quiet a good form factor for playing games since it snugs into your hands very comfortably and Tab 2 with its spec is a fantastic buy to enjoy gaming as well as for reading e-books. Reading books as we mentioned in the video is a pleasure  for bed time reading as well as on-move.

Calling and messaging features in Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 P3100

Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 P3100  also handles the voice and video calling.  Personally, I feel video calling is an attractive and an effective feature in this 7″ tab. It is pretty nice to handle the table in hand as well as the screen is wide enough to enjoy a good video call. It comes with all the usual phone feature you would expect to have.

Messaging is quiet easy too thanks to the well laid out touch keypad.

Especially for elders, I feel the screen and the numerical soft buttons on top of the QWERTY touchpad are very good for dialling and to enjoy video calls. On a dismal note, the audio is quiet feeble and you might need to plugin the earphone to receive calls, when it is quiet audible.

I liked it especially in the portrait mode. Also the well laid out numbers are a welcome addition. Overall, messaging and calling features are neatly done.

You also get various call settings to dabble with call waiting, speed dial setting etc. Also you can view logs and sort it based on various parameters like all calls, all dialed calls, all missed calls, all received calls, all rejected calls, all messages, all received messages, all send messages etc.

Browsing in Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 (P3100)

Not surprisingly, Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 comes with Android 4.0 default browser. The preferred orientation for browsing is without any guess, landscape mode which gives a better browsing experience without having to pinch and zoom.

Though by default the site opens on mobile versions whenever the option exists, there is also a ‘request a desktop site’ option for individual sites which I find a very handy addition. Then as expectedly, it supports multiple tabs, bookmarks, and there is also save for offline reading option.

The QWERTY keypad is well spaced out and with the 0-9 on to top makes it easy to type. Overall the keypad neatly done and effective.

Overall browsing is a decent affair even if it is not very enjoyable like in the larger screen of 10″. To give due credit for 7″ size, it is easy on palms while idle browsing.

 Tech Specification of Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 (P3100)

• 7″ display
• Resolution : 1,024 x 600
• 1 GHz processor
• Dimension: 193.7 x 122.4 x 10.5mm
• Weight: 345 grams
• Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
• 16 GB in-built memory
• Expandable memory upto 32 GB
• 3 MP rear camera and a VGA front camera
• 4,000mAh battery
• Wi-Fi, 2G, 3G (HSPA+ 21Mbps/HSUPA 5.76Mbps ), AGPS connectivity
• Bluetooth 3.0
• USB 2.0

On a final note, Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 P3100 is a good buy and a value for money, a compact and well packaged tablet that satisfies your entertainment needs as well as combines as a phone tablet when needed.