Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 LTE Review

Spanning a wide array of established tablets that cover nearly every footprint size imaginable, Samsung is pushing forward yet again with the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 LTE. Naturally, if the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus is simply too diminutive for your taste, and the Galaxy Tab 8.9 being too wholesome, then the Galaxy Tab 7.7 LTE would undoubtedly be the snug fit. Although it bears many of the specs we’d expect out of a contemporary tablet, it’s able to distinguish itself from the rest of the pack thanks to the 7.7-inch Super AMOLED Plus display it’s flaunting – though, it’s going to need more than shiny luster to stand tall amongst the heavy hitters in the industry

The package contains:

Much like the prototype we’ve had some playing time with, this final retail unit is mightily impressive with its design primarily for the fact that Samsung ditches the all too predictable plastic bodies they’ve been employing, and instead, favoring a stylish metallic body to give it some sparkle. Indeed, it results in a more classy feel, but it doesn’t quite have the same level of tensile strength found with the metallic bodies of the iPad 2 or Asus Transformer Prime – thus, resulting in some hollowness. However, even more amazing is the fact that this 4G LTE enabled tablet is wickedly skinny (0.31” thick) with an overall size that doesn’t seem excessively larger than the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus, which is in part due to the 1/2-inch bezel surrounding its display.

Aside from the Samsung and Verizon logos taking space within the bezel around the display, we also final a 2-megapixel front-facing camera that’s ready to handle our video chatting needs. 

Looking around the sides of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 LTE, it’s littered with a trove of items that consist of its dedicated power button, volume control, dual-speakers, 30-pin proprietary dock port, IR blaster, microSD card slot, microSIM card slot, 3.5mm headset jack, and microphone.

Flipping it over to its back, a 3.2-megapixel camera with LED flash is positioned in the upper left corner of the tablet. Inside this beauty, it’s packing a 5,100 mAh battery that’s an incremental boost over other 7-inch tablets.

As we’ve blatantly pointed out already, the main star of the show with the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 LTE is the 7.7” WXGA (1280 x 800) Super AMOLED Plus panel it’s so generous to pack along for the show. Admittedly, it’s the first time we’re seeing this type of display on any tablet, and similar to the reaction we’ve seen with smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy S II, it’s explosive with its saturated colors, wide-viewing angles, incredibly, deep contrasts, and spot-on bluish hue with the color white. Some will argue the legitimacy of Super AMOLED Plus displays over other panels, but as we’ve seen, it simply has the wow factor to capture attentive eyes.

In an era where Ice Cream Sandwich is becoming more prevalent amongst devices, Samsung’s beauty relies on the same typical experience found with other released tablets of yesterday. Fortunately, we’re forgiving in finding Samsung’s TouchWiz UX user interface layered on top of Android 3.2 Honeycomb – that’s because there isn’t a dramatic difference with the overall presentation of ICS for tablets. As we’ve come to expect, the so-called TouchWiz UX comes with a Live Panel menu for customizing the home screens on the Galaxy Tab 7.7 LTE with pictures, bookmarks, and social network feeds. It also includes a “Mini Apps” tray for commonly used features such as task manager, calendar and music player. Not much added value here with these mini-apps, but as long as their presence doesn't bog down the interface speed, we can live with them. 

Not as practical to type in landscape versus other larger sized tablets, we actually prefer typing in portrait mainly because of the appropriate width of the device, which enables for a comfortable experience. Initially, some practice is required in getting accustomed to its three options, which include the stock, Samsung, and Swype keyboards, but once mastered, we’re able to keep a moderate response.

Apps like Contacts, Calendar, and Email have also been customized in order to have a more from-this-world appearance and feel. And since it boasts the always wonderful Gmail experience, it proves in making us more productive due to its rich set of features and organizational layout. Setup, as usual, is a process as it requires only our email address and password.

Being a Verizon bound device, it’s stuffed to the roof with the usual carrier branded apps such as Backup Assistant, V CAST Apps, My Verizon Mobile, and VZ Navigator. Furthermore, bloatware is in full force with this one as it’s preloaded with AllShare, Blockbuster, Dead Space, Quickoffice, the Daily, UNO, VideoSurf, and Netflix. Remember that IR blaster? Well, it works in tandem with the Peel Smart Remote app that essentially turns the tablet to a universal remote. Yeah, it’s not something that takes precedence over other things, but nonetheless, it’s a nice addition to this media-centric tablet.

Running an ARM-based 1.4GHz dual-core processor coupled with 1GB of RAM, it pumps out some favorable results with various benchmark tests, but sadly, we’re sorely underwhelmed by its real-world performance. Certainly, it goes to show that benchmark tests can’t be trusted entirely. Even though it’s pretty responsive with most mundane tasks such as opening apps and pinch zooming in the gallery, it’s marred by a sluggish and choppy performance when it’s tested with graphically intensive live wallpapers. Honestly, it’s so bad that it causes some noticeable instances of pauses with certain operations – thus, softening its entire processing punch.

Advertised with 16GB of memory, it actually equates to 12.67GB of total free space out of the box. Thankfully, it’s ready to be supplemented thanks to its available microSD card slot.

Nowadays, 4G LTE is a common staple with most of the devices in Big Red’s stable – and that’s what we find on the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 as well. Frankly, we can’t stop falling in love with the blazing speeds we’re able to obtain with the tablet, but at the same time, the entire web browsing experience is remarkably lovable thanks to its flawless execution. Specifically, not only does it handle pinch gestures and kinetic scrolling with no fluff, but its performance doesn’t strain with heavy Flash content. In fact, it maintains its buttery smooth response at all times!

In the event that 4G LTE connectivity is lacking, it will resort to EV-DO Rev. A speeds instead. Along for the ride as well, the Galaxy Tab 7.7 LTE also features aGPS, Bluetooth 3.0, 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, and mobile hotspot functionality.

Naturally, taking photos with a tablet would probably be one of the unlikely things you’d spot people doing often, but lucky for this, we’re accepting of the results produced by its 3.2-megapixel camera – even though they’re not spectacular. Struggling in properly handling dynamic rang, coupled with its soft toned details, it might not allude to acceptable shots, but it’s nevertheless sufficient enough for a 4” x 6” printout. However, you can pretty much kiss it goodbye with shots taken in low lighting, as pervasive instances of digital noise tarnishes its appearance – though, its LED flash is powerful enough to counteract some of the blemishes.

Ouch! You can forget attempting to record 720p videos with this one, well, that’s because it’s so darn ugly looking. Actually, it’s flawed tremendously by its poor details, heavy artifacting, and over-exposed appearance. On the other hand, we do like its quick 29 frames per second capture rate and clear audio recording, but it’s not enough to distract our eyes from the horrendous visuals.

Taking a look around the TouchWiz UX music player, it’s undeniably functional at its core, but it’s barely pushing the envelope with its conventional interface. Donning dual-speakers, the tablet is able maintain neutral tones that don’t strain at the loudest volume – while still being delightful to the ear. Furthering the audio experience, various equalizer settings and 5.1 channel surround sound are available to fine-tune its output.

No doubt that tablets are perfect for watching high definition videos thanks to their sizable displays, but it’s even made better to watch on the Super AMOLED Plus display of the Galaxy Tab 7.7 LTE. With our test video encoded in DivX 1920 x 1080 resolution, its playback is nearly flawless in all aspects, but it’s the punchy colors that our eyes feast on that make it such a memorable and tantalizing experience.

For a tablet with a 7.7-inch display, its accompanying 5,100 mAh battery sounds like the perfect capacity, and rightfully so, we’re content for the most part with its battery life – especially when it’s constantly connected via LTE. Fully charged, we find the tablet at the 25% mark by the end of our first day of normal usage, which is more than what we can ask for considering the constant transfer of data over LTE.

Seriously, Samsung has every consumer covered now that the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 LTE is finally on the scene – and it’s pretty amazing considering the feverish rate they pump out new models. Ready to tackle the tablet landscape by surprise with its gleaming Super AMOLED Plus display, which is still a rarity amongst tablets in general, this small bundle of joy surely packs a punch with its set of arsenal to make it a valiant offering. However, some people might be scared away by the $499.99 on-contract or $699.99 outright cost that Verizon is asking for the tablet. Perhaps, if it were lower, or simply made available as a Wi-Fi only model, it would indeed fetch more prying eyes, but in the meantime, its price will surely keep some people at bay from rushing at the opportunity of picking it up. Looking ahead to the future, the new iPad is set to debut very shortly with its own dreamy hardware – thus, the pricing of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 LTE will indeed come into play more than ever at that point.