Makers of 7” tablets have a reason to worry about. With the introduction of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7, we thought that there won't be a new 7” model, but we were wrong. The pioneer in the world of 7” Android tablets is back, with a completely redesigned body and a brand new OS in tow! However, it won't be an easy ride for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus, as this time around, it will have to face some tough competition from devices such as the RIM BlackBerry PlayBook, HTC Flyer and the upcoming Amazon Kindle Fire.
Overcoming such capable devices, especially the extremely well-priced Kindle Fire, sure won't be an easy task, but the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus does seem to be hiding a few tricks up its sleeve. Let's take an early look at the new Tab 7.0 Plus and try to judge whether or not it has a chance to succeed in this increasingly competitive landscape.
Design:
As you can imagine, the new device is now much slimmer than its direct predecessor, being just 9.9mm. However, even that is noticeably thicker than the 8.6mm profiles of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and 8.9. Even with that, the Tab 7.0 Plus is as easy to hold and carry around as only a 7” tablet can be, which is to say much easier, compared to 10” offerings, for example. The weight has also been lightened a bit, down from 13.40 oz (380 g) to 12.17 oz (345 g), which is always a good thing.
Although Samsung managed to equip the Tab 7.7 with an AMOLED screen, the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus will have to do with a good-old LCD, be it of the new PLS type. But this isn't really that bad, since the display is very bright, has natural colors, and still manages to present us with some pretty decent viewing angles. The resolution has been kept the same as in the OG Galaxy Tab – 600x1024. For the most part, there's enough pixel density to allow for some smooth images throughout the interface, though we admit that we could use a bit more res in the browser, where some pieces of text might get too small to be comfortably read from a zoomed-out view.
Along the left side of the device there are a microSD and a SIM card slot. Interestingly, with the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus, you can use the SIM card not only for data connection, but for voice calls as well.
Another peculiarity is found on the right side, where we have an infrared port. Finally, Samsung continues to utilize a proprietary charging port for its tablets, which is very similar to that 30-pin connector found with all iOS devices. So, don't think you'll get away with your trusty microUSB cable.
All in all, we like the look and feel of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus, though it is nothing out of the ordinary. The device is all-plastic, but thankfully, feels solidly built.
Interface and Functionality:
If anyone thinks that the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus's redesigned body is where most of the improvement is seen, compared to the original Galaxy Tab, just think again! What really shows the progress that has been made with regards to user experience is in the software department, as the device is now running Google's tablet-optimized OS – Android Honeycomb.
On top of Google's futuristic Honeycomb, however, Samsung has naturally layered its custom TouchWiz UX user interface. Thinking about it, it actually makes much sense for the company to do so. After all, who would you like your product to appeal to – a relatively small group of geeks, or the much broader mass audience, which doesn't care about robots and stuff, but just wants a quality product to cater to its daily internet communication and multimedia needs. TouchWiz does just that – it makes the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus look like a friendlier tablet, which is here to help, rather than wow.
TouchWiz UX brings some new widgets for you homescreens, but probably one of the most useful functions it adds for your desktop is the ability to resize widgets. It also includes a “Mini Apps” tray for commonly used features such as task manager, calendar and music player. Not too 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. Of course, Samsung's Social Hub, as well as the Samsung Apps store are also here.
Core apps like Contacts, Calendar and Music Player have also been customized in order to have a more from-this-world appearance and feel. Unfortunately, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus isn't a tablet that's easy to type text on. The weight doesn't seem to be balanced too well, and as a result, typing on the portrait keyboard isn't a comfortable experience, as the upper part weighs a bit more than it should. Plus, they keys are a bit too small. Using the landscape option won't lead to much better results either, as the device is too wide, making the letters in the center hard to reach. On the other hand, the keys are quite small, so even if you rest the device on a table, you won't feel very confident while inputting text wit this on-screen keyboard.
Thankfully, the web browsing experience promises to be pretty decent with the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus. Due to the fast dual-core processor of 1.2GHz and the way Honeycomb is written, basic navigation is comfortable, with smooth scrolling and flawless Flash Player performance.
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The Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus has a relatively straightforward camera interface, with minimalistic fonts and plenty of options to play around for the 3MP camera on the back, and the front-facing one for video chat. We took a few shots for you to check out, but would not comment on their quality, as this isn't a final unit.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus Sample Video:
Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus Indoor Sample Video:
If you plan on watching a lot of videos on your tablet, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus might not be the best option around, due to its relatively smaller screen. If the real estate is enough for you though, we believe Samsung's PLS-LCD screen will do well in delivering some eye-pleasing visuals.
Expectations:
Overall, we can't say that we're blown away by what we saw in the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus. It is obvious that the manufacturer hasn't put too much into it. From design standpoint, the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus is nothing impressive – it neither has an attractive appearance, nor does it feature some premium materials to make users lust after it. Of course, that doesn't mean it's bad – it's just nothing that we haven't already seen.
When it comes to the software that's pre-loaded, we really can't complain. Honeycomb is a pretty strong tablet OS, while Samsung's TouchWiz UX interface is taking the important step of making it look more open to the masses. Neither is perfect yet, though – Honeycomb needs more tablet-optimized apps, while TouchWiz has some redundant “features”, which only make the user experience more complex than it should be.
We guess the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus will manage to overshadow some of its competitors, but it will surely face a tough opponent in the form of the Amazon Kindle Fire, which already has a bigger doze of personality, written on its face.
Rad Slavov is the Editor-in-Chief at PhoneArena. He joined the media in 2008, right on the cusp of the modern smartphone revolution. Through time and perseverance, he amassed a great deal of knowledge and industry know-how, allowing him to guide and organize the company's growing line-up of talented content creators and ever-expanding content portfolio.
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