Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 (Dual-core Processor 1GHz; 10.1-inch display)
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 was one of the premier Android tablets when it launched in 2011, with specs that, at the very least, matched top tier Android tablets at the time.
Unfortunately, the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 feels almost like a disappointing prequel, rather than a full-fledged "we've improved everything" sequel.
Editor's Note
This review is based on tests done by our sister site
CNET.com. As such, please note that there may be slight differences in
the testing procedure and ratings system. For more information on the
actual tests conducted on the product, please inquire directly at the
site where the article was originally published.
References made to some of the other products in this review may not be
available or applicable in Asia. Updated 15 May: Samsung has informed us that the Tab 2
10.1 is available now in Indonesia. It will launch in the rest of Asia in June, but prices will vary depending on the country.
Design
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 is both slightly heavier and a bit less svelte than its predecessor, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. It still sports the same plastic backside, but now comes in titanium silver as opposed to white.The tablet feels comfortable in our hands, but it's a bit wide and feels awkward when trying to type and hold at the same time, even if you sport alienlike Arsenio Hall-long fingers, like us. Also, the bezel isn't completely flush with the outer casing of the tablet, creating a slightly annoying edge.
| Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 | Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 | Acer Iconia Tab A510 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weight in kg | 0.583 | 0.562 | 0.671 |
| Width in mm | 256.7 | 256.5 | 261 |
| Height in mm | 175.3 | 175.3 | 175 |
| Depth in mm | 9.7 | 8.6 | 11.7 |
(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)
(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)
Features
The Tab 2 10.1 is the second Samsung tablet, after the Tab 2 7.0, to ship with Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0.3 to be precise) installed.Samsung's TouchWiz UX skin is of course included and comes with custom Samsung apps like Music Hub, Media Hub, and Game Hub, a built-in screenshot app, and the Mini Apps tray located on the bottom of the screen. Tapping it brings up a tray of apps consisting of a calculator, notes, calendar, music player, and clock. However, the most useful of these is still the task manager, which allows you to quickly kill any app running in the background; this comes in handy when apps become otherwise unresponsive.
The basic look and design of ICS are retained, just with a TouchWiz skin and a few extra shortcuts for quickly turning off Wi-Fi, GPS, screen rotation, and so on. As an added bonus, Samsung offers 50GB of free Dropbox storage for the first year.
The Tab 2 10.1 houses a 1GHz dual-core OMAP 4430 CPU, 1GB of RAM, and 16GB of storage. Tablet mainstays like 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi support, Bluetooth 3.0, and GPS are included as well as gyroscope, accelerometer, and digital compass support.
The larger speakers deliver louder sound, but unfortunately don't exceed the apparent quality limitations most tablets adhere to.
Performance and battery life
The Tab 2 10.1 uses the same PLS-based panel tech the Tab 10.1
does, running at a resolution of 1,280 x 800 pixels; typical for most
10-inch tablets. Its clarity is as high as the original Tab's, but
either there are different tiers of quality when it comes to PLS
panels, or Samsung really didn't devote much time or effort to
calibrating the Tab 2 10.1's color. Like the Tab 2 7.0, the Tab 2
10.1's screen looks noticeably greener and colors appear washed out
compared to the original 10.1's.When swiping through screens and navigating menus, the screen matches the sensitivity of some of the most responsive Android screens out there, like the Transformer Pad TF300. Also, apps launch without delay and settings menu options appear readily after tapping them.
Web and app download speeds matched most other Android tablets when within 1.5m of our test router and even when up to 6m away the connection retained much of its strength. While scrolling through Web sites was smooth, there was a noticeable degree of clipping as the processor attempted to keep up with its rendering duties. Scrolling through a page once or twice however, solved the clipping issue.
Thanks to its hardware scalability, we used Riptide GP as a games performance benchmark. Depending on the speed of the tablet's CPU, Riptide GP will deliver a noticeable increase or decrease in frame rate. The Tab 2 10.1's TI OMAP 4430 CPU delivers decent, playable frame rates but can't approach the nearly 60fps smoothness we see on Tegra 3-based tablets. It's not choppy and it's pretty consistent, but it's just not as buttery-smooth.
2D games like Angry Birds Space showed no signs of performance issues compared with Tegra 3 tablets.
As mentioned, the Tab 2 10.1 has a front-facing VGA camera and a 3-megapixel back camera. Compared with the Tab 10.1, the difference between images and video recorded on the front camera was quickly apparent. A picture of my face taken with the VGA camera, for example, lacked many embarrassing and detailed blemishes, while a similar pic from the Tab 10.1's 2-megapixel retained many of my facial "features" I'd rather people not see.
The 3-megapixel back camera fared better, capturing more details, but the Tab 2 10.1's pictures still looked washed out and lacked detail and contrast. While the Tab 10.1's camera took a longer time to focus, it resulted in higher-quality pictures.
720p video playback from outside sources was smooth and crisp. 1080p files that were only a couple hundred megabytes in size, played fine, but files that were larger, say 1GB or looked less like a moving picture and more like a slideshow of images. One of the ways that Tegra 3 clearly enhances the Android tablet experience.
Our Tab 2 10.1's battery drained fairly quickly with normal use over the course of several hours. Look for our official CNET Labs battery results soon.
Conclusion
Even if you're a huge fan of Samsung's Touchwiz interface and
you're champing at the bit to get yer hands on a 10-inch tablet, US$400
for the Tab 2 10.1 is still pushing it, given its
competition. This is still a dual-core US$400 tablet with 16GB of built-in storage. The quad-core Asus Transformer Pad TF300 is US$20 less for the same storage and US$400 gets you that tablet with 32GB of storage. The TF300 also includes Micro-HDMI and a higher-quality rear camera.
With that kind of competition, it's difficult to see the Tab 2 10.1 as anything other than an overpriced sequel that comes up short in performance and isn't exactly setting the world afire with unique features. We would rather have HDMI and quad-core power.
Love reading this blog you had. Very helpful as I go looking for more details on Samsung Galaxy Tab 2. Thanks!