Customer Reviews

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7inch Tablet - White (8GB, WiFi, Android 4.0)

A little history:
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This is my first Android Tablet, but it isn't the first time I've used an Android Tablet. I've been used to iOS devices these past 5 years or so, from iPhone to iPads, but I've also owned an Xperia Play, had some time with a Galaxy SII and a play with a Nexus 7.

But now, for my first proper Android Tablet, I've settled on a Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 because it was the tablet I feel most comfortable with.

The device is one of the new bunch of 7" tablets at the sub �200 mark, including the Kindle Fire and Nexus 7. I admit to being sceptical about smaller tablets, already owning an iPad, but needed an Android device for testing software and it seems like a much easier size to carry around.

The Hardware
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The Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 currently runs Ice Cream Sandwich, which isn't the latest OS (which is Jellybean) but the previous one. It should, after Samsung tinkers around a little, run Jelly Bean, hopefully in the next few months, but until then this is one area where the Nexus has the edge.

Edit Jan 2013: as of last month, Samsung have updated the software and now it runs Jelly Bean. It's not a huge change, but does mean that it now has the latest OS.

Out of the box, the device has:
A USB lead with a proprietary connector very similar to the old iOS connector, but not quite the same. (my recommendation would be to get a spare on Amazon for a couple of quid).
A power adaptor with a US and UK connector in 2 parts. Annoyingly big and bulky, but it can be charged via USB or one of those little USB chargers.
A voucher for cashback and an 8GB card from Samsung (for a limited time).

The device has a connector on the bottom under the Samsung logo and is designed to be held in portrait, but automatically rotates the screen if you hold it in landscape. It has an SD Card slot on the side which can take cards up to 32GB 9or 64GB if formatted a certain way), and a power and volume buttons on the opposite side and a standard headphone jack at the top.

The screen isn't as high a resolution as some other tablets (1280 x 800), but makes up for it by producing bright and vibrant colours that are perfect for media. With the SD card and decent screen, this makes for a great multimedia device and is just the right size for movies on the go. It also has the ability to auto-dim in brighter light and lighten in dark surroundings.

The 1GHZ Dual Core processor isn't as fast as the Nexus either, but the powerful GPU does help out here.

There is a 3MP camera on the front and a VGA camera for voice calling.

Software-wise, the OS is overlaid with Samsung's own front end which makes widgets easy to move around and place on the screen, plus a bunch of stores unique to Samsung devices and some nifty media players which do a good job of playing movies, music and showing off pictures. It has Chrome browser built in as well.

One annoying feature with Samsung devices seems to be their reluctance to run apps off the SD card. If you're in to some of the larger games. It might be something to think about. There are ways around it, but not for the layman.

Battery life isn't fantastic, but should last a day or two with average use (movies, email, music and internet) on a full charge.

Opinion
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The Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 has some nifty features which made me pick it over other devices. The screen quality is one of these features, it's beautiful to look at. It also manages to play all the current crop of Android games available from the Google Play store, including titles like GTA3 and Dead Trigger, thanks to the powerful GPU.

Storage is another feature I like, as being able to use SD cards means I can swap out cards should I need to and share media.

The weight of the device is pretty light, too, but the plastic back doesn't seem all that strong. I do like the surround for the screen with the white and silver contrasting nicely with the black screen.

I would recommend a case and protective cover for the device to prevent scratches and knocks.

Overall, the Tab 2 is a great tablet that I'd recommend to anyone with a lower budget after a small device. It isn't the most powerful or best spec device, but it does a good job of keeping up when you add everything together and the screen and storage options vastly improve it.

Have just bought one of these tablets and I am very impressed.

I started off with a Tabtronics 7 inch tablet, bought from Amazon that I hasten to add was good value at the time and has served me well. However I found Web Browsing was virtually impossible on the single core processor, even with out apps running it was painful. In effect I had a 32 gb media centre and e book reader.

So then I was back on the Market for another tablet. I did plenty of research prior to making this second purchase.

My criteria were simple really. I wanted an open source Tablet that had to have the capability to have the storage on board enlarged by Micro SD Card. It also had to have the capability to play most popular AVI Files. I was not particularly bothered about camera quality having an HTC One X, I also had to be able to browse the Internet and tether to my HTC One X for WIFI.

I know manufacturers read reviews, so here are my reasons for dismissing out of hand some quality tablets on the Market.(And apologies for going on a bit)

I Pad /I Pad Mini. Dismissed out off hand, yes the tablet is nice and has the best retina display on the market, but it is closed source, meaning it will be virtually impossible to transfer your private collection of media to this device with out purchasing additional software. In fact pretty much everything you ever do with this device after buying will be through Apple, no thanks.

Kindle Fire HD. I like this device, but again you buy it and it is subsidised and the sole intention is to make money back from their products, there is also no S/D card slot. However they do sell a 32 gb model for storing those movies that you buy from Amazon. That will suite some people. No Access to Google Play either (Android Market), although if you are a bit Techy I believe it can be done.

Nexus 7 I like this device too, but unbelievably no Micro SD slot, although it does have USB connectivity. But Who wants to be faffing about with USB sticks though in this day and age?.Big error on the part off Google/Asus in my opinion. Quality tablets like this that i dismissed out of hand because off the lack of an SD port.

Nook HD Just a nice looking eBook reader doesn't have access to Google Play, pretty restrictive for an Android device.

Blackberry Playbook, Ironically these are quality made. And for Web Browsing alone they are excellent, fast and responsive. Bad points, no Google Play access, and pretty much everything you do like transferring files can be a real nightmare. There are plenty off AVI files that it won't play unless they are converted before hand. AC3 audio wont play at all.

I settled for the Samsung Tab 2 7 inch because i felt it met my requirements.I went for The 7 inch version because it seems more practical for its requirements as my personal travelling companion, 10 inch then I might as well just travel with a laptop.Obviously the SD port was also a very big reason i opted for this tablet

What can i say ? well I absolutely love it, I really do

Very easy to set up straight out off the box ( idiot proof)Took my 32 gig SD Card out of my old Tablet and popped it in. Recognised it straight away,i was not excpecting and all my video and audio files too play flawlessly. The screen is beautifully clear as Crystal,and the colour vibrant. It is very responsive to the slightest off touches. The dual core processor ensures a good web browsing experience with the Jelly Bean Operating System; the two go hand in hand. I know some preferred the ICS Operating System, but if like me you have the One X you will know how to really enjoy using this tablet with Jelly Bean it utilises the device perfectly you can skip between windows flawlessly and multi task with ease. And I must say the device handles it all very well. I also connected my Denon Headphones and was very impressed with the quality off the Audio. My biggest plus I will say once again though is the speed of web browsing I personally think the speed is pretty phenomenal, for a small 7 inch tablet it packs a punch, pages load with out error and Flash content appears to be bug free these days. It also has full access to Google Play (Android Market).Another surprise I had was downloading Sky Go and watching Sky Television.

I can also use this Tablet with My One X as a wifi Hotspot.

I paid �145.00 for this tablet, and it was worth every penny. I realise now there is no substitute for quality and Samsung are one off the Market Leaders for a reason.

I have also just purchased a 64 gig Class 10 Micro SD Card here on Amazon for just �15.00 that the Tab 2 will play once the said card has been formatted to FAT32 on Windows,and also a nice case/stand for under �12.00 here on Amazon.That is me sorted for my Holidays a quality 64 gig Tablet.!!!

I bought this for my husband as a cheaper alternative to the ipad 2 and the ipad mini
I have the Ipad 2.
I bought it for him from amazon france as this is where we live. It was cheaper in France than in the UK.
My husband is not really into the internet etc, or so I thought until we bought the samsung galaxy tab 2 7.
I bought him this so he could use it as a reader with the added bonus of the internet.

Here is what we think.
First of all it was supposed to be a christmas present, it has never seen the wrapping paper.
It is permanently glued to his hand, when he is not working.
Secondly he is using it to surf the net, send emails and down loads apps. He loves it.
It looks great.
Its Very light
Just the right size for him.

I bought him a case and stylus as he does not have the smallest of fingers and the stylus is a great addition.
So my husband review, is this,
He says why on earth did he not get one before. He is a man of very few words.
So when he speaks they mean a lot.
Hopefully he will come back to me one day. Only joking.

Ps my 11 year old son has now requested one for Christmas instead of games for his xbox.

Now my review
Which is based on my opinion of the samsung Galaxy tab 2 versus my Ipad 2.

To say the least I was seriously sceptical.
I love my Ipad 2.
I use it for work and for personal use.

When the Samsung Galaxy arrived, I was certain, it would not by any stretch of imagination stand up to the IPad 2.

How wrong was I. VERY WRONG

This seriously pains me to admit this, but as I believe honesty is always the best policy.

I have to admit.
This tablet has left me feeling that I have been robbed by Apple.
What a great table it is.
It can do everything my Ipad can do and more.

It is so easy to use and so much more user friendly than my Ipad.
I think I have to admit I have fell in love with this little gem.

I cannot find anything negative to say about it.

The only thing I would say and it is only personal preference.
When and it is a when not if, I buy one for myself I will get a 10inch model.
As i am used to a 10 inch with my Ipad.

My ipad will be winging its way to my eldest son. Who I am sure will appreciate it.

So overall I am shocked to be saying this, but Apple you need to take a good look at your Ipad and the competition.

I am converted to the samsung galaxy tab.

Here I come.

This tablet was purchased at Tesco as a replacement for my partner's Amazon Kindle Fire HD, bought through Amazon. The Kindle HD was ok but had very restrictive software inextricably tied to Amazon-only content. So we passed it on as a gift for someone who did not mind this restriction and looked for an Android based tablet that was not restricted in any way.

The Galaxy Tab 2 7 inch was purchased for �158 but assuming Samsung honours its cash back offer, the final price including a free 8 gig SD card totals �128, an absolute bargain considering the very reasonable specs of this tablet. I also have the Samsung Galaxy note 10.1, and the Tab 7 inch, though having a slower processor than the Note, is nevertheless perfectly sound for web browing, emails, document writing, reading books and other tablet functions. If you remove the over-sized widgets which are not really necessary, any hint of sluggishness disappears and the tab is smooth and responsive. Some user reviews observe a slight hesitance in finger swiping but I did not see this problem.

Like the Samsung Galaxy Note, the Tab 2 has been subject to many luke warm website reviews together with low scores, and part of the reason for these might be based on the original price. But at the current price, this tablet represents stunningly good value and knocks the Kindle Fire HD for six. It also competes well with the Nexus 7 which is currently sold at prices far in excess of the Tab. Many reviews also refer to the Tab as having "flimsy" construction, but this is simply not true. The white version looks very smart, is light and a pleasure to hold, being a lot lighter than the Kindle HD and with a pleasing shape. The stereo speakers are good, and while not extremely loud, are a lot clearer and louder than many website reviews lead you to believe.

Despite reviews stating the contrary, the Tab can run flash and there is a large choice of alternative browsers, email clients and you have the whole of google's app store to browse, unlike the Kindle Fire which bars access to google, even if you sideload apps, unless you root (jailbreak) the Amazon device.

Readers might assume from this that I am some kind of Samsung "fan". I am no fan of any single manufacturer or operating system and my sole objective was to purchase a tablet for my partner which functions well and is good value. In all respects the Galaxy Tab meets that need and at the extraordinary price of �128 (with cashback offer) makes this 7 inch tablet easily the best in its class. While not as slick or fast as the Nexus 7 I think it is more attractive, more pleasant to hold, has expandable memory and is solidly built.

Here is a summary of the best features:

* Excellent screen which though not class leading is bright and clear
* Good stereo sound
* Has front and rear cameras of reasonable quality for a tablet
* O/s is smooth enough and the custom skins are attractive and functional
* Comes with a good quality power charger lacking in the Amazon Kindle Fire
* The price
* Total freedom to use content from Google, Amazon and other content providers
* You can tether your phone to the Tab, via wireless or bluetooth

One bad point:

* No USB or HDMI out, so you need an adapter for some functions

In conclusion, as with the Galaxy Note there is a complete disconnection between the ipad-centric website reviews and the reviews of actual users of these Samsung products. I can only guess that product snobbery is at the heart of the web reviews which concentrate in the main on superficial features. Considering the TAB 2 is, at the price I paid, a hundred pounds cheaper than the mini ipad, and cheaper than any comparable device, yet delivering a very good user experience in essence as good as the mini ipad, this little Tablet has a lot going for it. The mini ipad does have one advantage for web-browsing with its better aspect ratio in portrait mode. But the Tab is better than the Nexus in portrait mode, having a 16:10 ratio rather than the video-oriented 16:9 of the latter, and that also tips my preference in favour of the Tab. Highly recommended.

An excellent tablet in every respect but one - the battery. If you are intending to use this as a replacement for a kindle, then be aware that reading a book will give you a couple of hours use. Watching a video - about the same. Even setting the screen to the dimmest possible level does not significantly improve things.
So if (like me) you were hoping to use it throughout a long-haul flight (as I do my kindle) you can forget it.
What a pity that while technology leaps ahead, batteries lag so very far behind.

I spent a lot of time researching which tablet to buy and it came down to this or the Kindle Fire HD.(I didn't want to pay for the iPad mini) I'm very glad I went with this...

What do I like the most? I have a Samsung smart phone and it synced upon startup which was great, so it automatically installed all the same apps that I have installed onto my phone with one click. It has an external memory card slot (i've just added 32gb of storage for �15 - Micro SDHC). The screen size is perfect for sitting on the sofa or up in bed to mooch online, check emails etc. I've comfortably sat and watched a bit of iplayer and the screen was a nice size to watch.

Why this over the Kindle? I am an android phone user so i am already comfortable with the android operating system. The kindle fire HD runs on the amazon app store which does not have as many apps and ones that are free on the android store aren't on the amazon store - that may not bother you but I do not pay for applications. The SD card slot gives me a lot of extra storage. It has a camera, 3mp, it's not going to replace my actual camera or phone camera but it's nice to have and I have used it. Lots of customisation options - you have several front screen pages that you can add widgets to, like a weather forecast, or a mini email preview, or a clock and then your main apps page - your main menu. You can add folders, organise things, customise in many ways. The Kindle has a thumbnail menu approach giving you the logo of each app in the centre of the screen then you scroll one way or another - I've heard (but may be wrong) that you can't add folders to group apps together, and within 7 days of owning the Samsung tab 2 7.0 i've installed upwards of 40 apps, i don't fancy scrolling through those everytime i quickly want to open something. The battery is lasting well (i've charged it twice in 12 days with quite heavy use), and i love the pull down quick preview screen to adjust brightness, turn the sound off, rotate the screen as well as view notifications - saves a lot of time.
Overall, I am over the moon with this and am very glad I went with it over the Kindle. Granted it doesn't have the HD resolution that the Kindle offers - but on a 7inch screen it really doesn't make that much difference. In my opinion all the advantages of the Samsung outweigh the one advantage of the Kindle. Enjoy!

Only just got this tablet and overall it is a rather good one. I really do not want to spend a lot of money on brands alone and as the cheaper scale tablet I initially ordered on amazon came to me with screen broken, I decided I will not bother ordering from amazon again and go to the shop instead. Friends and colleagues had advised me it would be better to get this one rather than a cheaper �100 tablet, as these are known to break down or develop problems after a while. I got the 8 Gb version at �199 plus a 16Gb micro sd card, thinking I would have nothing to worry about transferring apps to micro sd. WRONG! For whatever the reason this must be one of the few tablets that does not let you transfer apps to the external card. What the *+#'? The moment you load the tablet all the pre installed stuff take 3Gb so you are left with 5Gb really to play with. Needless to say apps will take most of memory. It is insane not to be allowed to transfer to card and even though I am really liking this tab I am now pondering whether to return it.
On the other hand however, I downloaded all the apps I needed and there is still 4.something Gb leftover, so thank goodness I am not a heavy duty apps user. But I might be, so hope Samsung sort it out and quick before the google nexus comes out!
Using the tablet however is a dream and after playing around with it for a couple of hours (especially if you are an android virgin like me) you get the hang of it ok. You can access kindle, youtube, emails and of course angry birds! It's the simple things that work for me, so rather pleased about this. Overall, it is a good purchase but such a shame about the inability to transfer apps to card as this may be the deal breaker for this otherwise cool tab.

I made the mistake of buying a cheap non descript tablet recently, thinking it would be fine. Mistake. It was total rubbish, YouTube wouldn't work, email would not connect, and the download speed was slower than a slow thing...on a slow day! I was not happy!
So, as my mum used to tell me, buy cheap..buy twice. So true. So I thought I would do it properly this time, and buy a decent tablet. I took my time, read hours of reviews & watched YouTube videos. It came down to either the Nexus 7 or this, the Samsung Galaxy 2 7.0. It wasn't a difficult choice in the end, the Samsung just stood out as the obvious & perfect choice. To me, Samsung represent quality & as the Galaxy 2 came with 2 inbuilt cameras & external micro SD slot... it was a no brainer!
I ordered it through Amazon, & it arrived 3 days later. Most of the reviews seemed to be the black/silver colour combination, but I ordered the white one. In my opinion it looks best in white..lovely.
So...do I recommend the Samsung Galaxy 2 7.0? Definitely. It's smooth to operate, has stacks of functionality, & it had the ability to increase it's memory. Job done. Now I cannot put it down.
Oh yes...I was a little concerned that the 7" screen would be to small, on the contrary, I think it's just about the perfect comprise. Big enough to watch movies, play games etc.. but small enough that handling it is easy. Who says size is important!

I love it :) the only down side was when it came it needed to be reset to factory settings as there was not much Internal memory left so after doing this it was fine. Its so much easier than having to use my laptop all the time. The camera and music player are great and good quality. Very glad i bought it...

I purchased this tablet new from a local supermarket at a price which undercut even the refurb price currently quoted.
I wanted another tablet (have an ipad) with a greater range of apps, of a fairly high quality but at a competitive price, so far this Samsung fits all of these criteria.
It will never compete with an ipad, love them or hate them, Apple really know how to make an excellent machine but they charge for the privilage and unless you 'jailbrake' it, you are forever tied to itunes. This little tablet allows me to sample the rest of the non itunes world at way less than half price, is expandable with the inclusion of a micro sd card slot and with a dual core processor and 1gb ram runs most programs with no problem. In respect of the sd card, the operating system does not allow you to save apps to it, so you will need to keep in mind good housekeeping practices, but you can use this external memory to store all your music, photos etc.
The case construction, although all plastic, is solid and the screen is fairly nicely touch sensative (but not adjustable). I have installed it in a case and used a screen protector to ensure it stays in good cosmetic condition.
In use the Tab is relatively quick, especially if you turn off any programs that are being unused. I did download a free anti virus app as none comes pre installed so this does fractionally slow it down, but better safe than sorry! As you become more use to the Tab, you may choose to replace some of the pre installed software in favour of commercially available apps from Google Playstore or Samsungs own site.
To save battery life make sure that bluetooth is turned off if not being used, and you can manually adjust screen brightness.
If the lack of 3g is an issue, I believe you can now buy a portable device to carry in your pocket which the Tab would connect to, so that can be covered if you so wish.
Connecting to wifi was very simple, covered when you first turn on the machine, you simply need your router code. The only problem I personally had was opening a Google account, but that is more down to me being use to Apples way of working than anything else.
The cameras are a bit naff, but at least there are two, front and rear facing, and,you can download a free app to enhance both your photos and video to a degree. When the SD card is installed, the camera will ask you if you wish to store any photos you take to the external SD card if fitted.
Music playback is very good, and you can use headphones, a wired connection to a dock or bluetooth to a wireless speaker to hear your favourite sounds. I downloaded Samsungs version of Itunes, called Kies, to transfer my music to the Tab and by using this via a PC you can back up the Tab at the same time. It is with this programme that you have the option to store your music on the external SD card.
All in all, a nice bit of kit and one that I can easily recommend.