Last November, Samsung brought the original 7inch Galaxy Tab here in the US as one of the first respectable Android tablets and a would-be iPad competitor. Between then-and-now, it seemed like every manufacturer has presented the world with an Android tablet, whether we wanted it or not. Samsung decided to give the original a refresh to match today’s standard of Samsung Android tablets. Joining the likes of the Galaxy Tab 8.9 and 10.1, the 7.0 Plus hopes attract consumers with the more portable screen size along with updated specs & thinner build. We have been using the 7.0 Plus for some time now as we see if this refresh has what it takes.
Long gone are the original design and materials used for the original 7inch Tab. The 7.0 Plus is thinner and lighter to match the more recent lineup. Though not as thin as the Tab 8.9 or the 10.1, the 7 Plus measures in at 9.9mm thick while its brethren both measure up to 8.6mm thick. Not a huge difference but noteworthy nonetheless. In regards to the weight on the 7 Plus, not as light as the others but not the heaviest tablet on the market. The heft feels good in hands as the newer 7inch Tab can still comfortably fit in your back pocket. The materials used are the same as the newer model as refresh got rid of the soft keys on the front of the Tab. No more of the gloss finish on the rear and say hello to an aluminum brush finish for a more firmer grasp on it.
The 7inch display on the 7Plus is armed with a 1024 x 600 resolution. It offers decent video quality for any HD media for your on-the-go viewing pleasures. While you are not getting the better resolution that lies within the bigger sized-tablets (1280 x 800 resolution on the Tabs 8.9/10.1). Kind of more of the same. Not bad, you won’t miss the difference in resolution unless you have all three Tabs.
With the refreshed 7inch Tab welcomes the addition of an IR Blaster to use as an remote for your TV/Home theater. The 7Plus added the Peel Smart Remote app to use as your universal remote. Peel offers a more organized way to watch TV by filtering out re-runs by selecting First Run, control playback/volume, powering your TV on/off, etc. Along with your TV (flatscreen or standard), Peel also works with your DVD, Blu-Ray, streaming media player (Apple TV, Roku, etc.), AV receiver, and home theater systems as well. A welcome but slightly novel addition to make this Tab more unique.
Samsung made sure to make the internals as well as the hardware more current by giving the 7Plus a 1.2GHz Exynos dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM. Which definitely outperforms the original and provides for a smooth daily use. However I still suffered from the occasional hiccup that causes apps to Force Close. I encountered this several times while using the Netflix app while watching Scarface on it. Which is typical behavior for an Android device. While on the battery side of things, you get no complaints out of me. Pushing it to the limit of constant usage gave me over 7 hours of juice of streaming Google Music, watching one movie & several shows on Netflix, a decent amount of web browsing, and using the Peel app. Always a good sign when a device doesn’t struggle too much with performance & battery life.
The Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus offers a familiar specification of dual cameras (2MP front-facing & 3MP rear-facing w/ single LED flash). Also the rear camera can record video in 720p HD. Both shooters yield reasonable results when you have a substantial amount of light present other than that expect grainy quality. Samsung could have improved the software to process photos faster. Seems outdated that it takes two to three seconds to see what your photo looks like after taking it. This only applies to those who actually take pics on their tablet.
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| Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus sample photos |
With Samsung refreshing its original Galaxy Tab, the Tab 7.0 Plus offers the smallest of the Tab family trio. Samsung gave the 7Plus a more reasonable price point at $399.99 while the other two Tabs are closer to and at the $500 area. I personally thought that the 7Plus was a little too small to take full advantage of Samsung’s TouchWiz UX. Not that they shouldn’t have put it on but compared to say the Tab 8.9, it doesn’t work as well with the smaller landscape. Every other aspect is more of the other Tabs redone. Which isn’t a bad thing unless you just don’t like the other Galaxy Tab family products. So where does the Tab 7 fit within the rest of the Tab family? I wouldn’t simply call it an unnecessary remake, but with the Tab 7.7 on the way w/ a Super AMOLED Plus display on the way, it may just be. But if you’re not in the mood to wait, TGSB would point you towards the Tab 8.9 for your Android tablet purchase.
