Galaxy Tab 3 7" - Is it a good tablet????

[axllebeer]

I just looked at the post count for this thread. Been pretty successful.

Posted from the Android Central App via my BlackBerry Q10!

 

[STARGATE]

I just looked at the post count for this thread. Been pretty successful.

Posted from the Android Central App via my BlackBerry Q10!

Yes it has! It's because the GT3 is a pretty good little tablet that surprises many people.

Sent From Inside The TARDIS in a Galaxy S4 Away!

 

[Hiberny]

I had a Tab 2 and got a Tab 3 for Christmas. While it was faster in some ways I was truly disappointed. There was too much lag when browsing some web pages. The SD card slot was nice and the IR port was a great touch, but not enough to keep me happy.

I ended up selling it and putting the money towards a Nexus 7. I'm much happier now.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[STARGATE]

I had a Tab 2 and got a Tab 3 for Christmas. While it was faster in some ways I was truly disappointed. There was too much lag when browsing some web pages. The SD card slot was nice and the IR port was a great touch, but not enough to keep me happy.

I ended up selling it and putting the money towards a Nexus 7. I'm much happier now.

Posted via Android Central App

Weird...
But I'm glad you're happy with the nexus.
Like anything else, no one device is good enough for every single one of us. That's the beauty of choices and options!

Sent From Inside The TARDIS in a Galaxy S4 Away!

 

[axllebeer]

Like anything else, no one device is good enough for every single one of us. That's the beauty of choices and options!

I wholeheartedly agree with this statement.

Posted from the Android Central App via my BlackBerry Q10!

 

[ungibbed]

Like anything else, no one device is good enough for every single one of us. That's the beauty of choices and options.

I completely agree with this as well!

The Tab 3 7.0 is my replacement for my aging BlackBerry PlayBook 16GB model (still have it for great video capture though) as well as my iPad 2. All three devices are completely different than the other and after some time spent using my Tab 3, I decided it was a keeper and grabbed a 64 GB microSDXC card and a nice case as well that really made using this handy little tablet a pleasure.

It's well known that the Tab 3 is no gaming monster but perfect to take on a plane with a few movies on it for good measure and as long as the power save toggle is enabled, the battery life is very impressive but I wish it had a charging cradle like my PlayBook does.

I do need to find a modern replacement for my aging iPad 2 and debating on the 128GB beast but I hate the "Apple Tax" with a much higher price margin. If I didn't have so much invested in the App Store, I could easily walk away and get a Nexus 10 or other well equipped quad core device running Android.

That is the toughest decision to make as I love the iPad for games and the leap in performance is worth the upgrade along with 64 bit apps.

Much like cars my iPad is my Mercedes while my Tab 3 is a practical Honda offering much the same but its all in the fine details that make choosing one single device a nearly impossible decision.

Currently the larger display on my iPad is used for my digital photo album and having twice the PPI on a new model is a good move as sharing photos with my Tab 3 and it's 7" display isn't the best option.

Long story short, there just isn't one perfect device out on the market for everyone. It's all about choice now and what options you prefer.

Sent from my Galaxy Tab 3 via tin cans and string.

 

[STARGATE]

Well said, very well said!☺

Sent From Inside The TARDIS in a Galaxy S4 Away!

 

[Relgoshan]

I had a Tab 2 and got a Tab 3 for Christmas. While it was faster in some ways I was truly disappointed. There was too much lag when browsing some web pages. The SD card slot was nice and the IR port was a great touch, but not enough to keep me happy.

I ended up selling it and putting the money towards a Nexus 7. I'm much happier now.

Posted via Android Central App

WWWAAIIITTT. You got a 7.0 LTE and it felt slow? How??
This is the 7" discussion thread, and the 7.0 wifi doesn't even have an IR.
If you could please straighten this out then?

 

[Relgoshan]

I completely agree with this as well!

The Tab 3 7.0 is my replacement for my aging BlackBerry PlayBook 16GB model (still have it for great video capture though) as well as my iPad 2. All three devices are completely different than the other and after some time spent using my Tab 3, I decided it was a keeper and grabbed a 64 GB microSDXC card and a nice case as well that really made using this handy little tablet a pleasure.

It's well known that the Tab 3 is no gaming monster but perfect to take on a plane with a few movies on it for good measure and as long as the power save toggle is enabled, the battery life is very impressive but I wish it had a charging cradle like my PlayBook does.

I do need to find a modern replacement for my aging iPad 2 and debating on the 128GB beast but I hate the "Apple Tax" with a much higher price margin. If I didn't have so much invested in the App Store, I could easily walk away and get a Nexus 10 or other well equipped quad core device running Android.

That is the toughest decision to make as I love the iPad for games and the leap in performance is worth the upgrade along with 64 bit apps.

Much like cars my iPad is my Mercedes while my Tab 3 is a practical Honda offering much the same but its all in the fine details that make choosing one single device a nearly impossible decision.

Currently the larger display on my iPad is used for my digital photo album and having twice the PPI on a new model is a good move as sharing photos with my Tab 3 and it's 7" display isn't the best option.

Long story short, there just isn't one perfect device out on the market for everyone. It's all about choice now and what options you prefer.

Sent from my Galaxy Tab 3 via tin cans and string.

That sharp retina screen is pretty darn good for pictures even if you can't do much about the colors, but with so many functions brand-locked I keep feeling like it's a nice car held down by unreplaceable custom rims and a bad stereo. If I didn't have a good computer screen well situated for sharing, I'd probably still get one tho >.>

Android devices are like Windows devices in being too content with generic components.

 

[541rrhse]

Curious if anyone uses a VoIP app with their Tab 3?

 

[541rrhse]

WWWAAIIITTT. You got a 7.0 LTE and it felt slow? How??
This is the 7" discussion thread, and the 7.0 wifi doesn't even have an IR.
If you could please straighten this out then?

Sprint Version

Processor
1.7 GHz dual core processor

Memory
16GB internal memory(ROM), 1.5GB (RAM)

Operating system
Android 4.2

Infrared

Multi Window

Smart Stay

app2sd




WiFi Version

Processor
1.2 GHz dual-core processor

Memory
8GB internal memory(ROM), 1.0GB (RAM)

Operating system
Android 4.1.2

541rrhse: you missed a couple things. The LTE benches miles above the wifi, often closer to double performance or better. It has Infrared, Multi Window, app2sd and I think I heard the wifi does not have Smart Stay?

 

[Hiberny]

I was pretty sure my WiFi model had an IR blaster, though I might be thinking of my Tab 2. And yes, it was fairly laggy. I really expected a bigger improvement from my Tab 2.

I did think the screen was impressive. It's probably the best 1024x600 panel I've ever seen.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[STARGATE]

Curious if anyone uses a VoIP app with their Tab 3?

I do, works great!

Sent From Inside The TARDIS in a Galaxy S4 Away!

 

[Relgoshan]

I was pretty sure my WiFi model had an IR blaster, though I might be thinking of my Tab 2. And yes, it was fairly laggy. I really expected a bigger improvement from my Tab 2.
I did think the screen was impressive. It's probably the best 1024x600 panel I've ever seen.

The screen on the 7.0 actually impressed me quite a lot. In the Sprint Store it looked amazing held up next to the Note 3, in terms of color/contrast and brightness. Great viewing angles. The N7 2013 has a smaller screen and bigger body, and seemed to have too high of bright/dark overcontrasting in the panel (all three of them I have handled).

The new 7.0 Lite is an *massive* downgrade in screen quality! The single worst $20 cheaper model I have ever seen released, it blows away something the 7.0 wifi had perfect (video consumption and reading) and is painful to look at and has grey blacks to boot. Non IPS, does not work with sunglasses. Lower max backlight. Disastrous!

From everything I have tested the LTE benches anywhere from 75% faster than the wifi model up to OVER FOUR TIMES FASTER. That PXA/Vivante solution is awful, and some of the Samsung apps are less stable on it too. The LTE has the same package as the Mega and S4 Mini and this shows in its speed and reliability.

So yeah the 7.0 wifi is hardly faster than the Tab 2, I can see why the Nexus would have felt much more fluid.

 

[ungibbed]

That sharp retina screen is pretty darn good for pictures even if you can't do much about the colors, but with so many functions brand-locked I keep feeling like it's a nice car held down by unreplaceable custom rims and a bad stereo. If I didn't have a good computer screen well situated for sharing, I'd probably still get one tho >.>

Android devices are like Windows devices in being too content with generic components.

The retina display is almost accurate for sharing photos with friends and family. Every trip I go on, I have my DSLR with me and my calibrated display on my computer is dead on accurate with professional prints that I still go to my local camera shop if I'd like to send prints to my family instead of destroying them to fit in a email.

My father doesn't quite understand how dropbox works. Since he lives hundreds of miles away having them printed and sent via the postal service isn't much of a hassle.

On the tech side of things, the worst displays for accurate color reproduction is any AMOLED which is awful for oversaturation and a odd color balance. It's actually one thing I find as a positive on this little Tab 3 7.0

LCD displays have come a long way in finally being able to reproduce accurate colors which was the last fighting stand for CRT's. Bulky desk hogs but still the best picture in town if you have a top end Sony or LaCie. I finally invested in a 27" Apple Cinema / Thunderbolt display which is not only much larger of a workspace but also with calibration software.

As for your iPad frustrations, there is always the option of jailbreaking it and with an old jailbroken iPhone 3GS that my friend carried for years, I could see why he loved it.

I like both iOS and Android as they are very different beasts entirely but also designed very differently from the very basics.

Apple can do some amazing things on iOS even with dated hardware such as my iPad 2. (Even new games still run smooth on the old bugger and GarageBand is one awesome tool). On the other hand to get the best performance from Android is to either strip it of many of it's parts and recompile and there's cyanogen mod to the rescue from carrier bloat but always an issue here or there with some device.

The other option for Android devices is to throw a ton of high performance hardware at it leading you not too far away from your battery charger. (Learned that lesson early on when I bought my first new dual core phone, the awesome HTC Sensation)

Still I gotta say. There's no one perfect device for everyone. I carry a stock unmodified iPhone 5 on T-Mobile which had amazed me with the LTE speeds I get and I tether off my phone for a secure connection in public. Most people assume I have a carrier branded Tab 3 as they never see my phone in my pocket.

Sent from my Galaxy Tab 3 via tin cans and string.

 

[ungibbed]

Sprint Version

Processor
1.7 GHz dual core processor

Memory
16GB internal memory(ROM), 1.5GB (RAM)

Operating system
Android 4.2

Infrared

Multi Window

Smart Stay

app2sd




WiFi Version

Processor
1.2 GHz dual-core processor

Memory
8GB internal memory(ROM), 1.0GB (RAM)

Operating system
Android 4.1.2

My wifi model of the Tab 3.7.0 has an IR blaster. I love it!

Model T210 with Android 4.1.2.

Smart stay is simply a feature of Android 4.2.2

My neighbor has the 7" Wifi Tab 2 and it has smart stay (kinda useless IMO) and a IR blaster as well.

Sent from my Galaxy Tab 3 via tin cans and string.

 

[Relgoshan]

Really then, so it must depend on the market because the only 7.0 wifis I have seen lacked the blaster...eesh.

Smart Stay is Android and not Samsung? For me it's been great at doing exactly as intended. 30sec timeout but never need to keep waking the screen while reading. It also cuts down on scrolling which is a big battery saver.

 

[ungibbed]

Really then, so it must depend on the market because the only 7.0 wifis I have seen lacked the blaster...eesh.

Smart Stay is Android and not Samsung? For me it's been great at doing exactly as intended. 30sec timeout but never need to keep waking the screen while reading. It also cuts down on scrolling which is a big battery saver.

Smart Stay is one Samsung feature that had a bit of marketing with Jelly Bean IIRC.

My specific model is the T210S. I haven't seen a Galaxy Tab without the IR blaster so it may depend on where you are. Mine was made in Vietnam and intended for the US market. For the price, this is one killer value compared to other off brand tablets I've had the displeasure of using. One recent model shipped with Froyo on it with a truly awful display.

If you want, I can snap a few pictures of my IR enabled Tab 3 7.0 which had a choice of white or the odd dark brown and months later a limited edition burgundy complete with case and other extras. I like my white one. It's the only white device I own other than my iPod Touch.

Sent from my Galaxy Tab 3 via tin cans and string.

 

[brosko]

The regular wifi tab 3 7.0's have ir blaster. The kids editions don't.

 

[ungibbed]

The regular wifi tab 3 7.0's have ir blaster. The kids editions don't.

Having never seen a kid's edition, I wonder if they're running 4.2.2 or the same 4.1.2 that I've been doomed with until Samsung brings the goods.

Sent from my Galaxy Tab 3 via tin cans and string.