As we all know, the line of mobile devices from Samsung has dozens of models. This includes, for example, both smartphones and tablets developed in the Galaxy class.
The device in question in this article also falls into this category, as evidenced by its name. We’ll talk about the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 - a seven-inch tablet released back in 2012, which was once one of the most powerful devices in the line. The article will describe the device, a description of some of its modules, as well as customer reviews.
General information
Today, the device, of course, is outdated - you can judge this at least by the technical description of the device. If at the time of release the tablet could be called a fairly strong player in the market (due to high-quality assembly and fairly advanced equipment), now even in the budget price class, sometimes more productive versions are presented. Nevertheless, this is the peculiarity of the device - at the time of its release, it was in demand and had relevant technical parameters. In addition to them, one can note the ergonomic, stylish design and high-quality materials from which the model body is assembled. And all this - for 15 thousand rubles in a version without a 3G module and for 20 thousand - with one.
However, we’ll start talking about everything in more detail so that you can understand why this device is so good.
Equipment
The device is presented from the moment of purchase in the classic set itself. This includes the tablet itself and the charger, which consists of two parts - a USB cable and an adapter for connecting it to the power supply. There is no film on the tablet screen, but it is on the adapter. The package bundle is scarce when compared with Chinese devices, but it’s quite familiar to such well-known companies as Samsung.
Design
Externally, perhaps, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 is not much different from some modern devices. This is a gray plastic painted “for metal”, smooth edges, the absence of right angles. For Samsung, this design at the time formed the basis for further models - just when the company abandoned the “tested” (at that time) copying of Apple devices. Thus, we can say that this is one of the earliest design decisions from the Korean holding. However, due to its prevalence, such an appearance cannot be called unique.
Due to the smooth edges, holding the tablet is quite convenient. Judging by the placement of the logo on the front lower part of the device, the manufacturer expects to work in a vertical variation, classic for 7-inch tablets.
All navigation is located on the right side of the case - these are the sound adjustment buttons and the key to unlock the screen of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2.
The opposite, the left side of the device has openings for a memory card, which allows you to significantly expand the capacity of the device, as well as for a SIM card (in the case of a tablet version that supports work in 3G networks). These nests are hidden under a special valve, which makes working with them convenient and provides some protection to the functional openings from dust and moisture.
On the bottom of the device you can see the slot for charging the tablet (which also serves as a connector for connecting to a PC), as well as speakers under a special grid. They are located in such a way that when working in a horizontal position on the tablet, the speakers will not be closed.
Screen
On the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 tablet, manufacturers installed a display that operates on a PLS matrix. At its core, it is a competitor to IPS screens, which Samsung brought to the market. It applies its development on different models, and for all, special, soft colors are characteristic, which are somewhat more difficult to distinguish in sunlight. Therefore, be prepared for the fact that working with the tablet in bright weather will be somewhat problematic - except that the maximum brightness will save.
The resolution here is the level of 2012 - it reaches only 1024 by 600 pixels, so you should not count on a high image density (it will be at the level of 170 pixels per inch). But the display works with multi-touch function, which recognizes up to 10 touches.
Also, if you look at the specifications that belong to the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2, you can notice the presence of a light sensor. As the tests show, it does not work exactly, so it’s more comfortable (the reviews confirm this) to put the tablet in the manual mode for determining the brightness of the screen and set it yourself.
Battery
As we all know, the problem of autonomy is relevant for many mobile devices, especially those with small screens and overall dimensions. As for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2, user reviews speak of it as a fairly stand-alone device with a strong hardy battery. At least the technical description refers to a battery capacity of 4000 mAh. Due to the optimized energy consumption, the device is able to survive in the most intensive use mode (playing HD-video with a maximum volume level in the headphones) up to 5 hours. Of course, with a more moderate charge consumption, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 tablet can please the user with a longer battery life.
Immediately, we can’t replace the battery on our own here - the back cover of the tablet is closed, and the holes on the left side of the case are used to work with the SIM card and microSD.
CPU
From the point of view of performance, there can be no complaints about the device - according to the owners, the tablet works fine even under loads. This is facilitated by the TI OMAP 4430 processor declared in the specifications of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2, which has a clock frequency of 1 GHz, operating on two cores. The device works with 1 GB of RAM, which, in principle, is enough to perform standard tasks. Although, of course, there are reviews in which people expressed wishes that the manufacturer increase this figure to at least 2 GB.
According to tests, the web browser of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (which we devoted a review to) works faster than other tablets with a 7-inch screen in 2012. This is what the developers achieved just due to a more productive filling.
Camera
We all understand that using a tablet computer to take pictures and shoot videos is not very convenient. Nevertheless, manufacturers continue to equip their devices with cameras. The same goes for the Galaxy Tab 2.
According to the technical specifications, the tablet has a 3-megapixel main camera that allows you to take pictures in a resolution of 2048 by 1536 pixels. In addition, a video creation function (720 p format) is supported. In addition to it, there is also a front camera for creating a “selfie”; traditionally, it has a lower resolution (only 0.3 megapixels).
According to customer reviews, the pictures on the device are quite acceptable (on the main camera), while you can talk about working with the front only in the context of conversations on Skype and other instant messengers.
operating system
Of course, traditionally, the device from the Korean company Samsung runs on Android OS version 4.0.3. This firmware was on the device from the moment it entered the market. As for updates, they probably reached modification 4.2.2, after which the company refused to adapt the following parts of the operating system. Therefore, version 5.1 you will not see here.
Included with this version of the system is a graphical shell called TouchWiz, which is known for its special design and logic. It could also be seen on other devices from Samsung, in particular, on the Samsung Galaxy S3.
Multimedia
With multimedia support on the tablet, things are fine. The thing is, first of all, in the pre-installed software from Samsung, which allows you to recognize most of the formats available today. Problems such as “video doesn’t turn on on the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2” (or audio) are extremely rare. You can deal with this by simply installing additional players (for example, MX Player would be the perfect solution for that). This applies in particular to the MKV format. However, if you do not take it into account, then you can work with standard applications - they have all the necessary functionality for this.
Communication
In terms of communication support capabilities, the tablet we are describing is not much different from most gadgets on the market. If you go into the settings presented on the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2, you will notice that there is Bluetooth support for sending and receiving files, there is WiFi for working with wireless fixed networks, and a GSM module is installed that allows you to make and receive messages as if from a phone. In addition, the buyer can choose the configuration in which the module for 3G will be provided - then the device will gain even greater mobility, having the opportunity to work in networks.
Reviews
We were able to easily find recommendations about the device. It should be noted right away that most reviews are positive. Buyers characterize the device as an affordable and reasonably comfortable tablet that is ideally suited for basic tasks.
Among the negative ones, one could notice several - in particular, describing that several users did not charge the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 tablet. Owners of problematic devices tried to understand why this was happening and what could be the reason. As the answers left by the experts show, the problem was a technical breakdown. If someone does not charge the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 tablet , you can fix this only by replacing the adapter that connects the device to the network, or by installing a new power socket.
A similar problem can be when the tablet does not turn on (does not respond to the power button). There may be several reasons - either the device is completely discharged (connecting to the network will let you know if this is the case), or the display unlock button is out of order (again, connect the device to power). There may also be a more serious malfunction at the hardware level, for the solution of which you need to contact the service center.
There were other estimates - someone mentioned the fact that the tablet is very hot during operation. There were also opinions about the insufficiently bright (or large) screen. Of course, if the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 does not charge, this is a more serious drawback than the fact of heating during operation. However, similar problems can be found on other models.
conclusions
What conclusions can be drawn from our review? Firstly, Samsung can make high-quality tablets - and this is proved by the “protagonist” of our review, released back in 2012. This means that modern devices are made at a more advanced level, which cannot but rejoice. Secondly, budget devices can be bought without fear, if you expect to perform basic actions for them like watching movies, surfing, reading mail, books and the like. For such tasks, the device described by us will be just perfect. Thirdly, budget gadgets can also please you with their performance. Again, reviews of the seven-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 are proof of this.