Before Google introduced the Nexus 7, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0) was arguably the best 7 inch tablet you could buy for $249 or less. Even now it’s a pretty good option, with a 7 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display, a 1 GHz TI OMAP4 dual core processor, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage.
The Galaxy Tab may not have the high resolution display or quad-core processor you get from Google’s tablet, but unlike the Nexus 7 it has front and rear cameras and a microSD card slot. Now it looks like Samsung is preparing to launch a special student edition which throws in a few accessories without increasing the price.
Engadget scored a picture of the Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0) Student Edition which is reportedly heading to Best Buy on or around August 19th. It’s pretty much the same tablet I reviewed recently, but with two bonus features:
- A keyboard dock with a full QWERTY keyboard and Android function keys
- A USB adapter that lets you connect peripherals to the tablet
If the dock is anything like the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 dock I checked out last year (and certainly looks like the earlier dock), it’s not exactly Asus Transformer-style stuff. You probably can’t use the dock to charge the tablet battery, and it looks like the tablet only slots into the dock in one position — you can’t tilt the tablet forward or backward the way you would with a laptop screen.
On the other hand, the dock should make text entry a lot easier, allowing you to use the Android 4.0 tablet in some of the situations where you’d normally use a laptop. It should make emailing, instant messaging, or writing the great American novel a little simpler.
While it’d be nice to see Samsung drop the price of its 7 inch tablet to better compete with the Google Nexus 7, I suppose adding more features without increasing the price is the next best thing.
This is my first time using one..I’m an older woman and I’m used to a PC..I don’t know how to charge the keyboard..it came with no instructions..I bought it out of state while evacuating from Hurricane..anyone would like to help ..I sure would appreciate it…thnx
The biggest advantage against the Nexus 7 is that you can get the Samsung tablet with not only 3G connectivity but you can also use some of them as a regular phone. I would love to have the Nexus 7 but having to rely on WIFI-spots ONLY is a deal breaker for me, and no, having to carry around a MIFI is not an option for me either. So despite high resolution and a quad-core processor, the Nexus 7 is a joke.