Samsung is expanding its tablet lineup with a new 7 inch model that looks a lot like its last 7 inch model. But Samsung says the new Samsung Galaxy Tab3 Lite (7″) is slimmer and more portable than the Galaxy Tab 3 7.0. That’s arguable.
The new model could also be cheaper (Lite models often are), but Samsung has yet to say anything about the price for the new model.
Here’s what we know about the new tablet. It has a 7 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display, a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor (which is reportedly made by Marvell), 1GB of RAM, 8GB of storage, and a microSD card slot.
It supports 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, and GPS and has a 2MP rear camera. Interestingly, there’s no mention of a front-facing camera, which suggests Samsung expects you to snap photos with this device, but not selfies (or video chats).
The Galaxy Tab3 Lite (7″) is expected to get up to 8 hours of battery life from its 3600mAh battery.
The tablet runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and some models will support HSPA+ wireless networks. The WiFi-only version measures 7.6″ x 4.6″ x 0.38″ and weighs about 10.9 ounces.
By comparison, the original Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 measures 7.4″ x 4.4″ x 0.39″ and weighs 10.7 ounces. That model also has 3MP rear camera, and 1.3MP front-facing camera. So while Samsung says the new tablet has a “slimmer, more portable design,” I’m not exactly sure what the company is comparing it to.
The Galaxy Tab3 Lite is one tenth of an inch thinner than last year’s model — but it’s a little larger in every other dimension and weighs a bit more.
How is this better than picking up last year’s model of the Nexus 7? With typical Samsung bloatware it will probably run a bit slow also. I think Samsung should stay in the mid and upper market space and leave the low price market to those who are better at it.
A card slot would be the big difference, and the level of connectability though its port.
Last year’s Nexus 7 runs away from the Samsung in every other regard.
Heck, just go to Walmart and get the Hisense Sero 7 Pro, which also laughs at Samsung’s specs at this price point.
Samsung saturates the market with products very similar to one another and all have similar names (Galaxy…) No one really knows which product is better at first glance without doing serious spec shopping. I don’t (and won’t) buy Samsung products for this very reason.
The Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 is only 6 months old. And this new “Lite” model seems to have the very same specs and looks. And it’s $140, so it’s pretty cheap already too. I’m confused, but Samsung does do this kinda of thing often. I’m guess they just found cheaper parts to build the same thing.
Sounds like its make to go into WalMart to replace their ‘no-name’ tablets with a ‘name-brand’ one…
For these specs, and the price, I’m just dandy with a Galaxy Tab 2 7.0. I’ve got a front-facing camera, Android 4.2.2 with mid-2013-era TouchWiz, and the nicety of on-screen navigation keys. i don’t mind physical buttons on phones at all, but on a tablet they are just ridiculous.
The only thing I dislike is that since it was introduced in 2011 it still has that stupid proprietary dock connector.