Good news if you were waiting for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0) -- it's now on sale here in Blighty. Get yourself down to Carphone Warehouse and pick one up.
The bad news? You'll have to wait until Friday for the white version. For shame!
The 8GB Wi-Fi-only version comes in at £199, which is a lot cheaper than the cheapest iPad going -- £329 for the Wi-Fi-only iPad 2. Though that does have a much bigger screen and twice the storage. Google's forthcoming tablet is also expected to be Wi-Fi-only, also with a 7-inch screen. It's also expected to come in under the £200 mark, so could prove some serious competition for Samsung's budget tablet.
The Tab 2 packs Ice Cream Sandwich -- the latest version of Android -- and so adds features specific to ICS, such as Face Unlock. This lets you unlock the device just by looking at the screen. Inside is a 1GHz dual-core processor, which is slower than most top end phones but you probably won't notice unless you're using it for graphics-heavy pursuits like gaming. There's also 1GB of RAM, a 3-megapixel camera on the back, and another on the front for video calls.
It fits into Samsung's Galaxy family, with Samsung offering tablets at 7.7-, 8.9- and 10.1-inch sizes. And if you're looking for something smaller there's always the Galaxy Note (5-inches) and Samsung Galaxy S3 (4.8-inches).
We weren't blown away in our hands-on, noting that there are slicker tablets out there. But it does offer decent performance. And if you want a slice of Ice Cream Sandwich on the big(ger) screen without breaking the bank, it'll be right up your Android alley.
Will you buy one? If not, why not? Let me know in the comments below, or on Facebook.
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Comments 6
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ericklamothe 12 May, 2012 14:06
Why no 3G as well? The market would benefit from the arrival of much more affordable 3G tablets as well as wi fi only ones. Otherwise, people will simply opt for larger screen smartphones which offer true connectivity on the move.
ace9988 12 May, 2012 18:02
to be fair wifi is becoming alot more accessible than before, sure its still a long way off 3G coverage.
I'm guessing they omitted 3G to keep costs low for now
anonymous 12 May, 2012 21:06
er no its not! iv been to 5 carphonew warehouse shops today in leeds and bradford and its not out till 18th. waste of a day for me thanks
anonymous 12 May, 2012 23:19
I work in a CPW and we had a couple in stock today. I work in the dalston branch in London. This is a bargain too :-)
anonymous 15 May, 2012 20:09
Be advised this tablet is a different model to that sold in the US. Samsung (for whatever reason) have multiple versions of this tablet floating around. The UK model GT3110 lacks an IR Blaster - infra red control which given the option I would have chosen to have. The US model (GT3113) is better value and apparently stock ICS, although the TouchWiz interface for ICS is not as bad as people make out.
anonymous 24 July, 2012 11:49
how about 5 inch tablet? when?