Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 Review

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 Review. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 isn't going to trounce your first generation Galaxy Tab 10.1. It's not here to compete with Tegra 3 quad core tablets like the Asus Transformer Pad TF300, Acer Iconia Tab A510 and Toshiba Excite 10. Rather, like the 7" Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0, it's Samsung's budget offering for those who want to get into a name brand tablet without breaking the bank. We suspect the company gears this specifically toward buyers who want a more affordable Samsung tablet, because there are comparable or better alternatives that are more competitively priced from other makers.


That's not to say the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 isn't a competent tablet with lots of good software pre-loaded. It has a pleasing 1280 x 800 PLS display, a TI 1GHz dual core CPU and several good Samsung apps for PIM stuff, movie editing and more. It runs Android OS 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich with Samsung's TouchWiz UI on top.

The tablet has 16 gigs of internal storage, and there aren't other capacities available. It has a microSD card slot, so you can expand storage. With Android 4.0 there's no division between application and general storage for internal storage, so you can use all that internal storage for apps and use a card for files (movies, songs and documents). In fact, if you intend to install lots of huge games we suggest you do this, because apps can't be installed on SD cards under ICS.

For those of you who like the idea of an affordable Samsung Android tablet but perfer the 7" size, there's the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 for just $249.

Design and Ergonomics

Though just slightly heavier and thicker than the original Tab 10.1, the design isn't as slimming or attractive. The back is gray plastic that feels sturdy but the smooth surface is a bit slippery. We like that Samsung put the stereo speakers on the front surrounding the display so they won't be muffled by your desk, hands or stomach. They're reasonably loud, but not as impressive as the Acer Iconia Tab A510 with Dolby Mobile Audio in terms of fullness and volume.

All controls are on the top edge (when held in landscape mode), and they're small but easy to operate. The microSD card slot lives under a door on the top edge beside the 3.5mm stereo headset jack. Samsung's dock connector is on the bottom edge and it's the same as that used on previous Samsung tablets. That means it should work with Samsung's selection of docks and keyboards. It also uses the same charger and USB cable as prior Samsung tablets.

The tablet doesn't have a micro USB port though it does support USB host. Samsung sells a $20 adapter that attaches to the dock port and it has one full size USB port that works with FAT32 formatted media like flash drives. Oddly, the Samsung didn't recognize our Logitech and XBOX wired USB game controllers unlike our other Android tablets with USB host.