Review: Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 (SM-T211)

Posted by DannyD on 19 August 2013 at 8:59

Since the beginning of the Galaxy Tab series Samsung has used a 7 inch screen size for their tablets. Just like they did before, Samsung made a 7 inch tablet. Time for us to put the Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 the Wi-Fi version under the microscope and see if this tablet is a worthy successor of the old generation 7 inch tablets.

Design
Samsung has put out a new designline with the Galaxy Tab 3, a designline that we personally do not like that much but however it can work very fast. We are talking about the hardware home button and touch buttons here. This is a Samsung's first to place these on their tablets. If we compare the Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 with the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 our very first impression is that the tablet has become smaller and thinner, this way it has become more comfortable to hold in your hand. Samsung has used the same designline with this tablet as the Galaxy S4. Something boring but knowing Samsung's first design line all models are connected and with this years models they are doing the same.

Time to take a look at all sides of this device.
Front – 7 inch screen, level sensor, 1.3 megapixel front camera, home button and two touch sensitive buttons.
Left side – Micro SD opening
Right side – Microphone, Lock Button, Volume rockers
Top – 3.5 mm plug
Bottom – 2 speakers, micro USB connector and a microphone
Back – 3 megapixel camera.

Although this tablet is more or less the same compared to the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0, but it is definitely an upgrade design wise. The tablet feels much more sturdy and is more comfortable to hold in your hand.
Here are some pictures of the Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 designline.

DESIGN – 7/10

Interface
With the new Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 Samsung is using their new Touch Wiz Nature UX interface. Unfortunately this is not the latest version of their Touch Wiz Nature UX. For example, the icons are not that sharp as it is the case with the Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 , this is a small loss. Also we noticed that this tablet unlike its bigger brothers runs on Android 4.1.2, where its bigger brothers have inherited Android 4.2.2. We expect Samsung to update this tablet to Android 4.2.2 in the coming months, and than we also expect sharper menu icons after this update. Well we had hoped taht this tablet was running Android 4.2.2.

Generally everyone knows the Touch Wiz Nature UX interface of Samsung. So we will not dive into this content. So we recommend to see our video review above, here we show the Galaxy Tab 3 in a quick interface run trough.

INTERFACE – 6.5/10

Smart Functions
Where Samsung nowadays implants their smart functions in every product, that is not the case with this tablet. Even the basic Smart Stay is abcent, bad thing Samsung! Of course this tablet is very cheap but this feature in our eyes could be there considering the Galaxy Tab3 8.0 has this function. Now we do have voice control in this device (if you can call this a smart function).

SMART FUNCTIONS – 2/10

Multimedia
In the multimedia section, this tablet does the same things as the Galaxy Tab2 7.0. Unfortunately we have to ask ourselfves why Samsung has forgotten the simple thing like multi-window. However, this tablet comes standard with the new gallery which will give this tablet or a more expensive appearance. All in all we have no complaints about its multimedia options, although this tablet has no radio application. Since the Galaxy S4 Samsung has decided to leave the Radio application abcent. However, we regret that the more luxurious things like multi-window isn't included. However, this can still come through the updates.

MULTIMEDIA – 7/10

Screen
The Galaxy Tab3 7.0 is using a 7 ich TFT display with a resolution of 1024 x 600 (WSVGA) and the pixel density here is 170. This resolution we know back from the previous generation Galaxy Tablets. Samsung probably has some screens left over or this is the cheapest way to produce these tablets to keep the price as low as possible. We hoped that Samsung would go for a better screen. Likely that the real great tablets will be coming later this year and Samsung has really chosen for this screen to keep the price so low. However, it has to be said that the colors appear natural, of course you miss some pixels but it is mainly the colors that you see. This is reasonable for TFT screens, unfortunately the screen is difficult to read in direct sunlight but this is a known problem with every screen.

SCREEN – 7/10

Camera
The Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 W-Fi is using a 3 megapixel camera on its back and a 1.3 megapixel front camera. Only the front camera has been updated from the Galaxy Tab2, unfortunately the Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 still uses the old camera interface. However, there are some features and photo scenes present to make reasonable photos. Touch Focus is not present wich is kind of odd but there is a digital zoom up to 4 times, which is going to the expense of the picture quality. All in all this camera of this tablet is just not that good, you can shoot decent pictures but we can not recommend this tablet if you want to shoot high quality pictures. Price technically a 3 megapixel camera sensor is a good one but we prefer a 5 megapixel sensor. This will soon be the standard for tablets.

CAMERA – 6/10

Performance
Samsung has installed a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor in the Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 .This processor is good enough for every days use. Samsung increased the Galaxy Tab 3's processor with 0.2 GHz compared to the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0. Of course, this tablet is not the fastest but what do you expect from a entry level tablet with this price.

PERFORMANCE – 7.2/10

Battery
The Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 uses a 4000 mAh battery, in our opinion the battery has a descent amount of juice for a tablet. According to the information of the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 which also has a 4000 mAh battery, this tablet has a Standby Time Up to 1000 Hours, of course this is not bad!

When we used the tablet in our test period of one week, we had to fully charge this tablet 1 time. The Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 has a good battery in our opinion. We expect that this battery will only get better with the coming updates.

BATTERY – 7.4/10

Conclusion
1 week with the Galaxy Tab3 7.0 hasn't left a good impression on us. Of course the price is very cheap, but we expected more on the software level. Especially considering the fact that the Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 and 10.1 both running on Android 4.2.2. Why is there a Samsung tablet on the market with an outdated Android version?????? Also, the lack of simple functions such as smart stay and multi window is a bad thing. Of course there are a lot approvements on its design, but a worthy succesor, Naaaah!!

The Galaxy Tab 7.0 Wi-Fi scored a 6.2 out of 10

DESIGN – 7/10
INTERFACE – 6.5/10
SMART FUNCTIONS – 2/10
MULTIMEDIA – 7/10
SCREEN – 7/10
CAMERA – 6/10
PERFORMANCE – 7.2/10
BATTERY – 7.4/10

SamMobile's reviews are written for the regular user. When you're looking for more technical, in-depth reviews with lots of hard performance numbers, please visit a larger, more technical website.

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