Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus
Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus Android Honeycomb tablet.
Fast Facts
- The tablet comes in WiFi only and T-Mobile 3G versions.
- It has a really fast 1.2GHz dual core CPU – arguably the fastest Tab out there.
- 16GB storage. Good news – it has an expansion – Micro SD slot – unlike the Galaxy Tab 10 and 8.9 which do not have this feature.
- Galaxy Tab 7 Plus has Bluetooth, a GPS, a 3 megapixel rear camera, and a front video chat camera -
- Weighs in at 12 ounces making it one of the lightest 7' inch tabs on the market. Good news – it has an expansion – Micro SD slot – unlike the Galaxy Tab 10 and 8.9 which do not have this feature.
- Good looking tab – one of the thinner tabs in the market
- Has some great apps on board – including the pen memo. Considering the Galaxy Note you have to wonder what's with the pen memo app without a pen? Well, you can write with your finger, erase and change colours. The writing you make on the screen will appear with the same thickness as a pen and not your finger – so it's the cave man version of the Galaxy Note capability in writing….finger note.
- The Peel Smart Remote is really good. No brainer setup streaming with your media equipment. Sit within 8 feet of your unit and it will try codes to get in.Very nice for those who do not enjoy geeky setups and inputs.
- 7 inch display has 1024 x 600 – a common resolution but is nice and bright.
- It comes in both WiFi only version and 3G version on T-Mobile. The 3G connection however is for data only, not for voice calls via cellular.
- 8 Hour battery life
Negatives:
- Has no HDMI port which is a downer – however you can get an adaptor for this but we have no idea why Samsung would omit this facility when Kindle and Nook have the HDMI!
- Camera's are…ok. Not great
- Faux metal casing – yuck for some, fine for others. Personal choice…
Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus Review
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 offers a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor, Android´s 3.2 Honeycomb OS and weighs only 0.76 lbs. Attack of the Show reviews the device to see if this tablet´s a buy or just a Space Age version of your favorite diet drink. For more from Gadget Pr0n, go here: www.g4tv.com
Overall Rating (based on customer reviews): 
Samsung has it Right,
November 5, 2011
David Dean (Hosston, LA)
First off I would like to state that this product has now been tested for two days. If anything changes my opinion of it I will be glad to update this review.
When getting this package I must admit I was filled with anticipation and some level of worry. This tablet is going to be used for both recreational and business purposes so it had to be capable of doing a large number of things. At first glance I have to say it is a real beauty. It features a slick and stylish design capable of impressing nearly anyone. Mine was charged to approximately 68% when I received it so I was able to turn it on and start right away. It took me approximately 10 minutes to get it started and linked to my google account. Here came my first surprise. Already having an android phone it then proceeded to download my saved contacts and apps that were own my phone. This saved me lots of time and was a big plus.
Briefly I would like to list features of the Galaxy Tablet and give a quick run down:
SCREEN -
Very bright and clear. This screen is impressive to say the least. It comes auto set to change the lighting itself but you can turn that off and set the brightness to whatever level you choose.
TOUCHSCREEN -
Aside from being bright it is also very responsive to touch. For this part of the test I went to my father. My father has larger fingers and usually has problems with small buttons or touch screens. He was impressed at how easy he could type and not make mistakes on the device.
CAMERA -
This is a noteworthy camera. I was able to take a few decent shots with it and saw no real problems.
Edit: Tested out the video chat feature and had no problems it is a reasonably clear image.
BLUETOOTH -
No problems at all. It linked to my phone and I was even able to tether internet to the tablet.
GPS -
Now first I was concerned GPS applications for download. However after a few times using it I have decided I rather like it. Here are three reasons why!
1) I bought a tablet not a GPS!
2) There are various different apps available on the market that seem to enable offline gps support.
3) You can start the Navigation while connected to WiFi and it will load all the information for a route and then it works perfectly. I even managed to get it to reprogram the route by turning the wrong way once. All in all it is just an added feature that is fun to use and can be useful if you pre program it at home.
SAMSUNG TOUCHWIZ-
Samsung has made a nice skin that overlays the natural Android design. I found it both user friendly and rather fun to play with. It took nothing away from the tablet, but added a few features that made it worthwhile!
GAMES -
Naturally I tried out a few games such as Angry Birds and others. This tablet played them with no problem and they looked even better than ever with a clear crisp image.
MEDIA CENTER -
I took the time to watch tv (Netflix) and listen to music (Pandora). Both were clear and crisp in sound quality making the tablet good to use standalone. However Samsung also provides Ear buds if you do not want the entire room to hear what you are watching!
PEEL -
Edit: Having first tested the remote on an old model tv I was unable to provide a clear picture of the features. Now I have fully tested this features and I am impressed. The Peel remote control offers an easy to use interface to change the channel, volume, or access menu. Simply WONDERFUL.
BATTERY LIFE -
Honestly I cannot say much about the battery life of the product. I charged it once and have used it off and on all day with little battery drainage.
Edit: Test and can now state that it held a charge for over a day with constant off and on usage. It only showed a serious drop in life after watching roughly 45 minutes of netflix on full brightness.
All in all the Samsung Galaxy Tablet 7.0 plus is an ideal tablet for anyone wanting to jump into the tablet market. I would gladly make this purchase all over again.
Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus vs Kindle Fire vs B&N Nook,
B&N Nook is rootable and has a good rep in the geek community, but out of the box it lacks too many features (1GB usable storage for non-B&N content and lacking B&N content).
Kindle Fire almost seduced me, but I canceled my pre-order when I considered the specs. No camera for video chatting, only 8GB storage memory, a funky flipboard-like interface and a limited app store. It's good for beginners and budget conscience, but woefully underpowered for a 10" veteran tablet user.
So I opted for the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus. For an extra $200 (over the Kindle Fire), I get two cameras, double the internal memory, a microSD card to add more video content, a working GPS for the car, and a fancy smart remote.
The build quality feels secure. Not "plasticky" but not unnecessarily heavy either (i.e. no hard chrome backing of the iPad or Asus Transformer). The toughest part of this tablet is the screen. I've used it a week without any case or screen protector and it has not so much as a scratch.
So far I'm content with my purchase. Touchwiz seems to work better on my Galaxy SII phone, but it's not horrible. Honeycomb's most annoying feature to me is the always-on menu at the bottom. Adding the screen capture button just guarantees you take lots of unwanted pics. Ice Cream Sandwidth should do away with this problem, as least while watching video.
One thing I really appreciate about the 7.0 Tab is how well it retains a charge while in sleep mode. It is comparable to my iPad, able to live off the charger all day and only burn the power I need for use. And that's with GPS on. I wish my Transformer and Galaxy SII did as well.
This is a device perfect for someone wants the tablet experience without having to invest in a massive purse or backpack. it does all the Kidnle and Nook do, but with full fledged Android Honeycomb features
5.0 out of 5 stars Great tablet! Specs, looks and performance justify the price.,
Got this Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus two days after it launched from Amazon. Just to start, I own a Samsung Captivate (Galaxy S1)phone and I have tried my friend's Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 a couple of times. Those are the only items I can compare on (I know they're not comparable to other tablets similar with the Tab Plus 7.0) but these are just a basis in case you own those devices.
Screen:
I am just basing this on what it looked like since I am a little bit lazy to research on the exact resolution of each screen. The screen on the Tab 7 Plus is somewhat similar in looks with the 10.1 but falls short when you're used to using a Super AMOLED screen (in my case, my Galaxy1 phone) I see the big difference every time I switch between the tab and my phone. SAMOLED screen is sharper and has very high contrast. But if you haven't owned a device with an amoled screen, you would give this tab's screen 5 stars because it's really good compared to other tablet screens i've seen in Bestbuy.
GPS:
Very spot on! (at least compared to my Captivate phone which had some issues before I installed a custom firmware on it) I have not tried navigation yet which I know should be the ultimate test on a gps but I walked about a mile with it and seems great to me. "GPS status" app from market locks up 12-14 satellites with SNR constant to about 40. But again, I haven't tried yet on how it deals with driving. I will have to give you an update on that..
**UPDATE: 11/18. I tried driving for an hour upstate and back using Google Navigation (phone data is tethered to the tab plus, took about 5MB of map data in 2 hours). It's very accurate and responsive. It did not have any problems at all. 
Speed:
Dual core SoC Exynos 1.2Ghz.. Very fast! Smooth scrolling and very fluid. One of the reasons why I didn't get the tab 10.1 is for some reason, its scrolling are not that smooth even if I try other launchers. But this tab plus 7.0 really makes the 10.1 look bad when it comes to simply scrolling. Launching apps is very fast as well. I haven't encountered any hiccup within an app. I have yet to try playing graphic intensive games. Will update again..
Universal Remote? (Peel SmartRemote App):
This is one of the reason why I got this tablet. There are limited tablets out there who has a built-in IR port for controlling Home theater systems. The app is pretty good but I don't think this can replace a Logitech Harmony remote right away since this software is pretty new. Their database for devices is somewhat limited for me. I own an old Samsung 46 inch LCD which the app can control. It can also control my Time Warner cable box and my Denon AVR 1911 receiver (ON/OFF/VOLUME/INPUT SOURCES only. doesn't support all buttons. I love the way Peel displays all the TV shows that are currently. You won't need to browse through the guide on your tv anymore. You can display based on genre (drama, comedy, action, sports etc) and you can even personalize your channels from there. Bottomline, the app is currently good on replacing you TV/Cable remote but is still limited in supporting other remotes. As for streaming players, it only has support for Apple TV and Roku for now. I submitted a request to Peel to support WDTV Live device, let's see how it turns out. By the way, search youtube for "Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus Universal Remote". Someone did an early post on what the universal remote app looks like.
**UPDATE 1/17/2012: I ended up buying a Logitech Harmony 650 for only $49 (sold by Amazon and it's an excellent remote for the price!) because I gave up on the Peel app because the app development is very slow. At the very least, they do reply when you ask for support but I don't think this Smart Remote app is priority to them.
WIFI:
I get around the max 15Mbps limit on my Speed test app on this comparing to 5Mbps on my Captivate phone connected to 2.4GHz band. I tried the 5Ghz band and had same result for the Tab plus. I guess I have to try another app that would display more accurate results. My point is that it is fast. Browsing is very fast and very smooth. I watch HD trailers on the Movie Fone app and youtube without any hiccup.
**UPDATE: 1/17/2012 – Speed definitely varies and has different factors like ISP, router, wifi chipset, CPU specs, OS etc. But I recently noticed that the wifi of this tab has the same performance as my desktop on quadcore proc, 12GB ram, dualband wifi, windows 7 64bit specs. Goes up to 30Mbps (Time Warner turbo boost)on my 15Mbps connection.
Camera:
Pretty good. 3MP back and 2MP front is enough to take decent pictures and videos. Did Skype a couple of times and they say my video quality on both cams is good. Oh and audio quality is superb and LOUD considering its size!
Size and Weight:
This is pretty much a perfect balance between a phone and a laptop for me. Fits in your pocket and it's big enough to browse and watch movies. It has a very premium feel. Build quality is awesome.
Battery:
So far so good. I've only had this for two days, charged a couple of times for a few minutes to an hour but I've only had it charged to 100% once. And battery performance is great!
**UPDATE: 1/17/2012 – Battery has been superb for me lasts about 7-8 hours of almost nonstop use (surfing the web, youtube, music, skyping, streaming videos and downloading files. Battery drain is very little on standby so I won't worry if I don't use it for a couple of days.
Overall:
This is a great buy and I highly recommend it to anyone seeking great looks, performance and portability. For you guys who are used to having super AMOLED screens, you might want to wait for the Galaxy Tab 7.7 version but it will definitely come at a higher price. But I don't think it will be worth it if its price goes $100 higher than the Tab 7.0 Plus. I think I would prefer a 7 inch screen which is just right for one hand. We'll see when the 7.7 gets released.
**UPDATE: 1/17/2012- Now that the price for this tab is only $350, I'd forget about the tab 7.7. I am 100% contented with this after almost 3 months of use. I've been using this without any problems at all and it always gives me the best performance regardless of how many apps i throw at it. Definitely worth every penny!
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