Samsung has unveiled its third seven-inch tablet within a year and a half on Monday by bringing out the Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0). The design is its first Android 4.0 tablet and mostly benefits from improved responsiveness and a new app drawer, although it adds extras like Face Unlock. Hardware performance is potentially a step back from the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus, since it runs a 1GHz dual-core chip of an unmentioned make versus 1.2GHz on the earlier design.
Along with access to Samsung’s media hubs from widgets, the software adds S Suggest, an app recommendation tool.
The new slate has 21Mbps HSPA+ 3G to get online and is using a relatively basic three-megapixel, fixed-focus camera on the back as well as VGA at the front. Built-in storage ranges from 8GB to 32GB depending on the model, with microSDHC up to 32GB as an option. A 4,000mAh battery is inside but hasn’t been given an estimate for battery life.
Launches will start in the UK in March and are expected to go worldwide. Most of Samsung’s tablets have reached the US in some form; support for the 850MHz and 1,900MHz 3G bands could hint at an AT&T release. The instances of ‘lips’ on the front of the design, instead of a purely flat front on earlier models, suggests it’s meant to minimize patent disputes with Apple in Germany.
