Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 Student Edition Could Hurt Nexus 7
Best Buy is expected to sell a tablet/keyboard bundle of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 in a few weeks for $249 USD.
An anonymous reader sent Engadget proof that Samsung plans to sell a Student Edition of its Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 tablet at Best Buy sometime around August 19. This would mean the gadget will likely appear in the Sunday paper adverts along with other competitors pushing their back-to-school bargains before students hit classes this fall.
According to the tipster, the 7-inch Android tablet will be bundled with a keyboard dock and a USB peripheral connector. But the big news here is that this bundle will supposedly only retail for $249 -- the same price as the 16 GB version of Google's Nexus 7 tablet. The Galaxy Tab itself -- Samsung's 8 GB Wi-Fi only model -- isn't quite as feature-packed as Google's offering, but the added keyboard certainly makes up the difference.
Over on Samsung's website, the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 specs (and here's a pdf) show that it comes packed with a 7-inch, WSVGA (1024 x 600) TFT screen. It only carries 8 GB worth of internal storage, but an added microSD card slot allows users to expand its capacity up to 32 GB. The tablet also features a rear-facing 3MP camera for photo shoots, and a VGA front-facing camera for video conferencing.
As for other bells and whistles, the Samsung tablet sports a 1.0 GHz dual-core SoC, 1 GB of RAM, a Li-Polymer 4,000 mAh battery, 802.11 b/g/n connectivity, WiFi Direct, Bluetooth 3.0, a USB 2.0 Host port, and a built-in IR blaster for turning the tablet into a Smart Remote for your TV. The OS of choice is Google's 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich," which may or may not hit Jelly Bean status, depending on Samsung's mood.
The photo of the boxed Student Edition handed over to Engadget shows a white bevel on the tablet (as shown on the Samsung Mobile website here), and a white keyboard. So far Best Buy hasn't announced anything official, and it may not, letting customers discover the bargain in paper and online adverts.
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Kevin Parrish has over a decade of experience as a writer, editor, and product tester. His work focused on computer hardware, networking equipment, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others.
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voodoobunny $249 for dual-core, 8GB storage and a 1024x600 screen? That's a serious step down from the Nexus 7. Even with the keyboard, it would be a tough sell at $199 and no competition at $249. What are they thinking?Reply -
fancarolina Adding the keyboard doesn't "make up" the difference. Lower resolution and dual-core processors aren't a problem that can be solved later a keyboard is.Reply -
teh_chem Doubtful. But even if it could, I hope students enjoy losing all of their session notes because of crappy unstable apps that constantly crash mid-use. I'm a fan of android devices for phones and media-consumption, but it still can't handle productivity reliably. Not to the point where I'd use it if I were a student.Reply -
boogalooelectric My wife has a Galaxy 2 and the device is high quality. This is not to say that the article is correct but the Galaxy 2 works well and has many features. I originally bought her a lenovo A1 but that tablet is borked. Newegg allowed me to exchange it for the Samsung and pay the difference. I would have bought her a Nexus 7 if Newegg carried it which they do not. However she loves her new tablet, she uses it all the time. The fact it only has a dual core processor is not an issue, its quick, has a fast boot up time and does what she wants it to.Reply
I imagine this wille be voted down but I thought it might help to get a different opinion than the above "nope's, I don't think so's, and what were they thinking' comments. -
dalethepcman It comes in a white box, and it has white plastic. I think this looks like an iPad, someone at apple should take note.Reply