Samsung’s Galaxy 2 Tab 310–aka Galaxy Tab 2 7.0–is for users looking to bridge the divide between a full-fledged tablet and a smartphone. The 310 boasts of a 7-inch display and is capable of making and receiving phone calls. Wait: Samsung already has a bridge device known as the Galaxy Note, doesn’t it? Sure. However, the idea here seems to be to please folks who require a larger display than the Galaxy Note's without forfeiting the ability to make voice calls.
Unlike most other Samsung displays, the screen on the Tab 310 is not a Super AMOLED panel. Samsung has decided to use a PLS display instead. This is similar to Apple’s IPS displays and sports a resolution of 1024x600 pixels. The screen is bright and the text, crisp. Of course, it would be difficult to get used to this if you come over from the Retina Display-toting iPad.
The 310 gets two cameras: a 3-megapixel fixed-focus rear camera and a VGA front one to enable video calls. Note that the rear camera comes sans a flash. While we wouldn’t term the 310 as gorgeous, it will turn heads if you use it to answer calls, and not necessarily for the right reasons. There is a much-needed 3.5 mm jack at the top of the device. This is a critical accessory if you intend to make phone calls using this device, since it would be rather awkward to raise the relatively large device to your ear to make or receive calls.
The design of the tab is quite plain, with no buttons on the front fascia. The rear, however, looks better with its grey metallic finish. The only hardware buttons are the volume control keys and the power button, which also doubles as your screen lock/unlock button when the device is powered on. On the other side, there is a SIM-card slot flanked by a micro-SD card slot. The device weighs just 315 grams and is just 10.5 mm thin. For a tablet, it is quite compact but obviously comes up short if you were to benchmark it against a smartphone.
Powering the Galaxy Tab 2 310 is a Ti OMAP dual-core processor running at 1 GHz as well as 1 GB RAM. There was no noticeable lag while running intensive apps and it was only when we played a 3D game in the background that the tablet showed some signs of stress. The tablet runs Samsung’s proprietary Touchwiz UI atop Android 4.0.3 ICS. The Touchwiz UI offers some neat functionality to the device, like the easy screenshot option and the universal bar at the bottom via which you can access your favourite apps easily. The Tab 310 offers comprehensive codec support and is capable of playing back almost all the file formats you can throw at it. It is DivX certified and also supports high quality FLAC audio files.
As for all-important battery life, let us assure you that the 310 can last you an entire day under normal usage circumstances courtesy the 4000 mAH battery. However, things are not so great if you surf the web continuously while on 3G and at full brightness.
In India, Samsung sells only the 16 GB version of the Tab 2 310. The same device is also available in 8 GB and 32 GB versions elsewhere. The 16 GB version is priced at Rs 19,000, which we feel is a great price for a smartphone-esque tablet with a 7-inch display.
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