Samsung has just launched a new version of the Galaxy Tab 3, the Galaxy Tab 3 Neo in India for R 16,490 and the same will be made available in the first quarter of the current year itself. It gets priced the usual Samsung way which means that it seems a bit overpriced for what it has on offer. Let us have a quick review of the same:
Camera and Internal Storage
The tablet gets a 2MP rear camera without any front camera support and we can hardly expect anything from it. It has been made available pretty much just to state that there is a camera on the tablet. It does not even get a LED flash. Seeing the fact that it is an entry level tablet, we expected it to have at least a front camera for video calling but it misses out on that too. So the imaging department is not something you should be looking to the Galaxy Tab 3 Neo for.
The Galaxy Tab 3 Neo gets an internal storage capacity of 8GB which we think should have been 16GB instead and the same can be expanded with the help of a microSD card by another 64GB which is a good thing.
Processor and Battery
It gets a 1.2 GHz dual core cortex A9 based Marvell processor and Vivante GC1000 GPU. They team up with a 1GB RAM but the three of them together are not able to provide an experience which devices like the Nexus 7 do and are priced similarly as well. Samsung should have bestowed the device with a better processor if it planned on denting something like a Nexus 7’s sales.
The battery capacity stands at 3,600 mAh which is a decent one in this price range. The screen does not have a high resolution nor is the processor something that would suck power in lieu of some sky-rocketing performance so expect the same to give you a decent battery backup. As per Samsung, it will give you 8 hours of on-screen time.
Display and Features
The tablet gets a 7 inch display with a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels and the same is not something that you’d find worthy enough for high resolution games and video playback. It runs on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and will get a 4.3 upgrade as well in all probability but we won’t get our hopes too high for anything beyond that.
Samsung will be bringing a slew of software goodies to the Galaxy Tab 3 Neo in the form of Samsung Link, Samsung Voice, Samsung ChatON, Dropbox, Polaris Office, Flipboard and Club Samsung package which will give you an access to about 4 lakh songs, live channels and more than 5,000 movie titles.
Looks and Connectivity
The tablet comes in all plastic finish and gets a textured pattern at the rear which feels well built. There are physical buttons up front and it weighs 310 grams. It looks like you regular Tab 3.0 and has the same thickness. Its 3G variant will be slightly heavier. The screen comes devoid of any additional protection.
For ensuring that you remain connected at all times, you get Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP and aGPS with GLONASS. There will be a 3G variant as well and the pricing details about the same have not yet been revealed.
Comparison
The Galaxy Tab 3 Neo will be up against the likes of the tablets like Nexus 7 2012/2013, Xolo Tegra Note, Dell Venue 7 and 8 and the likes which in every sense are way better than it.
Key Specs
| Model | Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Neo |
| Display | 7 inch, 1024 x 600 |
| Processor | 1.2 GHz dual Core |
| RAM | 1 GB |
| Internal Storage | 8 GB, Expandable |
| OS | Android 4.2 |
| Cameras | 2 MP |
| Battery | 3600 mAh |
| Price | Rs. 16,490 |
Conclusion
Samsung is doing a good job of bringing new tablets to the market but is missing the mark with its pricing. With consumers slowly starting to move beyond the realm of brand image towards value for money, the Galaxy Tab 3 Neo might just lose out to the competition due to a higher pricing.
