The reason I am giving this tablet 4 stars is the home screen is very pale. Comparing to my Samsung Galaxy S III the screen on this tablet is lacking brightness not enough pixels. When I purchased it I thought it was just my tablet having this issue but after checking out other tablets I noticed that they all have the same issue. We,ll I ended up just keeping it, the price was right and after installing brighter wallpaper the issue somehow got resolved.
I wanted a small tablet to use for basic internet use, email, to use as a reader for books, magazines and newspapers, and to watch video. I chose the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7" over the Nexus and Kindle because I have loved my basic Samsung smartphone. I am giving this tablet 4 stars because I don't think you can beat the price for everything you get, and it is a more open system in that I can easily use the Samsung, Android and Kindle stores for apps without any problem. But there are real issues, though many can be overcome by working with the tablet, deleting and downloading apps, and even holding the tablet upside down. It just takes a while to figure it all out, and if the user isn't at least basically familiar with and comfortable doing these things, it might not be a good match. First, the wifi has very poor range. I mean, like 20 ft, more or less. Even my Samsung Galaxy ProcIaim phone has wifi range far outside my home, maybe 70 ft, about the same as my laptop. I discovered that if I hold the tablet upside down, I get better range, and to get better range while using it horizontally, I have to keep the power and sound buttons on the bottom, which is a little inconvenient. Still, the wifi range is poor. I installed a wifi repeater in my home so that I could use the tablet in my bedroom, which is what I got it for. In addition, when I first got the tablet and charged it, it would discharge quickly, in 2-3 hours, and took about 6-8 to recharge. Once I had it on for only 45 minutes, then went dead, and would not charge. After a day, I decided to mess around with it and finally got it to power on, and was able to charge it. I do not understand what that was about, and afterwards, I have not had much in that way of power problems, though sometimes, it does power off on its own. I learned a few other things about it. The task manager does not really allow me to close the applications, though it appears to do so. Running the apps in the background drains the battery quickly. Therefore, I downloaded the Android Task Killer, and use it instead of or in conjunction with the task manager. It has helped me conserve battery life a great deal. I also downloaded and installed Flash Player for Android, which allowed me to run some applications that appeared to be unsupported. I removed the screenshot shortcut from the taskbar, because I was accidentally taking screenshots all the time. I like the screen, the weight, the way the tablet feels when I am holding it. Most of the time, the screen is very responsive. On rare occasion, it isn't, but I don't know why. Video - Netflix, or PBS streaming through the browser works great. I have had no issue with it at all. I like the small pop-up window on the bottom right where I can control the screen brightness (I have never had to use it at full brightness, as it is very bright), sound, settings, task killer, etc. Very convenient, and a nice feature. Voice search works very well, as does text to voice, so if that feature is desired, note that it is quite good. I will also say that one advantage of holding the tablet upside down is that the speakers then wind up on top of the tablet, instead of smothered in my lap. I don't think this is really a use-out-of-the-box tablet, though it can certainly be done. But I think that once the user has figured out the various limitations of the tablet and how to resolve them, it is a good, inexpensive, convenient product.
Pros: Built-in speakers, Bright display, Inexpensive, Durable, Realistic color, Lightweight, pop-up window to control settings
Cons: poor wifi range (very poor), very short (2 ft.) power/usb cord, proprietary port instead of usb or mini usb, steep learning curve about some things, had to install basic apps like flash myself, small practical memory
I just got this for Christmas last month and I love it. It works great, and there's nothing wrong with it. I would definitely recommend it to a friend.
Pros: Built-in speakers, Bright display, Inexpensive, Durable, Realistic color