What’s standout about Samsung’s new 7.7-inch tablet, unveiled at IFA, isn’t its specs, its size or its price. This particular Galaxy Tab is all about the screen.
Claiming a ‘world’s first’ for its use of a Super AMOLED Plus display in a tablet (though it’s been used in the brand’s Galaxy S II), Samsung describes this diminutive tablet as ‘next generation’, and though that phrase is more common than Currywurst in the halls of Messe Berlin, it features an unusually contrast-heavy screen.
In our close-up, the 7.89mm-slim tablet’s touchscreen proved ultra responsive, with various video demos demonstrating the 1280×800 pixel screen’s exceptional detail. One demo included close-up shots of Big Ben and its inner workings, which were always spot-on and with no pixel structure visible.
That said, the screen isn’t perfect; it’s possibly down to the sources, but we noticed a slight jerkiness to fast motion video, so there’s obviously a touch of image lag. The occasional jagged edge also crept into view, though it’s hard to argue with the fluidity of a panning shot following a hunting cheetah – it was awesome.
One thing we did notice was a discernable flicker and a brief blank screen when the tablet is moved from landscape to portrait mode.
Away from niggles, it’s that contrast that in turn helps create some pretty natural-looking colours, with little in the way of glare. Although we only got the briefest of trials, this is the kind of screen that could really come into its own when viewed for long periods – such as when watching films or TV shows. That could come in handy – Samsung claims this tablet can play video for 10 hours on a single charge.
And that can include DivX files stored on a micro SD card up to 32GB in size.
Fitted with a 1.4GHz dual core processor and weighing 335g, this is a tablet that’s all about portability; it’s pocket-sized and super-light, though the ‘jacket pocket’ suggestion offered by Samsung seems a tad too far.
The browser worked fast in our test despite questionable WiFi networks, and swiping was as quick and fluid as on any tablet we’ve tried. Its ability to bond WiFi channels will appeal, as will its ability to host voice and video calls. That’s in stark contrast to Samsung’s debut 7-inch tablet, which requires a headset, though the 3MP and 2MP cameras will be too rudimentary for some.
We’ll bring you a full review as soon as we can.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 depth
At 7.89mm deep, the Tab 7.7 isn’t the slimmest tablet – no that’s the Toshiba AT200 at 7.7mm
Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7: swiping
Samsung’s tablet is the first tablet to include Super AMOLED technology, swiping seems quick and certainly rivals any tablet we’ve seen
Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 video demo
This demo shot of a clock looks fantastic – of course it’s been designed especially for demonstrations such as this. It looks really sharp and detailed
Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 keyboard
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