Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 battles Nexus 7, has boring specs
Samsung's third Galaxy Tab has a 7-inch screen, but is only a teeny bit better than last year's model.
Samsung has a new tablet toy to battle the Nexus 7 -- but its latest effort is unlikely to have Google's popular tablet quaking in its boots.
The Galaxy Tab 3 is a 7-inch sequel to last year's Galaxy Tab 2, which came in both 7 and 10.1-inch versions. This year's model courageously comes in just one size, but the hardware on offer doesn't exactly set our hearts aflame.
The Tab 3 has a screen resolution of 1,024x600, which is lower than the Nexus 7's 1,280x800 pixel count. It has a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, which is slightly speedier than its predecessor's 1GHz chip, but not as powerful as the quad-core silicon nestling inside the Nexus 7.
Elsewhere it comes in both Wi-Fi only and 3G versions and 8 or 16GB flavours. There's a 3-megapixel camera on the back, and a 1.3-megapixel unit on the front, while the whole shebang chugs along on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.
That's an older version of Jelly Bean than you'd get on the £160 Nexus 7, so Android fans will have more fun ditching Samsung's TouchWiz interface and opting for the pure Android experience on Google's tablet.
On paper then, there's little reason to opt for the Galaxy Tab 3. Samsung could still make it worthwhile though, if it slaps a super-cheap price tag on its new toy. £99 might make me look twice, though the recent Galaxy Note 8.0 disappointed by costing over £300 -- that's more than the iPad mini.
Here's hoping Samsung can sharpen up its pricing for the Tab 3. The South Korean company says the Wi-Fi version of the new tablet is due to go on sale 'globally' in May, with the 3G option following in June. I'll let you know as soon as I hear whether that means the UK, and a Brit-centric price.
Are you interested? Cool new tablet? Or pale imitation? Let me know in the comments, or on our Facebook wall.