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Samsung on April 29 announced the Galaxy Tab 3, the first in what will likely be a long line of new tablets from the company this year. This new tablet isn’t a high-end model. In fact, it appears designed for the lower end of the marketplace.
But it’s a step in the right direction for both consumers and enterprise users. The 7-inch slate is, quite simply, a high-quality product for a certain type of customer.
With that in mind, it’s a good time to take a look at the Galaxy Tab 3 and determine what kind of customer it’s ideal for. People looking for an iPad replacement, for example, won’t find a lot to like in the Galaxy Tab 3. But customers looking for a replacement to an old Kindle Fire or another basic tablet for the home that the kids can use will be awfully impressed by the Galaxy Tab 3. The tablet might not be for everyone, but it’s certainly ideal for many.
Here are the factors that make the Galaxy Tab 3 a good buy as a personal tablet for book reading, movie watching and Web surfing.
1. It’ll be cheap
Although Samsung hasn’t announced pricing on the Galaxy Tab 3 yet, it appears that the device will be quite cheap. Here’s why: it comes with a 7-inch screen, it has an older processor and a 3-megapixel rear-facing camera. That should help Samsung keep the price down when it starts shipping the tablet in June.
2. It’s running Jelly Bean
The Galaxy Tab 3 will ship with Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean). Although new versions of Android are expected to launch in the coming months, Jelly Bean is the preeminent Android version available now, meaning it’s the product that today’s consumers are comfortable using.
3. The 7-inch screen isn’t so bad
While a 7-inch screen might disappoint power users, it’s ideal for those who are more concerned with going mobile than anything else. The popularity of 7-inch screens cannot be underestimated. Samsung is trying to capitalize on that in the lower end of the market.
4. It’s ideal for kids
Looking at the Galaxy Tab 3’s features, the device appears to be an ideal solution for kids. An increasing number of children are turning to their parents’ tablets to play games and surf the Web. The trouble is, in many cases, those tablets are expensive. Wouldn’t it be better to give the kids cheaper, smaller tablets like the Galaxy Tab 3? Many parents would like to.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 3: 10 Features That Make the Tablet Worth Buying
5. The dual-core processor should be enough
According to Samsung, the Galaxy Tab 3 will ship with a 1.2GHz dual-core processor. That’s not exactly the most advanced chip the company can bundle in the device, considering many products are shipping with quad-core processors, but for simple tasks and running apps, it’ll definitely get the job done.
6. Samsung Apps and Samsung Hub are huge
Samsung has been able to build a massive brand behind its Apps and Hub services. The company’s Samsung Apps is essentially its answer to the App Store. And Samsung Hub provides access to all kinds of services and entertainment. For current Samsung owners having access to those services makes it easy to get everything up and running.
7. Mobile networking is available
Samsung made the smart decision to bundle mobile networking with the Galaxy Tab 3. However, instead of 4G LTE service, the tablet will come with 3G networking. Once again, that’s not ideal, but Samsung is going after the lower-end of the market that will be just fine with the slightly slower speeds of 3G.
8. Ample storage for a small device
Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 3 will ship with up to 16GB of onboard storage–a large amount for a lower-end device. To make things a bit better, Samsung will also provide up to 64GB of storage through its SD card. That should be enough for most casual users.
9. USB connections are everything
One of the biggest omissions from Apple’s iPad and iPad Mini is the lack of a built-in USB port. That severely limits what people can and cannot do with the device. The Galaxy Tab 3, though, comes with a USB port, making it a far better solution for those who want to plug external devices into it. USB is a key reason many people opt for Android tablets over iPads.
10. Google integration
The Galaxy Tab 3 comes with several Google services built-in, including Search, Gmail, Google+, YouTube and Google Maps. The tablet will even ship with Google Now. Considering so many people are running Google services and Apple has decided to remove them all from its own mobile devices, that could be a huge selling point for the Galaxy Tab 3.
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