I purchased Samsung Galaxy 7.7 with Prepaid month-to-month data plan from Verizon. I plan to use the tablet as a WiFi only, but if I need I can activate broadband as needed with no activation fees or termination fees.
This was an expensive way to get this device ($699.99), compared to an international version with WiFi only which is currently $549.99. But Verizon unit is not grey market, has US warranty, and I do have an ability to get broadband if I need it. I have a personal deadline for the purchase due to a trip, and there is no information when the WiFi only unit (non-international) will be available.
A word of caution if you decide to purchase one at the Verizon store. Some sales staff is not aware that it is possible to buy a prepaid device without purchasing a contract. Even though I stated I was interested in WiFi only and purchased prepaid no-contract device, the sales clerk charged me both an activation fee and first month service (an additional $86 saying that I can cancel after one month without a cancellation fee). Both charges were a mistake on his part (pre-paid devices never have an activation fee, and I was not required to buy one month service). I was able to correct this problem by speaking to the manager, but it required me to know that he was in error and he was sounded very confident about both charges.
While making my purchasing decision I compared IPad 3, ASUS® Eee Pad Transformer Prime TF201 10.1, Galaxy 10.1 Tab, Galaxy 7" Tab, Galaxy 7.7" Tab, and Amazon Fire.
I wanted a tablet for accessing internet while I am traveling, specifically I want to be able to sell on Ebay, access my email, use Google maps, use Open Table, Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Priceline. Secondarily I want to be able to read Kindle books. Thirdly I want to develop apps for my pad.
Originally, I thought I'd buy Amazon Fire because I am big Amazon fan, have a lot of Kindle books, and the price of Amazon Fire is very attractive. However when I did hands-on experimentation with various devices, I realized that my internet needs were more important to me that my media needs and Amazon Fire browser was a bit slower than the others, and some of the apps did not run on it.
The 10.1 inch tablets felt a little large, I wanted something that I could easily fit in my purse. The Amazon Fire and the Galaxy 7" tab felt about the size I wanted. However, Galaxy 7" screen resolution made the keyboard cover most of the screen and data entry typing (which I will need to do quite a bit of) was difficult. But when I saw Galaxy 7.7" in a Verizon store it was a hands down winner. The screen is totally amazing, both the resolution and the colors. In side-by-side comparison with iPad 3, Galaxy's display was better. The tablet itself is very slim and weights 12 oz (see photo #2 in a collage of images I posted under customer photos).
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SCREEN:
The AMOLED screen is the best feature of this device. Sharp, crisp, bright. It was the best screen on all devices that I compared before this purchase. LCD Native Resolution: 1280 x 800 pixels.
Photo #1 in my image collage shows the screen, but does not give it full justice.
Capacitive touchscreen requires some getting used to (it is my first device with this type of interface). I am getting better and placing things where I want them, but sometimes it takes several attempts. I like the keyboard, it has a nice feedback and once I got used to the timing (you need to slightly pause between keystrokes) I am not making a lot of mistakes. The most difficult operation is to insert the letter in the middle of the text. Due to high resolution of the screen it is possible to use the keyboard in horizonal orientation and still see enough of the screen to make it usable (something I could not do well in my tests of Galaxy 7.0)
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SIZE:
I consider the tablet's size its second most important to me feature. Big enough not only to play but do some work, yet small enough to be portable.
Size (LWH): 7.74 inches, 5.2 inches, 0.31 inches
Weight: 12 ounces (photo #2 shows Galaxy on the postal scale)
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BATTERY LIFE:
Galaxy 7.7 has Li-Po 5100 mAh which is rated for 1200h of stand-by time.
After charging it over night, the next day I used it continuously in disconnected mode for 8 hours. This was 8 hours of heavy usage: installing, testing, and uninstalling apps. After 8 hours of non-stop use the battery went down to 20% (at which point it gave me a warning beep). I put it back into the charger and in 3 hours the battery was back up to 96%.
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STORAGE:
The unit came with 16GB and has microSD memory card slot which accepts up to 32GB.
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USB:
It has a regular USB connection. When attached my computer it appears as drive and I can access as any USB device for copying content. It can also be charged this way, but a slower rate than the dedicated charger.
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SPEAKERS:
The tablet has stereo speakers 3.5mm jack, and the sound it generates is very good. The volume with and without speakers has a large range. I enjoyed listening it to it with and without headphones.
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CAMERA:
The cameras on the tablet are not the strong point of this tablet. It is okay in a pinch, but I don't see using either one of them much. However, I am serious photography amateur and have several fairly good cameras so I have a certain bias when evaluating this feature. I am attaching 2 photos taken by the tablet. One with a flash and one without a flash. As you see the one taken without a flash is a little soft.
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KINDLE READER:
Kindle reader app looks the same as the PC Kindle Reader. For usability, I actually prefer the Amazon Cloud reader, which also works by connecting to it from the browser.
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NEGATIVES:
Not much so far!
1. Galaxy 7.7 still runs on Honey Comb 3.2 but slated to upgrade to ICS (date unknown). So it is missing some capabilities that are available in ICS. So far the one that mattered to me is that Chrome browser is not available for Honey Comb, and there is no perfect tool for syncing your bookmarks at no additional cost. Chromemark light is not integrated with the browser. Xmarks and Chromemark commercial versions are the non-free alternatives.
2. The touch screen takes some getting used to. You need to learn to delay between keystroke when typing. Positioning on a specific letter to correct a spelling mistake is not that easy.
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COMPARISON of some basic features between Galaxy 7.7" and Galaxy 7" Tabs:
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7" Galaxy:
Size (LWH): 7.62 inches, 4.82 inches, 0.39 inches
Weight: 12.16 ounces
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7.7" Galaxy:
Size (LWH): 7.74 inches, 5.2 inches, 0.31 inches
Weight: 12 ounces
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7" Galaxy:
Honey Comb 3.2 plus TouchWiz
Dual Core 1.2 GHZ CPU
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7.7" Galaxy:
Honey Comb 3.2 plus TouchWiz (announced it will get ICS)
Dual-core 1.4 GHz CPU
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7" Galaxy:
LCD Native Resolution: 1024 x 600 pixels
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7.7" Galaxy:
LCD Native Resolution: 1280 x 800 pixels
Display Type Super AMOLED Plus capacitive touchscreen
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7" Galaxy:
3.0 MP rear camera, 2.0 MP front camera
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7.7" Galaxy:
3.15 MP rear camera, 2.0 MP front camera
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So far I am quite pleased with Galaxy 7.7, it is just the right size for my needs and the screen makes it a pleasure to work with even for my presbyopic eyes.
You can find it on Amazon by following this link.
Ali Julia review ★★★★★
Links to reviews of other products I purchased for the 7.7 Galaxy tablet:
- Leather Folio
- Fold-Up Stand
- Capacitive Stylus
- Car charger that keeps up charging even while navigating
You can find reviews of mobile apps I use under Blog Label "Galaxy 7.7 Tablet" on the left navigation pane of the blog.
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