It is light, smart to look at, and easy to use. These are just a couple of stand-out qualities of the new Samsung T705 Tab. This is basically the Korean giant’s answer to the Apple mini iPad, and we must add it is quite a competitive device. The Tab screen size is 8.4 inches, which makes it possible to use it with one hand and easily double up as your e-book. The Super AMOLED has a sharp resolution of 2,560 x 1,600, with an amazing 100,000:1 contrast ratio, which ensures the colours are more vibrant than any other tab. Samsung has introduced a new feature called ‘Adaptive Display’ system, which aims to improve the visuals by adapting to surrounding conditions. However, with the screen already displaying a rich colour range, this feature ends up adding more tone that ends up looking too fake and jarring to the eyes. Stick to the ‘Basic mode’ where the colours look outstanding.
Samsung prefers to position the speakers in the centre so that your hands don’t cover it and reduce the sound. Its quality can at best be above average, but nothing spectacular to rave about, especially in the mid-range.
This Galaxy Tab runs on the latest Android 4.4 with Samsung’s TouchWiz UI on top. Two new features introduced are Multi-Window and the Magazine UI. The former is very useful as it allows you to see apps simultaneously and copy information from each other. The Magazine UI puts widgets in the form of tiles. Unfortunately, there is nothing cutting edge about this feature.
If you own a Samsung smartphone then you can sync it with the tab by using Sidesync. This way you have direct access to your phone and the tablet acts as a desktop for you.
The Tab is powered by Samsung’s Exynos 5 Octa (5420), which is an eight core chip with four ARM Cortex A15 CPUs clocked at 1.9GHz, and four lower-power ARM A7 cores at 1.3GHz. It’s one of the most powerful processors on any Android phone or tablet and ensures it functions smoothly without any lag. It has an 8MP rear camera with LED flash and a 2.1MP camera in front for selfies. Both the cameras are average and get the job done, but again nothing really spectacular about them.
The T705 Tab has a lot of things going for itself like the beautiful 8.4 inch display, which is easily the best in the class and gives Apple iPad Mini some serious competition. Weighing just 294 grams, it is very light and easy to carry. It comes with micro SIM option so it can double up as a smartphone as well. But we suggest you buy a Bluetooth wireless ear piece, unless you want to be the butt of all jokes and hold the tab next to your ear. The fast processor makes sure that it runs smoothly. Priced at Rs. 37,500, it is certainly a good buy if you are in the market for an Android tab.
