Samsung Galaxy The Tab 3 Lite is this year's first tablet from Samsung. It is a tablet from a series of low-cost devices, which is also proven by its price - €159 for the WiFi model and €219 for the model with 3G support. The new Tab 3 Lite in the WiFi version (SM-T110) also reached our editorial office, and after a few days of use, we present our own impressions of its use. How the Tab 3 Lite differs from the standard Galaxy Tab 3 and how does it affect its use? You will find the answer to this in our review.
The design is the first thing you notice after unpacking it, so I think it would be appropriate to start with it. Samsung Galaxy The Tab3 Lite, despite its "cheaper" moniker, is actually very nice. There are no metal parts on its body (unless we count the rear camera bezel), so its white version looks like it's made from a single piece. Unlike the classic versions Galaxy Tab3 Samsung adapted the appearance of the Tab3 Lite to other tablets for 2014, so on its back we find a leatherette that is very pleasant to the touch and debuted at Galaxy Note 3. In my opinion, leatherette is a very good material and gives the tablets a premium touch. However, it also has its drawbacks, and if the tablet is brand new, expect that it slides a lot, so if you move your hands awkwardly, it can happen that the tablet falls off the table. However, I think this problem will disappear with long-term use. As long as you hold the tablet in your hands and use it, the mentioned problem does not appear at all.
The hole for microUSB is located on the left side of the tablet and is cleverly hidden under a plastic cover. On the sides of the tablet we also find buttons for unlocking the tablet and changing the volume. The speaker is located on the back of the tablet and along with it there is a 2-megapixel camera. However, you won't find a front-facing camera here, which I consider a disadvantage, since I'm an active Skype user.
Camera
How is the camera quality? The name Lite already implies that it is a cheaper machine, so you have to count on cheaper technologies. That is why there is a 2-megapixel camera on the back, which can ultimately be seen in the resulting photos. This is because it is a camera that was found in phones 5 years ago, which can also be seen in the blurring of photos when they are zoomed in or viewed on a larger screen. With the camera, you have the option to choose the resolution in which you want to take photos. There are 2 megapixels, 1 megapixel and finally the old VGA resolution, i.e. 640 × 480 pixels. So I consider the camera here more like a bonus that you can use when needed. There is absolutely no way to talk about a replacement for a mobile camera.
However, what may please some people is that the tablet can take panoramic shots. Unlike other devices, the panorama mode Galaxy The Tab3 Lite will allow you to take 180-degree shots instead of 360-degree shots. It is not possible to focus the shots, so the final quality depends only on the lighting. If the sun is shining on the objects in the background and you are in the shadow, you should expect that they will be illuminated in the resulting photo. However, the absence of a front camera, which would be more useful on such a tablet than the rear camera, is certainly disappointing. The tablet seems ideal for calling via Skype, unfortunately due to the fact that Samsung saved in the wrong place, you will have to refrain from video calls.
Display
Of course, the quality of the photos also depends on what kind of display you are viewing them on. Samsung Galaxy The Tab3 Lite features a 7-inch display with a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels, which is the same resolution we've seen on netbooks in the past. This resolution is not the highest, but it is very good and the text on it is easy to read. The display is very easy to operate and one gets used to it quite quickly. Among other things, the keyboard from Samsung is also responsible for this, which is perfectly optimized for the screen Galaxy Tab 3 Lite and even handles better than the keyboard on the competing iPad mini. But we'll get to that later. The display itself is easy to read, but it has a drawback in the form of a smaller viewing angle. If you look at the display from below, then you can count on the fact that the colors will be poorer and darker, while from the top they will be as they should be. The display is quite clear, but as is the case with tablets, the tablet is used worse in direct light, even at maximum brightness.
Hardware
Image processing is handled by the Vivante GC1000 graphics chip. This is part of the chipset, which consists of a dual-core processor at a frequency of 1.2 GHz and 1 GB of RAM. From the specifications above, you could already guess that we are going to look at the hardware. At a time when high-end phones and tablets offer 4- and 8-core processors, a low-cost tablet with a dual-core processor arrives. As I was able to experience on my own skin, this processor is powerful enough to use it to perform common tasks on the tablet, such as browsing the Internet, writing documents or playing games. But despite the fact that the performance of the tablet is not exactly the highest, I was surprised by its smoothness when playing Real Racing 3. One would expect such a title to not work on the Tab3 Lite or to be choppy, but the opposite is true and playing such a game went quite smoothly . Of course, if we forget about longer loading times in games. You also have to take into account compromises in graphic quality, so I would say that Real Racing 3 runs on low details. I consider the 8 GB of built-in storage to be a disadvantage of this tablet, but Samsung compensates for this very well.
software
During the initial setup, Samsung will offer you the option to connect the tablet to your Dropbox, thanks to which you will receive a 50 GB bonus for two years. Converted, this is a bonus worth around €100, and if you are a Dropbox user, Samsung will practically sell you a tablet for €60. This very pleasant bonus can be extended in another way, by using a memory card. On the left side of the tablet there is a slot for microSD cards, where you can insert a card with a capacity of up to 32 GB. And believe that you will need these two storages in the future. Only thanks to the system itself, you have only 8 GB of free space available from the 4,77 GB of storage, with the rest taking up Android 4.2, the Samsung TouchWiz superstructure and additional software, which includes Dropbox and Polaris Office.
The interface itself is quite simple to use and you will learn how to use it in a few minutes if you are new to the world of tablets and smartphones. However, what I would criticize is that due to the superstructure there are several duplicate applications. Other applications can be obtained from the Google Play and Samsung Apps stores, but from personal experience, you can find more software in the universal store from Google. In terms of software, I would like to finally praise Samsung once again for the keyboard, which is really great to use on a 7-inch tablet. However, for some unknown reason, it does not contain an exclamation mark and a soft key, so you have to enter such letters by holding down the basic form of the given letter.
Drums
Software and hardware together affect one thing. On battery. Galaxy The Tab 3 Lite includes a built-in battery with a capacity of 3 mAh, which according to official words should last up to 600 hours of video playback on a single charge. Personally, I managed to drain the battery after about 8 hours of combined activity. In addition to watching videos and surfing the Internet, I also played some games on the tablet. But mostly these were games of a more relaxing and racing nature, and I was most surprised by the fluidity of Real Racing 7 on this tablet. Although the graphics are not the most advanced, on the other hand it is a good sign for the future that you will be able to play some other titles on the tablet.
Verdict
We were 1 words away from the final verdict. So let's summarize what you should and shouldn't expect from Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Lite. Samsung's new tablet boasts a very nice, clean and simple design, but Samsung has gone a bit overboard on the front end. There is no camera on it at all, which would be of great use here, instead you can take photos with the rear 2-megapixel camera. You can also use it to record videos, unfortunately they are only in VGA resolution, so you will forget about this option very quickly. The quality of the display is surprising, although it is not the highest, but the text is very legible on it. The colors are also as they should be, but only at the right viewing angles. What may cause criticism is the absence of larger storage, but Samsung amply compensates for this with microSD cards and a 50 GB bonus on Dropbox for two years. Storage is therefore taken care of, as in practice it is a bonus of around €100. Finally, the battery life is not the highest, but not the lowest either. It is rich enough for all-day use, and if you only use the tablet for a few hours a day, it will not be a problem to charge it after 2 or 3 days.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Lite (WiFi, SM-T110) can be purchased from €119 or CZK 3
On behalf of Samsung Magazine, I thank our photographer Milan Pulco for the photos
