Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7-Inch, Wi-Fi)

I have a Kindle Fire and do enjoy using it (for the most part) -- love the form factor, enjoy the apps that I can get for it and am very pleased with the Kindle eReader app and ability to share books across all our Kindles. But when we were offered an opportunity to check out the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 a few days early, we jumped at the chance. The Kindle Fire is great at what it does, but its custom Android O/S, non-standard Web browser, limited selection of apps, lack of expandable storage and lack of Bluetooth support leave me cold.

*Browser Issues*

I've experienced multiple issues trying to browse web sites with the Kindle's Silk browser which work fine on the Galaxy Tab 2 and other full-fledged Android devices. Although Flash videos can be played on the Kindle Fire (if you enable Flash in the Silk browser's setting menu, which is OFF by default), Flash-based games on the Web such as Words with Friends and Bejeweled Blitz (both on Facebook) are painfully jittery and sluggish on the Kindle Fire. The native Words with Friends app does work well on the Kindle, for the most part, but not the web browser-based version. But Flash support on mobile devices is spotty at best so this is not the worst flaw in the Kindle. Also, the content management system we use on our web site is able to load pages (articles) on the Fire, but unable to scroll within large text input windows. The same problem does not occur on the Galaxy Tab 2's browser. The Silk browser is able to access many web sites properly, but when it fails, there isn't much you can do since updates to the Silk browser have been few and far between.

*App and content space*

The Kindle Fire and Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 each come with 8 GB of internal storage on board. Some of this is used for O/S and system files which leaves even less available for apps and media content. The Kindle Fire has no expandable storage, as it is designed to work in "The Cloud. " In other words, they expect you to store music and movies on an internet-based cloud storage area for access when you want it. The big caveat here is that the Kindle Fire offers only WiFi access (no 4G support) so if you do not happen to have a WiFi hotspot or home network handy (like, for example, on a long distance car trip), your cloud-based content is completely inaccessible. I filled up the Kindle Fire's internal storage within the first six weeks of ownership. If I want to install more apps or add local content now, I'll have to remove some from the device. These apps and content are still available to download later from the cloud, if I wish to do so, but this really isn't convenient. The Galaxy Tab 2 also lacks 4G support (in its current version) but its standard microSDHC slot allows you to expand the on-board storage up to an additional 32 GB, which is plenty of room to move your movies, music and additional content to be stored locally without requiring access to the internet.

Review about Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7-Inch, Wi-Fi)

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Features:

• Android 4.1 ( Jelly Bean ) OS
• 7-inch Multitouch Screen (1024 x 600)
• 8GB Internal Memory, microSD expansion up to 32GB
• Wireless N Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n), Bluetooth 3.0
• 1GHz Dual-Core Processor, 1GB RAM