If you’re looking for a budget tablet with reasonably good specs, Samsung’s new Galaxy Tab4 tablets — in 7-, 8- or 10.1-inch sizes — might be worth a look. The tablets are budget-priced ($200 to $350 US, depending on the tablet’s size), but in terms of specs, they don’t offer more than other popular tablets, and in many cases they offer less. Let’s see how they stand up to the iPad, Kindle Fire HDX, and Google Nexus tablets.
All three Galaxy Tab4 tablets run the latest Android 4.4 (KitKat) and all three have a 1,280 x 800 pixel display, so the 7-inch and 8-inch tablets have a higher pixels per inch resolution than the largest tablet: 216 ppi for the 7-inch Tab4, 189 ppi for the 8-incher, and just 150 ppi for the 10.1-inch Tab4. The tablets have a 1.2 GHz quad core processor, 1.5 GB of memory and 16 GB of storage, expandable to 64 GB via Micro SD card — except for the 7-inch tablet, which only offers 8 GB of storage expandable to 32. All three sizes feature a 3 MP rear camera and a 1.5 MP front-facing cam.
7-inch Tab4 competition
If you’re looking at the 7-inch tablet, a strong alternative for comparison shopping would be Amazon’s Kindle Fire HDX 7 and the newest (late 2013) Google Nexus 7, made by Asus. Both the Kindle Fire HDX 7 and the newest Nexus 7 give you a 1,920 x 1,200 pixel (323 ppi) display, versus the Tab4’s 216 ppi. The Nexus 7 also has a possibly faster (1.5 GHz) quad-core processor, and the Fire HDX 7 boasts a 2.2 GHz CPU.
This seems like a no-brainer. Both the Kindle Fire HDX 7 and the Nexus 7 sell for the same as the 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab4, but with better displays, faster processors, and more onboard storage. The Google Nexus 7 now starts at $199 on Amazon, and the Kindle Fire HDX 7 is currently on sale for $199, or $30 off the regular price. The $199 price here is for the 16 GB, Wi-Fi only flavor; you’ll pay more for 32 GB or cellular versions.
8-inch Tab4 competition
If an 8-inch tablet suits you better, compare the 8-inch Galaxy Tab4 to Amazon’s Kindle Fire HDX 8.9, and Apple’s 7.9-inch late 2013 iPad Mini with Retina Display. The Retina iPad Mini delivers 2,048 x 1,536 pixels (326 ppi), a 1.3 GHz quad-core processor of comparable speed — on paper at least — to both the Nexus 7 or Samsung’s Galaxy Tab4. But Amazon’s Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 takes bragging rights in this category, with an Apple-biting 2560 x 1600 display (339 ppi), 2.2 GHz quad-core processor and 8 MP rear-facing camera, versus the 5 MP cam on the iPad and 3 MP shooter on the Samsung tablet.
To be fair, the Kindle Fire HDX only has a relatively low 720 pixel front-facing camera for video calls — much less than the 1.2 MP frontal cam on the iPad Mini and the Samsung Tab4 series.
Aside from better device specs, you’ll pay a bit more for access to the Apple cult or Amazon jungle. While the 8-inch Galaxy Tab4 retails for $240 from Samsung, the iPad Mini Retina retails for $399 on the Apple Store but can be had for $373 on Amazon. And the Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 is normally $399, but is now on sale for $339. All prices here are for 16 GB Wi-Fi only versions.
10-inch Tab4 competition
And if you’re eyeing a 1o-inch tablet, it’s also worth considering Google’s 10-inch Nexus 10 and Samsung’s own Galaxy Note 10.1 — each of which has a screen resolution of 2,560 x 1,600 (299 ppi), besting even the iPad Air’s Retina Display (264 ppi). The Nexus 10 offers 2 GB of memory, and though it only has a dual-core processor, you probably won’t notice much of a speed difference unless you are a heavy gamer or tend to run several open media-heavy applications at once. The older Nexus tablets also ship with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, but can be upgraded to 4.4 KitKat. Google will likely introduce new Nexus tablets with quad-core processors in a few months.
While the relatively pricey and the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 sells for $479 on Amazon and the iPad Air sells for $482 on Amazon or $499+ on Apple, the Nexus 10 starts at just $350. That’s not much more than Samsung’s $350 Galaxy Tab 4 10.1, which is currently on sale for $320. For a few extra dollars on the Nexus, you’re getting a crisper display, slightly higher-res cameras, and more memory.
Samsung also sells a 12.1 inch tablet in mid-range (Galaxy Tab4 Pro) and high-end (Galaxy Note Pro) models. That’s a handful both literally and spec-wise, so we won’t go into them here.
Availability
You can see a full list of specs for each of the three new Samsung Galaxy Tab4 tablets and pick one up directly from the Samsung Store in your choice of size in black or white. The 8-inch and 10.1-inch Tab4 is currently $30 off through May 17, though if sales are slow, don’t be surprised if another sale follows.
For now, the tablets are only available for Wi-Fi, but this summer you can get a version with LTE cellular connectivity from AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint.
