Steve Job says that 7-inch tablets are terrible because they are too big to compete with a smartphone and too small to compete with the iPad. He might be correct to certain extent, but we are sure there are consumers out there who prefer the portability and lower cost of a 7-inch tablet. Otherwise, Samsung couldn’t have sold millions of 7-inch Galaxy Tab in just a few months after its release. That’s why we made this list for those of you who are in the market for a 7-inch tablet.
1. Samsung Galaxy Tab
Released on December 2010, the Samsung Galaxy Tab is one of the first 7-inch Android tablet to hit the market. Performance wise, this tablet is pretty snappy and battery life is pretty decent.. but too bad it is running Android 2.2 (Froyo) instead of the tablet-optimized Android 3.0 (Honeycomb). Samsung has officially announced that the Galaxy Tab will not get Honeycomb update in future, but will instead get Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) update. If you are after a 7-inch Honeycomb tablet, the Samsung Galaxy Tab is not for you. To find out more, read the Samsung Galaxy Tab review. The 16GB, Wifi model is currently available for as low as $349 on Amazon.
Specification:
| Screen | 7-inch, 1024 x 600 pixel capacitive touchscreen |
| OS | Android 2.2 (Froyo) |
| Processor | 1GHz Samsung Cortex A8 Hummingbird |
| RAM | 512MB |
| Built-in Storage | 16GB or 32GB |
| External Storage | MicroSD card slot that supports up to 32GB |
| Front Camera | 1.3MP |
| Rear Camera | 3MP |
| Connectivity | 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi, Bluetoth 3.0 |
| Ports | 30-pin dock connector, NO USB and HDMI ports |
2. Blackberry Playbook
The Blackberry Playbook is not an Android tablet. RIM developed a new OS of their own called the BlackBerry Tablet OS for the Playbook. It’s extremely smooth and a multitasking dynamo. The best part? It can run Android 2.3 apps! The overall performance of the Playbook is great and it has lots of potential to be the market leader. But it does have a few drawbacks such as the lack of MicroSD card slot, and a small power button that’s hard to press. Find out more about this tablet from Blackberry Playbook review.
Specification:
| Screen | 7-inch, 1024 x 600 pixel capacitive touchscreen |
| OS | BlackBerry Tablet OS |
| Processor | 1 GHz ARM Cortex A9 (dual core) |
| RAM | 1 GB |
| Built-in Storage | 16GB or 32GB or 64GB |
| External Storage | No |
| Front Camera | 3MP |
| Rear Camera | 5MP |
| Connectivity | 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi, Bluetoth 2.1+EDR |
| Ports | micro-USB, micro-HDMI |
3. Dell Streak 7
The Dell Streak 7 is powered by Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor which delivers great performance, and it’s the first Android tablet to feature 4G connectivity. It however has poorer battery life and lower screen resolution than its competitors. Similar to Samsung Galaxy Tab, the Dell Streak 7 is running Android Froyo instead of Honeycomb. There’s no word from Dell whether the Streak 7 will be upgraded to Android Honeycomb in future. To find out more about this tablet, read the Dell Streak 7 review.
Specification:
| Screen | 7-inch, 800 x 480 pixel capacitive touchscreen |
| OS | Android 2.2 (Froyo) |
| Processor | 1 GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 (dual core) |
| RAM | 512 MB |
| Built-in Storage | 16GB |
| External Storage | MicroSD card slot that supports up to 32GB |
| Front Camera | 1.3MP |
| Rear Camera | 3MP |
| Connectivity | 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi, Bluetoth 2.1+EDR |
| Ports | 30-pin dock connector, NO USB and HDMI ports |
4. HTC Flyer
A unique tablet from HTC with stylus for taking notes, drawing pictures, and more. It’s currently shipping with Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) but HTC has promised Honeycomb upgrade shortly after its launched. For now, you will get Gingerbread with HTC Sense UI on top, which makes Android more appealing to less techy users. The overall performance of the Flyer is good, and the stylus function is said to be well implemented. To learn more about it, check out the HTC Flyer Review.
Specification:
| Screen | 7-inch, 1024 x 600 pixel capacitive touchscreen |
| OS | Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) |
| Processor | 1.5 GHz Qualcomm (single core) |
| RAM | 1 GB |
| Built-in Storage | 32GB |
| External Storage | MicroSD card slot that supports up to 32GB |
| Front Camera | 1.3MP |
| Rear Camera | 5MP |
| Connectivity | 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi, Bluetoth 3.0 |
| Ports | Standard micro-USB |
5. Acer Iconia Tab A100
The Acer Iconia Tab A100 is not yet released to the market, so no one knows the actual performance of this tablet yet. Its specification on paper however looks pretty promising. Besides a powerful Nvidia Tegra 2 processor, there’s a good selection of ports included in this tablet, including a micro-USB port, a micro-HDMI port, and a MicroSD card slot that supports up to 32GB. Also, it will be shipping with Android Honeycomb. The last time we heard, this tablet will be released on the 2nd half of this year.
Specification:
| Screen | 7-inch, 1024 x 600 pixel capacitive touchscreen |
| OS | Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) |
| Processor | 1 GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 (dual core) |
| RAM | 512 MB |
| Built-in Storage | 8GB |
| External Storage | MicroSD card slot that supports up to 32GB |
| Front Camera | 2MP |
| Rear Camera | 5MP |
| Connectivity | 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi, Bluetoth 2.1+EDR |
| Ports | micro-USB, micro-HDMI |
6. ASUS Eee Pad Memo
Similar to the Acer Iconia Tab A100, the ASUS Eee Pad Memo is a 7-inch Honeycomb tablet that’s yet to be released. It sports a single core 1.2GHz Qualcomm MSM8260 processor, 1GB RAM, 7-inch 1024 x 600 display, and similar to the HTC Flyer, there will be stylus that comes with this tablet as well. The estimated release date for the Eee Pad Memo is June 2011.
Specification:
| Screen | 7-inch, 1024 x 600 pixel capacitive touchscreen |
| OS | Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) |
| Processor | 1.2GHz Qualcomm MSM8260 |
| RAM | 1 GB |
| Built-in Storage | Between 8GB and 64GB |
| External Storage | MicroSD card slot that supports up to 32GB |
| Front Camera | 1.2MP |
| Rear Camera | 5MP |
| Connectivity | 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi, Bluetoth 2.1+EDR |
| Ports | micro-USB, micro-HDMI |