Difference Between Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 LTE and Motorola Xyboard 8.2

Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 LTE vs Motorola Xyboard 8.2 | Speed, Performance and Features Reviewed | Full Specs Compared
 

Samsung is known to experiment with the different sizes in tablets to find out what suits the best to their audience. Although some sizes seem weird, they get valuable user input by putting them into the market. One such tablet we saw at CES was Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 LTE. They had a 7 inch tablet and 8.9 inch tablet with the big brother been 10.1 inch tablet. Now they have introduced a tablet that lays somewhere between 7.0 and 8.9 inches at 7.7 inches. We’ll explore the use of this tablet and how its ergonomics can benefit the consumer in the individual reviews. However, this tablet comes as a LTE version, and we were quite happy with the performance it promises. The specialty in Samsung is not their price, but their line of tablets have a consistent record of been the best in the market, so consumers tend to trust them by default.

The rival for this comparison comes from Motorola, another well-known vendor in the market. The Motorola Xyboard 8.2, otherwise known as Xoom 2, is also a LTE tablet and is essentially a replicate of their Motorola Droid Xyboard 10.1 in a smaller scale. We have been watching the tablet market closely, and there were several tablets that grabbed our attention for the past six months. One of them was undoubtedly Motorola Xyboard 8.2 for several reasons we’ll be discussing in the individual reviews. Before understanding the difference between these two mobile devices, we have the need to understand what they are made up of, and then we’ll compare them with each other for your preference.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 LTE

As the name suggests, Galaxy Tab 7.7 comes with a 7.7 inches Super AMOLED Plus capacitive touchscreen display that features a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels at 196ppi pixel density. The screen is reinforced with Corning Gorilla Glass, to make it scratch resistant and comes with an expensive look. It comes in Metallic Grey and White flavors and has comfortable ergonomics. We can’t really differentiate between the screen sizes, but what we feel is that it’s easier to hold than the 8.9 version and obviously having a bit bigger screen is advantageous compared to 7.0 editions. Some might find it irritating to have two versions in 7.0 and 7.7, but there is a subtle difference in how we perceive the devices. We reckon the final choice depends on you whether you want a big screen or you’re going to suffice with 7.0 inches.

In any case, Galaxy Tab 7.7 LTE comes with enough processing power, to handle just about anything thrown at it. The 1.4GHz dual core processor on top of Samsung Exynos chipset makes it a top notch configuration, and while not been the top in the market, it certainly doesn’t go way below either. It has 1GB of RAM and runs on Adroid OS 3.1 Honeycomb. We are told that Samsung will be releasing an upgrade to Android v4.0 IceCreamSandwich, and we have a feeling that they will include the update by the time they ship this device. The processing power particularly comes in handy given the tablet has LTE connectivity. We can assure that this tablet would seamlessly multi task and let you work on your streaming activities over the internet while you’re on a call with your friend. It guarantees blazing fast switching between applications, as well. Galaxy Tab 7.7 LTE can gracefully degrade to 3G connectivity when LTE is not available, and it also comes with Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n for continuous connectivity. The fact that it can host a Wi-Fi hotspot would be the perfect way for you to be generous about your fast internet connection. We spotted 3.15MP camera with autofocus and LED flash in Galaxy Tab that can record 720p HD videos, but we think Samsung could have done better with the camera. It also has 2MP camera for the purpose of video conferencing bundled together with Bluetooth. We almost forgot to mention one thing, Galaxy Tab 7.7 LTE is not a GSM device, but it has CDMA connectivity. We are excited because it comes with 16GB and 32GB editions with the ability to expand the storage with a microSD card unlike Xyboard 8.2. And, we are anticipating a battery life of 7-8 hours in one charge.

Motorola Droid Xyboard 8.2

Announced in early December and released late same month, one would expect the Xyboard 8.2 to have specs that’d beat the best tablets at the time. Motorola Droid Xyboard 8.2 or Motorola Xoom 2 as known in the other parts of the world besides USA; is a scaled down version of Motorola Droid Xyboard 10.1. The good thing is, the scaling down is only with the size and not with anything else. The Xyboard 8.2 scores dimensions of 139 x 216mm which is smaller than the predecessor and it’s also slightly thinner scoring a thickness of 9mm. The 390g weight is surprisingly lighter. It comes with not-so-curved-and-smooth-edges, which certainly aren’t going to please the looks; but what it does provide is more comfort when you’re holding it because it’s designed not to sink into your palms. The Xyboard 8.2 features 8.2 inches screen as predicted by the name. The HD-IPS LCD Capacitive touchscreen is quite a wonderful addition to Xyboard which features 1280 x 800 resolution and 184ppi pixel density. It has great viewing angles and quite crisp reproduction of images and texts. The Corning Gorilla Glass reinforcement would keep the screen out of scratches all the time, as well.

Inside the Xyboard 8.2, we can see 1.2GHz Cortex A9 dual core processor on top of TI OMAP 4430 chipset. It also has PowerVR SGX540 GPU and 1GB RAM to back up the configuration. Android v3.2 Honeycomb binds the hardware together to provide a good user experience, and the cherry on top is that, Motorola promises an upgrade to IceCreamSandwich, which we expect to be out soon. It comes with two storage options, 16GB and 32GB, but doesn’t provide the flexibility to expand the storage with a microSD card, which is unfortunate, as 32GB just won’t be enough for you if you’re a movie junkie. Motorola has graced Xyboard 8.2 with a 5MP camera that has LED flash and autofocus, and can capture 720p HD videos @ 30 frames per second. Geo tagging is also available with the support of A-GPS. The 1.3MP front facing camera bundled with Bluetooth v2.1 and A2DP gives a delightful video calling experience.

The best competitive advantage of Motorola Droid Xyboard 8.2 would be the LTE connectivity. It fully uses Verizon’s LTE infrastructure while it has Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n for continuous connectivity. It can also act as a Wi-Fi hotspot which is great with the improved speeds of LTE. Besides the usual aspects, it has a 2.1 virtual surround sound system and a mini HDMI port. The UI seems to be the raw Honeycomb built without any modifications by the vendor. It has 3960mAh battery and Motorola promises us a usage duration of 6 hours, which is only moderate.

Conclusion

So far we have looked at two of the best tablets in the market today and giving out a conclusion is understandability not the easiest to do. We have explored several aspects in both of these tablets, and the performance seems identical. We can’t exactly draw a margin without getting the chance to run some tests on Galaxy Tab, but we can safely assume with past experience that it will have better scores in benchmarks compared to Motorola Xyboard 8.2, understandably because of the better processor. Besides that, both screens are almost identical for the perspective of this review both yielding crisp and clear images and text at great viewing angles and awesome resolution. Galaxy Tab 7.7 LTE has our favor in terms of the UI than Xyboard, but it certainly isn’t bad. Galaxy gives you more agility with the storage options while Motorola Xyboard gives you more agility with the optics. Unfortunately, we don’t know the price Galaxy Tab is going to be offered, but what we know is that you have to get a data plan that’s about to cost you around $30-$50 from Verizon to get this beauty. So do consider that when you’re going to invest in either one of these tablets and choose your personal favorite.