Samsung’s built a tablet business with models that cater to specific users and their needs. Their Tab Pro line was designed around corporate users as well as the BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) trend. Samsung has now created the Galaxy Tab A line of 8” and 9.7” tablets designed specifically for families and home users.
Tablets have become ideal devices for second-screen experiences and ideal as content consumption and infotainment systems for younger users.
Today’s tablets are powerful enough to access various forms of streaming video services as well as for accessing home TV via apps from TV providers.
The Galaxy Tab A line has been built around the needs of home users and families with some key features including a durable metal chassis, built-in security features like Kid Mode which limit access to more sensitive aspects of the tablet’s OS and mommy and daddy’s files and apps.
This helps curb concerns of cyber security, online bullying and improves Internet safety since younger users can only access features and applications which are age appropriate.
The various kid modes gives children access to safe and appropriate content such as Kids Camera, Kids Music, and Kids Drawing. A corresponding Samsung’s Kid’s Store has over 900 apps and has been pre-screened for children.
Multiple users can each enjoy their own apps and experiences with different user accounts, a feature that comes with the Android 5.0 Lollipop OS.
This feature allows parents to control which users get access to what content. Being Samsung products, both feature the Multi-Window functionality that lets users open two windows side by side and run apps simultaneously so they can multitask on-the-go
There are also some key differences with the Galaxy Tab A devices that set them apart from other Samsung tablets. While available in two sizes, an 8” model and a larger 9.7” model, both feature a squarer 4:3 aspect ratio that’s differentfrom the more common 16:10 aspect ratio found on most tablets.
This means the two Galaxy Tab A tablet displays are full screen rather than widescreen in dimensions. The 4:3 aspect ratio is also ideal for reading documents such as PDF’s, eBooks, and magazines, which are ideal for the dimensions of tablets of this size.
In terms of specs, the Galaxy Tab A 8.0” features a 2.1GHz quad core processor, a choice of 16GB or 32GB capacities (with microSDXC expansion) and 1.5GB RAM. This tablet features a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 2-megapixel front facing camera. The Tab A 8” also has a 4200 mAh battery and runs Android 5.0 Lollipop.
The Galaxy Tab A 9.7” has the same 2.1GHz quad core processor, a choice of 16GB or 32GB capacities (with microSDXC expansion) and 1.5GB RAM. There’s the larger 9.7” display but with the same 1024×768 resolution and a larger 6000 mAh battery. Camera specifications are the same for both tablets.
The Galaxy Tab A 9.7” variants also include an S-Pen designed to make it easier to select pictures, images, objects, and text. For users that might be requiring pen input for drawing or signing documents.
Running the latest version of Samsung’s TouchWiz OS, the devices will ship with Microoft Office for Android as well as the requisite Google apps (Docs, Maps, Google Plus, YouTube and Chrome) and an offer 100GB of free OneDrive storage for two years. This is representative of the growing trend of offering tablet versions of leading desktop software to the latest mobile devices.
The latest Galaxy Tab A tablets offer mid-range specifications and high-end build-quality and functionality that will appeal to most consumers and will be ideal as all-around family tablets.
