Tech
Samsung Galaxy Tab Active3 Review – Forbes
At CES 2021, Samsung launched its new enterprise tablet, the Galaxy Tab Active3. The Galaxy Tab Active3 targets the mobile workforce. In 2021, much work is getting done in odd places. In the front seat of a car, in an office, or outside on a construction site. The Galaxy Tab Active3 will serve those types of workers in industries ranging from retail to transportation and beyond.
Samsung sent me one of its new Galaxy Tab Active3 to review. I admit I am not a huge tablet user, but rather an enterprise PC fanatic due to my work nature. With that said, I do enjoy using a tablet for checking email, browsing the web, streaming entertainment, and snapping pics. I spent a couple of days using it in addition to my PC, and below is my experience.
My configuration
I will start by outlining my configuration. My Galaxy Tab Active3 came with an 8″ display at 1080P resolution, Exynos 9810 processor, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, 5050mAh battery, and Wi-Fi 6 connectivity. Like most Samsung devices, there is the ability to add up to an additional 1TB of storage via microSD. There are 4G LTE enabled versions of the system available, but mine was the standard Wi-Fi configuration. The Galaxy Tab Active3 comes with IP68 water and dust resistance certification and MIL-STD-810H military-grade certification as well.
Build quality
The Galaxy Tab Active3 comes in Samsung’s signature packaging with a system image on the front and an S Pen draped down the box’s side. Once I took the system out of the box, I installed the removable battery, replaced the back covering, and dropped the tablet into the rugged case that comes with the Galaxy Tab Active3. The tablet didn’t feel very rugged until I dropped it into the case. I noticed immediately that this case feels durable and fits the tablet like a glove. It was tough to get the case off once I put it on, I guess even more reason to leave it on. I felt like a could drop this tablet down the stairs and not sweat it a bit. I was able to toss the tablet into my backpack with no worry of cracking the display or denting the device. Overall, I like the design of the Galaxy Tab Active3. The device is sleek, lightweight, and, most importantly, durable.
The system comes with a USB-C charging port, Pogo Pin, audio jack, power button, volume up and down, and a programmable button. The Galaxy Tab Active3 also comes with a 13MP rear camera with flash and a 5MP front camera.
Display
The Galaxy Tab Active3 has an 8″ display at 1920 x 1080P resolution. It isn’t edgeless like Samsung’s smartphone lineup but instead has thicker edges. The display borders aren’t necessarily a bad thing, but it is worth calling out. I found the display to be extremely responsive to touch. The virtual keyboard onscreen was surprisingly easy to type on. The individual keys were a little too small for my liking, but it worked well when I did use the keyboard. I was impressed with the S Pen pairing with this display. I used the S Pen to scroll through Forbes articles and switch between YouTube videos with ease. There was very an instance where I felt uncomfortable using the pen with the display. Another plus is that the S Pen fits conveniently into the top of the case. It is sometimes hard to pull the pen out, so don’t worry about it falling out of the case.
Performance and battery life
Both the fingerprint scanner and biometric face login were smooth to use. I had no trouble using either option as a secure way to log in. As far as performance goes, this tablet was able to do everything I asked of it. I mostly used it for light productivity workloads like checking email, watching YouTube videos, and snapping pictures. But for those workloads, I never had a hiccup or lag. I felt comfortable using the tablet for all my G-Suite apps like Google Hangouts, Google Meet, and Google Drive. The photos that I captured on the devices didn’t blow me away, but the tablet will work well for scanning barcodes or snapping a quit picture of a document at work. I was getting around 6 to 7 hours of battery life on a day’s typical use. When I upped the display brightness and streamed more video content, that brought me into the 5-hour range. You can always purchase an additional 5050mAh battery and swap it out for more uptime. The benefit with the swappable batteries is that all you’re swapping is the battery, not the full device. While this equates to more batteries, you won’t need too many spare devices. The audio on the device came through loud and clear. I was 10+ feet away from the tablet while listening to a YouTube video, and I could hear the audio clearly with ease. The Android 10 OS worked great for my use case and but I welcome the upgrade to Android 11 soon.
Another welcomed addition is “glove mode.” The mode allows users the ability to use the display while wearing gloves. I turned on glove mode in display options under the device settings, and it worked well. I was able to swipe and navigate on the device with a high degree of touch accuracy. I can see anyone working on construction sites, oil and gas sites, or anyone working in outdoor occupations loving this feature. I understand I am not the target audience of this tablet, so take my statements about performance and battery life with a grain of salt.
Pricing
The Galaxy Tab Active3 is available now in the U.S. for purchase. The system’s standard Wi-Fi configuration will start at $489.99, while the LTE-enabled version starting at $589.99.
Wrapping up
All in all, I was pleased with my experience with the Galaxy Tab Active3. There is something oddly satisfying about having a rugged device, knowing that it is still likely to perform if you drop or abuse the machine. The Galaxy Tab Active3 had a great display and good battery life wrapped in a small, durable form factor. I was impressed with the enterprise features and capabilities of this new tablet-like Samsung wireless Dex, Wi-Fi 6, and a programmable key. I can see this tablet being used and abused by mobile and frontline workers, and I believe it is up to the task. I do not doubt that this tablet can contribute to some meaningful productivity boosts to enterprise users.
If you’re an enterprise with a mobile workforce or frontline workers, The Galaxy Tab Active3 needs to be on your consideration list.
Note: Moor Insights & Strategy writers and editors may have contributed to this article.
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Tech
Samsung Galaxy Xcover 5 gets Bluetooth certified, leaked render reveals rugged design – GSMArena.com news – GSMArena.com
A press render of the Samsung Galaxy Xcover 5 we’ve been hearing about since late last month has surfaced, revealing its rugged design.
The image was shared by leakster Evan Blass, who claimed the Xcover 5 is not a successor to last year’s Xcover Pro, but a follow-up to the Xcover 4s launched back in 2019.
While we are yet to hear anything from Samsung about the Galaxy Xcover 5, the smartphone has moved a step closer to the launch as it bagged Bluetooth SIG certification.
The certifying authority didn’t detail the Xcover 5’s specs, but it did confirm that it will come with Bluetooth 5.0 and have two models – SM-G525F and SM-G525_DS. The latter is likely a dual-SIM variant, and the former was spotted on Geekbench last month with an Exynos 850 SoC, 4GB RAM, and Android 11.
The rest of the rumored specs of Galaxy Xcover 5 include a 5.3″ HD+ LCD, 64GB storage, microSD card slot, and a 3,000 mAh user-replacable battery that will charge through a USB-C port at up to 15W.
The Xcover 5 is said to feature 16MP primary and 5MP selfie cameras, and come with an NFC chip onboard. It will be IP68 dust and water-resistant, carry a MIL-STD-810G certification, and is expected to cost around €300.
Andrew Hoyle/CNET
Let’s face it, mobile phones, even the best ones, just aren’t that exciting anymore. They’re all way more powerful than we really need, they all have nifty multi-lens cameras and they all look essentially the same. I really hoped that folding phones would give a much needed shot of adrenaline to the industry, but well over a year on from their arrival, they’ve fizzled out like a damp firework and left me feeling disappointed.
I’ve worked for CNET for a decade and most of that time I’ve specifically covered mobile phones. I’ve seen a lot come and go. I’ve seen the rise and fall of BlackBerry, I’ve seen weird phone ideas like the Russian Yotaphone with its e-ink second screen and I saw the brief trend of curved phones like the LG G4 and Samsung’s Galaxy Round. But in recent years it’s seemed that genuine innovation has been put aside, with every company clamoring to make what could easily be revisions of the same product.
Think about these phrases: “A big, vibrant screen,” “A great multi-rear camera setup,” “An attractive metal and glass design.” Can you think of many phones that those sentiments couldn’t be applied to? The result is that all the phones are pretty good, but it means that they’re also equally boring. Each year’s refresh adds a few megapixels onto the camera, or an extra bit of screen size. Or a slight tweak to a design that, fundamentally, remains just a rectangular slab.
The LG G5 came apart. And then so did LG’s mobile business.
James Martin/CNET
I get it. Innovation is expensive and spending millions of dollars researching a new idea means you need a guarantee that it’s going to sell well. LG found this out to its cost with phones like the weird, modular G5, which didn’t sell well and now the company is reportedly looking to sell off its phone business.
So when folding phones came along my spirits lifted. Here was innovation. Here was this new technology which genuinely took me back when I saw it in person for the first time and left me excited again for the possibilities of what phones could become. I know I’m not the only one who loved that idea of the phone that you wear on your wrist like a watch and unfold it when you need the bigger screen. But where is that?
The foldables we do have are… fine. The Galaxy Z Flip and Moto Razr’s clamshell design is neat in that it makes a big-screen phone more pocketable by folding in half, while the Galaxy Fold 2 and Huawei Mate X are essentially tablets that fold in half to become phones, which is fine, too.
The Samsung Galaxy Fold and Huawei Mate X are both essentially tablets that fold into phones.
Andrew Hoyle/CNET
But beyond the bending screen, they haven’t really pushed any boundaries. They haven’t changed the way we use our phones or brought any revolution that’s so groundbreaking that it alters the face of mobile altogether. They use the same version of Android, with only a few small tweaks to some apps to give a bit of additional functionality, but little beyond that. Really, they’re the same phone as before, but you can fold them in half. I find it very telling that I have the Galaxy Fold and Z Flip in my house, but they’re in a drawer among other past phones and I don’t have any great desire to get them out again.
And you pay handsomely for that one fold feature as all folding phones cost significantly more than their respective manufacturers regular flagships. This, in turn, means that adoption is low, which gives those companies — or third-party developers — little incentive to think of new and creative ways to use this technology. In time, folding phones may well be cast into the pile of other gimmicks, alongside banana phones, Samsung’s camera/phone hybrid and 3D phone displays.
But I hope not. I hope that it sticks around and evolves into something useful and exciting. Frankly I hope that Apple takes up the cause as it does have a tendency of only adopting new technology when they can put it to a genuinely useful use, although perhaps not always (I’m looking at you, 3D Touch).
The original Galaxy Fold was interesting, but it had its problems.
Andrew Hoyle/CNET
But most of all I hope that any mobile company isn’t afraid to try and innovate and do something a bit different. Phones used to be fun, and phone launch events were genuinely exciting to see what awesome new tech would be unveiled this time.
That excitement isn’t where it used to be. It’s an ember flickering at the bottom of the fireplace now, with each generic phone launch threatening to be the bucket of sand that could put it out completely. There is a chance that folding phones could yet be the kindling that turns that ember back into a roaring inferno, but I’m not crossing my fingers.
As February comes to a close, we saw a number of solid devices go on sale this week — including brand new smartphones. While Nintendo’s Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit is $10 off, Amazon knocked the prices of all of Samsung’s Galaxy S21 smartphones down by hundreds. Those handsets just came out last month, making now a good time to grab one if you’ve been meaning to upgrade. Here are the best tech deals we found this week that you can still get today.
Samsung Galaxy S21
All of Samsung’s latest smartphones are on sale at Amazon, with a couple seeing $200 discounts. The regular Galaxy S21 is $100 off while both the Galaxy S21+ and the S21 Ultra are $200 off. While the S21 is the best value Android phone you can get at the moment, the S21 Ultra is a substantial upgrade that will serve power-users and creatives well.
Buy Galaxy S21 at Amazon – $700 Buy Galaxy S21+ at Amazon – $800 Buy Galaxy S21 Ultra at Amazon – $1,000
Samsung Galaxy Watch 3
The Galaxy Watch 3 is down to a record low price of $249 at Amazon, which is $150 off its normal price. You’ll pay $30 more for the 44mm model, but that, too, is an all-time low. We gave the Galaxy Watch 3 a score of 86 for its spinning bezel and solid activity and sleep tracking.
Buy Galaxy Watch 3 41mm at Amazon – $249 Buy Galaxy Watch 3 44mm at Amazon – $279
Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit
Nintendo’s Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit racing kit is just about $10 off at Amazon, bringing it down to just about $90. It’s a small discount but a decent one for a Nintendo Switch accessory that rarely goes on sale. The kit gives you the Luigi racing cart and “gates” with which to make your own track around your home. With it and the free software downloaded to your Switch, you can move your racing endeavors (partially) off the screen and into your living room.
Buy Mario Kart: Home Circuit Luigi pack at Amazon – $90.12
LG CX OLED TVs
The 55-inch LG CX OLED TV is down to a record low of $1,350 at Amazon and Best Buy. Newegg recently joined this sale by knocking $800 off the 65-inch CX OLED model, and you’ll get a free $200 Newegg gift card when you buy. While new 2021 models will be coming out soon, this 2020 TV remains a good pick if you don’t want to shell out around $2,000 or more for the latest versions. The CX lineup uses LG’s a9 Gen 3 AI Processor 4K and it supports 120Hz refresh rates, NVIDIA G-SYNC, AMD FreeSync, Dolby Vision IQ, Dolby Atmos and more.
Buy 55-inch LG CX OLED at Amazon – $1,350 Buy 55-inch LG CX OLED at Best Buy – $1,350 Buy 65-inch LG CX OLED + $200 gift card at Newegg – $1,997
New tech deals
Roku Streambar
Roku’s Streambar is down to $109 on Amazon, which is $20 off its normal price. We’ve seen it $10 less than this before, but if you want a solid, compact soundbar with the power of a Roku streaming device inside, this is a great pick. We gave it a score of 86 for its solid sound quality, Dolby Audio support and its ability to work as a Bluetooth speaker.
Buy Roku Streambar at Amazon – $109
Roomba i7+ + Braava M6 bundle
If you want a robot combo that can handle vacuuming and mopping, this one on sale at Wellbots is a good pick. Now you can get the Roomba i7+ vacuum and the Braava M6 mop for $1,099, which is $150 off its normal price. We like the i7+ for its cleaning power and included base, into which it empties debris so you don’t have to handle its bin after every cleaning. The Braava M6 uses its water reservoir to handle hardwood, tile and other types of flooring. These two devices also work together now to separately map your home for more efficient cleaning.
Buy Roomba bundle at Wellbots – $1,099
Twelve South HiRise Pro
Twelve South’s iMac stand, the HiRise Pro, is down to $109 on Amazon, which is more than $60 off its normal price. It’s a more elegant accessory for those what want to lift their iMac or monitor to a more comfortable viewing position. It also provides extra storage space with its interior, adjustable shelves, giving you a place to put hard drives and other trinkets that you need to access regularly.
Buy HiRise Pro at Amazon – $109
Logitech G203 Lightsync gaming mouse
Logitech’s G203 Lightsync gaming mouse is down to an all-time low of $30. In addition to coming in a few fun colors, this mouse also has customizable RGB lighting so you can make it your own in that way, too. It also has an 8,000 DPI sensor and six buttons that you can program using Logitech’s G Hub software.
Buy Logitech G203 at Amazon – $30
ThermoWorks Thermapen Mk4
One of our favorite grilling gadgets, the ThermoWorks Thermapen Mk4 in gray is on sale for $69, or $30 off its normal price. It’s one of the best instant-read thermometers for cooking that we’ve tried and we like its rotating, backlit display and its automatic on/off function that’s triggered by movement. Just pick it up when you need to use it and, when you’re done, it will shut off after you’ve set it down.
Buy Thermapen Mk4 at ThermoWorks – $69
Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
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