Samsung Galaxy Tab A, with 9.7-inch XGA screen, comes to UK

[HEXUS]

Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi plus S Pen, and LTE models will all become available in the UK from 21st May.

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[shaithis]

A 4:3 screen, Samsung going retro!

[this_is_gav]

Odd choice of screen resolution, but I guess it means gaming time will be much, much improved, if that's your thing.

Good to have that choice I suppose.

[LSG501]

$299 and up.... seriously that's expensive for 'bottom of the range' products.

For $100 more you can get a much better nexus 9 or you could pay less and get one of lots of other android options.

Also got to love the 'pr' about natural viewing experience... unless of course you use the device to consume media such as movies or tv shows lol

[ValkyrieTsukiko]

the price seems a lil steep for what it is, i wonder how much more the S-Pen variant will cost more than the standard :S I'm tempted for the S-Pen version but not sure.

[crossy]

Samsung says that the new device "introduces a new screen size designed to create an improved viewing experience alongside high-performance features". That new screen is a 9.7-inch diagonal 4:3 ratio display. Bucking the trend of increasing pixel densities on offer in mobile devices, the screen offers just 132 pixels-per-inch – it's an XGA resolution display with just 1,024 x 768 pixels.

Erm, not quite new - according to GSMArena, the HP Touchpad - introduced more than four years ago - had the same size, aspect ratio and pixel density. Anyone know who made the Touchpad's screen - wouldn't have been Samsung by any chance (not that I'm suggesting that the sole purpose of the Tab A was to use up old screens that some Korean accountant found in a warehouse somewhere).

The Samsung Galaxy Tab A range will become available in the UK from 21st of May, just a week from now. We weren't informed of any intended recommended retail pricing for the UK but in the US the 9.7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab A series tablets are priced from about $299.

$299 is a lot of money for such a poor spec - maybe I'm being hard on Samsung, but the old Note 10.1 is available for around the same price, yet only lacks Lollipop, but matches - or exceeds - this new device in everything else. Oh, correction, the old Note is also heavier. But at £269 (Expansys) the old Note 10.1 is around the same price as this ... "innovation" (sarcasm)

So let me see - Samsung have "reinvented" the old HP Touchpad, but decided to pitch it at nearly full price? Anyone know how to say "major fail" in Korean? Serious Samsung, what on earth were you thinking? Heck the Tab A even looks a lot like the old Touchpad.

Walks away shaking his head...

[DemonHighwayman]

My old HP Touchpad had the same screen specs but is an IPS panel, the ppi is fine I really don't see much difference between the touchpad and my 1200p 8" nvidia shield tablet.

[mattc]

I like the 4:3 aspect ratio for browsing magazines on my iPad.. works better than having a thin 16:9 display. A lot of the time I'm browsing the web + reading, rather than watching video, which is better suited to 16:9.

[Saracen]

While I wouldn't disagree with most of the above points, for me, they miss the real point.

Have Samsung stopped stuffing their tablets to the gills with useless junk I don't want, and short of steps that break the warranty, I can't get rid of?

Answer = I don't know, but rather doubt it. And unless they have, I don't care what either price or spec's are, I'm not interested. I'm not buying such garbage-laden rubbish again.

[tomthum]

Samsung going backwards with this tab