With the Galaxy Tab 2, I get the feeling that Samsung has decided to ditch the high-end and instead shoot for affordability. Basically what I’m saying is that they are trying to compete with the Kindle Fire and not the iPad any longer. It could be the right move after an abysmal 2011 in the tablet game.

In this latest series, they give us 7″ and 10″ tablets, focusing on the low price, expandable storage, and media sharing as selling points rather than specs. From what we know, they both have dual-core processors (OMAP?), decent screens (nothing special though), run Ice Cream Sandwich, have SD card slots, GPS, below average cameras, and connect via WiFi only. At $249 (7-incher) and $399 (10-incher), maybe you won’t care if the camera is hardly usable? As long as you can game at a decent rate and extend your media consumption beyond a phone or TV, they still may be worth a look.

The 7″ model will be available April 22 – 10″ Tab 2 on May 4. 

Since Samsung wasn’t ready to announce the Galaxy SIII at MWC this year, they had to at least come up with something. That “something” is the Galaxy Tab 2 (10.1) and a projector phone called the Galaxy Beam, which we’ll talk about in a bit. For now, let’s focus on this new Tab 2 that should be an epic release after the success and awesomeness that was the original 10.1, right? Eh, not really. The Galaxy Tab 2 is identical to the original 10.1 except that it runs Ice Cream Sandwich and has a slight redesign with speakers in the front. Otherwise, it packs a dual-core processor, 7,000mAh battery, 3MP shooter in the back, VGA shooter in the front, and TouchWiz. We wish there was something else to say about it, but it really is an identical tablet. Not to say that we don’t still love the original 10.1, but come on Sammie, give us something new and brilliant.  

You are looking at Samsung’s new Galaxy Tab 2 that was announced for the UK in March and the rest of the globe some time after. It runs on a dual-core processor, has a 7″ WVGA display (1024×600), supports HSPA+ and WiFi, has dual cameras (3MP and VGA), and runs Ice Cream Sandwich. It’s ultra-portable just as the original Tab was only we’re still trying to figure out why anyone would purchase this over the 7.7 that has been released in most countries. Will it be extremely cheap? It’s Euro price seems to suggest that, however, we won’t know for sure until it launches here in the states. This is one tablet that I just do not understand.

Pics and official specs below.

Update:  Video of Samsung’s Tab 2 unveiling also below (Cheers Premysl!).