Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0 Release May 1

Samsung didn’t just announce the Samsung Galaxy Tab A 9.7 in the US today, but the new Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0 too, a little smaller and cheaper Android 5.0 Lollipop tablet. The release date is May 1st for the Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0 too, and it’s available for pre-order with the launch price starting at $229:
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Galaxy-SM-T350NZAAXAR-8-Inch-Titanium/
(UPDATED: Samsung has since confirmed that Samsung Galaxy Tab A will get Android 7.0 Nougat upgrade.)

Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0 shares all the features of the Samsung Galaxy Tab A 9.7, which includes Microsoft Office for Android, Multi Window multitasking, Kids Mode, Multi User mode, SideSynch, as well as a long list of productivity features including Enterprise-Ready, Corporate E-mail/Calendar/Contacts, Mobile Device Management, On-Device Encryption (ODE), SAFE, SAFE with Knox, and Virtual Private Network, not to mention all the functions of Android 5.0.

The specs are almost all the same as well, which means that this tablet too has a resolution of 1024 x 768, just from a 8-inch screen instead. But the result is the same more purposeful 4:3 aspect ratio. The processor is a 1.2 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor, while the tablet has 1.5GB of RAM, and 16GB/32GB storage options, in addition to the 128GB microSD card support and the 2 years worth of free 100GB cloud storage in Microsoft OneDrive due to the Office suite installed.

Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0
Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0

It has stereo speakers, a 2MP front camera, and a 5MP rear camera with geo-tagging, auto focus, online image uploading, photo editing, buddy photo share, share via video, and video editing functions.

Wi-Fi comes through dual-band 2.4 GHz/5 GHz 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, with Bluetooth 4.1, and USB 2.0. And as we wrote about last week, an LTE version will be launched late in the summer.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0 battery life is 11 hours long when web surfing, which is in keeping with Samsung’s tradition of long battery life. In terms of power, the battery has a 4200mAh capacity.

The sensors on board are accelerometer, RGB light sensor, TouchWiz, GPS, Glonass, and Wi-Fi location services.

Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0 weighs 0.69 lb. or 312 grams, and is just 7.5mm thick. Color options are “smokey blue,” titanium (black), and white.

Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0 (SM-T350)
Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0 (SM-T350)

Even it the resolution isn’t setting any records, it has Samsung’s typical high quality display so it’s still very sharp and very readable. The main purpose of this resolution was always to offer a cheap-ish 4:3 aspect ratio tablet with a very long list of functions. So people will be paying just a slight premium for features that no other tablet manufacturer ships with in addition to the overall quality of Samsung’s tablets.

But if that’s not good enough, there are 20 other 8-inch Android tablets from familiar brands to chose from.

Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0 (SM-T350) release May 1st in the US and ships with a micro-USB charging cable, a wall adapter, and quick start guide in the box.

Black Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0
Black Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0
Smokey Blue Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0
Smokey Blue Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0
Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0 Android 5.0 tablet
Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0 Android 5.0 tablet
Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0 (SM-T350) ports
Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0 (SM-T350) ports
Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0 SM-T350
Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0 SM-T350
Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0 white
Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0 white

– Tom Bowen