Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 (Verizon) review: Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 (Verizon)

Editors' note: Thanks to the release of recent, high-quality tablets, the overall score of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 has been adjusted down from 7.3 to 7.2.

7.2

Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 (Verizon)

The Good

The <b>Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7</b>'s AMOLED screen provides gloriously deep blacks and superbright colors. The tablet is the thinnest small-form tablet yet and includes expandable memory, impressive games performance, and an IR sensor that turns the tablet into a smart remote control.

The Bad

Two-year cellular contracts for tablets still stink, and even if waived, the subsidized $500 price looks like a steal compared with the overpriced noncontract tag of $700 staring you in the face. Also, an HDMI or USB port would have been useful.

The Bottom Line

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 delivers a beautiful screen and fast performance but our enthusiasm is ultimately tempered when the price is taken into account.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 from Verizon features an impressive AMOLED screen with an incredible contrast ratio. The tablet was released the same week as the new iPad with its Retina Display, however, so that's probably why you haven't heard much about it. The AMOLED screen is beautiful, though, but is it a gimmick or does it enrich what could (under different circumstances) be a typical tablet experience?

Design
When the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus was released last year, I opined that building a really thin 10.1-inch tablet was probably a less arduous task than matching that same thinness on a 7-incher. The Galaxy Tab 7.7, with its 0.7-inch larger screen, reinforces that opinion with a thinner and lighter design than Samsung's previous 7-inch effort. Not that I went out on a limb at all by speculating that in the first place. The more surface area you have to work with, the easier it is to spread components around, facilitating a thinner design.