Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0" 32GB Tablet (Open Box)

No one has done a better job of balancing value and price than Samsung, and it shows with the Galaxy Tab A. That being said, there’s a few pieces of information that I want to impart that would’ve helped me decide whether I should buy a tablet or not. What a Tablet WON’T do for you -- A tablet won’t inspire, spur, or motivate you to do something you don’t already do. What I mean is, if you don’t already, say, read, you’re not going to read more with a Tablet. If you don’t already watch videos in bed, then you’re not going to with a Tablet. Save yourself the $200 and be comfortable with what you already have. What a Tablet WILL do for you -- If you have a clear need in your life, and you’re willing to put in a little effort to overcome the initial discomfort, a tablet can enable and even inspire you. You have to consciously put in effort; for whatever reason using a tablet doesn’t always come naturally. But once you’ve grown used to it, it can become an invaluable tool in your work or home life. The important point is to have a clear idea of the role you want it to play in your life. The Galaxy Tab A -- As I said above, no one has done a better job of honing a fine balance between function and cost than Samsung. You can buy a cheap off-brand through Amazon, they do exist, but I would say the little bit extra you have to pay for a Samsung is worth it. The device feels a bit plastic-y, the screen isn’t the best of the best, and the specs aren’t super-computer level, but that’s about what you’d expect for something in this price range. For all its downfalls, once you’ve accomodated yourself to it, the downfalls blur into the background. The device and software is good enough that when you’re engaged with something, you’ll be focusing on that rather than fiddling with the device. There’s very little resistance. So I think this is a win. They do do things right, too. It wouldn’t surprise me if they had built in hardware decoders to run video and music. The battery life is great - I’ve used it for nearly two days on one charge. Samsung's Android launcher, TouchWiz, is excellent and has years of refinement behind it. A major point for me was the amplifier. I like nice headphones, and they don’t always work the best on budget devices. It seems Samsung took this into consideration and built in a fully functional amplifier that can pump out clear audio. One feature people fail to point out is how future-proof a tablet is. A laptop can run up into the thousands of dollars, and once it breaks or becomes obsolete, you have to invest another thousand dollars, then transfer all of your information and it’s all a headache. With an Android Tablet, if it gets lost, stolen, breaks, or becomes obsolete, $200 for a brand new device is nothing. And all of your information and preferences are backed up in the cloud. This is easily the best Android tablet in the budget range, and maybe of all Android Tablets. If you’re going to buy a Tablet, buy this one. A Case Study -- I like to write. I’m not published or anything of that nature, but it’s something I enjoy. A short while ago, I sat down to write. And I wrote. And wrote. And kept writing, until I’d nearly finished a book. More than anything, I loved it, so I decided to enroll in a college class centered on Creative Writing. The device I used to write, a Surface Pro 3, was showing its age. I had purchased it refurbished, and as solid of a device as it was, it was becoming cumbersome. I decided to purchase a new device specifically for writing. After some research, I started to explore tablets, as opposed to laptops, as a real possibility. What I found was tablets exceeded every need for a writer. I purchased a small travel keyboard (the iClever for anyone curious, if it’s still listed on Amazon), and was thrilled. Not only did the tablet work spectacularly well as a writing platform, but I had access to the entire Android App ecosystem. The cellular capabilities made it all the more appealing. Conclusion -- Like I said, if you have a clear idea of what you want a Tablet to do for you, and can overcome the initial discomfort, a tablet will become an invaluable part of your work and home life. If you don’t, it’ll collect dust on your nightstand. The Tab A is good enough in terms of software and hardware, that when you’re doing something, you forget about the device, and that’s all that should really be asked of it. I know for me, I’ll be using it as an indispensable part of my daily life in the coming months, and I’m thrilled.