Same price as Argos, but the additional year warranty and free Dual USB Portable Power Bank (worth £25, offer ends 31 March) makes it worthwhile IMO. A Which? Best Buy tablet.
Top comments
monkeyhanger75
19 Mar 176#1
It amazes me how little high end tablets have come on in 5 years. The S2 is technically no better than the original Galaxy S tab (a little slimmer at the expense of battery life, same pixel density, pretty much the same processing power). For my purposes of mainly watching films on mine when travelling, the original one has arguably a better screen ratio (16:9 rather than 4:3). They're both great tablets though and at £289 this is the same price that Currys were knocking the S2 out for Black Friday (when it came with a free Chromecast device).
Thought it would be cheaper with the S3 due out.
AK.Gunners
19 Mar 173#8
To be honest not sure if this is a good deal or not but if I was looking to pay this sort of money I'd spend an extra £10 for this.
More RAM, quicker processor, better screen, aluminum build, Android 7.0 on way shortly etc though this is with 8.4" 16.10 ratio
yeh I mean 4:3 typically for reading, 16:10 for media / games
rkl
8 Apr 17#50
Er, that's highly subjective. It's "best" if you don't play games or watch any videos I guess, but since I consider those primary uses of almost any tablet, then - again IMHO of course - widescreen is better for tablets if you treat them mostly as entertainment devices (which is what they are really - it's tricky to do much serious stuff on them). Even Web surfing in widescreen landscape is good if you have a big enough tablet screen (which is why anything less than 8" for a tablet is a waste of time).
cmncomp
26 Mar 171#49
329 now for all colours
pdug175
24 Mar 17#48
well a 4:3 ratio is considered best if you are using a tablet so that immediately eliminates many good alternatives.
I bought one to compliment my sony Z3 tablet compact. Which frankly is still better than most new ones on offer. Thats 8" and 16:10 so more suited to watching films etc.
okayish
24 Mar 17#47
is this tablet any good for reading?
if there are other tablets better for reading, which ones are they?
No kindle
rkl
22 Mar 17#36
I have the "original" Tab S 8.4" and 10.5" tablets which are both superb for media/games because of their widescreen aspect ratio, decent sized screens and high resolutions (not to mention that the AMOLED display shines once you turn down Samsung's default oversaturation that they have on all their AMOLED devices). The S2 and S3 are a disappointment to me - slightly better hardware specs, but lower resolutions and 4:3 whilst not dropping the price?
Of course, Touchwiz is awful, so I have Cyanogenmod/LineageOS running on my tablets, which is such an improvement over stock, it's embarrassing. Don't forget Nova Launcher whether you're running stock or not!
artnada to rkl
24 Mar 17#46
Never had a problem with TW on my Galaxy Tab S2. And being on MM with Nougat around the corner, it's actually very smooth.
KrustyMK
23 Mar 17#45
AND 2 year warranty...
Like its not the law anyway
JustExtreme
23 Mar 17#43
Any good deals on the 9.7"? I've got a Nexus 7 2013 but would love something a bit bigger for reading digital magazines and comics etc. Kinda tempted to pick up a Nexus 10 as while it's old it still seems capable for that and has a reasonable resolution despite the age
pdug175 to JustExtreme
23 Mar 17#44
John Lewis have dropped the price on the 9.7" by £60 to £340 (black and gold versions). I believe the new tab is out tomorrow so you might see prices fall further.
I've just ordered one, as it appears the S3 is going to retail at £600 which is far too expensive for me.
TommyNooka
23 Mar 17#42
:laughing:
You should buy both and try them!! :wink:
I have the original Galaxy Tab S 8.4 which is 3 years old and still a better tablet than the Kindle Fire.
AdamBrunt
22 Mar 17#41
I am struggling to see what you get for the extra £240 over a Kindle Fire except the 1" bigger screen
hyenadog
22 Mar 17#40
A good few people .. slap on a Logitech keyboard cover and MS office is a pretty good solution for a lot of people .. no good for anything really heavy - gaming, ,corporate networks, music or video production or complex VBA modelling
Personally I find it a nice solution for short trips and its replaced my need for a light small business laptop.
MarzBarz
22 Mar 17#39
Will be listing my tab s2 wifi + cellular in the for sale section
simonbalaam
22 Mar 17#38
I would loved to of had the luxury to wait. Its for my son who is receiving chemo in hospital and to replace his old tablet. We bought one the other day and it seems fine, but we haven't tried it with anything that might show up the audio sync. Money we didn't have to spend to be honest but we needed something that could play the Lego Star Wars games smoothly and his old tablet struggled!!
RXP91
22 Mar 17#37
I love my Tab S 10.5 but the finger print sensor is horrible. When you have encryption on and need a complex password it's not very practical. Tab S2 has a good sensor like the Galaxy S6.
artnada
22 Mar 17#35
I have the 8" Galaxy Tab S2 and it's a fantastic tablet. Nice size, slim, battery life is excellent.
I also personally like the 4:3 ratio. Hot ♨
monkeyhanger75
19 Mar 176#1
It amazes me how little high end tablets have come on in 5 years. The S2 is technically no better than the original Galaxy S tab (a little slimmer at the expense of battery life, same pixel density, pretty much the same processing power). For my purposes of mainly watching films on mine when travelling, the original one has arguably a better screen ratio (16:9 rather than 4:3). They're both great tablets though and at £289 this is the same price that Currys were knocking the S2 out for Black Friday (when it came with a free Chromecast device).
Thought it would be cheaper with the S3 due out.
hyenadog to monkeyhanger75
19 Mar 172#3
Horses for courses .. if you use it for productivity applications the S2 4:3 iPad like screen ratio is a big plus .. if u just use a tablet for games & browsing then as you say it's not worth the upgrade for a lighter better built 4:3 ratio laptop
Personally I think both the iPad Air 2 and the s2 are way overpriced but what can u do :-(
stoney73 to monkeyhanger75
19 Mar 17#10
In my experience, the Tab S2 had much better battery life than the original.
zoso1313 to monkeyhanger75
21 Mar 17#22
i bet you're fun at parties. even at 42.
MrPuddington to monkeyhanger75
21 Mar 17#34
That is absolutely true. The Galaxy S and the Nexus HDX are two of the best tablets ever made, and they are years old. The Sony Z2 was a great tablet, and even the iPad is not getting much better any more. I think it is more difficult to make a profit with premium tablets, and so a lot of manufacturers lost interest.
cigbunt
21 Mar 17#33
got one for under 200 on a o2 refresh deal a while back... this is a excellent tablet..
seems to be holding its value!
RXP91
21 Mar 17#32
Bargain!
I recently got into using tablets. I've always been after a good portable laptop ever since the first Netbooks came out. I loved my Samsung one. Thought they had great battery life and were ideal for productivity.
I then got myself an Asus Transformer T100 - nearly there again but too slow, terrible screen and horrible keyboard. Had the first Galaxy Tab 7.7 for it's OLED screen for media. Replaced it 3 years later with the Galaxy Tab S 10.5. Excellent device for media. I never really use it as a tablet though - just don't like the 10.5 inch size for use.
Then recently got a Samsung Galaxy Tabpro S 12.2. Amazing device. The holy grail for me as a portable laptop unit. An OLED laptop with a tiny keyboard cover that's super portable and easy re-chargeable via battery packs? Amazing! I've stopped using any laptops now. And I can touch type at over 100 WPM on the keyboard. I'm not sure why so many people whinge about shallow keyboards, I prefer it for typing quickly
I wanted to go one better though - travel around between meetings/to the office without a bag. So I got a Galaxy Tab S2 8.0 and a foldable bluetooth keyboard and slim line mouse. All fits in my suit pockets along with a 10000Mah battery pack. Now I really don't have to carry anything and can have all day computing. The 4:3 form factor is better for RDP I find on small screens.
Couldn't recommend this more.
dfunked
21 Mar 17#31
Holding off to see what the Lenovo Tab 4 Plus reviews like before I buy a new tab. The S3 is ridiculous money, and this is still pretty damn pricey considering its age...
Zerobob
21 Mar 17#30
I bought a Galaxy Tab S2 9.7" just before Xmas from John Lewis for £350, and since then they've amazingly gone up to £400. This tablet was released in 2015 let's not forget. I'm really happy with it though. It's fast, the screen is fantastic, it's ludicrously thin and light, stays very very cool, and it's great for games.
In hindsight, I'm not sure if I really needed a tablet, along with a smartphone and laptop, but it definitely has its place as a lightweight, no fuss, convenient always-on way to browse the web, watch videos, and play games.
I'm not sure the 8" is a particularly good option, given most phones are around 5" anyway these days, and in my opinion if you're getting a dedicated tablet you might as well go all in for a 10". I think the Tab S2 will be discounted when the Tab S3 is released, so I'd be tempted to say wait before buying a Tab S2. Then again, I believe the Tab S3 is going to be an even more premium tablet, hence an even higher price point, so the S2 price drop may not be that drastic.
People will disagree with me, but my rule about tech is buy what's good now, not what might be good tomorrow. Companies have a habit of making their products worse *cough* Apple *cough*
MisterSkinflint
21 Mar 17#29
This tablet is nothing short of fantastic. Heat.
wakeywarrior
21 Mar 171#28
Have the original Galaxy S. Not the fastest machine in the world, but for web browsing and watching movies etc its spot on the screen is better than this for movies.The best bargain is the Mii Pad 2, got one for my son, same looks and screen as iPad mini, very fast, think it was £120. I know my tech and this is hot. They have just launched Mii Pad 3. They are produced by Foxxcon who make Apple's stuff and are of the same quality. Highly recommended- you just have to import them.
monkeyhanger75
21 Mar 171#27
Not sure my partying prowess has to do with stating that the old S hasn't really been bettered by any significant margin in 5 years. I buy plenty of tech, but only replace old with new when it is bust or the new item is going to be plenty better than the old one. Seen plenty of useful evolutionary gains in mobile phones and digital cameras in the last 5 years, but not so much with tablets.
plewis00
21 Mar 17#26
Maybe. But wasn't sure if John Lewis do that tablet - the link was for Currys, and I know they love batting you off to the manufacturer.
simonbalaam
19 Mar 17#18
What are people's opinions on this? I know the specs are slightly less but so is the price?
The tablet specs are great but it has an annoying audio sync issue (idk if its fixed of yet or there is a way around it). I would suggest to wait for the asus to drop in price, as curry's has dropped it down to 250 before and its a solid tablet with fast charging.
declanmorrow
19 Mar 17#2
I'm hoping to get my Tab S fixed this week and if not I'll probably get this.
CrispEditor to declanmorrow
21 Mar 17#24
What is up with your S? My S 8 keeps on needing to be opened and battery disconnected/reconnected. Got it down to a fine art - 30s or less to open it with fingernails. Has gouge marks around the edges when I tried with a kitchen knife originally.
TommyNooka
21 Mar 17#23
Couldn't you just solve this by buying it from John Lewis with their 2 year guarantee?
plewis00
21 Mar 17#21
That's all well and good but Asus's customer support is horrifically bad - as in, you would get more luck dealing with Gearbest. If it works and you never have to deal with them that's good going. But I guess this is why you pay more for less hardware but better support with Apple, Samsung and Sony.
duckative
21 Mar 17#20
Tempted by the z500m as well, a small review of the unit if you could please? :stuck_out_tongue: mainly, how's the battery life?
stoney73
19 Mar 17#19
Ahh. I noticed a decent difference in performance and battery life over the Tab S. I never got anything close to 10 hours of screen time on the S, and was forever having to top it up. The Tab S2, on the other hand, gives me 10 hours screen time no problem. I can't speak for the reviews you've seen, I can only state my real world experience. Many reviewers write these articles after less than a weeks use...so you can't always take them as gospel. Just to clarify, I had the Tab S Wi-Fi and then 'upgraded' to the 4g version, before moving on to the Tab S2. All set up the same way.
I do like the form factor of the S though, the 4:3 ratio of the Tab S2 makes it difficult to slot into the inside pockets of my jackets.
As for the Tab S3 not being worth the upgrade, I don't know about that. I've seen it in person (I was at the launch in Barcelona last month), and it's got a great screen, and the Snapdragon 820 will provide a nice boost in performance. At the price it's being offered at, no one will be upgrading to it though. It's stupid money. Still, that's a topic for a different thread.
Opethian
19 Mar 17#17
I bought the Asus Zenpad 3S Z500M when it was £249 at Currys/PCWorld and I know the form factor is different (this is 8", the Asus 10") but I'd recommend that over this. Check out the reviews.
The Mediatek 6-core processor absolutely flies and the software isn't that bad at all. Build quality is excellent and the speakers are probably some of the loudest (in good quality) I've heard.
The only complaint I have is that the camera (both front and rear) is PANTS. Can't have everything at the price point though. I have to say, it's the best Android tablet (sub £400) right now.
monkeyhanger75
19 Mar 172#16
Only going off what I have read with the S2, but my 8.4 Tab S lasts about 11 hours playing 1080P MKVs at normal brightness settings. Plenty of reviews show the S slightly bettering the S2 on battery usage like-for like with the sizes and tasks. The 8.4 S has a 4800mAh battery vs the S2 8.0's 4000mAh battery.
The difference between the 2 is pretty small from what I have read, just demonstrating the fact that there's been no discernible improvement in specs and performance between the 2 models. I do like the fact that Samsung seemed to get it so right first time that there's been no need for me to upgrade. Looking at S3's specs, it still seems there's no need for an upgrade.
Themadcow
19 Mar 17#15
Great tablet, but I got my S2 new for less than £200 almost 15 months ago. I'm surprised the price has remained so high.
splender
19 Mar 17#14
My Samsung Galaxy S2 8" does phone calls and mobile broadband 4G, this one seems to be wi-fi only. The calls and text is nice to have, as some apps send you a SMS message to verify (though less so these days), but still a convenience feature to be able to make calls and send/receive SMS text messages.
slacker345
19 Mar 171#9
I had asked for price match when Argos was £289 and JL was £329. Advice back from JL was that Argos was lower spec model T710 while JL was the T713 with (Octa-Core Exynos) so no price match. Seems like they have now dropped price, most likely with Tab3 due out, though I'm hearing its 9.7 only....
stoney73 to slacker345
19 Mar 17#13
You are correct, sadly. The Tab S3 is 9.7-inch only.
7.0 is on three way for the Tab S2 aswell, probably looking at around June.
Rich069
19 Mar 171#7
well overpriced for the 8 inch. The 9.7 was avail recently direct from samsung for £314 with a free 128gb sd card.
Got my month old 9.7 (with receipt) from ebay for £220 6 months ago. Great tablet, but still prefer my previous nexus 9.
wseed
19 Mar 17#6
Good spot, shame I just bought one from argos. I know John Lewis are good with the warranty but I think that Samsung offer 2 years as standard.
if anyone taking the plunge wants a case and screen protection have a look at this case for £3 at curry's. I just picked it up in store and they still showed as full price on the display.
Regarding the s3 it appears to only be available as a 9.7inch version so not sure how much this one will drop.
milkonesugar
19 Mar 17#5
good spot.should see prices drop further very soon with the s3 out in a few weeks. 2 year warranty on Samsung is standard but j Lewis service one of the best out there
Opening post
Top comments
Thought it would be cheaper with the S3 due out.
More RAM, quicker processor, better screen, aluminum build, Android 7.0 on way shortly etc though this is with 8.4" 16.10 ratio
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B01MZZ2EO9/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1489948184&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX177_SY255_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=huawei+mediapad+m3
Latest comments (51)
I bought one to compliment my sony Z3 tablet compact. Which frankly is still better than most new ones on offer. Thats 8" and 16:10 so more suited to watching films etc.
if there are other tablets better for reading, which ones are they?
No kindle
Of course, Touchwiz is awful, so I have Cyanogenmod/LineageOS running on my tablets, which is such an improvement over stock, it's embarrassing. Don't forget Nova Launcher whether you're running stock or not!
Like its not the law anyway
I've just ordered one, as it appears the S3 is going to retail at £600 which is far too expensive for me.
You should buy both and try them!! :wink:
I have the original Galaxy Tab S 8.4 which is 3 years old and still a better tablet than the Kindle Fire.
Personally I find it a nice solution for short trips and its replaced my need for a light small business laptop.
I also personally like the 4:3 ratio. Hot ♨
Thought it would be cheaper with the S3 due out.
Personally I think both the iPad Air 2 and the s2 are way overpriced but what can u do :-(
seems to be holding its value!
I recently got into using tablets. I've always been after a good portable laptop ever since the first Netbooks came out. I loved my Samsung one. Thought they had great battery life and were ideal for productivity.
I then got myself an Asus Transformer T100 - nearly there again but too slow, terrible screen and horrible keyboard. Had the first Galaxy Tab 7.7 for it's OLED screen for media. Replaced it 3 years later with the Galaxy Tab S 10.5. Excellent device for media. I never really use it as a tablet though - just don't like the 10.5 inch size for use.
Then recently got a Samsung Galaxy Tabpro S 12.2. Amazing device. The holy grail for me as a portable laptop unit. An OLED laptop with a tiny keyboard cover that's super portable and easy re-chargeable via battery packs? Amazing! I've stopped using any laptops now. And I can touch type at over 100 WPM on the keyboard. I'm not sure why so many people whinge about shallow keyboards, I prefer it for typing quickly
I wanted to go one better though - travel around between meetings/to the office without a bag. So I got a Galaxy Tab S2 8.0 and a foldable bluetooth keyboard and slim line mouse. All fits in my suit pockets along with a 10000Mah battery pack. Now I really don't have to carry anything and can have all day computing. The 4:3 form factor is better for RDP I find on small screens.
Couldn't recommend this more.
In hindsight, I'm not sure if I really needed a tablet, along with a smartphone and laptop, but it definitely has its place as a lightweight, no fuss, convenient always-on way to browse the web, watch videos, and play games.
I'm not sure the 8" is a particularly good option, given most phones are around 5" anyway these days, and in my opinion if you're getting a dedicated tablet you might as well go all in for a 10". I think the Tab S2 will be discounted when the Tab S3 is released, so I'd be tempted to say wait before buying a Tab S2. Then again, I believe the Tab S3 is going to be an even more premium tablet, hence an even higher price point, so the S2 price drop may not be that drastic.
People will disagree with me, but my rule about tech is buy what's good now, not what might be good tomorrow. Companies have a habit of making their products worse *cough* Apple *cough*
https://m.johnlewis.com/lenovo-yoga-tab-3-plus-tablet-android-32gb-wi-fi-10-1-black/p/3132013
I do like the form factor of the S though, the 4:3 ratio of the Tab S2 makes it difficult to slot into the inside pockets of my jackets.
As for the Tab S3 not being worth the upgrade, I don't know about that. I've seen it in person (I was at the launch in Barcelona last month), and it's got a great screen, and the Snapdragon 820 will provide a nice boost in performance. At the price it's being offered at, no one will be upgrading to it though. It's stupid money. Still, that's a topic for a different thread.
http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/tablets-and-ereaders/tablets/asus-zenpad-z500m-9-7-tablet-32-gb-dark-grey-10147851-pdt.html
The Mediatek 6-core processor absolutely flies and the software isn't that bad at all. Build quality is excellent and the speakers are probably some of the loudest (in good quality) I've heard.
The only complaint I have is that the camera (both front and rear) is PANTS. Can't have everything at the price point though. I have to say, it's the best Android tablet (sub £400) right now.
The difference between the 2 is pretty small from what I have read, just demonstrating the fact that there's been no discernible improvement in specs and performance between the 2 models. I do like the fact that Samsung seemed to get it so right first time that there's been no need for me to upgrade. Looking at S3's specs, it still seems there's no need for an upgrade.
More RAM, quicker processor, better screen, aluminum build, Android 7.0 on way shortly etc though this is with 8.4" 16.10 ratio
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B01MZZ2EO9/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1489948184&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX177_SY255_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=huawei+mediapad+m3
Got my month old 9.7 (with receipt) from ebay for £220 6 months ago. Great tablet, but still prefer my previous nexus 9.
if anyone taking the plunge wants a case and screen protection have a look at this case for £3 at curry's. I just picked it up in store and they still showed as full price on the display.
Regarding the s3 it appears to only be available as a 9.7inch version so not sure how much this one will drop.