- Larger Screen - For me the 8 inch tablet is the ideal size. It's large enough to enjoy using apps and surfing the web, while small enough to comfortably fit in one hand. While the one inch increase over the Nexus 7 may not seem like much, it makes a difference. When going back and forth between the two tablets I couldn't help but notice that everything seemed easier to read and apps were easier to use on the 8 inch screen of the Galaxy Tab 3 compared to the 7 inch screen of the Nexus 7.
- Thinner and Lighter - Despite having a larger screen, the Galaxy Tab is both a tad lighter and significantly thinner than the Nexus 7, making it more comfortable to hold in your hands.
- Better Speaker Placement - The Tab 3 has dual speakers at the bottom of the device (similar to an iPhone), while the Nexus 7 has the speakers on the back. To me placing the speakers on the bottom is a much better design because when the tablet is placed on a table or desk the sounds from the speakers aren't muffled and muted. I often found myself repeatedly flipping the Nexus 7 over so the speakers wouldn't be blocked.
- Physical Buttons on the Front- Having physical buttons on the front of the Galaxy Tab makes starting the device much easier and gives you more usable screen space. I found that every time I wanted to use the Nexus 7 I was always hunting for the grain of rice sized power button on the side. Part of the problem is the angled sides of the Nexus 7, which make finding the diminutive power button a bit of an Easter egg hunt, especially if it's laying flat on a desk. With the Galaxy Tab 3 however, I never have to search for a tiny button on the side. The button is right there, front and center. And once the tablet is on, you don't lose the bottom of your screen to an ugly black bar of software buttons like you do on the Nexus 7. The software buttons on the Nexus 7 become especially frustrating in landscape mode, because you end up with a long black stripe running across the entire length your screen that is mostly wasted space.
- Comparable Performance - Many have dismissed the Galaxy Tab 3 because it's lack of a quad core processor which can be found in the Nexus 7. But in my everyday use of the device for things such as reading the news, checking email, listening to music, and using apps, the dual core processor performed admirably. Granted I wasn't using the tablet for any 3D games which require more processing power, but for my basic needs the Galaxy Tab 3 was definitely adequate.
- Better Aesthetics - Now this is definitely a matter of personal preference but to me the Galaxy Tab flat out just looks better. The appearance of the Nexus 7 is that of monolithic black slab lacking in any design cues or style. And the Nexus 7 has a huuuge bezel surrounding the screen making it look dated. The Galaxy Tab in contrast has a choice of colors (white and brown) and offers stylish design elements such as a faux metallic band around the edges. The Galaxy Tab is also thinner and has a much narrower bezel, both of which I think give it a more modern and sleek look.
- Proper USB Port Orientation - This is probably a minor quibble but I was always a bit perturbed by upside down placement of the micro-USB port on the Nexus 7. It's something that you have to train yourself to remember before plugging in your Nexus 7 each time.
- Samsung Smart Stay Feature - I consider most of the software features that Samsung offers to be superfluous; and there are a plethora of third party apps that can do things better. The one exception is the Smart Stay feature. The Galaxy Tab uses the front facing camera to detect your eyes. If it senses your are looking at the screen then the screen will remain lit (over riding the auto-shutoff feature that most people use to conserve battery life). I found this helpful when reading long articles with small fonts where I wouldn't scroll often. Or perhaps the problem is that I'm a slow reader.... Regardless, I found the feature useful in keeping the screen lit while reading.
Now I can't say that I loved everything about the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0. Here are a few drawbacks...
- Physical Buttons - Wait a minute, I thought having physical buttons was an advantage over the Nexus 7 (see number 4 above)? What happened? Well having physical buttons makes turning your tablet on significantly easier, and it gives you back precious screen real estate that you would otherwise lose to soft keys. This is all true, but the physical buttons do have two drawbacks. First you lose the elegant finger swipe access to Google Now of the Nexus 7. To access Google Now on the Galaxy Tab 3 you are forced to double click or long hold the home button, neither of which are as pleasing or efficient. Second, the Galaxy Tab doesn't have a dedicated button for switching apps. On the Nexus 7 you can quickly jump back and forth between apps, but not on the Galaxy Tab.
- Lower Pixel density - The Nexus 7 has a slightly higher screen pixel density compared to the Galaxy Tab (216 ppi vs 189 ppi respectively). This is because the Nexus 7 has a smaller screen size (in fact both tablets actually have the same resolution, 1280x800). But for me the benefit of the added screen real estate on the Galaxy Tab 3 outweighs the benefit of the higher pixel density of the Nexus 7. I felt the images on the Nexus 7 were a bit sharper, but not enough to really make a difference.
