Samsung Galaxy Tab 3
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 (7 inch) is a commercially available tablet. This page is still under construction. Please return in a day or two!
Overview
This is a review of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 7 inch tablet. Specifically, Model SM-T210R, made in Vietnam by Samsung; FCC ID: A3LSMT210. The version disassembled was a WiFi 8GB.
It uses the Marvell PXA896 SoC, and is a very well made tablet.
Display
The display size is 7" diagonal w. 16:9.5 aspect ratio. The resolution is 1024x600.
There are two internal speakers, independently wired, and an internal mono microphone.
Connectivity
The Galaxy Tab 3 has 802.11a/b/g WiFi and Bluetooth, using a single antenna.
Location/Movement
The Galaxy Tab 3 has both full GPS and an accelerometer.
Ports
- One USB OTG
- One microSD card, externally accessible
Power
The battery is a Li-Ion single prismatic cell (14.8 Wh, 4000 mAh). It is held in a plastic frame by the label (pieces from the edge wrap around the frame and attach to the opposite side of the cell.) The battery assembly is 4.8 mm thick (not counting swell).
It is rated at 10W from the USB adapter while charging.
Breakdown
The back is removed by inserting a shim between the thin black plastic back cover and the silver-painted frame. The thin (1mm) black plastic cover is not very sturdy, but is not structural.
The battery is removed by removing four machine screws, then lifting up on the long side closest to the battery connector and pulling it away from the edge of the tablet. There are hidden tabs which keep the side of the battery assembly closest to the edge of the tablet from lifting out.
The battery connector is a low height one, which inserts and
removes vertically (normal to the PCB). The assembled height
is 2.0 mm from the PCB.
The battery is a Li-Ion single prismatic cell (14.8 Wh, 4000 mAh). It is held in a plastic frame by the label (pieces from the edge wrap around the frame and attach to the opposite side of the cell.) The battery assembly is 4.8 mm thick (not counting swell).
There are six high density vertical connectors going to FFCs around the unit. Going counterclockwise from the shielded part of the PCB, they are: - 30 pins - display - 20 pins - back facing camera - 30 pins - back facing camera and light sensor - 60 pins - touchscreen - 10 pins - headphone jack - 16 pins - volume and power buttons, and second microphone
Removal of the bezel, by prying away from the display.
The overall structure is a sintered magnesium frame. Many of the assembly screws go directly into tapped holes in this frame. The cover glass/touchscreen assembly is 1.5 mm thick, and appears to be glass/glass. With display, the thickness is 3.5 mm, making the display an incredibly thin 2 mm in thickness.
The USB connector is mechanically connected to the frame through the use of a steel frame sandwiching the PCB and the connector between it and the magnesium frame. Two screws are used.
The display generates its own backlight and analog voltages on a separate PCB, located between the main motherboard and the display proper.
Headphone jack replaceable ! (Although this was forced by the location of the PCB.)
The speakers had well defined and relatively large cavities. Electrical connection to the speakers was via spring contacts on the motherboard, to FFCs coming out of the speaker cavities. The "left hand" speaker had the WiFi (802.11a/b) integrated into it as a piece of stamped steel with the electrical connection to the motherboard again made by a spring contact.
The RF shielding was localized to the motherboard, but impressive. It was two pieces of steel stamped and welded together to provide separate cavities for WiFi, GPS, the CPU and its power supplies, and the GSM output section (not populated in this version). It did NOT provide much thermal relief --- the CPU was not thermally bonded to it. Around the PMIC, a layer of mylar provides insulation for large capacitors. It appears that a second function of this shielding is to provide mechanical protection for motherboard components.
Height
The tablet thickness is roughly 10.3mm. The height stackup is:
| Cover Glass/Touchscreen: 1.5mm | |
| Display: 2mm | |
| Swell gap: 0.4mm | Main PCB: 4.8mm |
| Battery: 4.7mm | |
| Back cover: 1.3mm | |
The touchscreen is a multitouch projected capacitance screen, probably built with two layers of ITO on the piece of glass mounted inside of the cover glass (not quite single glass technology). An insulating material is placed between the two layers when they cross. The insulating material can be seen as a grid of dots when held at the wrong angle in sunlight. The air gap is created by a rim of black foam, 0.8mm in height, placed right outside the active area of the display (mostly on the bezel).
The back cover is extremely thin (1 mm ?) plastic.
Weight
TBD
BOM
The motherboard components are: Marvell PXA986, with Micron POP memory code 31A78 / D9QJX A Marvell PMIC, 812 / 00D0E 39307 / P47A1Q / CSSP / AL3VX / SG many pin flip chip CSR GPS chip SSD controller (next to Flash ROM) AB0V / 332AUB
w. 12 MHz crystal and separate linear voltage regulator
Samsung KL8G1WE4A-A001 Flash ROM Marvell 88W8787-BKB2 plus two power amp chips accelerometer Touchscreen controller BT532 / QOHQ2 / 3W-000