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With its winning design and good display, the 8-inch version of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 is an impressive iPad mini alternative, and it costs $30 less.
The 10.1-inch version of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 is a disappointment. Its screen, camera and overall performance are noticeably worse than its competitors.
All of Samsung's tablets include an infrared port and special apps for using them as a TV remote control.
The Tab 3 8.0 is slightly more pocketable than the iPad mini.
The Tabs come in white and dark brown.
Here's the headphone jack.
The microSD card is on the side.
Speakers and the microUSB port are on the bottom.
The Right Side has the hard buttons and the infrared port -- a good design choice since you'll likely be holding the tablet in landscape mode while watching TV.
The screen of 10.1-inch model is the same resolution as the Tab 3 8.0, but since it's larger, it doesn't look as good.
In addition to its spec shortcomings, the Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 has a noticeable lag in overall response time.
Unlike the previous Tab 10.1, speakers are on the side.
The new Tabs all use a microUSB connector, ditching the old proprietary one -- a great improvement.
Headphone jack is over here.
The top of the tablet has the infrared port, hard buttons and the microSD card slot.
The plastic back of the 10.1 keeps the weight down, but it makes the device feel cheap.
Editor's Note: The awarding of Mashable Choice to the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 applies only to the 8-inch model.
If Samsung's aim was to supply cheaper alternatives to Apple's iPad and iPad mini as a way of gaining elusive tablet market share, it succeeded with its recent 10.1- and 8-inch Tab 3 tablets. But when I say "cheaper," I mean inferior for one of the Tab 3s and merely "less expensive" for the other.
Three feature additions mark this third generation of Samsung tablets (which also includes a 7-inch model that we didn't get a chance to test):
The company has finally ditched its ridiculous proprietary charge/sync jack in favor of the near-universal microUSB.
An IR emitter and the company's WatchON program guide app lets you use the tablet as an advanced TV remote.
The addition of a few of the most prominent features from its popular Galaxy S4 smartphones.
See also: Facebook for Android: 10 Tips for Power Users
As far as the Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 is concerned, these improvements and its low price ($399.99, marked down to $379.99) do not make up for fatal camera and shortcomings with screen resolutions and battery life. But these fresh attributes combined with its low $299.99 price makes the 8-inch Galaxy Tab 3 a worthy –- and only –- alternative to the iPad mini at $30 more.
Samsung's ongoing tablet quality perception problems stems from their plastic housing, especially on the 10.1 model. On the larger tablet, the thin, light plastic casing makes the tablet feel flimsy and, yes, cheap, especially when compared to iPad.
The casing differences between the 8-inch Tab 3 compared to the iPad mini are not as stark, although its looks are more readily marred by visible fingerprints, at least on the black versions.
Unlike the iPad, Samsung recognizes you'll use its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet mostly in landscape mode rather than portrait . Like Samsung's previous Tab incarnations, the Tab 3 10.1's Home button is beneath the screen when held horizontally, and buttons for on/off and volume as well as the microSD card slot are located on the opposite top perimeter.
One unwelcome change between the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 and the Tab 3 10.1 is the speaker placement. On the previous-generation Galaxy Tabs, the twin stereo speakers faced front on either side of the screen. But for the Tab 3 the speakers are moved to the rim, which means you may block one or both with your hands when you hold the device.
While nearly exactly as flat as the iPad mini (0.28 inches thin), the 0.27 inch thin Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 is about a half inch taller than the mini and a half-inch less wide. The practical benefit is pocketability. While both fit in most jacket pockets, Tab 3 8.0's slightly slimmer profile makes it less snug of a fit, so it slips in and out a little more smoothly.
Like the iPad mini, the Tab 3 8.0's twin speakers are placed on the bottom rim, the same arrangement as on the 7-inch Tab 2, which means you hear movie sound only through one side. Other less technically adept tablet makers have managed to place speakers on either side of the screen, so it's a bit annoying when a tablet maker with market-leadership aspirations doesn't.
Both Tab 3s feature 1,280 x 800 screens, which good news for the 8 inch model — you get 189 pixels per inch (ppi), higher than iPad mini's 163 ppi (although a Retina iPad Mini is rumored).
But this resolution is bad news for the 10.1 Tab 3. With its larger screen, the 10.1 provides only 149 ppi. As a result, standard text fonts on ebooks and web pages are fuzzy and sometimes noticeably jagged, and tiny text on full HTML pages is nearly indecipherable.
Samsung has added 0.1-inch of screen area to the 8-incher compared to the 7.9-inch screen on the iPad mini, which amounts to nothing. But Tab 3 8.0's screen is more oblong, which means widescreen movies actually appear larger since the screen's shape conforms more closely to a widescreen movie, lessening the letterboxing effect you'd get on the iPad mini.
A taller screen means you also get longer Web pages and, depending on the font, font size and line spacing, you get a couple of extra lines per page while e-reading, which translates into fewer page turns than on smaller screen tablets.
All three Tab 3s are joining a small fraternity of tablets with a built-in infrared (IR) emitter for AV remote control. Pre-installed on all three is Samsung's WatchON app (and, oddly, the similar Peel Smart Remote app) to control your TV and cable/satellite set-top box and make viewing suggestions. Via Wi-Fi, you can also switch content between tablet and smart TV and vice versa using a Samsung-specific Wi-Fi-based technology (not Miracast). While I understand moving content from tablet to TV, I'm not sure under what conditions you'd do the reverse.
The IR blaster on both the 8- and 10.1-inch Tab 3s are located along the horizontal rim — logical for the larger tablet but not for the smaller since, as previously noted, it's laid out to be held vertically. It'd also be easier to handle and manipulate the 8-incher with one hand if the IR blaster were at the top rather the side.

Personally, I'm not a fan of touchscreen remote controls – you can't operate them without looking at them. And because of their size, especially on the 10.1, a tablet makes an even more awkward touchscreen remote. WatchON is handy to get a capsule of what's currently on TV and, after you set some favorites, what you might find interesting to watch coming up.
But WatchON is ultimately neutered as an everyday tool because it doesn't offer full remote replacement — it controls ONLY your TV and set-top box, no other A/V components. And compared to other remote controls, the tablet's otherwise adequate battery life limits its daily usefulness.
Among the Galaxy S4 functions ported to these tabs are the Siri-like S Voice, photo organizer and photo book creator Story Album and the traveler-must-have S Translator (although this app is handier on a handset than on a tablet).
While there's no eye-tracking Smart Pause or Smart Scrolling, supposedly the screens on both tablets stay lit as long as you're looking at it — except for me, apparently. I kept getting an "Eyes Not Detected" message. Was it my glasses?
In addition to the usual Android Google Play app store is Samsung's own Samsung Apps store. Why two app stores? You may have heard Android is rife with malware, many transported to your device via open apps from less than reputable sources in third-party app stores. A few malware apps have even showed up in Google Play. Samsung's own app store is, like Apple's App Store, curated, which means the apps within are safe for worry-free downloading. Plus, the Samsung app store recommends apps that are optimized for your specific Samsung device.
Each of the Tabs is endowed with a quad-core processor, a 1.6GHz in the 10.1 and a 1.5GHz in the 8. While the Tab 3 8.0 ran smoothly, the 10.1 seemed occasionally... hesitant . There were infrequent, barely perceptible, almost subconscious, lags between tapping and action, sort as if the Tab 3 wanted to take a breath before reacting.
While both tabs sport 1.3-megapixel front-facing imagers, the 8-incher includes a barely adequate 5MP rear camera, and the 10.1 a wholly inadequate 3.2MP. It's stunning and disappointing to find any modern mobile device, and especially one from a company as esteemed as Samsung, to offer such a low-resolution camera.
The most noticeable performance difference between the two Tab 3s is battery life. While the 8-incher lasts for a respectable 9 hours or so, the 10.1 didn't last even five hours, a totally woeful and unacceptable life-span, regardless of price or additional functions.
If you're looking for an Android alternative to the slightly more expensive Apple iPad mini, I heartily recommend the Tab 3 8.0. But with its short battery life, low screen resolution, in adequate camera and noticeable lag, the 10.1 Tab 3 is a disappointment.
What's Good:
Lightweight
IR blaster for TV remote
What's Bad:
Lame camera
Low-resolution screen
Noticeable lag
What's Good:
More pocketable than iPad mini
Higher ppi than iPad mini
IR blaster for TV remote
What's Bad:
speakers mounted on one side
Bottom Line: The Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 challenges the iPad mini with a slightly better screen and a somewhat useful remote-control ability, but the 10.1-inch version is a poor tablet whose screen, camera and overall performance are lacking.
Images: Mashable, Meghan Uno