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The rise of phablets and the lack of regular upgrades are driving the decline of the tablet market. While the market continues to shrink, market leaders Apple and Samsung are launching new products aimed at ‘productivity’, understanding fully well that the fun bit has moved on to smartphones.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 is the latest attempt by the Korean giant to prove it can outdo its rival from Cupertino when it comes to tablets. So does the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2, with its ultra-light “world’s-slimmest-tablet” physique — the tablet is only 5.6 mm thick, a few shades slimmer than the iPad Air at 6.1 mm — live up to the hype?

Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 : 

Specifications:

• 9.7-inch 2048×1536(QXGA) Super AMOLED OS display.
• 1.9 Ghz Samsung Exynos Octa-core processor 5433.
• 3GB(RAM) + 32GB internal memory with microSD slot for up to 128GB.
• 8MP AF(rear), 2.1MP (front) camera.
• 5,870mAh battery.
• Android 5.0 Lollipop

Price: Rs 39,400

With the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2, the most noticeable thing is how light and beautiful it looks. The metal frame on the side, the speaker grill at the bottom, the micro-USB charging port placed a little on the side and the classy golden brown colour; this tablet is designed to kill with sheer beauty. Sadly, the metal finish is not good enough to hide the plastic. But given how chic this tablet looks, this should not bother you.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 weighs less than 400 gms, 392 gms to be precise. 

What’s good?

No doubt the tablet is designed to make heads turn. Anyone who came to my house and checked out the tablet was impressed by this aspect. Plus, the 9.7-inch Super AMOLED display is another strong feature. If you are used to watching videos, movies on your tablet, the S2’s screen will not disappoint you. You should not have trouble reading be it at night or under direct sunlight. I kept the display brightness at auto when using it in sunlight.The most noticeable thing about the Tab S2 is its lightweight design.

The screen is definitely the highlight of this tablet, although it is prone to smudges. If you are reading on this tablet, be it boring PDFs  or a Kindle ebook, it all looks good.

Samsung has pre-loaded the tablet with the entire Microsoft Office Suite, which should also be a boost for those who need a tablet for productivity purposes.

The Tab S2 will not give you any performance issues as far as multi-tasking goes, be it gaming or watching videos or even listening to music. It does not set any benchmarks on fire, but is still a top-tier device.

The tablet’s audio playback quality is also very good and you don’t have to worry about cranking up the volume or connecting to another pair of speakers.

What’s not good?

Samsung had a SideSync feature in the tablet whereby you can reflect the tablet screen on your PC or Galaxy device and vice-versa. No matter what I tried, this did not really work smoothly for me and the PC would keep trying to find the tablet. Even when I connected the two via a USB cable as SideSync prompted me to, the tablet screen would just not appear on the PC.

The SideSync feature didn’t work smoothly for us. On the battery front, the Tab S2 gives mixed results. At times it would last easily for more than two days with mixed usage which included reading, videos and surfing the web. But then on other days, I would find myself being forced to charge the tablet rather quickly because the battery levels would dip well below 10 per cent.

Given that Samsung is charging close to Rs 40,000 for this tablet, I expected a sharper front camera, definitely more than 2 mp. The current one does not enhance the Skype call/video calls experience, and for users who are focussed on productivity, this will be one of the shortcomings of the tablet.

More Image : 

I love Khan Academy's courses and app for a variety of reasons. Of all the services offering free educational courses, Khan Academy is always ahead of the curve with usability. The app has a fantastic modern look and has tens of thousands of videos, interactive examples, and more. Even if you aren't looking to learn (shame on you), give the app a try. It is especially great on iPad.

Download Khan Academy for iOS | Khan Acadmy for Android (Free)

2) WolframAlpha

You know how Google and Apple keep showing off Google Now and Siri? WolframAlpha leaves them in the dust when it comes to instant answers to various problems and questions. The amount of information delivered within the app is mind-blowing. When you're trying to learn something, you won't need to look up lots of encyclopaedias. Just ask WolframAlpha.

Download WolframAlpha for iOS | WolframAlpha for Android Rs. 190

3) Duolingo

Ever wanted to learn a new language and acted lazy about it? Remember thinking about signing up for a course and giving up? Duolingo is the best tool ever to learn a new language. It makes the experience fun and memorable with images and reminders. Once they add support for Japanese, you won't hear from me for a while.

Download Duolingo for iOS | Duolingo for Android (Free)

4) Star Walk 2

Star Walk 2 is the best app to study the stars above. No I'm not talking about horoscopes but constellations, planets, comets, and more. Star Walk 2 has an Apple Watch app as well that tells you various interesting times of the day and when it is best to view the stars. The real time gyroscope based motion tracking makes it an amazing app to use and learn. Just point your device to the sky with the app open and get ready.

Download Star Walk 2 for iOS | Star Walk 2 for Android Rs. 190

5) Coursera

Coursera as an app and a service really raises the bar for educational apps. There's something for everyone ranging from business to computer science and even gamification. It supports everything you'd expect and has some additional features like a nifty 10 second rewind feature, multiple language support for learning, offline downloads, and audio only mode. It is hard to find a single flaw with Coursera.

Download Coursera for iOS | Coursera for Android (Free)

6) iTunes U

Apple's iTunes U is a multi-purpose app. It lets you learn from tons of online universities and explore a variety of subjects and it is the one shop app needed to setup your classroom as a professor on iPad. iTunes U lets you keep track of homework, grades, and more. Apple has been doing great things in the education field for a long time. This is one of the highlights.

Download iTunes U for iOS (Free)

7) TED

The official TED app lets you view TED Talks across all subjects in multiple languages. These talks are from interesting people in every field, and the app lets you view them or download them for offline use. The app is updated regularly with content. Give it a shot today.

Download TED for iOS | TED for Android (Free)

8) Elevate - Brain Training

Just like how Duolingo changes the way you learn a language, Elevate will train your brain in ways you never could imagine. It is full of mini games and puzzle sections that test your mental strength. The app is designed well and also has an Apple Watch app if you want to train on an even smaller screen.

Download Elevate - Brain Training for iOS | Elevate - Brain Training for Android (Free)

9) Udemy

Udemy is a great service to enrol in a variety of courses. There are a few free sample courses but the bulk of the app is full of great paid courses. Instructors are consistently great with practical lessons and you can't really go wrong here. Still thinking about picking up that guitar?

Download Udemy and start strumming. Download Udemy for iOS | Udemy for Android (Free)

10) Lumosity

Just like Elevate, Lumosity aims to train you. In this case your memory and attention are called to the field. You create a custom training program suited to your needs and Lumosity games help you improve. The games are used in research and are fun as opposed to being monotonous. Lumosity also has an Apple Watch app.

Download Lumosity for iOS | Lumosity for Android (Free)

These apps are our top 10 picks for learning and education - what are your picks? Tell us via the comments.

Facebook, in a bid to gain user traction for its Messenger app, has rolled out a new feature called Photo Magic, which would let users share photos more easily than before. The app feature is currently limited to Australia and would later reach other regions. The feature would arrive in the US as well, as per Facebook messenger chief David Marcus.