Design and form: The tab optimizes screen space by having a slim bezel and 16: 10 screen format which makes it slightly less wide and more manageable than other 8 inch android alternatives available currently. Also most android apps are customized for this screen format and not the 4: 3 format being offered by cheaper 8 inch tabs. After holding the tab in one hand for an hour Its 316g weight becomes an obvious advantage against 400g something.
Screen: At 189ppi its screen is much better than mini’s 160ppi. Although on this day and date a retina display would have been more appropriate. Initially didn’t think it makes much of a difference but it does. A higher resolution screen can be held closer to the eye and makes it easy to read finer text with much less strain. Even at 189ppi pixilization is apparent but not as much as at 160ppi.
Performance: The hardware/software integration shines here. Despite having a dual core processor it easily outpaces cheaper quad core tabs.Decent RAM and internal memory helps a lot. The Samsung UI is silky smooth though apps do crash sometimes.
Battery: This is the star of the show and can go on for a whole day. Really the strongest point of this tab.
There are a lot of useful features like a split keyboard, multi window, S Voice, GLONASS( which helps triangulate your position much faster than GPS) etc. Things that make the Samsung experience worthwhile.
Alternatives: The only real android alternatives to Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 are yet to arrive in India. They are the Nexus 7( 2013) and LG G Pad 8.3. Both will outclass Tab 3 with greater processing power and higher resolution screens. However Tab 3 8.0 is not all at loss here. The Samsung UI is still much better than what LG has demonstrated on G2 and G Pad 8.3. An example that demonstrates Samsung’s superior experience and design is the placement of home and menu keys on the bezel while on almost all other android 4+ devices these keys eat into the screen space. Therefore the actual useful or visible screen area on Tab 3 8.0 is almost the same as G Pad 8.3 despite having a smaller screen. The Nexus 7 screen looks even smaller for the same reason.
At the least one can expect decent price discounts on Tab 3 8.0 once these competitors arrive.
WARNING: Be super careful about the quality of apps you install and the permissions they ask for. The permissions you grant bypass all antivirus security and can compromise your privacy. One bad app can ruin your tab experience.