Hardware

Review: The Samsung Galaxy Tab Active3 Grants Longevity and Access

This rugged tablet is helping drive increased productivity in healthcare.

Carlos Soto is an award-winning reviewer and journalist with 20 years of experience covering technology and business.

Most healthcare settings are tough places for mobile devices to survive in, due to accidental drops, moisture, exposure to harsh chemicals and the demands of always-on services.

Healthcare IT teams also face challenges safeguarding patient and staff information to meet regulatory safety measures amid increasing cyberattacks. Then, there is the clinician demand for mobile tools that can be used without having to remove protective gear or change locations to access a portal or device.

With these challenges in mind, Samsung created a top-level mobile computing device designed to meet the rigors of healthcare settings. In testing, this handheld powerhouse exceeded many expectations, especially in computing power, battery life and durability. The Galaxy Tab Active3 would be a great addition to any hospital or clinical setting, or even as a device used by traveling clinicians in the field.

Click the banner for access to exclusive HealthTech content and a customized experience.

Active3 Offers Critical Sturdiness for Healthcare Environments

This tablet is built for the way hospitals operate today, keeping employee productivity and safety in mind.

The performance and productivity features fit the needs of frontline staff, who can access the device without removing protective gear. There’s also great potential for first responders to use the Galaxy Tab Active3 within their unpredictable environments.

Overall survivability for the device is very impressive. When put through many of the rigorous environmental tests used by the military, the tablet passed them without failing, losing data or becoming damaged beyond a few cosmetic scratches.

Since rugged tablets are frequently exposed to vibration and drops, the Galaxy Tab Active3 is built to endure bumps and bruises, according to Samsung. When wrapped in its protective case, the tablet survived 26 drops onto hard flooring. The unit also went through hours of vibration testing on a shake table without any negative effects.

Powering Patient Care with Performance-Boosting Active3

Sporting a 2.7-gigahertz, 8-core Exynos 9810 processor, the Active3 packs a punch. It navigated between apps quickly and did not buffer when mock patient information was put into a collection app. The large amount of memory – 4 gigabytes of installed RAM, which is further expandable – also helps boost overall performance.

From a memory perspective, the Active3 offers microSD, microSDHC and microSDXC flash memory card capability, which provides a good variety of designs for IT administrators to choose from when providing cards to their staff. It would not be difficult to balance storage space and security with so many options.

This Samsung tablet can really boost performance in healthcare environments. It allows clinicians to access patient information, take notes during a consultation, communicate with other staffers, prepare reports and fill out required paperwork, all without having to remove their protective gear.

WATCH: Northwell Health strengthens seamless communication for better collaboration.

SPECIFICATIONS

Clock Speed: 2.7 gigahertz
Cores: 8-core
Processor Type: Exynos 9810
Flash Memory Cards: microSD, microSDHC, microSDXC
Flash Memory Installed: 64 gigabytes
RAM Installed: 4GB
User Available Flash ROM: 48.8GB
Native Resolution: 1920x1200
Screen Size: 8 inches (8.42 x 4.99 x 0.39 inches)

Unsung Heroes: 3 Top Features for Tablets in Healthcare

Tablet reviews often focus on key features such as processor power, memory and storage. But for healthcare purposes, frontline workers must treat patients within and beyond hospital walls, such as in parking lots or at temporary vaccination sites. Here are three other features to highlight for healthcare use:

Size and portability: For clinicians working long hours in patient care, a feather can start to feel like a bowling ball. But a small tool does little good if it breaks at the first hint of trouble. That makes fielding good equipment in healthcare an exceptionally difficult challenge. The Samsung Galaxy Tab Active3, however, achieves that difficult balance. It easily passes military-level testing, but only weighs in at 15 ounces. It also has a tiny form factor, so it’s easy to hold and transport.
Resolution: In healthcare, details matter. Subtle differences in color or size can mean big differences in a diagnosis when looking at test results, X-rays or other imaging reports. To help, the Active3 offers a bezel-type flat-front display screen that leverages an active-matrix display and a multitouch screen. Each Active3 has a native resolution of 1920 by 1200, which makes it easy to read and use. And the intense color display means that images are extremely accurate.
Connectivity: With the Active3, users have a lot of options. For one, it can tap into cellular data, so Wi-Fi is not required. The unit also provides the standard 802.11x Wi-Fi direct wireless connectivity and Bluetooth 5.0. These options should allow users to connect seamlessly to required data, patient information, hospital portals or the internet from anywhere.