Verizon’s most powerful, and thinnest 7-inch Android tablet may not see Jelly Bean.
Samsung today confirmed to PhoneNews.com that there is no clear status on Jelly Bean for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 variants in the United States.
Despite pre-dating the flagship Galaxy Tab 2, the Galaxy Tab 7.7 is actually significantly more powerful, thinner, and capable than the Galaxy Tab 2. That’s no surprise, considering the Galaxy Tab 2 was created as a cheaper alternative to the Tab 7.7, and the Tab 7.7 was used as the engineering basis to build the Galaxy Tab 2.
But, with economies of scale, the Galaxy Tab 2 has surpassed the Galaxy Tab 7.7 in sales. This can partly be attributed to Samsung not offering a Wi-Fi version of the Tab 7.7 domestically; the tablet was only, and still is actively, sold at Verizon Wireless in the United States.
The confusion regarding Jelly Bean comes from Samsung posting an international status update in Europe, citing a Jelly Bean update for the tablet as coming soon. The posting was later retracted, with no clarification on the international variant’s status either.
Skipping out on Jelly Bean for the more-powerful Galaxy Tab 7.7 certainly wouldn’t be a confidence-builder for the tablet manufacturer, but considering Samsung’s track record with Android firmware updates on capable devices… it wouldn’t be unexpected either.
This update from Samsung comes the same week that Verizon Wireless dropped the refurbished, no-contract price for the tablet to $279.99, something we covered yesterday.
Verizon Wireless did not respond to multiple requests for comment sent yesterday by PhoneNews.com.
