The iPad Mini 2 release date is a closely-monitored development as users anticipate the coming of a high-resolution Retina display panel plus the flood of killer features packed with the iOS 7.

However, one Samsung challenger, the recently-released Galaxy Tab 3 8.0, is fast-emerging as a solid foe for the soon-to-be released Apple compact tablet.

Early reviews of the Android device summed up into one consensus - Samsung is gradually getting it right when it comes to threatening Apple's stranglehold in the global tablet market, both in the regular and small size segments.

What exactly are the new strengths that Samsung has introduced with the Tab 3 8.0? These solid upgrades are embedded with the company's version of Jelly Bean 4.2.2 and they are briefly detailed below:

JB 4.2.2 allows app installation on external memory card

Unlike the first iPad Mini and its second build, the Tab 3 8.0 was issued with a microSD slot, which swallows in extra device memory of up to 64GB. This feature delivers the advantage of having around 128GB of total memory with the gadget, that is if the maximum card capacity is inserted on a 64GB Tab 3 variant.

This makes for a virtually unlimited space to hoard digital files - from movies, music, e-books, pictures and more. But to thanks to Samsung, this same feature got a significant kick in JB 4.2.2. Users of Tab 3 8.0 can now install most of their downloaded apps to the SD card, thus giving them more gadget room. Theoretically, keeping the internal space of a device clutter-free will prevent it from running sluggish over time.

Note that the same feature was introduced by Samsung through the Galaxy S4 and is also available on other JB 4.2.2-powered Sammy gizmos like the Galaxy Grand Duos.

Multi-user functions for the Tab 3 8.0

The native Jelly Bean 4.2.2 version delivered this exciting functionality, which mirrors the ability to create numerous user profiles in a single device widely seen in the traditional Windows computing environment. But when Samsung first deployed its 4.2.2 edition, the feature was conspicuously missing.

Soon enough, the Tab 3 8.0 will allow access to more than one user, according to SamMobile, adding that a firmware update for the tablet and that of the Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 is forthcoming.

The same report insists that the enhancement should be out shortly for Tab 3 users to relish, even providing some screen shots of what the feature will look like.

Multi-user is quite useful for buyers on a budget as they can share the Tab 3 8.0 while at the same time, enjoying some form of privacy.

Samsung's Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 has been out for months now while release date for the iPad Mini 2 with Retina is likely to occur on Q4 2013.