[Q]Usage Questions - Galaxy Tab 8.9 General

Hello all,
Im about to purchase the GT8.9 within a day or two, and have a few general questions.
What do you generally use the tab for?
Good list of apps to have?
Good option to use for business, and do the Samsung related business type apps work well?
Aside from the TW lag issues, are there any major quirks you think are with the tab? From reading around, the TW lag is the only issue I see with it, and is not a problem for me.
Most of all, after all this time you have had the 8.9, would you make the same decision or choose a different tablet?
Thanks

Hiya I have been not noticed much lag on mine.
I'm using mine for mainly blogging and photography.
Out of the stuff I use the I'd say dolphin hd browser, Box or Dropbox, Evernote and the Swiftly X tablet keyboard
And yes as I went for the 8.9 for size as it's just right for 7" is a bit too small and the 10.1" is too big and heavy.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App

Have had my tab for about 1 month so far and love it.
I noticed I've been using mine more for general surfing and keeping track of the news and forums.
While I think TW does cause lag, I really like the screen previews when adding widgets to main page. I also think TW is pretty good with default setup of widgets but that is just me.
As far as apps:
- Pulse - great interface on the tablet
- YouTube - I've rediscovered using the YouTube app on HC. Just nicer to view other stories.
- Kindle - reading is great and the size of the tab is just right for reading on the train.
- Google Reader - I suspect there are better options but prefer to tablet view.
As for business, I have my work email and company schedule synced to the tab and don't see any need to have other email apps. Email and calendar apps optimized for tablets are so much better and the default options are good enough.
I'm not really a gamer but you should try installing the TegraZone app to see some of the optimized Tegra 2 optimized games (there are some freebies and a few demos).
I don't regret buying the 8.9. I tried Galaxy Tab 10.1 (bit too big), 7.0 (bit too small) and Transformer Prime (bit too big but awesome speed) and have come from a Nook Color (outdated and a bit too small). The size is the main differentiator which you will either love or hate.

Related

Nexus One Performance

Basic question here is will the performance of the nexus one ever compare to the Nexus S?
When I first bought my n1, I noticed that apps opened pretty quickly, but any scrolling seemed a bit sluggish. The app drawer, home screen swiping, and scrolling in any app didn't feel or look quite as smooth as I had hoped. I looked around for a way to improve this, but have yet to find anything. CyanogenMod was nice, but didn't really help the issue. And even Google commented on their own Nexus One forums about improving it at one point. But that never seemed to come about.
I went to a best buy the other day to check out the Nexus S and the difference was huge. Scrolling and all other animations, even with live wallpapers on was fantastically smooth and fluid.
Both phones have a 1ghz CPU and 512 MB of ram. Shouldn't the Nexus One be able to perform as well?
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
I played with the nexus s next to my nexus one 2 times for 45min each, and I couldn't find any difference between the two speeds, which made me happy with my nexus one. You sure you don't need a wipe or something.
The snap dragon out performs the hummingbird in many types of computational operations. The graphics is the only advantage the hummingbird really has.
I've noticed a lot of complaints in the Nexus S subforum about sluggishness/laggy stuff, just like people say the N1 has.
Yeah well the nexus s owners discovered that their phone does not yet have graphics acceleration for things like the web browser, so the nexus one murders the nexus s on many specific types of web pages. This will be fixed when the proper update comes out, just like it did on the galaxy phones. But still, how could Google release the nexus s like that. Insane.
donavoncade said:
Basic question here is will the performance of the nexus one ever compare to the Nexus S?
When I first bought my n1, I noticed that apps opened pretty quickly, but any scrolling seemed a bit sluggish. The app drawer, home screen swiping, and scrolling in any app didn't feel or look quite as smooth as I had hoped. I looked around for a way to improve this, but have yet to find anything. CyanogenMod was nice, but didn't really help the issue. And even Google commented on their own Nexus One forums about improving it at one point. But that never seemed to come about.
I went to a best buy the other day to check out the Nexus S and the difference was huge. Scrolling and all other animations, even with live wallpapers on was fantastically smooth and fluid.
Both phones have a 1ghz CPU and 512 MB of ram. Shouldn't the Nexus One be able to perform as well?
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i agree that the nexus one's scrolling seems a bit sluggish. Using launcher pro made a difference to me. you should try it. also CM now has the option for overshoot when scrolling in the menus (think iphone scrolling). My phone seems smoother now. live wallpapers still make the phone a little sluggish though
I tried with the nexus s & compared to my nexus one I didn't find any big speed/scrolling differences.
Yeah, I recently was changing my live wallpaper and decided to check out a couple of non-live to see what they looked like. I have had my N1 for about 9 months, and had a live wallpaper on the whole time. I couldn't believe the change when I moved to a static-WP. Boy do I feel dumb, but happy!
brettbellaire said:
Yeah, I recently was changing my live wallpaper and decided to check out a couple of non-live to see what they looked like. I have had my N1 for about 9 months, and had a live wallpaper on the whole time. I couldn't believe the change when I moved to a static-WP. Boy do I feel dumb, but happy!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
not only does a static wallpaper make an enormous difference in scrolling, but install launcher pro and the scrolling becomes even smoother, like 55 fps smooth. its butta.....
I do use LPP, and have for most of my phone ownership time. I also recently turned off 3d scrolling. Makes the app drawer pop up so nice, but I miss the 3D.

[Q] Is anyone able to compare the ipad1 to the nook?

If anyone has both or had both, would you be able to answer a few questions?
I got a brand new ipad 1 for $280 and ended up selling it a few weeks ago because it really didnt meet my expectations for performance. I like Android OS better because of user customization ability and the widgets, which I use all the time. I dont like choosing between a million apps. I was very disappointed with the browser experience of the ipad 1. It was good for viewin 2-3 pages but after that, it would checker-board and also because of the limited ram (256mb) it would constantly refresh. Browsng on the ipad 1, was very minimal browsing, nothing that I can replace a netbook with. I think the Nook has 512mb ram which is the same as the ipad2....Also the ipad1 lacked multitasking (Even simple ones like chatting with someone on gchat and going back to my browser page) and notifications.
1) How does the browsing experience for the Nook compare to the ipad1?
2) With the new mods and tweaks, what about responsiveness?
I plan to use the tablet for watching movies, netflix when it comes out, browsing, gchat and multi-tasking all around with email and stuff. The ipad severely underperformed in that aspect and in the notification aspect. Basically, if it can do everything my stock mytouch4g phone can do (1ghz, 786mb ram), I will be happy.
3) Is the nook a legitimate replacement for an android tablet like the xoom? I mean considering the price + mods and tweaks, to someone who doesnt have one, it LOOKS good on youtube. BUt you never know how itll work out until soemone who used it tells you the truth.
kettlecorn said:
1) How does the browsing experience for the Nook compare to the ipad1?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The biggest problem I have run into browsing involves sites automatically redirecting to the mobile versions although the NC is generally better off, at least in my opinion, with full versions. That is easily fixed with a few tweaks however. I have many times had 5-6 tabs open in Opera while listening to Pandora or an audio book in Mort Player and notice no slowdown.
kettlecorn said:
2) With the new mods and tweaks, what about responsiveness?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Everything short of Dungeon Defenders runs with no apparent slowdown after proper setup, and it is only going to get faster as Dalingrin and others continue working on it. I can whip back and forth between all my pages of apps without seeing any hesitation or stuttering with 5 widgets on my main page and 10+ apps on every page.
kettlecorn said:
3) Is the nook a legitimate replacement for an android tablet like the xoom? I mean considering the price + mods and tweaks, to someone who doesnt have one, it LOOKS good on youtube. BUt you never know how itll work out until soemone who used it tells you the truth.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To me, it definitely is. I frequently use my Nook for a few main tasks, all of which it handles perfectly in my experience.
1) RDP (I use Remote Desktop Client by Xtralogic)
2) Streaming video (UPNPlay + RockPlayer)
3) Audio books (Mort Player)
4) Web Browsing (Opera)
5) Remote control of media on my PC (MPC-HC Remote/VLC Remote)
6) Playing games (Angry Bird+Seasons+Rio, Stupid Zombies, Fruit Ninja, Words With Friends, Speed 3D FX, NES/SNES/GBA/GameGear/Genesis/PSX emulators)
7) lulz (FML, Cheezeburger, joke apps)
On an important note though, lacking 4G and GPS really annoys me, but I am planning on getting a Bionic whenever they finally release which tethering to should cover me for both of those.
I never had that many problems with the internet on the ipad. But I do not have a lot installed. I use the apps that came with it for most all my stuff. When I try to use other apps to copy files to it that’s when the problems started. after removing the files every thing is good. I have Angry Birds and other games running with no issues. The battery life is the same as the NC running CM7 off sdcard. All in all the nook color is very impressive for the price.
Awesome, thanks for the reply. It looks like with the overclock and some mods itll run just fine. I'm also looking into the archos tablets but I don't think they are as good as the nook in terms of support or getting honeycomb.
In all honesty I am a fan of android, and not a fanboy of apple...that being said...
I enjoy using my girlfriend's iPad, and if they weren't $500+ I would have bought one. After spending alittle over $250 on my nook color, I am VERY pleased with it.
I think my girlfriend is a little jealous too, especially when she sees me playing flash off the internet. I think the screen size is just perfect, and with the progress the developers have made on CM7 so far, it is working great. I think the main benefit of Android over apple is that you have more choices on which software to run on the device.
There are some very lightweight and fast web browsers out for Android, and I think you will find one to suit your needs.
Very pleased with my nook color and I recommend them to many friends.
I have both iPad and a CM7 nook. This is my take:
- iPad is huge! It does not fit any pocket. In fact is so big, that you have to carry a bag if you want to take it along (and if you take a bag, you might as well take a notebook). This is a magor plus for the nook. 7" seems to be just fine for me.
- iPad has a very low resolution screen. The screen density on the iPad is much lower then any phone's. This is relay frustrating for me. The nook has much better screen density.
- 4:3 vs. 16:10. I prefer the widescreen. 4:3 is probably better for magazines, but when it comes to video a lot of the 4:3 screen is wasted.
- when it comes to performance - the nook is much faster (using CM7 with the OC kernel), unfortunately battery life on the nook is not that great.
So, I guess it's more of a choice of form factor. For me, 10" 4:3 screen is not a good choice at all. I can't comfortably hold it in one hand. The plus is that the iPad has a bit of a WOW-factor over here (in Bulgaria).
I actually own both. Here's my take:
iPad:
- More responsive screen (huge perk for me)
- Appstore is so superior to Market. It's not even a contest.
- Bigger screen = more enjoyable browsing from the couch.
Nook Color (Phiremod 5.3 @ 1.1ghz):
- More portable
- More enjoyable reading ebooks (which is my primary use for it atm)
- more "fun" with the moding community and openness of Android
- Much easier to sideload apps and books. Huge plus.
All in all, I have an iPhone 4 and the iPad is a glorified iPhone. So I bought the iPad for the fiance and she absolutely loves the simplicity of it as she can relate to it because she has an iPhone as well.
I bought the Nook initially and learning Android was not as intuitive as learning iOS was for her. So the nook simply frustrates her.
Each has it's purpose. It's really all about what you're going to do with each device.
EDIT: Also, I paid $200 for my Nook (new) and $300 for her iPad (new). At these price points, if I could have just ONE device, I'd choose the iPad (jailbroken) over the Nook Color (CM7). If it were between the NC and the iPad2 @ $500, NC, no question. But that's just me.
Got both.
Ipad has netflix. NC will never get netflix, ever. Netflix requires qualcom chip DRM.
That is a big plus for ipad/phone, a single killer app.
Flash support if you ROM the nook.
I feel flash beats netflix, or at least ballances the scale.
Form factor of NC is ideal, 7 inch will win the tablet form factor wars for obvious reasons.
Ipad is wifi only, so not much diff there.
Ipad apps, seems like most I ever used (read: free) were upscaled iphone apps. Pixel doubling fail. Suppose android has same issue to a much lesser extent, and somwhoe it never bothers. Could be a bias, but really the ios apps seem to have more profound issue with native tablet apps or making apps scale to larger screen.
Multitasking. Ipad came out around the time of mutitasking ios apps, but seems to not share the feature with iphone.
I love the nook color over ipad. Ipad is dead in the eyes of apple.
Deliver by Epic 4G xda app
snives said:
The biggest problem I have run into browsing involves sites automatically redirecting to the mobile versions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can easily change your userAgent with dolphin... sorry if its been mentioned in the thread, I didnt look
kettlecorn said:
If anyone has both or had both, would you be able to answer a few questions?
I got a brand new ipad 1 for $280 and ended up selling it a few weeks ago because it really didnt meet my expectations for performance. I like Android OS better because of user customization ability and the widgets, which I use all the time. I dont like choosing between a million apps. I was very disappointed with the browser experience of the ipad 1. It was good for viewin 2-3 pages but after that, it would checker-board and also because of the limited ram (256mb) it would constantly refresh. Browsng on the ipad 1, was very minimal browsing, nothing that I can replace a netbook with. I think the Nook has 512mb ram which is the same as the ipad2....Also the ipad1 lacked multitasking (Even simple ones like chatting with someone on gchat and going back to my browser page) and notifications.
1) How does the browsing experience for the Nook compare to the ipad1?
2) With the new mods and tweaks, what about responsiveness?
I plan to use the tablet for watching movies, netflix when it comes out, browsing, gchat and multi-tasking all around with email and stuff. The ipad severely underperformed in that aspect and in the notification aspect. Basically, if it can do everything my stock mytouch4g phone can do (1ghz, 786mb ram), I will be happy.
3) Is the nook a legitimate replacement for an android tablet like the xoom? I mean considering the price + mods and tweaks, to someone who doesnt have one, it LOOKS good on youtube. BUt you never know how itll work out until soemone who used it tells you the truth.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My experience with the ipad 1 mimics yours, though I will say for one or two page browsing the ipad is superior. However, I can open 7 or 8 tabs at once in DolphinHD (whatever the maximum number it lets you open) on the NC without any slowdown when scrolling through pages which makes it vastly superior for me as I always have at least 3 or 4 tabs open when browsing. If you want to do anything like drawing or note taking, the screen is more sensitive on the ipad to allow that, though you can also do it on the NC, just not as well.
In terms of tablet useability, it is as usable if not more so than my Fascinate. You can easily multitask and it performs well. Mail, gchat etc. all run at the same time without issue. Movie watching is high quality if you convert the movies or use VLC convert and stream to encode on the fly to the proper format. I prefer the form factor as it's more portable and you can use it one-handed which is not really possible with the ipad. It absolutely can be used as an everyday tablet.
Probably no sense in repeating everything everyone has said so I'll say that I pick the NC up more often than the iPad because having Flash is important to me and the size is so much nicer, especially when reading. The iPad is just overly huge.
parasense said:
Got both.
Ipad has netflix. NC will never get netflix, ever. Netflix requires qualcom chip DRM.
That is a big plus for ipad/phone, a single killer app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll make a lier out of you yet
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=995759
It was working for some time, but they caught on to us. It's close to coming out, though...
What about the NC screen brightness, contrast, viewing angles, color reproduction, flickering?
I've used an Ipad 1 in a bright store and it suffers a lot from glare, even at highest brightness setting.
Couldn't find a Nook Color in my country to try it out.
I have both an ipad 1 and the nc. In the past I have had a Cruz tablet, gtab, and Augen tablet. There are three things I have to have in a tablet: speed, portability, and a good screen. Out of all those tablets only one meets all those criteria and its the nc.
The screen is superb. Its has great viewing angles, and it's bright and crisp. The speed once rooted and overclocked is good, there are faster tablets but not at this price point. Finally, this is truly a portable device. You can't just toss an ipad or grab in your pocket. Plus have you ever tried to hold those larger tablets in one hand for any period of time?
I would say for now if you want a nice, zippy, portable tablet this is the clear cut winner.
parasense said:
Ipad has netflix. NC will never get netflix, ever. Netflix requires qualcom chip DRM.
That is a big plus for ipad/phone, a single killer app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmm... ever? To quote Marge Gunderson, "Not so sure about your detective work there, Lou"
"Ever" is a mighty strong statement.
playon lets you access netflix via your home PC - so while technically I don't have direct access, i can access netflix from anywhere using my nook color using playon
Jgrimoldy said:
Hmmm... ever? To quote Marge Gunderson, "Not so sure about your detective work there, Lou"
"Ever" is a mighty strong statement.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

[Q] In the market for a tablet with a few questions

As the title states im searching for a tablet to fall between my HTC Evo and my MacBook Pro 15" size wise and a 7" looks to be my match. There aren't a lot of 7" tablets out and I love Android. So a few questions i have about the original galaxy is one:battery life? I know with the stock rom battery life was complained about quite a bit. Have most of the custom roms/kernels addressed this issue? And two: i noticed in the stock browser on stock rom at the stores when scrolling quickly through web pages the checkerboard effect would show up sometimes meaning you were scrolling quicker than the browser could render the page. Is that just a fault of the stock browser or was that a hardware problem that has been addressed in custom roms? Thanks in advance for y'alls help. I hope to be joining the galaxy forum soon!!
The battery life issues were even addressed in the Stock Gingerbread update which was rolled for GSM devices (CDMA will be getting it soon I hope and I am not sure about what is happening in the US). Battery life is further tweaked and made better in he overcome ROM. Stock Browser in Gingerbread ROM is comparable (even better in my opinion) to the Ipad browser and there are many 3rd party browsers with greater browsing experience. I believe the 7" is the best form factor in terms of portability and so far the Galaxy tab has trumped everything else (in my humble opinion) so far.
I personally advice you to get a 7" unbranded GSM Galaxy tab. IF you find something better feel free to post your experience.

Is the lag really that bad?

I have a tab and a xoom on route and i have until tomorrow to decide which i will keep.
The Xoom has good ICS ROMs and is smooth to use, no lag, no jitter, but is rather heavy.
The Tabs ive used in stores are laggy, and it seems to be the way the are, but is it really that bad? I cant live with it if it is.
Its bad with stock firmware. With ICS rom its a lot better.
Personally I don't think it's that bad and it can easily be sorted by changing away from the Samsung TouchWiz launcher to another like ADW Launcher Ex or GO Launcher HD for Pad from Play Google; remember also that the number of active widgets and live wallpaper affects the lag. Samsung are also going to release ICS soon and I'd expect the lag issue to be mostly eliminated.
That fixes the launcher lag, but not the browser lag or lag in games and maps (which is SLOW compared to my Galaxy S2 or the Xoom). Even the ICS ROMs still seem to be slow from videos ive seen.
rovex said:
That fixes the launcher lag, but not the browser lag or lag in games and maps (which is SLOW compared to my Galaxy S2 or the Xoom). Even the ICS ROMs still seem to be slow from videos ive seen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've not had any issues with the browser or maps. Are you referring to loading or swiping? In both cases they are both quick and smooth. Are you comparing full desktop web browsing on the S2 and the GT? There's clearly a difference in the amount of content affecting loading and swiping; that also applies to maps. Additionally the store models are probably running HoneyComb 3.1.
The Xoom is officially at ICS now whereas the 8.9 is not, this is why the custom ROMs still need work, so it's difficult to judge the 2 devices fairly aside from the fact the the Xoom does not have bloatware.
Swiping.
Once on ICS i want to use Apex launcher as i do with my SGS2 and for now ill be happy with ADW EX on Honeycomb. Rooting and ROMing is no problem for me i must have flashed my S2 100 times! Of course the S2 is much much more powerful than the tab, but even with full desktop browsing its like butter, so is the Xoom (even on 3.1), the 8.9 is like gravel.
That's interesting because I've never had a problem swiping in the stock or Dolphin browsers; they've been smooth for me; did you visit sites using flash and was the flash plug-in up to date? If you get the chance to play with them both first then I'd do that to decide but the main reason I bought the 8.9 was the form factor with any lag not bothering me at all for the main functions of surfing and reading books/magazines; video playback is also excellent but I don't watch 720p video files on it, only 480p; the highest quality video I've watched is probably via Netflix.
Stock browser on HC is crap, scrolling up and down is a pain. It is crap on gt8.9 and its even worse on gt7.7. Anyone saying it works and is good just haven't used anything else. Try the ICS rom and you will see how fast the stock browser is.
The lag you see in launcher is a known hardware problem with Tegra 2. Only difference in the case of gt8.9 is that the screen is rotated 90 degrees, so we have this problem in landscape where its more obvious, all other Tegra 2 tablets have the same problem in portrait.
I have spent about 2 hours in various stores playing with them. The Tab is much much nicer to hold and look at, but the Xoom was silky smooth.
I assume once ICS gets an official release TW will be stripped out in most ROMs. In the mean time which current ICS is better, the AOSP or the AOKP?
poisike said:
Stock browser on HC is crap, scrolling up and down is a pain. It is crap on gt8.9 and its even worse on gt7.7. Anyone saying it works and is good just haven't used anything else. Try the ICS rom and you will see how usable a browser can be. ICS browser is a lot faster then the HC browser.
The lag you see in launcher is a known hardware problem with Tegra 2. Only difference in the case of gt8.9 is that the screen is rotated 90 degrees, so we have this problem in landscape where its more obvious, all other Tegra 2 tablets have the same problem in portrait.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have read that before and tried both in both orientations. The Xoom was still smoother even in portrait than the 8.9 was. Doesnt that mean the 8.9 is permanently doomed? I will be using it in Landscape all the time.
rovex said:
I have read that before and tried both in both orientations. The Xoom was still smoother even in portrait than the 8.9 was. Doesnt that mean the 8.9 is permanently doomed? I will be using it in Landscape all the time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Was the Xoom running ICS? I had a Xoom and it had the problem in portrait. Portrait was unusable with android 3.0, it got better with every next version, but the problem was still there with Android 3.2. Dont know about ICS, i sold my Xoom a long time ago.
I'm not sure if the gt8.9 is exactly doomed. I have seen a silky smooth stock ICS launcher on gt8.9, so it certainly is possible to get it to run smoothly and fast. This was on one of the alpha ICS builds we made, unfortunately we could not find out what caused the launcher to become so smooth and it was lost in later builds. Of cource the current ICS build is also a lot better then stock HC.
The xoom was also running 3.1, same as the tab, because they were store units.
Its a shame that the hardware puts me off the Xoom a little, but the Software puts me off the tab. Im not allowed to use whichever unit i choose to send back, so its going to come down to whether the Xoom appeals when in my hand tomorrow.
rovex said:
The xoom was also running 3.1, same as the tab, because they were store units.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Xoom with HC certainly has this problem, try a google search if you don't believe me. Its not as bad as gt8.9, but its there.
Yeah it was certainly there, but much less obvious and i wont be using portrait much anyway. This is the tabs problem, it does it in landscape and its worse.
rovex said:
Yeah it was certainly there, but much less obvious and i wont be using portrait much anyway. This is the tabs problem, it does it in landscape and its worse.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, i don't understand why samsung choose to rotate the screen, they must have known about the Tegra 2 limitation.
Its worse on gt8.9 with stock rom, thats probably because their own toutchwiz modifications. Its a lot better with vanilla ICS.
Is it a permanent hardware issue or is the rotation a software thing? Can we undo it?
rovex said:
Is it a permanent hardware issue or is the rotation a software thing? Can we undo it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its a hardware issue, but like i said, it seems to be possible to overcome it in software. And like someone already said, other third party launchers seem to work just fine.
I came from the Asus Transformer 101. I thought all Android tablets were just by nature laggy. I was very surprised to get the 8.9 and find that it was quite smooth compared to the Transformer. After rooting and getting ICS I think that this is about all you can expect from a tablet. Very smooth and very snappy. Very few if any force closes. Needless to say, I am totally sold on the Galaxy Tabs.
I only really notice the lag on the homescreen... Once in apps and stuff it's fine, so it's never been a problem for me. Android users put too much emphasis on the home screens when all they're for is to get you between apps. It's also not that bad anyway, you get used to it. As long as you don't use a live wallpaper you stop noticing it unless you're comparing it to an iPad or a faster tab.
The Xoom is good for speed, yeah, it's one of the few Android tabs out there that runs the OS smoothly. Sad truth is, most Android tabs don't run that well, you rarely see ones which don't have at least a bit of lag on the homescreens. Xoom is one of the better ones for speed, but Galaxy Tabs are far thinner and lighter than anything else, so that's the compromise you've got to choose - lighter and laggier or heavier and faster? Swings and roundabouts.
But yeah, you can speed this tab up with different roms, and it will be updated to ICS soon. For me it's all about this tab's small size (without being as awkwardly small as a 7 inch tab), lightweight build and awesome screen. Xoom performs well but I never liked its form factor or its washed-out screen.
Well i think i will try the Tab and use Overcomes ROM and ADW EX while we wait for Samsung to get ICS out (and the better ROMs that will follow from devs.. ). ADW is familiar, i used it on my S2 until ICS arrived.
Now need to research the best Kernels, as i love overclocking and tweaking.

Share your Experience

hi. i see many here who have bought this gorgeous tablet. im in the planning of buying it. i honestly dont want the exynos version cause of my past experience with this chipset being hot and no so stable. and sadly its the only one available here.
im TOO much convinced to get iPad Air 2 because it wipes the floor with these 2 tablets. but i really dont like Apple at all. so much so, i HATE apple! but the S-Lag is pushing me more towards Apple more than ever before... lag on a 2014 Flagship tablet is PLAIN UNACCEPTABLE!
anyways, lets come to the point. WHATS YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH THIS TABLET? whats the best thing about it? what did u find so-so in this tablet? and what is the worst thing according to YOU in your tablet? pls mention ur model (10.5 or 8.4 and also share the chipset, Snapdragon 800 or Exynos 5420 and also Wi-Fi only or Lte one)
(its only gonna take 3 mins to type and reply to this thread, so pls share ur experience. might be very helpful for some!)
You lost me as soon as you said that the iPad wipes the floor against this tablet. Lol
Sent from my SM-T800 using XDA Premium HD app
I have zero lag with my Exynos Galaxy Tab S 10.5 WiFi running stock NK1 firmware and debloated and all graphic intensive games play smooth and it multitasks faster then my Note 4. The screen is in a league of its own and my jaw drops every time I look at it. Battery life is awesome at around 8-9 screen on hours and tablet runs cool to the touch at all times and it scores around 40,000-41,000 in Antutu which isn't too shabby considering it only uses the the 4 x 1.9ghz cores during the test. Well worth the $399 @ Best Buy and development is decent for it with CM 11 being stable and Lollipop coming in a month or so. I bought three of them instead of the Galaxy Tab Pro 12.2 because it's LCD looked crappy just like IPad Air 2.
Worst thing is scrolling in many apps like tapatalk and even play store is jerky not smooth, both in stock and cm port. Best thing is the screen. If it weren't for the screen I wouldn't get it
guys, 3 days and only 2 people shared their experience? come one dont just view the thread, share what you think to help others buy it.
Not clear to me what the point of this thread is. Much of the discussion on the entire forum is about peoples' experience with the tablet. Maybe if you ask a more specific question, you'll get more of a response.
I'm using this tablet for 4 days now I came from the iPad retina. The screen is so beautiful comparing with the iPad but it has its downsides.
Pro's
-screen
-android (can stream mkv to this device)
-battery life
Con's
-sometimes lag (hopefully the lollipop update will kill the lag)
-design (it's not bad, but the iPad feels more high quality)
Conclusion
I'm using the tablet for watching series and movies in my bed, for this purpose it's the best tablet I've ever been acrossed. Hopefully the lollipop update kills the lag and activate full 64 bit (I've heard the cpu works I'm 32 it mode at the moment)
Model: T800 WiFi (10.5)
Processor: Exynos 5420
I got my tab 2 weeks now and I'm really impressed by it.
I have to say that I've debloated it and trying to get more out of it because I'm not really happy with the amount of RAM used. Out of almost 3GB it uses 60-70% on idle, with no running apps.
I believe this is due to TouchWiz and (I think) some other Samsung stuff.
As for the screen: It's absolutely amazing! Big and Amazing! But, a battery drainer for sure, especially with full brightness.
About the battery life: Reasonable. I don't really watch movies on it and use it more for work, 3rd monitor, reading. Basically everything except watching movies. And still I find that the battery performance could be better. It's not bad, but I find myself plugging it in way too often then I would like. (But I guess that's the sacrifice you make for getting a big awesome screen).
I've also tried the latest CM11 ROM for it, and performance wise it got better.
Faster, smoother and way less RAM used (700MB instead of almost 2GB), but I found that it's missing a lot of Samsung features the stock ROM has to offer (which in turn made it useless IMO, unless you don't need them.)
And I'm also sure that the Lollipop update will do a lot of good things for it, and let's not forget the custom roms that will probably be made once Lollipop is available for this tablet. Things can only get better!
I wouldn't change my Tab S for anything else, although it may sound like I'm a bit negative about it, I absolutely love it.
My experiences so far, hope it helps you decide.
GeorgeP said:
Not clear to me what the point of this thread is. Much of the discussion on the entire forum is about peoples' experience with the tablet. Maybe if you ask a more specific question, you'll get more of a response.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have said that in the 1st post man . simply state Pros and Cons you found out in this tablet. what do u use it for mostly and how long does it run (battery life)?
Test
---------- Post added at 10:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:45 PM ----------
DUHAsianSKILLZ said:
Test
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can finallt post on here! Anyway I have the Galaxy tab s 10.5 with exynos chipset.
I have had this since lauch and no problems so far.
Display, The display is awesome event in direct sunlight you can still see it. Heck its even bright at night. It can rung videos up to 1440p and its way better then lcd. But there is one thing to look out for. Since its amoled, you may get burnt or stuck pixles. I have only one as of now. I have no idea how it happened but its really really tiny to see it. To aviod this problem is to not use applications such as facebook for 6 hours straight. Then you should be fine if you watch movies.
Speakers, great treble and some bass. The quality of it is clear and plays most music perfectly. Depending on some movies they may be quiet but for most its really loud. There are one speaker on the left and right on each side which is a good placement for a thin tablet.
Vibration. Oddly enough this tablet has vibration for nonfications and even when you type! Its not the best like most phones but works well.
Hardwarebuttons/keys. There is a backlight when you press the back or recent apps buttons. They light up which is a plus for me and the home button works well. The home button fingerprint scanner is ok.. But the Ipad air 2 scanner is better. This is due that samsungs home button is oval or the software has been made perfectly like the ipads. But it works most of the times.
Wifi, signal on this tablet rocks! It can detect my neighbors wifi signal and still have 3 bars. It works well on most routers and downloads are faster and more stable since its wifi antenna is really strong.
Battery, I get about 8 hours of screen on time which is really good. I wish i could get more but this is better than the ipads.
UI, samsungs Ui may be laggy but can be fixed by installing nova launcher and disabling knox / some system apps. The multitasking feature works well but not all apps are supported. You would need root to use all apps for multitaking. Also, Samsung lacked of getting updates to this tablet. There has ony been 2 or 3 updates since launch. After the first week I rooted and later install cm11. Its been blazing fast so far with no stutters. There is also custom roms for both the 8.4 and 10.5 inch tablet.
Build quality, very fragile. One drop and there goes your tablet. I would recommend getting a case or somesort to protect this tablet. The screen does pretty well in scratches too. Camera is good for outdoor use and has a great flash. The back has a good cover to put your hands on and prevent slipping. Altougb it has vert thin bezels in which it can be hard to hold in one hand.
Customization, more than the ipad and you can also fox the lag but doing a few things. Rooting can get you way more things like backing up your whole rom in case of a bootloop in which you can restore too. You can also flash custom roms and get tons of features. You can also add sd card for more storage.
App support for this tablet is ok. Most apps work well and some intensive games lag because it isnt optimised for this tablet. I only get lag at the loading screen.
Overall, this tablet is a great one with tons of customozation and features, but its fragile like the ipad air 2. But alteast its a bit thick then the ipad air. If you are a video watcher/ streamer, this tablet is good for you as it had great battery life,screen quality, and also different modes of color ehanments to choose from. Heck this is also my tv remote as it can change channels do other stuff with the ir sensor.
I've had my 8.4 WiFi Tab S for about a month now, here are my thoughts:
1) The stock ROM is laggy, and really betrays the specs of this tablet. Even installing Nova launcher and debloating as much as I can did little to speed it up. This was my biggest disappointment out of the box, and continued to frustrate me until I finally rooted it and installed CM11...more on that later
2) RAM usage/allocation is not good on the stock ROM. Dolphin browser for example will crash when more than a few tabs are open, where on my other devices this is not an issue.
3) The screen is gorgeous - it really is a class leader. Nothing comes close to Samsungs SAMOLED displays, this one has a 1600 x 2560 360ppi dazzler. It's really that good.
4) Most stock Samsung apps are gimmicky and useless. They just take up memory and shouldn't be there, or at least be optional to install.
5) This is XDA, so it's likely if you're reading this you're thinking about rooting the tablet. My advice? In the case of the Tab S 8.4 - DO IT. Do it NOW. CM11 in particular washes away my concerns above, and the tablet performs as it's specs suggest - super quick, minimal lag and powerful. It's like having a new tablet all over again, and things will only bet better once Lollipop comes out.
aami.aami said:
hi. i see many here who have bought this gorgeous tablet. im in the planning of buying it. i honestly dont want the exynos version cause of my past experience with this chipset being hot and no so stable. and sadly its the only one available here.
im TOO much convinced to get iPad Air 2 because it wipes the floor with these 2 tablets. but i really dont like Apple at all. so much so, i HATE apple! but the S-Lag is pushing me more towards Apple more than ever before... lag on a 2014 Flagship tablet is PLAIN UNACCEPTABLE!
anyways, lets come to the point. WHATS YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH THIS TABLET? whats the best thing about it? what did u find so-so in this tablet? and what is the worst thing according to YOU in your tablet? pls mention ur model (10.5 or 8.4 and also share the chipset, Snapdragon 800 or Exynos 5420 and also Wi-Fi only or Lte one)
(its only gonna take 3 mins to type and reply to this thread, so pls share ur experience. might be very helpful for some!)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
iOS is a much better OS than Samsung's Android. Let's be honest, the software really lags. But I'm buying the specs, and putting in CM. So with CM, and the specs... it works very well for me. No complaints. Depends on what kind of user you are and what you plan on doing with the tablet. I like a customized ROM, great battery for watching movies and surf the web and do very little gaming... Tab S 10.5 is perfect for me.
---------- Post added at 11:47 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:46 AM ----------
interfreak said:
I've had my 8.4 WiFi Tab S for about a month now, here are my thoughts:
1) The stock ROM is laggy, and really betrays the specs of this tablet. Even installing Nova launcher and debloating as much as I can did little to speed it up. This was my biggest disappointment out of the box, and continued to frustrate me until I finally rooted it and installed CM11...more on that later
2) RAM usage/allocation is not good on the stock ROM. Dolphin browser for example will crash when more than a few tabs are open, where on my other devices this is not an issue.
3) The screen is gorgeous - it really is a class leader. Nothing comes close to Samsungs SAMOLED displays, this one has a 1600 x 2560 360ppi dazzler. It's really that good.
4) Most stock Samsung apps are gimmicky and useless. They just take up memory and shouldn't be there, or at least be optional to install.
5) This is XDA, so it's likely if you're reading this you're thinking about rooting the tablet. My advice? In the case of the Tab S 8.4 - DO IT. Do it NOW. CM11 in particular washes away my concerns above, and the tablet performs as it's specs suggest - super quick, minimal lag and powerful. It's like having a new tablet all over again, and things will only bet better once Lollipop comes out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This guy's response is dead on. :good::good::good::good::good::good:
Running CM11 and I have nothing to complain. Just onhe thing annoys me, the hardware button on the bottom (in landscape). I would like to press iut with my thumb, but that's too far away. Especially when I am browsing lying in bed, pad on my chest/belly.
I have a tab s 8.4 LTE Exynos for about a month now.
Hardware build is fine but could be better. Tablet is very delicate, you have to be careful with it. Feeling in the hand is great, especially the soft back.
Display is absolutely amazing, but you already know that. Really bright, it can also go insanely dark if you want, and sharp as a knife. Colors can punch your face in, or be more natural, depending which mode you want and choose. One thing is for sure, expect screen orgasm all day every day with tab s
Software is mixed bag. There are great software additions for productivity etc but the best option is to put different launcher on it (Nova is great, but I found that smart launcher works even better).
Performance is good but with a different launcher it becomes much better. You have to keep in mind, this display has an insane number of pixels, runs what is probably the most heaviest android skin in existence (TouchWiz), and has note 3 procesor inside. With all this in mind, I was actually surprised with the performance, with multitasking and games as well.
Games run perfectly with some lag here and there on more demanding titles. I love how you can play GTA:San Andreas for example, then go multitask do a ton of other things, and then just hop back to GTA and it will not reload the game, you can just continue playing where you left of.
Speaker is good, lacks more bass, but loud and clear, I have no problem with it.
Battery is good, about 7h average of screen time. I use it heavily with 50% brightness, reading articles, browsing, games and a ton of movies and youtube. With power saving mode, or if you root the tablet and debloat you can go even further with battery.
Also I'm not rooted, yet.
Should you buy this tablet? For me, answer is yes. Kudos to all other great tablets out there, but I wouldn't trade this display for anything in the world.
very unsatisfied
Very unsatisfied. Would return immediately if possible . The screen is just too large and too wide, also the text is very small, and color temperature should be warmer .
Also not possible to hold it in one hand .
Very very unstasfied for reading and browsing . Very bad buy for me .
For watching movies it would be OK i guess .
I am using the 8.4 Wifi Tab S. I have it rooted and debloated a large number of system apps by using Titanium Backup. Using a stock ROM with Nova Launcher makes this thing fly. Also using CM11's latest build from 12/2/14 and everything is working fine so far. I highly recommend using Nova Launcher even if you are not rooted.
peterf81 said:
Very unsatisfied. Would return immediately if possible . The screen is just too large and too wide, also the text is very small, and color temperature should be warmer .
Also not possible to hold it in one hand .
Very very unstasfied for reading and browsing . Very bad buy for me .
For watching movies it would be OK i guess .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nothing wrong with the tablet, but with your decision to buy it.
So you are the one to blame, not the tablet.
Buy phone for elderly. It has a small screen with big fonts. Perfect.
---------- Post added at 03:12 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:01 PM ----------
I have a tablet for one day, so I can't really post a long experience essay, yet, but so far i am totally impressed and love it from the inside out.
From software perspective it is Android as android (tried at least hundred custom roms in last 4 years or so, from phones to tablets), nothing to blow my mind there. I have to mention i came to TabS from Asus Infinity and it is like i am discovering a whole new world. TabS really is that better. The one thing that ruined the Asus tablet, which was perfectly fine from specs perspective, was the cheap internal storage, which was so slow that sometimes I had to wait more than 30s or a minute for screen orientation to change. I won't go into details, but it was a 700€ tablet which i almost threw into the wall because of all the frustration it caused me. So, maybe i am not looking objectively here, but TabS is faaaar superior.
There are some hiccups now and then, but i don't really think it is due to Samsung apps or HW.
From experience i think it is just the android that has problems. CM is just so heavily tweaked to overcome it, but put AOSP rom on the device, and i bet after few days you'll get the same problems as with any vendor built roms. Not as much, but still. I could be wrong though.
Anyway, from a day of playing with the tablet, i am impressed.
It is responsive, the screen is gorgeous and currently there is nothing to complain about.
I did root it, but didn't debloat it yet, because i don't see a reason to do it, yet.
If it comes to that, there are still other options - like CM and so on.
So far, very happy.
I recieved mine yesterday and a couple of quick thoughts:
-Screen is incredible, my <480P videos look terrible and pixelated almost because the screen is too good. Not the screens fault.
- TouchWiz is annoying and crappy. Nova Launcher helps but i hate the pull down menu. I wish CM offically supported this but it looks like you XDA guys <3 have done a solid job porting CM11 over. If i decide to keep it , I will root and flash CM on here.
-Alot of cool free gifts with the tab, NY Times. Marvel, etc.
-Fingerprint scanner is not bad. Alittle bit finicky though.
-love the MicroSD Card,
-the back is a bit slimy and annoying to hold up.
-Seems like there is some lag switching between apps. I wish this had a better CPU.
All in all, I am unsure what to do. I like the tablet but I think a N9 would be great also. I have 2 weeks to decide, if I see a good deal on a N9 I might switch to that. I would be worried in a year or so the Tab S will be quite laggy...
thoughts?
This cursed tablet is causing me depressions . It is so cold and big, not cozy and warm . It is the devils work . Unusable in landscape and even more in portrait . I warn you !!! Dont buy this piece of crap, buy something smaller with lower resolution what u can hold in one hand .
---------- Post added at 05:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:55 PM ----------
But I cannot return it because I bought it from internet from china . I want to change DPI in android so text is larger and even this is not possible . Total unreadable microscopic text . Hate it 1!!!!!!!
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
https://www.dropbox.com/sc/2biqnw9ujjfe5h3/AACRNBe-RzFe4F_qKrqiemy0a
So that you see the difference between my nice EIZO monitor in "text" setting, which is perfect for browsing and office work, I can work non-stop with this monitor.
And the Tab S 10.5 in "Basic" display setting - which is the warmest (but there is not much difference in white temperatuer between the 3 settings).
After 20 minutes of browsing on this tablet my eyes are crying "WTF are u doing to us". Add headache to this and then u know how it is to work with this tablet .
If I would see this comparrison earlier I would not buy, but the reviews are not reviewing this most important stuff as thorough as they should . I BLAME THE REVIEWERS FOR THIS !! may the rot in hell .

Categories

Resources