Related
I'm just curious to get some opinions on why most of you bought the Galaxy S Tab now instead of waiting for better hardware, Honeycomb or any of the other fated reasons to wait?
Also if you choose to speak up as to why, can you also include whether or not you got it with a contract?
Thanks
Okay here's my answer . I know of nothing coming down the line that is worth waiting for...
The Tab seems to play videos fine, so I have no need of a faster CPU.
The screen is nice, and since AMOLED has failed (thus far atleast) to live up to the power consumption hype, and since I'm not a fan of unnatural "glowing" colors that's not a feature I'm particularly interested in either.
New versions of Android are coming out all the time, so that's never a good reason to wait (would be waiting forever in that case). Also Samsung has said Gingerbread is coming for the Tab. What makes honeycomb more wait-worthy than whatever comes after honeycomb again? I don't miss any tablet-features on the Tab, and the reviews that keep mentioning that Froyo is not tablet-optimized strangely never really mention in what way that is the case. It seems to fit perfectly on a 7" tablet as far as I can tell.
Battery life is very good, obviously pretty much completely dominated by the screen, and I see no reason to believe that's going to improve by a huge margin in the near future.
7" is the perfect size (since it fits in my pocket both in pants and jacket). The Tab is my only phone and does that job very well for my needs. Again can't think of anything coming down the line that's particularly revolutionary here either. The Tab is the perfect form-factor for me.
So I would actually rather be inclined to ask the opposite question. What is coming soon that should have made me wait?
Edit: And yes I got it with a 1-year contract (in Norway). About the same total price as at retail (~$950), except the contract includes 100 MB data per month for free.
Time is all you have in your life, the sooner you get it, the longer you can enjoy it . If you wait, when should you get one because there always will be better one and cheaper too in your future. Also, I predict when Android is optimized for Tablet, no tablet will have phone capability even though not many people like this big of a phone.
I had a galaxy S. Liked the phone but too many problems. The fact I sold my Galaxy S and only paid an extra £40 for my Tab that doesn't have the problems that plague the Galaxy S made it all worthwhile. Plus 7" screen doesn't hurt
Cause I cant stand the Ipad and its big brother attitude.
Because I'm very impatient
I am not an apple fan although I like the idea of the ipad I could never buy an apple. The ipad was to big for my needs, where as the tab is just the right size. I love the android os even though I have only used it for a month now
My need for a tab is to play movies and music, read emails, eboooks, surf the web and txt. This tab does all of this and much more.
I had the opportunity to do some overtime, the cash from which paid for my tab sim free.
And I love it.
Sent from my GT-P1000 using XDA App
My reasons
Ditto all of the above.
Had a tosh folio for a week, quite nice but screen poor and toshiba forgot to mention it wasn't finished! Waited for vega for too long and from what I have seen on the modaco thread today, I am glad I didn't.
Kept playing with the tab and my one concern, the price, got sorted when it dropped to £440.
It is great and i love it(but not in a sexual way!)
If I could pay $650 for a 7" phone/video/camera/music/web/eBook reader/navigation/tether and my two kids could enjoy it (playing zoodles) with me then I would do it Plus the fact that 7" is very comfortable in my hand vs a bigger size tablet.
I have the lightest, I believe, 13" laptop (2.9lbs) and the kids still want the tablet. Do I need it? No. Do I want it? Yes
I'm just a tech enthusiast and knew there was enough hype within the hacker community to expect that this thing would see some awesome howebrew ROMs and improvements in the near future. I like to mess around with my gadgets rather than settle for what features they came with. Waiting for honeycomb is no big deal for me either. This things works great as it is and cant wait until the first custom ROM gets released which I feel is just around the corner.
Sent from my GT-P1000 using Tapatalk
Tesco have a double money offer on club card rewards that ends soon. I had £340 worth.
Unfortunately the Tab's locked away until Christmas morning :-(
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
I got mine on Sprint. It was $400 if you signed a contract.
So far I love this thing. It's size is perfect for everything when you are at home.
I love anything tech related and I think the Tab has something really good going for it.
It was the right timing for me. I was looking into the HTC Desire HD while i was travelling in Taiwan. I found I love Android (compared to iPhone OS) when i had the HTC Desire. But i "desired" a larger screen. As well, i use the phone mainly for work. When I noticed the Tab had cellular capability, i decided to look for it instead of the Desire HD.
The 7" screen, portability, quick performance and great screen size (for my old eyes) was the payoff.
I dont have a contract as i bought it outright from a local taipei store.
Sent from my GT-P1000 using XDA App
CyberGhos said:
Time is all you have in your life, the sooner you get it, the longer you can enjoy it .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This guy speaks the truth.
You never know when you are going to die (seriously). You can walk outside the door right now, get hit by a car (god forbid) and die. Lighting can hit you when you least expected. A tree can fall down on you. You can get sued by someone else. You can get framed for something you never did. You can get robed. So many things can happen when you least expect it.
So get your Galaxy Tab now before its too late.
ConceptVBS said:
This guy speaks the truth.
You never know when you are going to die (seriously). You can walk outside the door right now, get hit by a car (god forbid) and die. Lighting can hit you when you least expected. A tree can fall down on you. You can get sued by someone else. You can get framed for something you never did. You can get robed. So many things can happen when you least expect it.
So get your Galaxy Tab now before its too late.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lets hear it for the early-adopter mantra!
And by the way, one reason Apple does so well is that there is a veritable ARMY of early-adopters who then sing the praises so that the wafflers and fence-sitters feel comfortable making a decision..or rather, having that decision made for them.
There's a certain comfort in that, and a certain amount of common sense, but if we were ruled by common sense, we'd still be banging rocks together as race.
man to me this is the best device out there right now,and this is coming from a dude that had every ihone/ipad that apple made.my last apple garbage was the iphone 4,i got tired of steve and apple telling me what i can and can't do with my device that i paid for,i was able to do more with my galaxy tab right out the box when i got did not even have to root/jailbreak it lol.i got the euro model unlock man i will never buy an other apple device ever again,and i hope some one here from sumsung is reading these comments on how not to **** with your customers on the next tab that they make.give us the full functions of the device or you will lose customers just like apple.
I'm going to be totally honest, I bought the Tab just for the hell of it. I wasn't in the market for a tablet, Ipad, Netbook or laptop I just happen to be at Best Buy and ran acrosss the Tab that they had on display. After doing that for about 2 mins I told the rep to get it for me. I also have the Evo and while I love my phone, the Tab is getting a little more love from me. Once Samsung comes out with the new Tab with better specs and the Amoled display im selling this one and get that. Until then I will continue to enjoy my purchase.
sparkyxda said:
Tesco have a double money offer on club card rewards that ends soon. I had £340 worth.
Unfortunately the Tab's locked away until Christmas morning :-(
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
at least you have something to look forward at having at Christmas.
I got mine now because I waited long enough for it. I'm sure there will be other awesome tablets that will be cheeper with honeycomb and whatever else will come out but looking at how it is with every other device there will be a way to get those on here too.
I was sick and tired from my WM6.5 device. I had the Samsung Giorgio Armani.
I waited for a Samsung Galaxy with hardware keyboard. Then came the Galaxy Tab and I went to the shop and the moment I was using it I told the sales person I wanted to buy it. Still getting used to the Android environment but loving every moment.
Still looking for a way to get the left and right arrows on my keyboard and all would be perfect.
Sent from my GT-P1000 using XDA App
There are keyboards in the market with left, right, up, down arrows. I'm using ultra keyboard as my default keyboard now.
Sent from my GT-P1000
Hopefully the following article is misinformed (I do also have a Tab)
http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/03/honeycomb-to-require-dual-core-processor-initially-tablet-only/
Otherwise we'll have to wait for devs to port Honeycomb to our tabs. Which may very well not happen since few of them have SGTs (and given the news flow they may very well pass it...) plus our hardware may be too limited (Underpowered processor, too small screen resolution) and we may very well want to pass on honeycomb too (If it's only for tabs and not for phones, forget about phone functionalities...)
Anyway let's just hope this is not true (Would hate to have to dump my tab only after 3 months of use...)
It's not like SGT becomes somehow inferior just because there's a new version of Android. It is a great device as it is.
All the more reason for me to justify picking up a Tab 2 when it is released
I love my tab as it is, and I see that there are already improvements to be made through updates to FroYo, so I am not really worried because I am satisfied even with my stock tab now.
Same here - I bought an unactivated vzw tab, and it just does everything I need. If there's a Tab 2 with Honeycomb, I'll look at it, but with my other android devices, the dev community seems to produce better functionality than the vendors do, and I can hopefully skip all the vendor-installed crap with a clean image when that time arrives.
R.I.P.
These are really bad news for us owners.
Maybe I'll switch to iOS devices then. They're running so much smoother compared to android 2.X devices...
We won't see how good the tab with its powervr 540 graphics would perform with proper hardwareacceleration honeycomb will provide.
And that, ladies and gentlemen is why we're all here on XDA......
The way things are looking, unless Google is planning on HC being a tablet only OS, there will be a basic HC OS for phones and an extra feature set that's unlocked for tablets with dual core procs and 1280 X 720 screens. What may happen is that the 7" tablet will essentially be an oversized phone with XDA hacking it so you can use the tablet features on the 7" tablets.
As a Galaxy Tab owner I'm not really that butthurt by this because I can envision having a camera phone and 7" tablet as mobile devices and a wifi only 12" tablet for home use. If the HC tablet features truly require a larger screen, then I'm content with a 7" tablet that more of a mobile device.
I am a big fan of the 16:9 screen dimension. Better for movies and better for mutli-pane implementation.
The worry I have is this will just cut the spread of SGT buyers. If we end up with a device not very popular and with a small customer/devs base you can forget about any dream of good custom roms or app developments
Sent from my GT-P1000 using XDA App
HTC is rumored to be releasing a 7" tablet, and the SGT has sold millions in a short amount of time. Unlike the iPhone, there was no carrier based reason to purchase the SGT over the iPad, but people did, in large part due to the form factor. I suspect that the 7" tab will not go away.
LOL, Any body want to sell their antiquated Galaxy Tab?
I've been looking to get one on AT&T or T-Mo... a trade for a mint 16GB iPhone4 perhaps???
FUD
There are no mins for Gingerbread, and IF there are any for Honeycomb, the community devs will pull apart what is a good update for the GTab and cook it up.
Honestly if you are worried, start a fund to get a tab into more dev hands...
lets not forget these are claims and have not been officialy confirmed by Google themselves yet... we still have hope. i don't think Samsung will just abandon us like this. they will probably be expecting to release their next sucessor to the tab in september. honeycomb will come out before then, and hopefully the update will be pushed out to us. the gtab was made in mind to be upgradable to Honeycomb. much like the HD2 was made to be upgradable to WP7... but that never happened.
only time will tell if we get the update.
lets not forget these are claims and have not been officialy confirmed by Google themselves yet... we still have hope. i don't think Samsung will just abandon us like this. they will probably be expecting to release their next sucessor to the tab in september. honeycomb will come out before then, and hopefully the update will be pushed out to us. the gtab was made in mind to be upgradable to Honeycomb. much like the HD2 was made to be upgradable to WP7... but that never happened.
only time will tell if we get the update.
Eh...it's only bad news if you don't like your Tab the way it is now. So it's not bad news for me, it's just more news.
What is bad is how all of a sudden there are so many deals for people to get these Galaxy Tabs. That had dramaticly reduced the cost. My guess that are getting rid of invintory. And it seems this is going on before CES. Just my view
What deals? That $100 Verizon price drop? Good luck finding a Verizon store that will sell one for $500 no-contract, it's a rumor and not official, at least not yet.
The T-Mobile $349 on a 2-year? That's not a price reduction, it's a little lubrication for the contract buttsecks. The Best Buy and Amazon sales? Short term holiday traffic generators. The UK/Euro price drops? Those were adjustments to bring the device in line with US pricing once the North American Tabs were released.
Lets not forget economy of scale, the more they make and sell, the cheaper each individual unit becomes to produce, and they can (and often do) lower prices over the life of a product to reflect this.
As for Honeycomb, Asus just announced a 7" Honeycomb tablet with 1024x600 resolution, so that part of the specs rumor is busted right away.
And any way you slice it, we're looking at March at the very least for a Honeycomb tablet explosion*. That's six months after the Tab launched. That's six months of awesome Tab usage before you should start to get the urge to replace it.
The alternative would have been to do without for six months. Life is too short for holding out for the next best thing...buying the best thing you can now is almost always a better bet.
*The Motorola tablet may launch before then, but frankly, I don't give a DAMN about the Motorola tablet, because it's a 10" device and I don't want one of those.
Croak said:
The alternative would have been to do without for six months. Life is too short for holding out for the next best thing...buying the best thing you can now is almost always a better bet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i am with u but u need money to burn
Croak said:
The alternative would have been to do without for six months. Life is too short for holding out for the next best thing...buying the best thing you can now is almost always a better bet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No truer words have been spoken.
You can play the waiting game forever. By the time the Honeycomb tablets are finally in the wild, the next generation tablet hardware / software will already be announced. At some point you just got to buy.
Sent from my SGH-I987 using Tapatalk
I just got a tablet running Samsung S5PV210 and I do hope it would be upgrade to honeycomb. The tablet run Android 2.2 OS currently, and its hardware specs. as following on the site where I picked up.
I'm going to contact with the vendor and ask for certain upgrade info.
Croak said:
As for Honeycomb, Asus just announced a 7" Honeycomb tablet with 1024x600 resolution, so that part of the specs rumor is busted right away.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also believe that one of the announced Asus tablets with Honeycomb also has a 1Ghz snapdragon so that busts the Dual Core requirement too.
There are 2-3 weeks before all the major tablets launch and I am considering buying the tab. I want a 7 inch so if i wait ill go for the flyer. But I was wondering if it is still worth paying $600 for the device. The new tablets will launch for $1000-120o so please advice me as to whether I should get the tab or wait ?
Just to add I currently have an HD7 as my primary phone and have been using the Desire HD as my backup phone and I will sell the desire hd to buy the galaxy tab. Plz consider this when advising. Thanks
Well, in the computer world there is always something coming around the corner that is better, faster and/or cheaper. That's just the nature of technology.
But, the Galaxy tab is great for me. I bought mine when they first became available in the states for $550 off contract. You can find them now for $500 off contract. To me the 7" size is a better choice then the 10" that most of the new hot tabs have. 7" is better for holding in your hand for ebook reading. The SGT is about half the weight of the iPad and Xoom which makes a huge difference.
The Galaxy tab has flash video for web but the iPad and Xoom do not.
From an ease of use and slickness the SGT runs behind the iPad but ahead of Honeycomb tablets like Xoom (read the Xoom reviews; people like the look of Honeycomb but they admit that it is not as easy to use as android 2.2).
If you are hooked on the 7" size like I am then you might consider the Dell Streak 7 which adds 4g to the mix.
As far as which provider to go with, I think one of the GSM providers (ATT or TMobile) would be better than the CDMA providers (Sprint or Verizon) as the CDMA tabs seem more locked down and have less development going on.
I would wait at this point - Samsung is suppose to be coming out with 8" Honeycomb tablet this summer.
If you can find one used or on sale
at a great price its fine for web browsing and email
and it's the only 7" capable phone out too, if you don't mind flashing it.
Just dont let anyone see you using it as a phone
Sorry is costing me $600 slight typo
Even though I returned my Tab, I'd still heartily recommend one to people looking for a great Tablet.
For me, it was TMobile winding me up that made my decision for me.
Awesome device, carriers did their best to make it fail it appears.
But some 10buck data plans? And the price it's going for atm? Well worth it I'd say. Seems everyone's pushing now for larger than 7inch devices, but the form factor is perfect. It's still luggable around (pocket requirements, but it's doable). Great screen, VERY decent sound compared to other tablets.
Sure, there's 3.0 tablets, but... Don't know. I think the Tab running 2.2 should be renamed 'Tab Classic' It's still very good, no matter what else comes after it.
I think now $500 new off contract and $400 used would be a nicer price?
No reason to rush into a Galaxy Tab with so many options coming unless its a good deal,
except maybe since it has a phone, I'd bet it will be the last 7"+ device with one.
YES
I just bought mine a week ago....luv it gave my ipad to my girlfriend ...I didnt realize how much i missed flash...7 inch is perfect for e reading ...portability is better ....10 inch to me is rather wide not easy to handle....
I have had the Tab for about a month and love it. I played with the iPad regularly since my girlfriend has one, but I consistantly came away with the Tab over iPad for 4 main reasons:
1- I much prefer 7" to 10" inch for mobility, one hand holding, ability to put in a pocket, etc.
2- I had a jailbroken iPhone and got rid of it when the original Droid came out. I still have a DroidX as my main phone due to the fact that I much prefer Android to Apple for the interface, customization, and app selection. Yes, iTunes has many apps and iPad has many tablet apps, but from experience, I found that many apps were 57 versions of the same thing, just with a different sports team branding or something, and I have yet to be unable to find a good Android app for any of my needs.
3- Even compared to another Android tablet like the Xoom, the ease of typing on a Tab is great. Granted, I have larger hands than most, but I can thumb type in portrait or landscape at about 35 words per minute, not too far behind my keyboard speed.
4- Last but not least, I use my Tab for everything. AllShare lets me use it as a remote to stream from the computer to the tv, with a cardock it is essentially a carputer, I can edit documents on a small device without carrying a laptop, and with it is great for showing off pictures and things better than a phone. That is only the tip of the iceberg.
I am sure if I put further thought into it, I would come up with alot more and this is a long post already, but something else the Tab has done for me that I really enjoy is that I enjoy it so much, I have gone from a lurker to a poster on many Android forums, including starting out here on XDA.
Forgot to mention price
Sorry, forgot to mention your concern about price. I got a brand new T-Mobile Tab (researching on XDA I found GSM had more dev work being done) on eBay for $425, so only $100 more than a Nook Color with the protection plan, which is what I had before the Tab and returned it after a week.
SonicTab said:
If you can find one used or on sale
at a great price its fine for web browsing and email
and it's the only 7" capable phone out too, if you don't mind flashing it.
Just dont let anyone see you using it as a phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the phone enabled on my Tab and I use it all the time. I bought the tab without a contract and flashed it with the JMI rom and a modem.
If you buy a device that is capable of voice communication and you use it that way why should you be wary of someone seeing you use it that way?
The device is FCC legal, has a prepaid sim card and is running a legal operating system.
There is nothing wrong with using a device in a way it was designed to be used as long as you pay for it.
Bugman1 said:
There is nothing wrong with using a device in a way it was designed to be used as long as you pay for it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think he was just making a joke about how foolish you look holding it up to your head..
Sent from my SCH-I800 using XDA App
00r101 said:
The Galaxy tab has flash video for web but the iPad and Xoom do not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Motorola is getting an hint of respect from me... The less Flash (and Air) the better.
Anyway the tab is really awesome to watch videos, can decode with no trouble 1080p at over 40mbps... Plus i'd say this form factor is the best one. And it works as a phone.
Sent from my GT-P1000 using Tapatalk
get one! the portability is awesome. 10" screen is too big to carry around. at least for me.
Got the tab and am loving it !!!
Congrats ...i was in the same boat 2 weeks ago best decision I ever made....better than the ipad....
Sent from my SGH-T849 using XDA Premium App
The Tab is currently the least worst 7" Android tablet out there. I love it. Now priced at where it should be (here in UK at least). Pop in a 3GB sim card (9 quid on amazon) and it's the perfect always online mobile device. It'll be interesting to see other 7" or so devices hit the market soon. That's what I would be comparing it against.
The 10" ones are not mobile enough due to size and weight (I use a car dock with the Tab - can't do that with a 10" without infringing on some local law ). I'm also a bit wary of how the Tegra 2 chipset found in most of them is performing. Video especially seems a bit of a letdown. At least we'll all soon have a lot of choices in formats and features. Still early days...
My one concern is that we may not see Honeycomb on the Tab. I suspect Samsung will skip over it for the Gingerbread V2/Ice Cream (depending on rumours) OS which brings in Honeycomb features for smartphones. The Tab has physical buttons and Honeycomb would seem wrong with that. Of course, knowing Samsung we may see nothing at all....
Yes I am still happy with my tab.
I would have suggested an version #2 if it was 7 inch with better camera and SuperAmoled screen.
Will sell mine only if next version includes all that features without losing batery life.
Yes if you desire portability. Personally I love my tab,now my dad wants one too so I think I'm going to give him mine as soon as I get the replacement back from Samsung(tab stopped turning one, dead battery I'm guessing). I'm gonna get the iPad 2 since I already have the Evo, which I use on the go and I miss iOS adventure games
Seeing where the SGT Dev community is going (nowhere).... I am thinking of selling my 3 week old SGT for cash and saving up for the wifi-Xoom. Anyone in the same boat.... or can rebut my opinion.
I've had the same thought, but since my GF got it for me for X-mas, I'm gonna keep using it, and give it back to her when I can afford a XOOM
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA Premium App
kenfly said:
Seeing where the SGT Dev community is going (nowhere).... I am thinking of selling my 3 week old SGT for cash and saving up for the wifi-Xoom. Anyone in the same boat.... or can rebut my opinion.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got the tab in January and so far other than gaining root haven’t done anything else with it, the mobility factor is a big plus no question about it, but then I got the xoom on launching day and now I really like them both…so if or when you do it you will appreciate the differences.
I think the Devs have nothing to do with your decision.
I really like the form factor, but performance is an issue with my tab. and with the dev community not really huge, i feel left out of so much with all of these honeycomb tegra2 tablets coming out. I just really feel that Samsung really jumped the gun with the tab. releasing it with no hopes of any real update. Then pretty much rubbing it in our face by releasing 2 more tabs that are far more superior. makes me feel like i made a bad investment by falling for their trickery.
Maybe SGT 8.9 if released with similar specs as of the xoom. and reasonably priced
The tegra processors and Honycomb make our tab look outdated already but IMO the differences are not that big unless one expects too much from a tablet; is not going to replace our laptops yet…as for sami updating my hopes are nonexistent. I was in Germany recently when a saw the tab of a friend of mine, phone working etc I turned green . My biggest beef is with the carriers here in the US that crippled the device.
tegra 2 isnt a device without their own problem
like not able to play 720p mkv movies unless it converted on a specific format
that would be a problem to some people
and is there really a lot of app that dual core ready anyway?
afaik, for normal process, only 1 core would work unless there's a need for the 2nd core?
jumping too soon on honeycomb with limited apps wouldnt make that much of a difference either
and did you say saving up? how long? ^^
if it took months, who knows we already got honeycomb or ice cream on the way on our tab?
honeycomb, i doubt, but the next generation for smartphone definitely gonna be ported to our tab IMO
my main interest in this tab is phone capability, so unless there's another contender out there, i'm still gonna keep this one
kenfly said:
Then pretty much rubbing it in our face by releasing 2 more tabs that are far more superior. makes me feel like i made a bad investment by falling for their trickery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm trying to see what trickery Samsung have fooled you with here?
The 7" Tab was sold as an Android 2.2 device, with no promise of a Honeycomb update, and that's what they delivered.
We may, or may not get an official upgrade, which may be Honeycomb, or perhaps Gingerbread, but the Tab is still a very capable and useful device as is IMO. I do believe that we will at least get an unofficial Honeycomb ROM once the source code drops.
None of the upcoming tablets can replace my Tab because they are too big for my purposes, though I may end up getting a bigger tablet purely for home use.
Regards,
Dave
For me its all about size, the 10s are just to big to carry around comfortably. Might as well continue to carry my Dell mini9 laptop. I dont require much from my tab maybe thats why Im happy with the 7.
Remember no matter what you buy it has a good 6 months of obsolescence built in
I think most devs wait for the honeycomb source... no one wants a broken sdk port on an expensive device...
As soon as HC hits aosp I'll contribute developing.
And the xoom community won't move very fast with development for the first six months either. And with that price, probably not much development after that.
rangercaptain said:
And the xoom community won't move very fast with development for the first six months either. And with that price, probably not much development after that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. The xoom may be "developer friendly" but it is way too expensive to mess around with.. the galaxy tab gets cheaper and cheaper and will attract more devs too over time.
Why are we comparing the Tab and the Xoom? Two totally different niches. Anyone buying a Tab should know what they are getting, and most that do are getting them for a reason. 7 inches, and a solid product with the full Android Market without having to push it onto the device.
I have three different 7 inch tablets right now (had a 4th, but the Dell Streak 7 is dismal) and the Galaxy Tab is BY FAR the best of the three. The NookColor is fun, and is running dual-boot Honeycomb (port from sdk) and froyo. It's overclocked to 1.1Ghz and is primarily used by my wife as an e-reader (which is what B&N intended), though she likes firing up Angry Birds, etc.
The Archos 70 Internet Tablet is running 2.2.1..and is slim and can handle just about ANY media thrown it's way. Archos is a leader in Media devices, having created the HDD portable Music player before anyone else (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archos)...including Apple. It's hands down the best for watching movies. However it's flimsy and buggy...Archos sucks at support, truly. Plus, there's not much in the way of accessories for it. I had the 10.1 also...but sold it.
My Tab gets the most use...as I swap my phone's sim into it quite frequently. And it handles pretty much everything I want it to do. Out of the 3, theres no comparison as to my satisfaction.
If I wanted another 10" Tablet...and wanted Honeycomb right now, I STILL would not get the Xoom. I can afford it, but that doesn't mean I want to plunk down $800 on something obviously rushed out of production. Too many things wrong with this early adopter device.
Here's to hoping the incoming 8.9' Galaxy Tab has some of the kinks worked out...cuz I'm gonna pounce on it right away. 10.1" prolly not, the form factor just too large for my usage.
Whatever some people get, they will NEVER be satisfied
hehe...truly, and that's why my wife calls me a gadget whore...just have to have em all. Could be worse in her eyes, at least I'm loyal to her
kenfly said:
Seeing where the SGT Dev community is going (nowhere).... I am thinking of selling my 3 week old SGT for cash and saving up for the wifi-Xoom. Anyone in the same boat.... or can rebut my opinion.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you bought a tablet based on the dev community then you were wrong to do that in the first place. You buy something for what it is, not what it may be based on some random people messing around with roms.
I can't see how a 10" Xoom could possibly be a replacement for the 7" SGT. One you can carry around with you, use in your car, act as a backup phone, and the other is mostly a stay at home couch device. Personally I think the Xoom is a bit of a let down on things it should be better at - like playing high bitrate movies. SGT blows it away on that score. The SGT build and screen is also very high quality. As good as my iPad 1 (which I've not really touched since the SGT came along. Never mind how I've come to despise the Apple lock-in methodology...).
Honeycomb looks like it will be a great update when the bugs are ironed out, but Froyo (maybe Gingerbread soon) on the SGT currently makes more sense as the device really is closer to a phone than a tablet (and I'm personally happy that it is). Ice Cream Sandwich looks like it will be the natural OS upgrade for this device, as it will combine Honeycomb UI changes with smartphone functionality. Whether Samsung will release it for the SGT in the coming months is anyone's guess, but for now I'm rocking the Tab. For a couch device I'll see what the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is like (hopefully they'll find a fix for the video snafu), but none of the Tegra 2 SoC based tablets are wowing me at the moment.
Bandage said:
hehe...truly, and that's why my wife calls me a gadget whore...just have to have em all. Could be worse in her eyes, at least I'm loyal to her
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm one too. I hide some from my wife too, so that makes me some kind of addict! But she uses the RAZR we got many years ago.
rangercaptain said:
I'm one too. I hide some from my wife too, so that makes me some kind of addict! But she uses the RAZR we got many years ago.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol...not mine, she's become a gadget snob. Though she won't admit it, she's glad to be cutting edge. I see it when her girlfriends drool over the cool gadgets she totes around, lmao. We'll go get coffee, and she will look to see who noticed her pretty NookColor while she's reading and surfing the internets.
So you're selling a device because people aren't modding it? IMHO that's a ridiculous reason to sell this amazing piece of tech.
And im guessing one main reason is Honeycomb because, lets face it, its what everyone wants in a tablet. Then why not buy a Nook? You complain lack of development, the Nook Honeycomb port is better than anything they'll ever do with the Xoom.
Still, just my opinion. I'm keeping my Tab until it dies, then ill get another one.
Sent from my GT-P1000
+1
and..truly one of these days someone WILL put out an Android device that doesn't need modding! Might be 3 years from now...with 8 core cpu & AirWave connectivity (5+TB wireless connection passed through our existing electrical cables that are strung on the poles...or passed through now vacated VHF / UHF signals...yeah, I can dream BIG!)
But you will only be able to get 3g data or 2g+ voice.
Two months ago, I was getting ready for my vacation (first one in six years) and a trip to US (Going next week). I spent several days checking forums, sites, magazines, everything that would help me choose the best tablet, and Xoom looked like the best option.
I never liked Apple and Ipad. To 'restricted' I’m my opinion. It's like a fine car that doesn't allow you to change the gear, break, accelerate or even steering. Basically the only think you can do is to insert address in the GPS and horn!
I have a Samsung galaxy S and so fat it’s the best phone I have ever had. I already had HTC, Kaiser, Blackberry, Motorola, LG, Nokia, etc and this is, by far, the best one. At first it was terrible: slow, too may Samsung bloatware, terrible battery live, but after flashing few cooked roms it transformed itself to a new device. It was Clark and now became Superman.
Back to the Tablets, when I was looking for the best tablet for me I checked other tablets as well: Samsung didn't had micro SD slot, no HDMI output and it also had almost the same weight as Xoom. Rim Tablet was too "Blackberry alike", and with an unknown OS. LG didn't have all the option as the Motorola Xoom and Ipad is… Ipad. So Xoom looked like the best option available. I decided to pre-order the Wi-Fi version to be delivered to the hotel address because I was afraid of a possible shortage. I have only one shot and I couldn`t miss it. Also this way I would be able to use it as my main computer during the trip. The Xoom is already waiting me on the hotel front desk…
….But I wish it wasn’t. In few weeks Xoom changed from the best available option to the worst option in the new Android market.
First, Motorola wasn’t able to keep up with other companies. Samsung did a major strategic movement and decided to re-design their table. Samsung created a tablet that weight just like an Ipad, and almost 30% less than the Xoom with almost the same specs as the Xoom. Samsung included a MicroSD slot, a much better screen (Super IPS) and HDMI while keeping same price as an Ipad 2. I can get the 16gb version for 100 less than the Xoom and I will still able to buy three or more 16gb MicroSD. Looking at the Samsung tablet make you feel like Motorola isn’t even trying. Bulkier, heavier an more expensive (ok 32gb is the same price, but they didn’t include a 16gb version which is cheaper if you think that you can get a 16gb MicroSD for 30 now.)
In the meantime Motorola is fighting itself: news that they will drop the production of Xoom, e-mails sent to Xda to remove .dump file, locket bootloader on the atrix and droid phones. It looks like Motorola is attacking the only thing that could save the Xoom: The community that could help support the device by making customs rom and other improvements.
In my opinion, it looks like Motorola is working hard to prevent customs Roms to the Xoom
So I keep asking myself if I should keep the Xoom, and the short answer is: No. I shouldn’t
I will be needing a tablet during my trip and I still haven`t decided if I should keep my Xoom until I can get a Samsung Tab or if I should send it back to Amazon and get a Asus Transformer. I am afraid that keeping the Xoom for too much time I won`t be able sell it in the future. I`m feeling like I am with a time bomb on my lap and if I doesn`t sell it fast enough it will blow.
And I have no doubt that it will be much easier to sell an Asus Transformer or an Acer A 500 than sell the Xoom in the near future. Hey, the transformer have a different strategy (that it can also be used as a netbook) so I may ending keeping it (but I still like Samsung Tab 10.1 best).
For now, Xoom is just better than nothing because there are no other android devices available. From April 24th (Acer A500 launch) it will face the competition of Acer. After that Asus and Samsung. The truth is that I haven`t even open the Xoom box, but I’m already with bitter taste in my mouth.
Some people talk about Xoom having the premium price. You paid more because you wanted to have the first Android device in the market ahead from everyone. OK, but would you pay this “premium price” if you knew that it would only last four weeks? That after 4 weeks you would have 4 new and better options (cheaper ones) available? Also, how much “premium price” you’ll have to pay? You already paying it in dollars, but you already paying it in the fact that the OS have bugs (like Mem space bug), that the SD card doesn’t work, that the screen is worst than every other device. How much you’ll have to pay as premium price?
Now I just need to know how can I return an unopened Xoom to Amazon and have a refund to purchase and Acer or and Asus for 200 bucks less.
It’s sad when you haven’t event received a new gadget but you already have give up on it, but it is worst when you realized that even the manufacture have already give up on the device.
isnt the galaxy tab shipping with FROYO? with Samsung's track record, I doubt it'll get honeycomb in 2011, gingerbread is a more realistic goal, maybe near christmas?
Xoom is a great tablet and I'm sorry that you've decided to return it without even using it.
This same thread has been posted too many times, and needs to be added to a forum FAQ or something. "Should I buy x if y is coming out soon?" turns into "Should I buy y if z is coming out soon?". At some point you just have to make a purchase and accept that no technology is going to be "the best" for very long
Wait, you haven't even opened the box and we get this long rant?
Use the device, let your experience guide your choices. The simple fact is that the Xoom is a powerful and beautiful slate, if you are one of us who love it out of the box.
We have root, we have overclock and regardless of the Xoom platform Honeycomb will have a strong community support even if because it is Android.
I for one am a power user and love my Xoom, it's attractive and does it's job well for my tastes.
Regardless, you need to experience the thing in your environment before you decide it isn't worth your time. Normally the hurdle would be the purchase, but you've already passed that one. Take the time to configure and play, then decide!
Dubar said:
isnt the galaxy tab shipping with FROYO? with Samsung's track record, I doubt it'll get honeycomb in 2011, gingerbread is a more realistic goal, maybe near christmas?
Xoom is a great tablet and I'm sorry that you've decided to return it without even using it.
This same thread has been posted too many times, and needs to be added to a forum FAQ or something. "Should I buy x if y is coming out soon?" turns into "Should I buy y if z is coming out soon?". At some point you just have to make a purchase and accept that no technology is going to be "the best" for very long
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Galaxy Tab 10 is not shipping with 2.2. Launching with 3.0.
LordLugard said:
Galaxy Tab 10 is not shipping with 2.2. Launching with 3.0.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
my bad, must be thinking of the older one; I feel sorry for anyone who bought that oversized phone that doesnt make calls
After using honeycomb, 2.x just doesnt make sense on a tablet
edit: I cant wait for all these new tablets to come out so people can start to differentiate between problems with the xoom and problems with honeycomb.
It's amazing how you've managed to out dumb every single other post in xoom general with this ridiculous pointless rant.
You've not even opened the box and you're complaining about the xoom.
The xoom is the most unlocked device moto has ever produced, it won't ever be locked.
You have nothing to backup your claims at all. There is nothing about the new tablets coming out that will reduce your enjoyment of the xoom. If you keep worrying about the next tablet and then the next tablet you will never have a tablet, and never be happy.
The xoom is a wonderful device with a lot going for it and nothing samsung or acer does will change that for me.
Honestly its your fault for ordering something so far ahead of time, especially a device like this that had almost no chance of selling out.
Sent from my Xoom using XDA Premium App
I'm sure that the description "From Heaven to Hell" seems a bit dramatic to most readers, but if thats the way you feel, you will probably never be happy with the Xoom even after the upgrades & updates.
The more I read the more I realize the Xoom really is only going to one of the best tablets after it's hacked, overclocked and running a high quality custom ROM. This is the way I always intended to use the Xoom, though I am learning that I really am in the minority of users. Those consumers having no intention of hacking the tablet are likely to be disappointed when comparing it to a more "finished" product.
I add my experience to this post only to help illustrate the importance of considering the intended use of the product by the individual giving his opinion of it. Critics of users who are dissatisfied with the Xoom seem to overlook that relevance and chastise them unjustly. Inevitably, every thread that includes negative opinions of the Xoom turns to **** as a polarized pissing contest ensues.
The ironic good part of this usual course of behavior is that waiting for these updates will give everyone a chance to get this crap out of their system so that by that time we can get busy talking about nothing but development, improvements and ROMs. Won't THAT be great?!
Sorry if you think that what I wrote is 'ridiculous pointless rant', but what a wrote is just what I am feeling so I am probably feeling ridiculous pointless right now.
About pre-ordering, yes it was a bad call. But I was in the US last thanksgiving and I spent two weeks trying to get a Xbox Kinect with no luck. I just didn`t want that to happened again. I also pre order a 3DS in the same way as the Xoom.
I agree that there is nothing from the new tables that would keep me from enjoying the Xoom, but that's not so simple. It's human nature to search for the best, and have the best. So I can say that except for some users that actually try several devices in order to choose the right one, most of the consumers will just choose the ones that looks the best. And between too devices, one 30% lighter and with the same specs, most of the users will go for the lighter even without testing.
I know that I am responsible for what happened but I think that what you should realize is that this will be the most typical scenario for the Xoom in the next weeks. Do you think that most of the consumers will act as XDA user and will do their homework (even then some XDA users will return theirs Xoom) or they will make their decisions like I did, in an impulse purchase?
Just look how many people stood on the line to purchase an Ipad 2 in the first day. None of these people were able to fully try Ipad before buying it. They just went for the one that looked the best.
And so this will probably happens with Android devices too. Most of people will go for the one with better specs or, in a secondary decision path, for the cheaper one. Very few people will go for the `right one for me`.
I just don't think that Motorola will hold on the Xoom if they start getting low sales numbers and high return rates. Motorola hasn't show that it will support Xoom if it fails in sale, and that's, combined to a POSSIBLE decision to prevent custom rooms (like they did in some Droid and Atrix phones) will turn out to be doom fall to Xoom users.
Psychokitty said:
I'm sure that the description "From Heaven to Hell" seems a bit dramatic to most readers, but if thats the way you feel, you will probably never be happy with the Xoom even after the upgrades & updates.
The more I read the more I realize the Xoom really is only going to one of the best tablets after it's hacked, overclocked and running a high quality custom ROM. This is the way I always intended to use the Xoom, though I am learning that I really am in the minority of users. Those consumers having no intention of hacking the tablet are likely to be disappointed when comparing it to a more "finished" product.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with the fact that Xoom will be a much better device after hacked and with custom Rom. I just don`t know if that will happen. Just look at the Atrix forum and the petition to have an unlocked bootloader. If I`m wrong please let me know but we are not sure, at this time, that there will be custom roms avaiable to the Xoom.
If I may throw my 2 cents into the can...
Yes, it looks like cheaper, and slimmer or lighter tablets are coming around the corner. Acer and Asus have it right in the price. Samsung built a thinner mouse trap, if you will, with redesigning the 8.9 and 10.1 Tabs.
Here's why the Xoom is my pick to date: Stock Android Device. Yes, all these tablets will have Honeycomb, but the OEM's are placing UI's on top. Granted, They don't appear to be too obtrusive to the Honeycomb experience (thank you Samsung for figuring that out) it will still be an issue when updates are released. I learned my lesson on the phone side and bought the Nexus S, and am so, so glad I did. Now, I don't want to get into a discussion of who the updates will be coming from, but it's obvious that a stock operating system will get the updates much, much faster than any devices with custom UI's. Samsung will have one, Asus will have one, hell HTC wants to put frigging Sense on their tablets. Yes people, you HTC tablet owners will get to stare at that stupid clock widget all day long on a bigger screen.
Look, I understand that the Xoom is way too expensive, I look at my Best Buy account and cringe, but I'm glad I pulled the trigger and bout the Xoom. It may not be a "Nexus" device per say, but for the joy of having the "pure Google experience" I'm all about the Xoom.
Dandarebr said:
I agree with the fact that Xoom will be a much better device after hacked and with custom Rom. I just don`t know if that will happen. Just look at the Atrix forum and the petition to have an unlocked bootloader. If I`m wrong please let me know but we are not sure, at this time, that there will be custom roms avaiable to the Xoom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the only thing stopping the development of custom roms right now is the lack of HC source code, so if the xoom never gets custom roms then no 3.x device will
chrisharmful said:
If I may throw my 2 cents into the can...
Yes, it looks like cheaper, and slimmer or lighter tablets are coming around the corner. Acer and Asus have it right in the price. Samsung built a thinner mouse trap, if you will, with redesigning the 8.9 and 10.1 Tabs.
Here's why the Xoom is my pick to date: Stock Android Device. Yes, all these tablets will have Honeycomb, but the OEM's are placing UI's on top. Granted, They don't appear to be too obtrusive to the Honeycomb experience (thank you Samsung for figuring that out) it will still be an issue when updates are released. I learned my lesson on the phone side and bought the Nexus S, and am so, so glad I did. Now, I don't want to get into a discussion of who the updates will be coming from, but it's obvious that a stock operating system will get the updates much, much faster than any devices with custom UI's. Samsung will have one, Asus will have one, hell HTC wants to put frigging Sense on their tablets. Yes people, you HTC tablet owners will get to stare at that stupid clock widget all day long on a bigger screen.
Look, I understand that the Xoom is way too expensive, I look at my Best Buy account and cringe, but I'm glad I pulled the trigger and bout the Xoom. It may not be a "Nexus" device per say, but for the joy of having the "pure Google experience" I'm all about the Xoom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with most everything you said however, where is the microSD card support on Xoom? These new tablets are releasing with functional slots. For a flagship device for Honeycomb, I am a bit disappointed. I have had my Xoom since day 1 and being as patient as possible with this but seeing other honeycomb tablets release with microSD support is a slap in the face.
dandearebr,
notice this...
regarding development of android device you must have development device, until now the development device supported by google are : G1 (legacy, not supported anymore), Nexus One, Nexus S and Motorola Xoom... the last three have unlock bootoloader officially, not by doing a hack, G1 Dev are coming unlocked from the first day of release (except G1 T Mob)..
so now, are you sure the next coming HC tablets have official unlock bootloader? "fastboot oem unlock"
Droid, Desire, Xperia etc, they are not development device, so is Atrix and others..the only way to put custom android to that product is hacking the bootloader..
Atrix have a good bootloader lock, afaik until now, no one have succes unlock milestone bootloader..so atrix will do the same..
now, one million dollars question for u, are u sure u want to buy next tablet that we dont know about their bootloader? u love custom rom right?
Dear Dandearebr
You will never get "perfect" tablet because there is no definition of such. There are expectations that are constantly changing, also they are very personal and subjective.
Your opinion is based on reviews and vocal complainers baseless in most of cases.
Xoom is very solid tablet capable of replacing of laptop. I am sure that it will get updates and will be useful for a least a year, year and a half. Then it will be a picture frame.
BTW, it has amazingly powerful sound. Listening online radio is very enjoyable.
My opinion is based on experience using Android since 2009, starting with HTC G1, then MyTouch, Galaxy S, Samsung Galaxy Tab 7". Xoom is a different animal because of Honeycomb and it is a big step forward.
Personally I prefer 7" tab with phone capability and pocketable size.
Classic buyer's remorse. We've all been there. My suggestion is to follow through and return it. You will never likely be happy with it, regardless of how well it functions for you.
Happily typing from my unlocked, rooted, overclocked Xoom.
Please return it so that real users don't have to clean up after you and kiss your boo-boos. Sheesh, you don't need a Xoom, you need a mom!
Sent from my Xoom using XDA App
So have you actually used the device?
God, return it.
Then when the XYZ tablet you want comes out you will go cry to those forums that ZYS v2.0 tablet is coming out.
I don't get why a lot of you are getting all defensive and starts attacking a fellow member, just because he's having a much better look at the future than us early adopters. I mean, be honest guys! A lot of us here are all wishful thinking about the opposite of what the OP has said! Yeah, we all might be happy for now, as the Motorola Xoom is the only tablet available that's actually competing with iPadLock2. But a few days, weeks from now, with all these tablets coming out and (hopefully not) the chance of Xoom reaching it's end of life/production. Along with threats of locked bootloader and a chance of not getting any update support from Motorola (FACT: XOOM is NOT the developer TAB from Google), we might just end up flooding this forum with threads just like the OP's.. Let's face it, no one knows about Xoom's future.. Heck I don't even know if Jha even knows the Xooms future at this point.. But the fact that Xoom's sale wasn't really that good, due to motorola's marketing strategy and price, with the iPad 2's overwhelming, and the upcoming flooding of Honeycomb tablets with better specs and/or pricing, our Xoom tablet could very well just end up as a very expensive paperweight.. Don't get me wrong, I am very happy with my Xoom! It meets my daily needs but the fact that it hasn't yet reached it's full potential due to Honeycomb's infancy, the FC's and limited apps worries me. I mean, we all know how these companies are.. If their product doesn't sell, they stop the production and support/updates. Add to that the threat on the XDA community regarding the Dump files and chances of the Bootloader getting locked, helps me understand the OP's sentiments/rants.. Let's face it, this is not the Developer's TAB like what we all hoped it would be when we bought it. Without the support from Motorola and the XDA community, this product we're defending would actually just end up like what the OP has said on the title of this thread. So let's just get along and stop bashing the OP just because he still has a chance to change his mind. Me, I would advice the OP to just return/sell the Xoom and wait for a few the upcoming tablets before it's too late. Because if he does, he would have a much better look at the future of the Xoom. Who knows, he might even see Motorola getting crazy coming up with a 16GB version, with better pricing and unlocked bootloader! Now that would be a win/win situation for the OP and us early adopters!! My fingers are crossed..........
Perfect! There really is no more to debate on this, and just no reason to bash the OP. Nobody knows anything for sure yet. I'm in it for the long haul, but only because I intend to be an end user of custom ROMs. I WILL be disappointed with how much I spent on the Xoom if that doesn't ever happen.