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2 days left to return XOOM to BB -> Samsung 10.1

Got the XOOM wifi for my Bday. Totally enjoying the android tablet experience (also a Fascinate phone user). There are a few minor nit-picks for me with the XOOM. Seeing the Samsung 10.1 at Google IO is making me reconside my selection:
XOOM Nit Picks:
A bit Heavy (but certainly sturdy). I don't have any real need to lug this thing too far from my home office, so not really a deal breaker.
Power button on the back. I lie the XOOM flat on my desk. I need to pick it up to wake it up - many time per day. I find this oddly annoying!
Display just feels washed out to me. I have gotten away from the conservative auto-brightness to manually adjusted to better suite my taste. This is surely an UNFAIR LED vs Super Amoled comparison (like on my phone), but nonetheless, it is an issue for me.
Non-USB charging - yep, one more cable to manage. Again, this is an Android Tablet general concern, not specific to the XOOM.
So, the Samsung hits a couple topics for me: Lightweight, thinner, button on edge. But has its own set of issues for me:
Not 3.1 yet, Samsung seem terribly slow to push out upgrades (maybe really a Verizon issue on my phone?).
No HDMI/USB support. I am guessing they will provide some sort of dongle to provide these features, but ONE MORE piece to manage.
No SD Card support. I don have a big concern here, but who knows in the future?
Construction. The Google IO devices really looked/felt like cheap-plastic with that funky white back - but this may be how they get the weight spec to fall just below the iPad2. This is one of my gripes with the Fascinate phone - cheap back. I've not heard any reports of the retail config in June. Will it be like the IO devices, or return to something more like the original 10.18.9 black back.
I am totally on the fence here. Any suggestions??
Thanks,
Mark

Have you held a tab 10.1? it does not feel cheap and plasticy.

Xoom:
Available now w/3.1
802.11 a/b/g/n (as far as I know it's the only device with 5ghz wifi)
OTA updates (kies LOL)
Weight:
I typically carry mine around in some sort of folio case, or padded bag. To me, a few grams of weight is 100% negligible because of that fact... if I had any other tablet I'd stick it in a folio or case of some sort as well which surely adds to the weight. I don't know very many people that use their tablets without any form of cover/folio/case/screen film/etc. Even when I'm "around the house" I put it in a gel sleeve which adds to the weight. So... truly... is weight an issue on any of these tablets?
Screen:
I've held an ipad, an ipad2, a xoom, and an acer all together (not at once) - generally the screen on the ipads just seem better. dont know what the trickery is because its not just the fact that its an IPS screen vs a TN panel... I played with an Acer which is supposedly IPS as well and I thought it looked practically the same as my Xoom. I did get to hold it side by side with my Xoom at a tradeshow, it was a fun little tablet but it felt a little awkward to me. The button and output placement on it was better.
Peripheral placement:
Where the Xoom "sucks" the most if i may say it... is where everything plugs in. Short of the contacts for the power dock being on the bottom everything else is just wrong. You can't dock it and plug it into USB at the same time, gee thanks motorola.
My opinion:
Someone gave you a Xoom and you're out nothing. If you want a samsung tablet just wait until it comes out and sell your Xoom for $399 to someone as a deal and use that money to subsidize your samsung purchase.

I've got until tomorrow to return mine if I want. I've owned the original iPad, the Playbook and rooted a Nook Color. Currently, I have a Transformer on order and who knows if it will ever ship. Anyway, I agree with the previous poster that a little weight really is of little importance, especially when you put on a case. Also, for me, the connectivity is a concern because I use HDMI out a lot.
The Galaxy Tab looks appealing and I'm sure the screen will impress. However, I wonder if it will suffer from the light bleeding issues other such screens seem to have. I am also hesitant to jump in because of the stated concerns about Samsung not updating their products. That wouldn't be as great a concern if 3.1 wasn't such a dang improvement in performance and stability. Personally, I think the wiser course of action is to wait until the Galaxy 8.9. By then, surely 3.1 will be implemented and you will get a better form factor for carry.

Hi MarkP,
I think it`s really a hard decision, every review is saying great things about the Tab 10.1, for me the mains CONS are exactly those you mentioned, lack of ports and SD Reader (to be confirmed, actually, there are rumors that the retail version will have an SD reader).
Just to correct one point, the Tab 10.1 is not AMOLED, Samsung did not mention the display technology and people is speculating that it could be a Super LCD (the qualitty is very good), but is no AMOLED for sure.
I would be very worried about the pace of updates from Samsung, specially in the case of the retail tab which is supposed to come with some sort of TouchWiz (TouchWiz in itself is a big MINUS in my opinion, I like the Google Experience).
I think in any case you will be with a nice tablet, dependes of what is more important to your specific use case.
Regards ans good luck.
Sandro

dulaney22 said:
I've got until tomorrow to return mine if I want. I've owned the original iPad, the Playbook and rooted a Nook Color. Currently, I have a Transformer on order and who knows if it will ever ship. Anyway, I agree with the previous poster that a little weight really is of little importance, especially when you put on a case. Also, for me, the connectivity is a concern because I use HDMI out a lot.
The Galaxy Tab looks appealing and I'm sure the screen will impress. However, I wonder if it will suffer from the light bleeding issues other such screens seem to have. I am also hesitant to jump in because of the stated concerns about Samsung not updating their products. That wouldn't be as great a concern if 3.1 wasn't such a dang improvement in performance and stability. Personally, I think the wiser course of action is to wait until the Galaxy 8.9. By then, surely 3.1 will be implemented and you will get a better form factor for carry.
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I agree, weight is a non issue for the most part, and I also agree about waiting to see if samsung updates...I mean, I have a Samsung Vibrant and have had a Samsung Galaxy Tab, and the updates are slow to come(if they come at all.)...Don't get me wrong maybe Samsung will shape up in the future, but for now til I see it I am going to try to stay clear of Samsung Android devices.

I personally don't understand the argument of Xoom's weight. Did people become that fragile that they can't carry around a device that is less than 2 lbs?
Also, Xoom will have a superior build quality compared to Tab 10.1, this is why it is heavier. You cannot have a slim, lightweight device that will have fantastic build quality. When you make a device that lightweight, you are giving up quality.
To me, it seems Xoom will always get it's updates quicker than any other Honeycomb tablet. Don't forget, Iconia and Transformer will get it in June, even though they are already available. With Samsung having touchwiz, my guess it will get updates a few weeks if not more after Xoom. And remember I/O? Xoom was the device Google used through out their experiments. If this is any indication, Xoom will probably get more dev support in terms of hardware capabilities.

I guess I can't really add anything that numerous people here have already pointed out. My biggest disappointment with the xoom is the display. It's just not vibrant in any way. Pretty dull really, in my opinion. However, the fact that the xoom has pure honeycomb and will get updates much faster than other tablets that contain OEM bloat is the key factor in my wanting the xoom over others. And, the bootloader is open. My first and current android device is the Moto Atrix, and I really wish I waited or researched the android world more before I bought it, and go a device that didn't have a locked bootloader, or could be unlocked.
If you're really on the fence about it, just return the xoom before it's too late, wait for the Samsung to come out and go compare them side by side. Unless of course you must have a tablet to use between now and release.

holtenc said:
I guess I can't really add anything that numerous people here have already pointed out. My biggest disappointment with the xoom is the display. It's just not vibrant in any way. Pretty dull really, in my opinion. However, the fact that the xoom has pure honeycomb and will get updates much faster than other tablets that contain OEM bloat is the key factor in my wanting the xoom over others. And, the bootloader is open. My first and current android device is the Moto Atrix, and I really wish I waited or researched the android world more before I bought it, and go a device that didn't have a locked bootloader, or could be unlocked.
If you're really on the fence about it, just return the xoom before it's too late, wait for the Samsung to come out and go compare them side by side. Unless of course you must have a tablet to use between now and release.
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I don't think the display is bad from vibrant standpoint, but I wish there was some way to change the color temperature to make it a little warmer. Frankly, I don't care much for the overly saturated colors of the Samsung or iPad.

samsung has always been slow and lazy on updates.
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk

i think I need to see the galaxy 10.1 display in person because the colors I have seen in all the pictures look a little too saturated to me...I think that would get annoying after a while. From a color saturation standpoint, I would prefer the xoom over the GT 10.1

Thanks everyone!
A few notes to add:
The Bday gift was to myself
Yep. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 display is also LED, not amoled like my Fascinate (I wish!). Probably will look very much the same as the XOOM, unless Samsung is able to config color/contrast/saturation default levels before shipping - or provide an interface for these options.
I think I may just return the XOOM, and go tablet-less until ~June 4 timeframe, then try to find a Samsung 10.1 display to do the touchy-feely stuff.
Worse case (or best case) - I buy the XOOM again, probably for a discount over the $599 I paid ($569 prices around today).
Will be only a small issue to go tabet-less for the next 20-30 days!

Looks like the GTab 10.1 i/o devices are suffering from a bit of backlight bleed themselves.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=13959199#post13959199
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/qVS8KhM_rtXC555bw011jg
Good luck being able to rip open 10 of them on launch day to find a good one. Sometimes the quality control (or lack thereof) just baffles me.

^something like that I completely allowed on my $200 nook color. But when you double-plus the price, my tolerance grows quite thin and I expect the hardware to be as close to perfect as possible. Meaning: no back-light bleed.

Why not return, then repurchase at a different merchant to re extend your return time so you can wait for the Samsung to come out and be able to make a more informed decision? Once you sign into Google with the newly purchased xoom, virtually everything but your movies music and photos will be loaded back onto it.
You probably shouldn't do this, I only did something like this one time when i had a wedding shoot and really needed the money but had just sold my Sony nex. I went to Walmart and bought a dslr camera and returned it after the shoot. I'm sure if lots of people do this, it could **** with the merchants and Motorola. But, you know, its all well within your rights, just frowned upon. Your call.
Sent from my Xoom using XDA App

Xoom is not the best, but enough to make me satisfied. The problem is Honeycomb itself (lag, missing apps..) not the xoom hardware.

tritran18518 said:
Xoom is not the best, but enough to make me satisfied. The problem is Honeycomb itself (lag, missing apps..) not the xoom hardware.
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Are you still having lag issues even after 3.1? Are you able to surf the net and listen to mp3 without any issues? I have a TF and I dont know if its worth waiting for 3.1 in June. My return date for my TF is at the end of May. I heard good things about 3.1. Listening to my music and surfing is one of the thing I do the most, and on 3.0 using either playerpro or PowerAMP cause so much lag that it will lock up the browser or the player. With PlayerPro it will actually stutter during playback

I was planning on waiting for the 10.1 but started having doubts when I heard about the lack of SD card, then in a moment of doubt I found a xoom on ebay for $405, I definitively think its worth it fr $405.

tritran18518 said:
Xoom is not the best, but enough to make me satisfied. The problem is Honeycomb itself (lag, missing apps..) not the xoom hardware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you not on 3.1?

erzhik said:
I personally don't understand the argument of Xoom's weight. Did people become that fragile that they can't carry around a device that is less than 2 lbs?
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no ****. you gotta laugh when someone complains how tablet x is soooo much heavier than tablet y... and the difference is only 100 grams!

Xoom vs TF101 vs Galaxy 10.1 vs iPad2

Hey all,
Figured I'd pass on my opinions of these devices, and since I finally chose the TF, I figured I'd get the least flames posting here - lol. Looooong time gadget geek/hacker going way back to the Palm Pilot days. If it was a tech gadget, and particularly if it was internet capable, I probably owned one. My current phones are a HTC Desire Z (w/ NAM AT&T 3G) running CM7, and an iPhone 4 jailbroken.
Over the past couple of months I've owned (or still own) the Xoom, iPad 2, TF101 (w/dock) and GTab 10.1. I still own all but the Xoom, and here's a few of my thoughts on all of them and why I'll be keeping the TF.
Xoom - Well built, sturdy, and nice design. Lousy screen (comparitively) and lack of promised features like LTE and the SD Card werre a bummer, but my biggest reason for selling that one was the screen, and seeming lack of "responsiveness" from Moto on the device. Plus I knew cooler devices were coming soon.
iPad 2 - Not yet Jailbroken (grrr) but it's still a suprisingly good media consumption device as is. I go the 32GB AT&T model, and have used it for a couple of trips as a laptop replacement. It'll be cooler when I can JB it, but since I have a fiarly big investment in iOS software, I'll probably keep it a while. Not real impressed with it's Safari performance, considering all the hub-bub about how fast it is. But it does do games great, is slick and trouble free, and nice sized with a great (smart-cover) solution.
Galaxy Tab 10.1 - I got this one on Sunday, so I haven't given it a whole lot of time. It's a beautiful, "Apple like" device from a design perspective. Also the screen while very saturated, is very nice, light weight and thinness also gets it lots of oooohs and aaawwwws from everybody. I hate that Samsung doesn't allow direct mounting of the internal storage, and we're forced to use that awful KIES software. I've just been using Drobbox and all my music is in the Google cloud. This one would have been my second choice if I didn't already have (and love) the...
Transformer 101- now this one is my keeper. A lot has to do wth the dock - I'm an "ultraportable" laptop fan (current Lenovo x220) so I like smaller laptops, and man this thing makes a damn good laptop substitute with tablet caapabilities. The screen is gorgeous, the responsiveness of the OS is equal to or better than the other Androids, and even beats iPad when Safari is sucking wind. I love the quick controls in the browser (missing in the Tab) and that it feels like there's a really robust community developing for this device. I'm not rooted on any of these yet, and actually pretty content like that. Therre's a few things I'd do with root (and anti ad hosts file for one!) but for the most part I'm ok with them as is. When I start to get bored I'll probably root this too.
I sold the Xoom about a month aftr I bought it, I'll keep the iPad (partly for the fun things to try like iOS 5 and it's great for kids to play games on) but the Tab is going back to BB (restocking fee be damned.
I just really like the versatility of the TF w/dock. I have it paired with a small BT mouse and it's like a pretty full featured laptop, that goes into Tablet mode at the flick of a switch. Still on the hunt for the slimmest folio case for it that allows it to be propped up for typing, but the kybd dock does that for now.
Hope these tips help some people interested in any of these, remember their just mmy opinions and everybody has different needs and required attributes that may differ from mine. Either way their all fun.
If anybody has any question about my experiences, fire away, love to chat gadget talk abou the cool toys.
-Joel

well played!

Shouldnt be a restocking fee witjin 14 days. I returned a tab a few weeks ago to wait for tf no issues
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App

gottahavit said:
Shouldnt be a restocking fee witjin 14 days. I returned a tab a few weeks ago to wait for tf no issues
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good to know thaks, I'll push and see what they say, thanks for the heads up!

Good Post. Thanks.
Sent from my HTC Thunderbolt.

I quite agree with you.
From all these devices i tried the iPad 2 and the ASUS transformer.
Im already acquainted with iOS and although its simple and intuitive it's kind of boring. im quite into personalizing my device which the iOs wont really allow.
The bigger and wide screen on the transformer is really nice, and although build-wise it may seems "cheaper" then the iPad (everything that is not shiny-aluminum-ultra-appleish is cheap nowdays) its a comfortable device to hold in the hand.
Price-wise the transformer costs less, + the keyboard dock which increases battery life and also allows you to use it as a netbook.
Performance seems to be almost identical on both A5 and the Tegra 2. BUT the transformer is overclockable, therefore you can squeeze some more juice out of it.
I didnt use the other two, but by reviews i understood that the xooms screen is washed out and not all that great, and the lack of a MicroSD on all of the three (xoom,iPad,GT10.1) is meh-ish.

just picked up mine last night after doing a lil bit of reseasch for a week or so glad i chose this one,, love you wife she bought for me.. BAMBAM

good...
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App

Thanks for the comparison.
Regarding TF and Tab 10.1 screens, which do you prefer? Which is nicer for news/e-book reading? Does Tab 10.1 oversaturation mess with your eyes?

a042349 said:
I hate that Samsung doesn't allow direct mounting of the internal storage, and we're forced to use that awful KIES software.
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Don't agree with this point. I had the Tab 10.1 for about 3-4 days and I had it mounted on my PC as a plug-play device and was able to transfer files directly. All your need is to install the proper USB drivers from the Samsung US site

myself11 said:
Thanks for the comparison.
Regarding TF and Tab 10.1 screens, which do you prefer? Which is nicer for news/e-book reading? Does Tab 10.1 oversaturation mess with your eyes?
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Yes it does. Although the Galaxy screen seems better than the TF , its for sure over saturated and hurts your eyes if watched closely for lot of time.

Srikar_NBK said:
Don't agree with this point. I had the Tab 10.1 for about 3-4 days and I had it mounted on my PC as a plug-play device and was able to transfer files directly. All your need is to install the proper USB drivers from the Samsung US site
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Yeah, you could be right. I'm just so happy with the flexibility of the TF that for now (and for now could be 1-3 months lol) it's the one I'm choosing. IAs I stressed, this is just my humble opinion, hope everybody is happy with their respective choices.

glad to see that are still people who can choose between products without trashing another.
i'm stlll not sure if i'll send my tf back. i do like the versatility it has but seeing that i am keeping my gt 10.1 it's really hard to justify keeping it.

I don't think the keyboard dock can be stressed enough, and I wish I saw more advertising from Asus around the tremendous increase in productivity it provides. It's really not "just" an external keyboard or dock. It really does turn the TF into a completely different class of machine.
That said, I'll admit that if it weren't for the dock, I'd probably opt for the GT 10.1. I don't really use the microSD card I have in my TF right now, and I doubt I'll ever use HDMI. So if choosing between the two on the screen, size and weight alone, I'd probably lean toward the GT. However, man, the keyboard dock makes me want to stick with the TF no matter what else might be out there. As someone who needs to be able to write long-form stuff anywhere, I can't think of a better device than the TF...
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk

i'd have to suppose the lack of advertising is one major factor for the price of the tablet. moto, apple, samsung all have commercials yet i've not seen one asus commercial, not even for their laptops.

To each his own I guess. I played with them all as well including the acer and viewsonic and kept the wifi Xoom. I really wanted to like the Asus because of price but it was just as bulky as my xoom and had serious build quality issues. The Asus screen was great, the quality around the screen, not so much. Enjoy your new toy dude. Aint technology fun
The only one I haven't played with is the tab 10.1, I secretly want one but Samsung and I have bad history.
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA Premium App

wynand32 said:
That said, I'll admit that if it weren't for the dock, I'd probably opt for the GT 10.1. I don't really use the microSD card I have in my TF right now, and I doubt I'll ever use HDMI. So if choosing between the two on the screen, size and weight alone, I'd probably lean toward the GT. However, man, the keyboard dock makes me want to stick with the TF no matter what else might be out there. As someone who needs to be able to write long-form stuff anywhere, I can't think of a better device than the TF...
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
This!
The dock is the absolute biggest reason for my choice. With my BT mouse (dislike trackpads) I feel like I'm using a real computer, with 16hr batter life and tablet flexibility. Love the shape, size and design of both the iPad and Tab 10.1, but just love the flexibility of the keybd dock too much - at least for the next 90 days or so. ;-)

a042349 said:
This!
The dock is the absolute biggest reason for my choice. With my BT mouse (dislike trackpads) I feel like I'm using a real computer, with 16hr batter life and tablet flexibility. Love the shape, size and design of both the iPad and Tab 10.1, but just love the flexibility of the keybd dock too much - at least for the next 90 days or so. ;-)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know about the 90 day shelf life all too well
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA Premium App

wynand32 said:
I don't think the keyboard dock can be stressed enough, and I wish I saw more advertising from Asus around the tremendous increase in productivity it provides. It's really not "just" an external keyboard or dock. It really does turn the TF into a completely different class of machine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
Not just a different class of machine, but two machines!

My 2 Bitz
Ok, I'm a little late to the game... but if anyone buys one of these tablets second hand.... like I just did, then here goes nothing: I bought a Motorola XOOM wifi (32gb) and an Asus TF101 (16gb) (and I nearly bought a Galaxy Tab 1 and an iPad Gen. 1). It's my first tablet; I haven't yet figured out what I'm gonna do with it, but there ya go.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 1: I passed on the Sammy because it did not have an SD card slot.
iPad Gen. 1: I passed on the iPad because.... well, it's an iPad. About as useful as a maxi-pad to me. I was put off by the closed system. It means far less choices for free or hard-to-get apps (of the kind I might need), and limited storage with no SD card options. It wouldn't do, even for a kid's tablet. (Despite the fact I have an iPhone....).
Asus Transformer Eee Pad TF101: I really wish they would have stuck to one name, and left it at that. What was the original name? The "Asus Transormer Mario Consuela Maria Concito Esperanto Gonzalez Eeee Pad TF-101"?
Motorola Xoom: Anyway, it came down to Asus and the Xoom. And boy, I had a hard time deciding. So hard, I spent 3 days of my life testing these two tablets, up, down, backwards and forwards. I ended up settling on the Xoom, but first, the Asus....
The Asus has a gorgeous screen, compared to the Xoom. The TF101 is sharper, more clarity, brighter, blacks and whites are more darker and brighter, respectively. Better contrast and angle viewing, and reading books is less of a strain with a more muted white for the background.
THe sound of the Asus however, is like slamming a suitcase lid down on twelve kittens while Freddy Krueger scratches his name out on the chalkboard. It's the ridiculous choice of stuffing really tiny speakers so they can fire out both sides of the unit. Even EQ'ing the thing with Viper4FX could not hide the tinny shortcomings of the speaker sound. Which also had a tendency to break up at louder volumes (its particularly keen to distorting around 500hz). Connected to a stereo though, was quite another matter.
Though much less bass, richness and body, the Asus resolved timbre better than the Xoom on music program material, output through a stereo via headphone jacks. However, I still preferred the sound of the XOoms (yes, "Xooms" as in I had TWO Xooms to compare), because the Asus was causing some degree of stress through its sound and picture, as compared with the calmer energy of the Xooms.
The construction of the Asus was nice in parts (ie. color, back design, aluminum frame)... but the superb construction, design, looks, case and smaller size of the Xooms is what pushed me toward the Motorola choice. I have not seen any tablet as well built as the Xoom. The Xoom has a timeless design and hough it is heavy on the wrist if you have to hold it up, it just feels nicer in the hand than the ultra-wide Transformer; which appears more dated due to its size and design. The really nice charging dock and 32gb internal (vs 16gb of Asus) also helped me accept the inferior colors and viewing angle of the Xoom. I also liked the nice design of the various white & green charging LEDs, around the screen of the Xoom - the Asus has none of that. I was not enamored by the fact that Asus required special prorpietary data cables, where the Xoom uses microUSB. What also pushed me toward the Xoom was the mediocre camera in the Asus. No flash and grainy photos (though it let in an unusual amount of light, despite or because of no flash... but it was too much light, and washed out detail at times). The Xoom 5mp camera was excellent... perhaps better than that on my iPhone. I like the idea of snapping pictures on a tablet, because of the large viewfinder.
I'm kind of a stickler when it comes to design. On pure performance and lightness of weight, the Asus wins. But you might not feel like a winner, trying to listen to vidoes and music on those tinny built in speakers for extended periods of time.
My wife has a Samsung Tab 4, and comparing it with the Asus, I don't find the Tab 4 any much better in any way, and in some ways, not as a good (it has a cheaper build, for example).

[Q] Galaxy 10.1/Tranformer/Xoom?! Which one?

Hi all, trying to decide which tablet to get. Hoping to get some honest unbiased opinions. I am coming from an IPad 1 which i loved. Also, I have the $100.00 off staples coupon, however I can NOT get the Asus at 100 off. Everywhere I checked in my area would not honor the coupon because Staples does not have it in stock, I can only get the xoom or Samsung 100.00 off. SO I know most of the pros and cons of each but most reviews that favor the Asus like it because of the price cut. I am going into this with all 3 the same price (only difference being I can get a 32gb xoom at the price of the 16gb asus and samsung)
ASUS 16gb - 399.99
What I like about the ASUS:
Screen I read is the best.
Mini HDMI
SD Card
Lots of mod potential
CONS:
heavier
proprietary cable that i can not find for sale anywhere
large frame.
less than quality build
I dont care about the dock, probably wont buy it.
XOOM - 32gb - 399.99
What I like about the XOOM
largest capacity
Updates first
quality build
SD card slot
HDMI out
no proprietary cable
lots of accessories
CONS:
not the best screen
heaviest
seems to be a little slower than the others (not as responsive)
not a lot of mods available
Galaxy Tab - 399.99 16gb
Pros:
light
quality build
smaller frame
optional keyboard if I want
nice screen
fast/responsive
good mod community
CONS:
proprietary cable
no SD Card slot (huge)
no HDMI out
So with all that said, any opinions/suggestions would really help. Like I said I have the 100.00 coupon and I hate to not use it. So with it I can get all 3 for 399.99 BUT if I choose the Samsung, I would probably pay the 499.99 for the 32 gig (using the 100.00 off) since it has no SD card slot which REALLY SUX. Id be using the tab for movie watching a lot, lots of web browsing, and some EBOOK/PDF mag reading mainly with light gaming and light music listening.
I REALLY need some help.

Build Quality is a BIG factor
Personally I think you will be less than impressed with the build quality of the Asus. True, the screen is the best, but I have held one for extended periods of time and compared to the Xoom, it is really poorly made. The feel of the plastic and poor quality made me frustrated while using the device for 15 minutes. It would really bug me if I paid good money for one and had to hold the cheap feeling device every time.
The Galaxy is a nice device with a decent UI built on top of HC 3.1. The screen was a bit too washed out and saturated for me. I think the Xoom has a softer, more true color balance. The proprietary cables and lack of expansion slot is why I would not migrate to Samsung. Needing an additional dongle cable for I/O kind of stinks.
Here is a review I wrote for the Xoom and compared it in some areas to Asus, Acer, Toshiba and Samsung.
As with any purchase it boils down to preference, price and personal taste. I went from an Acer to the Xoom because of the build quality, Out of the Box support, accessory support, and OS support. The hardware and software integration had less problems on the Xoom than the Acer. Toshiba is experiencing big issues in this area as well. Screens not waking up and other issues with the OS and hardware are problems.
Also keep in mind the Xoom integrates with your PC for file transfers. Other HC devices do not integrate as easily. The Toshiba and Acer can not see their internal storage when attached to a PC. There is no way to easily transfer fies from a PC, Mac or Linux. With the Xoom it is seen as a removable drive.
Also, waiting for Samsung or Asus to release their approved updates could be frustrating if you want the latest and greatest from google. Acer is just now getting the 3.1 update to their devices because of the manufacturer UI integration. The Xoom is the cleanest HC OS with no UI laid over the stock ROM from Google.
Happy hunting.

Xoom charges the fastest. That matters to me.

I had the Xoom, returned it for the Transformer, then returned the Transformer for the Galaxy tab 10.1. I will be keeping the 10.1 and love it.
The Xoom screen is TERRIBLE and it's way too heavy. And up until recently the Xoom was the most expensive tablet on the market, despite having the worst features.
The Transformer was just a big POS. Software was extremely slow on laggy, build quality was abysmal.
I have no need for microSD or HDMI so that was no big deal for me. what I wanted was a light tablet with a wonderful screen and high build quality. The Galaxy tab 10.1 is the only one that gives me that.
What the Xoom has going for it is that it is the first to get Honeycomb updates, and it's built like a tank (in a good way, meaning it's sturdy).
I would use the $100 Staples coupon and get the Galaxy Tab 10.1. Thankfully it is still shipping without Touchwiz, since I don't like how Touchwiz tries to make Honeycomb look like iOS (seriously Samsung, get off of Apple's nuts already, it's embarrassing).

I'm in the same boat as you kinda. Looking at which tablet I will be buying.
Unfortunately, as of yet there is not one that I say I want and has everything I want. Xoom and Galaxy Tab 10.1 come closest, but then again - screen quality on Xoom seems to be poor whilst on the Galaxy there is no micro SD expansion possibility (which is a must in my eyes).
Will probably go for a Xoom - just need to convince myself a bit more and hope I'm not disappointed with the screen.

screwhead89 said:
I'm in the same boat as you kinda. Looking at which tablet I will be buying.
Unfortunately, as of yet there is not one that I say I want and has everything I want. Xoom and Galaxy Tab 10.1 come closest, but then again - screen quality on Xoom seems to be poor whilst on the Galaxy there is no micro SD expansion possibility (which is a must in my eyes).
Will probably go for a Xoom - just need to convince myself a bit more and hope I'm not disappointed with the screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is driving me crazy...I'm a painter and use the Xoom as my mobile portfolio. I have compared the photos on the Xoom screen to the photos on my pc and the actual artwork, and the colors are extremely close to true life. I know that humans are attracted to over-saturated colors, but that would be a big problem for me.
I have no noticable issues with ghosting. I'm extremely satisfied with the Xoom screen. It works for me but YMMV.
.

yeah. xoom is the best overall. maybe not hands down or overwhelmingly. but the best nonetheless.
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk

Unless you're directly comparing the xoom screen right next to another device, you won't notice a thing.

EvoXOhio said:
I had the Xoom, returned it for the Transformer, then returned the Transformer for the Galaxy tab 10.1. I will be keeping the 10.1 and love it.
The Xoom screen is TERRIBLE and it's way too heavy. And up until recently the Xoom was the most expensive tablet on the market, despite having the worst features.
The Transformer was just a big POS. Software was extremely slow on laggy, build quality was abysmal.
I have no need for microSD or HDMI so that was no big deal for me. what I wanted was a light tablet with a wonderful screen and high build quality. The Galaxy tab 10.1 is the only one that gives me that.
What the Xoom has going for it is that it is the first to get Honeycomb updates, and it's built like a tank (in a good way, meaning it's sturdy).
I would use the $100 Staples coupon and get the Galaxy Tab 10.1. Thankfully it is still shipping without Touchwiz, since I don't like how Touchwiz tries to make Honeycomb look like iOS (seriously Samsung, get off of Apple's nuts already, it's embarrassing).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Xoom has the worst features? Just because you don't use HDMI or microSD (that will probably change) doesn't mean you can ignore those features. The only downside I can see is that it doesn't have an IPS display - but even that isn't a big deal. When you aren't in a showroom, those IPS displays (like on my brother's iPad 2) are blinding. It may have taken a while to reach its potential, but the Xoom is still the best Android tablet you can buy.

Thx for the responses, although I'm still just as confused as before lol!

The ones you have listed basically have the same specs all around the board, it really comes down to built quality and the extra features. While the Transformer has some cool add-ons, they're expensive as Hell. When it comes to build quality I give the edge to the Xoom. Some people complain that it weighs...all of 1.6 pounds, I actually prefer for something I might be holding to have a little bit of weight, otherwise I may forget I'm holding it and drop it. The Xoom also has the best cameras, if that makes any difference, and has the most accessories. I really wanted to get the Tab 10.1, but when I found out it has (or will have) a stupid dongle like the iPad, then I decided against it. It's just something else to lose or break, and is completely unnecessary, but that's just the way that Samsung tends to do things.

brandogg said:
The ones you have listed basically have the same specs all around the board, it really comes down to built quality and the extra features. While the Transformer has some cool add-ons, they're expensive as Hell. When it comes to build quality I give the edge to the Xoom. Some people complain that it weighs...all of 1.6 pounds, I actually prefer for something I might be holding to have a little bit of weight, otherwise I may forget I'm holding it and drop it. The Xoom also has the best cameras, if that makes any difference, and has the most accessories. I really wanted to get the Tab 10.1, but when I found out it has (or will have) a stupid dongle like the iPad, then I decided against it. It's just something else to lose or break, and is completely unnecessary, but that's just the way that Samsung tends to do things.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One more thing that just struck me on my way to work...the Xoom is a serious device for getting things done. I never use my laptop in the field anymore; the Xoom does it all. I don't know how the other tabs stack up when it comes to serious work but it's a consideration for me.

I have gone thru 3 ipads -- 2 ipad 1 (wifi then 3g) and an ipa2 3g, Galaxy Tab (7"), and the Evo View 4G (7"), as well my Xoom. I decided against keeping the ipads mostly because they're really just oversized iphones (which I already use) and I was looking for more. I love the smaller form factor of the 7" devices but ended up more convinced of the Honeycomb than the earlier Android OS. I've compared the Xoom display to virtually all the others now being offered including HP's new Touchpad. It's pretty subjective IMHO -- yes, the GTab 10.1 more highly saturated colors give a first impression of "better" colors, but having used the Xoom daily since it first arrived in Feb, I can honestly say none of the other displays was good enough to convince me to give up the Xoom. It's a workhorse and seems to remain ahead of the others because XDA-Developers continually offers advancements that Moto and Verizon haven't even thought about yet.

I had the Galaxy Tab 7" and got the Xoom when it came out. The Tab is more refined than the Xoom but I am pretty sure that's because the Tab is running 2.2 and not Gingerbread. Once the update for the Xoom hits mine I'm sure I'll like it much more than I currently do with the missing SD card and 4g.

goinovr said:
I had the Galaxy Tab 7" and got the Xoom when it came out. The Tab is more refined than the Xoom but I am pretty sure that's because the Tab is running 2.2 and not Gingerbread. Once the update for the Xoom hits mine I'm sure I'll like it much more than I currently do with the missing SD card and 4g.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you're rooted (and I sure recommend it) why not try the Tiamat 2.0 Manta Ray in the Xoom development section. It is really super - updates to HC 3.2 with additional features the stock OS won't have. I've had SD card access since early in my Xoom's life thanks to these XDA developers and virtually all my gripes have been addressed. This is a great tablet once the OS is where it needs to be.

My ASUS TF101 vs my new iPad

I got my new iPad last week and played with it a ton. I missed my apps for HBO go and brighthouse since i sold my old ipad 1 month ago. Since that time, i've upgraded my tf101 to kang ICS and had to rely on it for the entire month so i got to know it very well. Here are my 2 cents.
design
=====
winner : Transformer: Winner by decision. Compared to the original ipad, it would have lost because of the original one's similar edge feel but signficantly easier to hold form of the ipad 1. But this iPad one is more like a heavier version of the iPad 2. Awkward and gets warm too easy.
Performance
-=======-
winner : Draw. Both are lightning fast. The main reason i sold the ipad 1 was because it was crazy low after the 5.0 update. This is how it was meant to run.
Software O.S.
==========
winner : Transformer : winner by K.O in the 5th. This wasn't even close to me. I've grown to love the ICS so much more than the honeycomb it came with. For me to check email, browse with Dolphin, and print stuff, hands down ICS. Resizable widgets only adds to the K.O. I have my wife's email on a scrollable gmail on half the screen and my email on the other half. Below them are the icons for the various games we use, browser and other apps. Apple O.S. needs an update. It's pretty much had the same O.S. since it debut 6 years ago.
Apps
===
winner : ipad : K.O. in 10 seconds of the 1st round. Not even close really. Facebook works like it should for a tablet, words with friends works great, exclusive ipad apps like hbo go give you hbo access to all its lineup and brighthouse and espn both have amazing apps. Games are so much better too. Real racing 2 looks like Grand Turismo on my PS3.
intangibles
========
winner : Transformer : winner by decision. Could have been an easy win here for the Transformer. Between the keyboard and memory card alone it scores an easy victory. Add the ability to use Clockwork Mod and our great community, and boom goes the dynamite. But ipad 3 game back here with a much better camera from its predecessors, a speaker that packs such a punch, you swear the whole back must be a giant speaker, and the 5.1 update with features which lets you split the keyboard by just pulling them apart as needed. Very close, but transformer does take this, barely.
Screen
=====
winner : ipad : winner by annihilation. What can you say here. My Transformer took a beat-down here. It was the supreme chancellor before the iPad. I thought it looked better than the ipad, ipad 2 and any other comers. But this time around, it got smoked. what made this even more unreal was that the transformer has a 10.1 screen and by all reasonable accounts, looked fine. But after seeing this ipad on a 9 inch screen no less, I now see the future of screens. I never noticed that i did put a little effort into looking at my Transformer screen. But now, when i look at the ipad, it IS like looking at paper, hell maybe better than paper because the lighting is always perfect. You use no facial muscles at all to see this screen. Just amazing. See screen-shots below.
Overall
-------
Undecided. The screen and apps pushed the ipad far ahead but the transformer with its exclusive use of widgets, memory card and keyboard stormed back. As i wrote this, i noticed that espn.com was redesigned to take advantage of certain features of ipad 3. It almost looks like an app. with things like this, it's going to be tough for the Transformer.
PICTURES (taken with 12mp Camera)
Asus Transformer screen of sports.yahoo.com/nba yesterday.
{
"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"
}
ipad screen of sports.yahoo.com/nba yesterday.
Transformer screen
ipad screen
Transformer screen (zoomed)
ipad screen (zoomed)

New iPad screen does look pretty impressive.

Thanks for the comparisons. The screen difference is amazing. Do you think now you got the ipad the transformer will take a back seat? Browsing-wise (speed) is there a difference?? Thanks !

browsing wise it depends on the site. for most sites i'd say the TF101 is still faster, but for ipad optimized site (which there are alot) the ipad is faster.
I'm hoping the Transformer won't get left behind. I'm monitoring the usage. Right now, my 12 year old is hogging up the ipad for games so we are still mostly using the TF101. But my eyes prefer the Ipad.

I was the biggest android fan around forever. I've had android phones on all the carriers. Ever since the g1. I can honestly say with no bias, that android doesn't hold a token to the new ipad. Not even compared to the ipad 2.
I got so sick of the honeycomb/ics apps being stretched out phone apps. The lack of sheer apps ruins it too. Pixelated stretched out phone netflix. So frustrating. I've had almost every tablet on the market, every phone on the market.
Google has a long way to go (and I'm hoping they can do it with their acquisition of Motorola Mobility).
What it boils down to for me is: when I press a button, I want the damn thing to react. So many times I press home and my phone just sits there. Battery pull to follow. Open the camera app. Press shoot. People pose and hold it for a lifetime just to take a picture. EDIT - most frustrating things: Press shoot on the camera, hear the click, and after you lower the camera you get a picture of your feet. Or press click and the flash goes off and the camera gets delayed and you get a picture of a dark room.
When google can get the content down, and get it to work the first time every time, I'll go back to Android tablets. For now I'm Android phone, iOS for tablets.

The iPad3's screen should be compared to the Transformer Infinity's, IMO. The TF101's should only be compared up to iPad2's.

comparing technologies 14 months in distance is like comparing chariots with tanks.
high five

Confused?
OK im a bit confused here? So ur comparing a almost 2 year old original transformer to a brand new ipad? Yet other than screen and maybe websites, its holding its own very well. I say awesome for the transformer. Thats like comparing the ps2 to the ps3 screen 2 yrs later. DUHHH Id like to see the comparision when the new transformer 700 comes out later this year on screen. I love my transformer and even the prime didnt peak my interest enough to move up to it. So ur review even makes my decision to keep the original even better. Instead of like some fools who waste their money on the latest and not even have a clue as to why its better or if it even benefited them. Thx again for the review and heres to the duhhh factor.
Mark

Hbo Go is Apple exclusive now?
Sent from my Rizzy Rezound

where are you guys getting 2 years old? I bought the transformer just before christmas on Black Friday. It was release on April 1st 2011. It's not even a year old.
Please don't exaggerate to make a point, it defeats the whole purpose of a fair comparison.
Technology released within the same year deserves comparison. The ipad 2 can justly be compared as well since it was released before the transformer but within a year as well. The transformer prime can be compared as well.. All 4 models are available to purchase today at a best buy and are similarly priced within $100 of each other.
I would think nobody would replace their TF101 with the TF102 since it only upgrades the CPU/GPU. But I see people willing to upgrade the TF101 to the new ipad so i wanted to give my review of the devices since i happily own both. My review covers apps, O.S., screen, and intangibles as well which don't change between the tf101 and he tf201.
by the way, if you read what i said, this ipad replaced another ipad, not the tf101. we use both in the household as there are 4 of us. we like the ipad for its app exclusives and html5, this was just replacing the 2 year old ipad 1 which was lagging all the time with its limited RAM.
I don't dislike the TF101. I actually love the thing and have no plans to ditch it, just comparing the two.

Edit: Oops.. orateam beat me to the punch I'll just leave my reply here anyway since.. well, I can't be bothered to change it!
wicklet said:
OK im a bit confused here? So ur comparing a almost 2 year old original transformer to a brand new ipad?...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm confused as well.. The Transformer was released on March 30, 2011.. Making it ALMOST a year old... Where do you get two years from? Gotta love technology time compression.
Now perhaps Asus had the hardware in development for a year prior to the release... but one would have to make the same assumption about apple... So... yeah... let's not get carried away with how "old and busted" the TF101 is.
-Matt

blestsol said:
Hbo Go is Apple exclusive now?
Sent from my Rizzy Rezound
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i just noticed it's out there in the app store, but not compatible with any of my devices. I have the TF101, the htc sensation (tmobile), the Droid RZR (verizon), the Galaxy nexus (verizon), and the nook color.

That's the old one.
I'm interested in the 700 too. Why waste extra CPU/CPU cycles just to run a high resolution on a mobile device because its useless? Unlike PCs the change in resolution is very minor with a tad crisper text. WhooHoo. You don't get more screen space or any real benefit. I'd rather put those powerhouses to work rather then making text a little extra pretty. And of you have to use a microscope to see a difference then its null anyway.
If they would have left out the stupid resolution, the thing would be the next evolution of the iDevice... instead it plays everything the same speed has last years but at a ridiculous resolution.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

player911 said:
That's the old one.
I'm interested in the 700 too. Why waste extra CPU/CPU cycles just to run a high resolution on a mobile device because its useless? Unlike PCs the change in resolution is very minor with a tad crisper text. WhooHoo. You don't get more screen space or any real benefit. I'd rather put those powerhouses to work rather then making text a little extra pretty. And of you have to use a microscope to see a difference then its null anyway.
If they would have left out the stupid resolution, the thing would be the next evolution of the iDevice... instead it plays everything the same speed has last years but at a ridiculous resolution.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
people will always see what they want to see.
The screen looks a TON better. This is not a small thing. Today's websites are designed around the resolution of 1024x768 running on at least 15" monitors. Our TF101 is a great screen with 10 inches at 1280x800. But the screen is just 10 inches which means you're looking at a screen some 72% smaller than the recommended scree size per resolution for reading text. Great for videos, games, etc, but compressed size for our text reading. What that means is that our resolution should have gone up by the same percentage (72%) to just be as comfortable as a standard 15" monitor.
that's a resolution of 1761x1320. The new TF prime will eclipse that, but the current crop doesn't handle that. the ipad has 2048-by-1536 which is so good , its crazy. Its better than the websites were sized for by a good margin. the text is so clear, that it makes me want to browse sites on the ipad rather than my 1920x1200 monitor at home. Truthfully, we've never seen anything with this resolution before. I find it easier on my eyes than reading the paper, magazines, or anything else. I'm not a big reader because of eye strain, but i think i found something that may allow me to read books for real. I never liked the e-ink or any other tablet for reading before.
look, i'm not looking to sell this device, Apple has enough money and i'm afraid of them taking over the world. I'm just giving my honest opinion and review.

Transformer Infinity. The Prime is 1280x800. The Infinity was announced end of February with a 1920x1200 resolution, but no one cared. Now suddenly 1280x800 is not good enough where some people used to say 1024x768 was good enough versus 1280x800.
Actually, it was around CES in January.

ssl123 said:
Transformer Infinity. The Prime is 1280x800. The Infinity was announced end of February with a 1920x1200 resolution but no one cared.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
based on what i've seen with the ipad, i will probably upgrade the tf101 to the infinity as long as it's not too expensive. needs to be no more than $499, like the ipad 3. when it slated to come out?

Asus definitely did something right with the tf101, it even looks like the first nexus tablet will be a partnership between these guys and google. All this review does is solidify how good the tf101 really is, almost a year later and it can contend with the new ipad, sure Big Brother has more apps, but how many people stuck with myspace before they finally realized facebook was "the new thing"

Lets be real here the only reason to get an iPad is for the app store to get apps that aren't available for Android. No one is going to be taking pictures of anything with the tablet they're going to look like retards with that huge thing to their head. After a day you'll forget about the screen so do what anyone else with the right mind would do and just return it and buy a refurbished iPad 2 and save a hundred and fifty bucks. Look on the bright side with the iPad 2 you won't have to worry about it heating up so much like the tons of reports on Mac forums and you won't have to deal with the yellow effect that everyone is getting. Just get the iPad 2, it even weighs less and saves you some cash to put into the new Asus Infinity Tablet coming soon.
Oh yea Ross Perot 2012
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk

Great review of both and like has been said a year on if the tf101 is competing and beating in some parts the new iPad then its still ok in my book,I think the 700 will be more of a match for the iPad3
Sent from my LEEDROID powered Desire HD

Eddie Bombay said:
Lets be real here the only reason to get an iPad is for the app store to get apps that aren't available for Android. No one is going to be taking pictures of anything with the tablet they're going to look like retards with that huge thing to their head. After a day you'll forget about the screen so do what anyone else with the right mind would do and just return it and buy a refurbished iPad 2 and save a hundred and fifty bucks. Look on the bright side with the iPad 2 you won't have to worry about it heating up so much like the tons of reports on Mac forums and you won't have to deal with the yellow effect that everyone is getting. Just get the iPad 2, it even weighs less and saves you some cash to put into the new Asus Infinity Tablet coming soon.
Oh yea Ross Perot 2012
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No thanks. I put more value in the art than the tech. For me its 60/40.
I would pay the extra 100 anytime for this level of quality. Just as I will for the infinity.

The Galaxy Tab S3 Broke My Heart.

Hi, SO SORRY for the huge post, just wanted to share my recent experience with the Galaxy Tab S3. I'm not really looking to bad-mouth Samsung or anything, just want to provide my experience, which might help others in some way.
A week and a half ago I decided to purchase an android tablet for entertainment and taking notes/writing down equations at work. After doing some research it was pretty clear that Samsung Tab S series is the front runner here (second was Asus Zenpad 3S IMO). FYI, I previously had a Galaxy Tab S 10.5 and a Google Pixel C. My phone is LG V20.
This was the sequence of events:
1. Purchased Galaxy Tab S2 (Was on discount).
2. Returned the Tab S2 and got the Tab S3.
3. Purchased another Tab S3 to compare to the device I already had for a few days (To see if my device was faulty).
4. Returned both Tab S3 devices and purchased an iPad Pro 10.5 (the newest model).
The Tab S2 was super light, the battery was great, and the screen was absolutely stunning! However, it was constantly stuttering (Snapdragon 652 I think), had no S-pen support, and the speakers were just bad. It was really nice to hold though, light and easy to grip. But after two days I said, well let's get the Tab S3 instead. it has a faster processor, more RAM, S-pen support, and four quality speakers.
Got the Tab S3 and after getting everything setup from scratch I thought it's awesome! Very premium glass design, the INCLUDED S-pen was wonderful to take notes or some minor drawing (it also doesn't require recharging, which is genius), speakers were 1000% better than Tab S2. First day I got 6 hours of Screen on Time. Now, I'm very familiar with android and of course that made sense - new toy, first cycle, extra features enabled, blah blah. After a week, though, I was starting to get annoyed with some things:
1. The battery was just not good, I have no other way of saying it. When the screen is off, no drain whatsoever. When you're doing anything with the tablet, you can literally watch the battery drain one percent at a time. Light usage too, not playing games or anything. The most I got was 7.5 SOT with very low brightness. Here's an example of how my day looks like: Wake up at 5am, have coffee and get ready while watching mostly YouTube on the Tab. Started work at 7am, by then it was at 75%, was taking notes throughout the day. At about 1:30pm it was at 15%. I was taking notes, that's it, fairly low brightness.
2. It felt much heavier than the Tab S2. Yes, it is heavier, but for some reason it feels MUCH heavier.
3. The glass design looks great, but my goodness it's so hard to hold the tablet for more than 5 minutes. It makes your hands sweat and constantly keeps slipping out of them. What it means is that you have to adjust your grip every minute or so.
4. The cameras are just bad in 2017 standards. I got spoiled by my LG phone probably. But these cameras are just below average. Obviously I'm not gonna take pictures with my tablet, but at least put a decent front facing camera for skype and snapchat, etc.
5. But above all, the tablet was just supper laggy. The first day I said "oh well, I was setting it up and stuff so it probably got hot and haven't had a chance to optimize apps". Being objective, when you're using it you notice that it lags constantly. Multitasking, not multitasking, scrolling, just everywhere… To be honest, my LG V20 lags as hell too from time to time which is annoying as well. These two devices have a Snapdragon 820, so this must be it. They get hot and start to lag even more after 10 minutes. Moreover, I noticed that when I'm using the S-pen to navigate the screen, there's a noticeable extra lag. For example, when using Talon for Twitter app or any browser it seems to normally run at 30 fps (could be more, but I'm just making a point). That's what it seems like at least. When scrolling with the S-pen I noticed that it drops to about 20 fps. The activation of the digitizer must have an effect on the smoothness?? And after I noticed it once, I noticed it all the time…
6. I was so confident my unit was faulty, that I went to another store and purchased another Tab S3 haha. All this just to realize they were ALMOST exactly the same. Both lag, both have short battery, but the new Tab I got had some weird light bleed from the top left. Just to be clear, the screen on the Galaxy Tab S3 (or S2 or even the S 10.5) is the best screen you'll probably see. There's nothing better than that, really.
Broken hearted, I gave up, went to the store, and returned both tablets. I have to say, I HATE apple. I just hate their prices, their all-high-and-mighty attitude, "closed" operating system without customization, the fact that you have to buy that stupid apple pencil separately, just not my cup of tea. So I go to the store and say "the hell with this, everyone is drooling over these new iPads, let me see what all of this nonsense is about." I was genuinely saying to myself that I'll play around with the iPad Pro 10.5, realize how much better the Tab S3 was, and have a story to tell how better android is and blah blah blah.
Overall, the iPad Pro 10.5 is about $200 MORE expensive than the Galaxy Tab S3. This is because that damn Apple Pencil costs $150 in Canada. It has more storage (64GB) but lacks a microSD slot. The Tab S3 is expensive. The iPad is EXPENSIVE.
Trying to have as little bias as I can, these are my impressions with the iPad after 4 days:
1. Getting everything set up was super easy. I actually managed to find most of the apps I use on my android devices in the app store. That was unexpected and just shows how little I knew. Some apps were missing (like Palabre), but there are other alternatives that work just fine (but Palabre is still the best Feedly app I've used). Setting up my work exchange account was painless as well. But having to put all apps in folders and not having an app drawer feels a bit stupid.
2. I don’t care who you are, after you use this iPad for a bit you'll say "this is the smoothest, fastest, snappiest device I've ever used in my life". I'm a bit shocked… THERE IS NO LAG
3. The battery is just outstanding! Bravo Apple, you win. Not only it's faster, it lasts MUCH longer than the Tab S3 or the Tab S2. Actually, even longer than the amazing Google Pixel C. Same scenario as I mentioned before. Woke up at 5am, same use pattern. Went to work at 7am, and took notes all day with the Apple Pencil. I left work at 7pm and the battery was at 52%. This is a huge plus, seriously. However, charging it is super slow. Yep. Android users are spoiled with fast charging for sure. But the iPad will last you ALL DAY, so I find that I charge it over night.
4. Holding the device feels great in the hand. Because it's not made out of glass, it feels so solid in my hand/hands. It's heavier than the Tab S3 I think, but it FEELS LIGHTER because it's so easy to grip. Moreover, it has pretty slim bezels. So when I hold it in portrait orientation my thumbs rest sometimes on the touchscreen. That's when I realized how genius the palm/thumb/whatever rejection is. It knows that one finger is holding the device and the other finger is actually using it and scrolling or whatever. I have to say, this implementation is WAY better than it is on the Tab S3.
5. The display on the Tab S3 is stunning, but the display on the iPad is… stunning as well?? It's not better than AMOLED, but IT IS GREAT. It's bright, the colours are punchy, and it has this "True Tone" feature that adapts the display to the lighting in the room. I really dig that a lot, very clever. Also, the display has twice the refresh rate of other displays (including iPads and android tablets). In real life it means that it appears smoother and the latency with the Apple Pencil is very low.
6. Talking about the Apple Pencil. I'm a little ashamed to admit, but it's absolutely wonderful to use. The price is BAD, the size is good, its texture is good, its balance and weight is good, the texture of the tip is good, its battery life is good. The bottom line is, and I'm being objective here, taking notes with this pen on the iPad feels amazing. So smooth and responsive… An absolutely delightful experience. Taking notes on the Tab S3 is GREAT and it has much more actual functionality. Taking notes on the iPad is AMAZING, while lacking a side button or the extra features of the S-pen. But I must say, for my use pattern most of the S-pen features are just gimmicks. Apple should implement an eraser on the other side of the pen (like Microsoft), I bet it'll be in the Pencil 2.0
7. After listening to the speakers on the iPad I realized that the speakers on the Tab S3 are not as good as I thought they were… The sound from these speakers is hands down the best I've ever heard. First time in my life I thought "god, it's too loud…" So so good, really. It's louder in volume, and the sound has much more bass and mids. Just sounds "Fuller", you can feel it vibrate and it feels great. I watched reviews online comparing the sound for both tablets, and people said the iPad is better, but it's a close call. It's not a close call, it's more than that. On top of that, the headphone jack (where is the 'Courage" Apple?!) is again better than the Tab S3. It drives demanding headphones better and louder. There's no equalizer though (am I missing anything here?). Apple is too cheap to include a licenced support for APTX over Bluetooth.
8. The fingerprint scanner is faster and more accurate than on the Tab S3. But for some reason you have to press the home button for it to register, which feels very 2015.
9. I noticed something about multitasking. More apps are kept ready to go in the background, and the implementation of multitasking is smoother and better than on the Tab S3. Actually, better than android in general. I'm not sure what it is, but it seems to work better. No lagginess or stuttering, apps scale better in split screen mode as well.
10. Cameras are awesome. Front facing and back camera. Apple had stock left from the iPhone 7 and they put it to good use. Samsung, get your **** together.
To conclude. The iPad Pro 10.5 is SO EXPENSIVE. It's not perfect. I'm SO HAPPY. I'm keeping the iPad…

Thanks for that. I am considering both the S3 and 10.5. I am a Note 10.1 user so would prefer to migrate to the S3 but the IPad just seems a better engineered device.

The problem with oled display`s is that the brighter the object on the screen the more power the display uses, for white screen like while browsing or writing documents or drawing pictures on a white background they eat the battery life, now if you had white text on a black background your battery would last ages.
Now lcd displays use the same amount of power whatever the screen colour is or what colour the object is.
So it you are going to do a lot of web browsing or writing text or drawing pictures anything with a white or bright background get an lcd display not an oled one.
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John.

jeremyr62 said:
Thanks for that. I am considering both the S3 and 10.5. I am a Note 10.1 user so would prefer to migrate to the S3 but the IPad just seems a better engineered device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here is a professional and balanced comparison of the S3 and the Ipad pro. In a nutshell, the ipad has only a slightly better processor and battery life but the S3 has a much better display and is a better overall value:
http://time.com/4708671/samsung-galaxy-tab-s3-release-review-ipad/
The S3 is my first tablet but I have owned each Samsung Galaxy phone since the S2 and like the Android OS. But I seriously considered buying the ipad pro because it will likely continue receiving updates long after the S3. I eventually decided to go with the S3 primarily for the HDR display but I almost switched to ios for the above reason.

Sorry way too long to make a few points.
Nevertheless, just skimmed read your very long post, I can assure you, my Tab S3 has good super battery life, no lagging at all and none whatsoever of any of the issues you claimed to have experienced.

I found it an extremely useful post. It is rare someone posts such detailed comparisons. The Youtube vids that do this are usually useless. Finding this kind of info from someone who has owned both devices gives a much more valid real world comparison.

Looks like the S3 is quite a bit heavier than the S2 though i would not swap either for my S1 as i use video more than anything and the S1 has an 16:10 screen while the S2 and S3 have a 4:3 display more suited to text, and internet browsing.
Below is a link comparing the S1 S2 and S3 specs.
http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=8554&idPhone2=7438&idPhone3=6235
John.

Bluering5 said:
Nevertheless, just skimmed read your very long post, I can assure you, my Tab S3 has good super battery life, no lagging at all and none whatsoever of any of the issues you claimed to have experienced.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OP shared the good and bad experience he had with a device he really wanted to like. I like having information when I'm spending hundreds of dollars for a device. So i for one , appreciate this post.

Thanks OP, your post and experience really helped me decide.
Appreciate your time.

This is nothing new really.....it's just the way it is and has been forever. iPad's cost considerably more, yes. But they are also considerably better. I personally prefer Android over iOS without question but Android tablets just do not measure up to iOS tablets. Even with Android tablets being hundreds of dollars cheaper, I ALWAYS end up disappointed in them and doing exactly what the OP did, returning them to get an iPad.
Android tablets are "good enough," yes. But once you've used an iPad it is really, really clear to see the flaws in Android tablets. As has been mentioned, things like battery life, lag, and this isn't even getting into how many more apps are made specifically for iPad vs phone apps being shoehorned into a bigger screen on Android.

Nice write-up.
Price and the incredibly silly glass back put me off the Tab S3. Such a shame that to Samsung nowadays "premium" means fragile and slippery. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the plastic backs they used to use and I'll take that it any day over glass or metal.
The iPad 10.5 is what the Tab S3 should have been in so many ways rather than a minor update to the Tab S2 but I'm not ready to go Apple yet. Amoled is keeping me on Android for the time being so I'll simply stick with my Tab S for at least another year.

I am more or less in precisely the same boat with the OP. While I can't comment much about lag and battery (lag doesn't bother me and I don't use it much at a time and charge it rather often) the other complains are clearly justified.
This glass&metal construction is as bad as it gets, both because it's fragile and because it's hard to grip. It is kind of ridiculous, just try to keep it between your fingers and walk with it balancing your arms normally (or exaggerated, just to see what I mean). It will just inexorably slip through your fingers (not to the point of dropping it, if you're careful but you'll have to push it up with the other hand from time to time). That is without having any kind of greasy or wet fingers. I don't know what was wrong with something like Galaxy Note's (1) plastic (removable!) back. Oh, it doesn't look premium, bla bla.
Other than that the display is fine for browsing but for movies is beyond bad. I posted earlier about the dark screen (what is a little bit dark is completely black). Also in daylight (and I mean indirect daylight, in full shade) it's so reflective that is almost useless if you want to do something comfortably.
I would get the ipad (I can still return the S3) but the price difference is rather large (I can well afford it but can't really justify it). I managed to get the S3 for ~450 euros after all rebates (that is with LTE) and I can't do better (at least for the near future) for the ipad than the official 729 euro. And that would be without LTE, pen and with the pathetic 64GB non-expandable. If I go for 256GB and LTE ... sky's the limit. And even with LTE I still can't use the ipad as a backup phone (this was actually what I've got LTE for).
But with iPad I'll get the better screen (which is what I value most) and a much better camera (which might come in handy). But I'll have to change to iOS and it bothers me to learn new tricks (heh, I'm old).

jonidog said:
Hi, SO SORRY for the huge post, just wanted to share my recent experience with the Galaxy Tab S3. I'm not really looking to bad-mouth Samsung or anything, just want to provide my experience, which might help others in some way.
A week and a half ago I decided to purchase an android tablet for entertainment and taking notes/writing down equations at work. After doing some research it was pretty clear that Samsung Tab S series is the front runner here (second was Asus Zenpad 3S IMO). FYI, I previously had a Galaxy Tab S 10.5 and a Google Pixel C. My phone is LG V20.
This was the sequence of events:
1. Purchased Galaxy Tab S2 (Was on discount).
2. Returned the Tab S2 and got the Tab S3.
3. Purchased another Tab S3 to compare to the device I already had for a few days (To see if my device was faulty).
4. Returned both Tab S3 devices and purchased an iPad Pro 10.5 (the newest model).
The Tab S2 was super light, the battery was great, and the screen was absolutely stunning! However, it was constantly stuttering (Snapdragon 652 I think), had no S-pen support, and the speakers were just bad. It was really nice to hold though, light and easy to grip. But after two days I said, well let's get the Tab S3 instead. it has a faster processor, more RAM, S-pen support, and four quality speakers.
Got the Tab S3 and after getting everything setup from scratch I thought it's awesome! Very premium glass design, the INCLUDED S-pen was wonderful to take notes or some minor drawing (it also doesn't require recharging, which is genius), speakers were 1000% better than Tab S2. First day I got 6 hours of Screen on Time. Now, I'm very familiar with android and of course that made sense - new toy, first cycle, extra features enabled, blah blah. After a week, though, I was starting to get annoyed with some things:
1. The battery was just not good, I have no other way of saying it. When the screen is off, no drain whatsoever. When you're doing anything with the tablet, you can literally watch the battery drain one percent at a time. Light usage too, not playing games or anything. The most I got was 7.5 SOT with very low brightness. Here's an example of how my day looks like: Wake up at 5am, have coffee and get ready while watching mostly YouTube on the Tab. Started work at 7am, by then it was at 75%, was taking notes throughout the day. At about 1:30pm it was at 15%. I was taking notes, that's it, fairly low brightness.
2. It felt much heavier than the Tab S2. Yes, it is heavier, but for some reason it feels MUCH heavier.
3. The glass design looks great, but my goodness it's so hard to hold the tablet for more than 5 minutes. It makes your hands sweat and constantly keeps slipping out of them. What it means is that you have to adjust your grip every minute or so.
4. The cameras are just bad in 2017 standards. I got spoiled by my LG phone probably. But these cameras are just below average. Obviously I'm not gonna take pictures with my tablet, but at least put a decent front facing camera for skype and snapchat, etc.
5. But above all, the tablet was just supper laggy. The first day I said "oh well, I was setting it up and stuff so it probably got hot and haven't had a chance to optimize apps". Being objective, when you're using it you notice that it lags constantly. Multitasking, not multitasking, scrolling, just everywhere… To be honest, my LG V20 lags as hell too from time to time which is annoying as well. These two devices have a Snapdragon 820, so this must be it. They get hot and start to lag even more after 10 minutes. Moreover, I noticed that when I'm using the S-pen to navigate the screen, there's a noticeable extra lag. For example, when using Talon for Twitter app or any browser it seems to normally run at 30 fps (could be more, but I'm just making a point). That's what it seems like at least. When scrolling with the S-pen I noticed that it drops to about 20 fps. The activation of the digitizer must have an effect on the smoothness?? And after I noticed it once, I noticed it all the time…
6. I was so confident my unit was faulty, that I went to another store and purchased another Tab S3 haha. All this just to realize they were ALMOST exactly the same. Both lag, both have short battery, but the new Tab I got had some weird light bleed from the top left. Just to be clear, the screen on the Galaxy Tab S3 (or S2 or even the S 10.5) is the best screen you'll probably see. There's nothing better than that, really.
Broken hearted, I gave up, went to the store, and returned both tablets. I have to say, I HATE apple. I just hate their prices, their all-high-and-mighty attitude, "closed" operating system without customization, the fact that you have to buy that stupid apple pencil separately, just not my cup of tea. So I go to the store and say "the hell with this, everyone is drooling over these new iPads, let me see what all of this nonsense is about." I was genuinely saying to myself that I'll play around with the iPad Pro 10.5, realize how much better the Tab S3 was, and have a story to tell how better android is and blah blah blah.
Overall, the iPad Pro 10.5 is about $200 MORE expensive than the Galaxy Tab S3. This is because that damn Apple Pencil costs $150 in Canada. It has more storage (64GB) but lacks a microSD slot. The Tab S3 is expensive. The iPad is EXPENSIVE.
Trying to have as little bias as I can, these are my impressions with the iPad after 4 days:
1. Getting everything set up was super easy. I actually managed to find most of the apps I use on my android devices in the app store. That was unexpected and just shows how little I knew. Some apps were missing (like Palabre), but there are other alternatives that work just fine (but Palabre is still the best Feedly app I've used). Setting up my work exchange account was painless as well. But having to put all apps in folders and not having an app drawer feels a bit stupid.
2. I don’t care who you are, after you use this iPad for a bit you'll say "this is the smoothest, fastest, snappiest device I've ever used in my life". I'm a bit shocked… THERE IS NO LAG
3. The battery is just outstanding! Bravo Apple, you win. Not only it's faster, it lasts MUCH longer than the Tab S3 or the Tab S2. Actually, even longer than the amazing Google Pixel C. Same scenario as I mentioned before. Woke up at 5am, same use pattern. Went to work at 7am, and took notes all day with the Apple Pencil. I left work at 7pm and the battery was at 52%. This is a huge plus, seriously. However, charging it is super slow. Yep. Android users are spoiled with fast charging for sure. But the iPad will last you ALL DAY, so I find that I charge it over night.
4. Holding the device feels great in the hand. Because it's not made out of glass, it feels so solid in my hand/hands. It's heavier than the Tab S3 I think, but it FEELS LIGHTER because it's so easy to grip. Moreover, it has pretty slim bezels. So when I hold it in portrait orientation my thumbs rest sometimes on the touchscreen. That's when I realized how genius the palm/thumb/whatever rejection is. It knows that one finger is holding the device and the other finger is actually using it and scrolling or whatever. I have to say, this implementation is WAY better than it is on the Tab S3.
5. The display on the Tab S3 is stunning, but the display on the iPad is… stunning as well?? It's not better than AMOLED, but IT IS GREAT. It's bright, the colours are punchy, and it has this "True Tone" feature that adapts the display to the lighting in the room. I really dig that a lot, very clever. Also, the display has twice the refresh rate of other displays (including iPads and android tablets). In real life it means that it appears smoother and the latency with the Apple Pencil is very low.
6. Talking about the Apple Pencil. I'm a little ashamed to admit, but it's absolutely wonderful to use. The price is BAD, the size is good, its texture is good, its balance and weight is good, the texture of the tip is good, its battery life is good. The bottom line is, and I'm being objective here, taking notes with this pen on the iPad feels amazing. So smooth and responsive… An absolutely delightful experience. Taking notes on the Tab S3 is GREAT and it has much more actual functionality. Taking notes on the iPad is AMAZING, while lacking a side button or the extra features of the S-pen. But I must say, for my use pattern most of the S-pen features are just gimmicks. Apple should implement an eraser on the other side of the pen (like Microsoft), I bet it'll be in the Pencil 2.0
7. After listening to the speakers on the iPad I realized that the speakers on the Tab S3 are not as good as I thought they were… The sound from these speakers is hands down the best I've ever heard. First time in my life I thought "god, it's too loud…" So so good, really. It's louder in volume, and the sound has much more bass and mids. Just sounds "Fuller", you can feel it vibrate and it feels great. I watched reviews online comparing the sound for both tablets, and people said the iPad is better, but it's a close call. It's not a close call, it's more than that. On top of that, the headphone jack (where is the 'Courage" Apple?!) is again better than the Tab S3. It drives demanding headphones better and louder. There's no equalizer though (am I missing anything here?). Apple is too cheap to include a licenced support for APTX over Bluetooth.
8. The fingerprint scanner is faster and more accurate than on the Tab S3. But for some reason you have to press the home button for it to register, which feels very 2015.
9. I noticed something about multitasking. More apps are kept ready to go in the background, and the implementation of multitasking is smoother and better than on the Tab S3. Actually, better than android in general. I'm not sure what it is, but it seems to work better. No lagginess or stuttering, apps scale better in split screen mode as well.
10. Cameras are awesome. Front facing and back camera. Apple had stock left from the iPhone 7 and they put it to good use. Samsung, get your **** together.
To conclude. The iPad Pro 10.5 is SO EXPENSIVE. It's not perfect. I'm SO HAPPY. I'm keeping the iPad…
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have no idea what you are talking about. I have the S3 and I observe no lag. I am not sure what kind of lag you were experiencing but I guess that it is not characteristic of the tablet per se. I wonder if you had a software issue.

I love my Tab s3, but I am getting a little frustrated with the battery drain when wifi is on while the tablet screen is off. I installed tmobile DIGITS and ever since then the wifi won't turn off, even after I deleted the app and did a factory reset.
Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

WoW, just when I thought my issue was unique. My issues with the s3 are as follows.
Horrible virtual key accuracy
At times it is very slow and laggy
Like the weight but glass is very slippery
IPad pro
No split screen
MS groove a very poor app
Nook a poor app
OneNote syncs a lot slower than s3
Although the pen is well balanced, the pen tip is like hard plastic against the screen and I find the feel to be similar to the s3's glass feel, not good.
Despite those issues this blog has helped me decide which item I will keep. I will keep the iPad. I use nook and OneNote quite often and the split screen and the quick nav soft buttons on the s3 is far better than the navigation and quickly getting from app to app on the ipad, but. The feel of the ipad is more secure, there is a wider variety of accessories for the iPad pro 10.5 and the speakers and speed is A 1. Thanks so much for this post and, no need to apologize for the length of the post it was awesome.

The tablet actually has decent hardware just poorly optimized apps. Even the stock browser is trash. With stock browser it was taking over a minute to open a page. I'm using puffin browser now big difference.

A good night mode is a must on an oled display for night time browsing or to just save power, beware some browsers send all you detail to china like UC Browser, I use the free no root firewall, it blocks all data to china, russia, ect and shows where other apps are talking to in the world so you can block them if you want.
I have been using it on my Tab S1 for months and very low if any cpu usage.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lostnet.fw.free&hl=en
John

The comparison between iPad Pro and S3 - like comparing an apple and real tool.
As a former user of iPad Pro 9.7 256 LTE (this is important) i can say that :
apple pencil is a toy . Even note 4 pen is better.
the system is closed and your handwriting is very limited to no value at all.
U have cellular on tablet , but very limited. in some cases you can not even manage your subscription since no phone application is allowed.
you download capabilities limited by system.
you can connect keyboard , but not mouse
using external drives is limited.
etc....
Bottom line - you hardly can leave without regular PC and Apple machine is very preferable.
But I do agree , that iPad Pro is a nice tablet.
Depends what you're looking for and preferable scenarios of use

I have to partially agree. I picked up a Tab S3 last night, and I'm shocked at how laggy it feels. Scrolling through Chrome or whatever other app is jittery. I expect a lot more for the price, and if I have to put up with poor performance, I may as well save a couple hundred dollars and get something around the $300 range.
I'm also taking issue with how dark media can be. A lot of detail is lost in the shadows of any given scene. I never thought I'd say this, but the contrast is just too damn high -- at least, for non-HDR content.
I'll give it a couple more nights to let it grow on me, but I wouldn't be surprised if I end up returning it.
Oh, and it has a light yellow band going across the middle of the screen, so that whites or grays look uneven. I had this same problem on multiple Pixel XLs. I used to think AMOLED was awesome, but it's becoming more hassle than it's worth -- the consistency is crap.

For movies, cinema mode solves any issue. Perfect movie quality in that mode... The Samsung tab S3 does not lag. Just add a adblocker for the Samsung browser and all issues are solved and change the stock keyboard to the Google Gboard keyboard since the stock keyboard is a mess. If you see any yellow banding or graying, your display is defective.