Database Users

Galaxy Tab review in the making. Need suggestions!

Hello XDA!
I managed to get my hands on a Galaxy Tab to review. I'm an avid android user and I know what I would want from a device like this. Thing is, I want to know what YOU, dear XDA members, would like to know about the device!
Kindly leave me questions that you wish to be answered in the video review of the Galaxy Tab.
The sooner I get the questions the sooner I'll be able to post up a video.
Note: Kindly note that I cannot root the device nor change the flash version of android that runs on the device.
Firmware version: P1000XXJH1
Specs of the device as per Quadrant Advanced:
Quadrant score: 1,000
CPU: 1437
MEM: 1684
I/O: 791
2D: 201
3D: 886
Linpack score: 13.877
Total memory available: 435MB of which 174 is used on fresh boot.
System information(via Quadrant Advanced).
htt p://img215.imageshack.us/i/20101005100755.jpg/
htt p://img59.imageshack.us/i/20101005100927.jpg
htt p://img697.imageshack.us/i/20101005100848.jpg
htt p://img411.imageshack.us/i/20101005100911.jpg
htt p://img34.imageshack.us/i/20101005100927.jpg
(Apologies for the low quality photos)

It would be nice if you describe display quality - viewing angles, panel type (is it IPS) how it performs in sunlight. Is minimum brightness good for reading in dark conditions? Thanks!
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

vitalij said:
It would be nice if you describe display quality - viewing angles, panel type (is it IPS) how it performs in sunlight. Is minimum brightness good for reading in dark conditions? Thanks!
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
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Viewing angles are a subjective issue, personally when i pick up my mobile device and look into it, it's always straight in front of me, so that's all i want, but if you have a viewing angle of over 45 degrees like the Tab, all you get is people on the bus, train or plane looking sideways to see what you're looking at
I'm based in England at the moment, they don't have that much sunlight and even less direct sunlight
First impressions, it feels to plasticky, not like it's price suggests that it should, not as bad as an X10, but almost.

checkbox111 said:
Viewing angles are a subjective issue, personally when i pick up my mobile device and look into it, it's always straight in front of me, so that's all i want, but if you have a viewing angle of over 45 degrees like the Tab, all you get is people on the bus, train or plane looking sideways to see what you're looking at
I'm based in England at the moment, they don't have that much sunlight and even less direct sunlight
First impressions, it feels to plasticky, not like it's price suggests that it should, not as bad as an X10, but almost.
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How is the call quality/ease of use.. Does the tab "feel" swift?

Hello guys,
Thanks for the initial question. I will cover this question in the video review.
I need more points of focus for the review.
MOARRRR
Sent from my GT-P1000 using XDA App

Like if you have had chance to use the ipad, maybe like how does it compare value wise? As I think how much it costs £599 is putting me off, but if it is worth it compared to other tablets then I would consider it more

Phen0m said:
How is the call quality/ease of use.. Does the tab "feel" swift?
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Wouldn't know about call quality as it's only owned by an engineer that comes into our office, he doesn't have any problems as far as i've heard, but as with other threads here just don't expect it to fit into you jacket or trouser pocket, one it's to big and another it's to heavy to be comfortable.
You may have visited the dell streak forum, or heard of how fragile the dell streak lcd screen is? because of it's large size the body flexes but LCD's by their very nature cannot flex and they snap. Well just look at the size of the LCD on the Tab, and the body of the Tab is made of plastic and (not titanium as per streak) to save weight, this by it's very design will make it more suceptible to breakage, (the body will flex under pressure the LCD will not) = ££££££
sebbo90 said:
Like if you have had chance to use the ipad, maybe like how does it compare value wise? As I think how much it costs £599 is putting me off, but if it is worth it compared to other tablets then I would consider it more
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Well the ipad and the Tab are two completely different entities, one is a bookreader trying to be a netbook pc, the others a smartphone with obesity problems. They shouldn't be compared IMO.

checkbox111 said:
Wouldn't know about call quality as it's only owned by an engineer that comes into our office, he doesn't have any problems as far as i've heard, but as with other threads here just don't expect it to fit into you jacket or trouser pocket, one it's to big and another it's to heavy to be comfortable.
You may have visited the dell streak forum, or heard of how fragile the dell streak lcd screen is? because of it's large size the body flexes but LCD's by their very nature cannot flex and they snap. Well just look at the size of the LCD on the Tab, and the body of the Tab is made of plastic and (not titanium as per streak) to save weight, this by it's very design will make it more suceptible to breakage, (the body will flex under pressure the LCD will not) = ££££££
Well the ipad and the Tab are two completely different entities, one is a bookreader trying to be a netbook pc, the others a smartphone with obesity problems. They shouldn't be compared IMO.
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Thank you. Do you have any questions that you would like answered about the device?
Sent from my GT-P1000 using XDA App

Halulz said:
Thank you. Do you have any questions that you would like answered about the device?
Sent from my GT-P1000 using XDA App
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Similar to all owners i would think! why did samsung insist on utilising such a large bezel around the screen? therebye turning a 7' screen device into one more akin to a 10' without any benefits of a 10'?, and adding nothing to the looks of the device at the same time.

Well the ipad and the Tab are two completely different entities, one is a bookreader trying to be a netbook pc, the others a smartphone with obesity problems. They shouldn't be compared IMO.
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Lol yeah I get the point, what I was more curious was in relation to the size, like is 7" too small to get a full web experience? Is it too big to carry round yet too small to use around the home? etc

sebbo90 said:
like is 7" too small to get a full web experience?
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No, because the 5" dell streak isn't to small for that!
sebbo90 said:
Is it too big to carry round yet too small to use around the home? etc
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As in other posts! you will not carry this around on your pocket, unless you want to break it! You might try a large overcoat with a very wide collar, if the pockets big enough and you want to look like the FBI everywhere you go.
https://www.urbantool.com/hq/laptop-cases/show-pocketbar

checkbox111 said:
Troll
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Thanks for trolling another thread entirely off the rails.
To the OP:
A few things that I'd like to see discussed. Firstly how does it feel to type on it ? I've seen in a few first-impression pieces that it feels good (like a galaxy S in landscape) but it'd be great to get the feelings of a regular user. Also, some shots of the keyboard in action would be nice.
Secondly, can you toss some 720p video on there and show us how it looks. It never looks the same in video as in person, but it'd give us an idea of how the screen does as far as contrast and colour vibrancy is concerned.
Finally, how does the device feel to you ? Does it feel to you like you could carry it in a pocket all day ? Does it meet your expectations for speed/ease of use ?
GL with the video, hope to see it soon!

It is maybe off topic, but ... here goes :
- What release of Android is running ? Same as the one on Galaxy S device ?
- Does this android release supports multiple Exchange sync accounts (like HTC Desire & Desire Z do) ?
- Does it have 2 SIM card slots ? (saw that somewhere, don't remember ... where). If so, is it one for voice plan, second one for data plan ?
- Does it come with a USB host port (or the hw to take care of it) ?
Thanks.

Does it play 1080p files (mkv & flash) or does i only output 1080p..?

I got my hands on this last week to try out for a good half hour, and i loved it. The size was great, and great to watch movies on.
Looking forward to it. Release in Norway is 21. okt )

could it be confirmed if the Tab is going to require Kies in the same way as the Galaxy phones, e.g. for firmware updates
i assume that there will be no difference between this and their phones, but as Kies is software that i truly dislike, i am living in hope that it does not.

johnnewhouse said:
could it be confirmed if the Tab is going to require Kies in the same way as the Galaxy phones, e.g. for firmware updates
i assume that there will be no difference between this and their phones, but as Kies is software that i truly dislike, i am living in hope that it does not.
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Yes, it is confirmed by Samsung already. In their official site, it says in the "PC connectivity" section "KIES". Sorry. I know, I hate that application with a passion myself...

If you have time, it would probably interest many people if you'd manage to try some popular apps from the market and see how they act with the increased resolution. We all probably have out own top10 lists for software, but I think browsing appbrain for most popular and trying a few of them would give people some idea how far that compatibility is.
(I, personally, would love to see how WidgetLocker, Beautiful Widgets and Launcher Pro work on that, but unfortunately at least the first two ain't free.
But more generally, how do widgets work on that screen? What I've gathered from the pictures is that the Tab has a FIVE column display (instead of the traditional 4) on the homescreen. How do widgets work with that? does a 4x4 widget scale to full size, or does it live a "column" free. Also, how many rows does the screen have?
EDIT: oookay, I don't know why these two posts became separate, this was supposed to be an edit to that earlier...

Actually thats a good idea.
I even forget that widget locket etc are even apps these days! But yes that'd be good to see if they scale up or still work properly on the big screen.
I imagine beutiful widget and switchpro you could make them bigger with launcherpro+ if they won't scale up by themselves, same with any other widgets, but it'd be good if they did it for free! However I think the 'grid' on the Tab is bigger anyway, so 4x2 widget would cover more space, but then it appears to have more rows too, so they might still appear small
Anyways, if you have any paid for apps on your main smartphone, you should be able to put the same market account on the Tab and download them again, so that's one way around paying twice just to demo them.

A few things I'd like to see:
- Spotify in action if possible.
- Proper comics and hos they scale to the screen and if it's easy or hard to read them (The Walking Dead for example.)
- A bit more on reading eBooks in different lights.
- In-depth look at the calendar and how flexible it is.
- If possible, how the accessories (like the keyboard) work.
- How it handles different resolutions of video.
Thank you for accepting suggestions!

Photoshop Express no images

Photoshop Express doesn't seem to find any images on my Tab, has anyone else had any experience with this?
Sent from my GT-P1000 using Tapatalk

Menu>settings>Uncheck "Show camera photos only in Phone View"

AH thanks, I totally missed that. I tried copying them to DCIM on both the sd and the virtual external sd.
Do we know what path it expects to see for the camera photos?
Sent from my GT-P1000 using Tapatalk

If you want tons more features and better control of your editing look no further than PicSayPro.
I used to use Photoshop Express but the second I found PicSayPro my photo editing became much, much more rewarding.

Beards said:
If you want tons more features and better control of your editing look no further than PicSayPro.
I used to use Photoshop Express but the second I found PicSayPro my photo editing became much, much more rewarding.
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I have Picsay I don't like it, but PhotoShop certainly isn't better. Just thought is give PhotoShop a try but its pretty poor.

alias_neo said:
I have Picsay I don't like it, but PhotoShop certainly isn't better. Just thought is give PhotoShop a try but its pretty poor.
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What is it you do not like about PicSayPro?
Compared to Photoshop Express PicSayPro has a greater amount of controls.

I think they're both junk honestly. This is sorta where Android falls apart & its almost impossible to do any kind of decent photo/video editing on our devices.
As far as I can tell, none of the photo editing apps will import any full resolution images (while their iOS counterparts will, Photoshop for instance). They all downsize to 1024 x 768. Thats OK for Twitter pics & stuff like that, but hardly suffice for Flickr or anything else where you want to retain decent quality.
So basically you better hope your camera gets the shot right or else you'll have to gimp the hell out of it if you edit it.

peestandingup said:
I think they're both junk honestly. This is sorta where Android falls apart & its almost impossible to do any kind of decent photo/video editing on our devices.
As far as I can tell, none of the photo editing apps will import any full resolution images (while their iOS counterparts will, Photoshop for instance). They all downsize to 1024 x 768. Thats OK for Twitter pics & stuff like that, but hardly suffice for Flickr or anything else where you want to retain decent quality.
So basically you better hope your camera gets the shot right or else you'll have to gimp the hell out of it if you edit it.
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Whilst I appreciate what you say in the resolution I've had some excellent results bumping up the picture to a greater quality. PicsayPro cleaned a lot of bad detail and made what was a poor shot into an acceptable view.
Plus, I like being able to apply a graduated blur and then using the History tool wipe out what I don't want blurred. With this I get pictures similar to what I can achieve in PS5 without all the hassle.

After a bit of time with the two now i find them both utter cap. I don't understand why Adobe won't let me pay for something more capable. I use Design Premium suite almost daily. It would be nice to have something a little bit as capable on my Tab.
Sent from my GT-P1000 using Tapatalk

alias_neo said:
After a bit of time with the two now i find them both utter cap. I don't understand why Adobe won't let me pay for something more capable. I use Design Premium suite almost daily. It would be nice to have something a little bit as capable on my Tab.
Sent from my GT-P1000 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Again I'm asking, what exactly is it you don't like with Picsay, you never did say when I asked you earlier.

Beards said:
Again I'm asking, what exactly is it you don't like with Picsay, you never did say when I asked you earlier.
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Yeh, sorry, I lost track and forgot to answer that.
My problem with PicSay is twofold. First, the resizing of my pictures is a problem, second is that I work with transparency, and I can't even see it in PicSay (the background is always black).
I don't edit "photographs", I edit "illustrations" and similar.
It is critical that my images are the same size (pixel perfect), and that I can select areas of images and manipulate them (a selection tool?).
None of the tools I have seen on android offer any of this hense I say they are all useless.
I personally do not think that this is beyond the capabilities of the device or the platform and hence why I didn't dismiss the idea from the start. I wouldn't expect the same functionality as the desktop counterparts, but in the case of Photoshop, a Magic Wand, Paint Bucket, Selection Tool, Pencil, and maybe a transparency/fill slider couldn't hurt.

alias_neo said:
Yeh, sorry, I lost track and forgot to answer that.
My problem with PicSay is twofold. First, the resizing of my pictures is a problem, second is that I work with transparency, and I can't even see it in PicSay (the background is always black).
I don't edit "photographs", I edit "illustrations" and similar.
It is critical that my images are the same size (pixel perfect), and that I can select areas of images and manipulate them (a selection tool?).
None of the tools I have seen on android offer any of this hense I say they are all useless.
I personally do not think that this is beyond the capabilities of the device or the platform and hence why I didn't dismiss the idea from the start. I wouldn't expect the same functionality as the desktop counterparts, but in the case of Photoshop, a Magic Wand, Paint Bucket, Selection Tool, Pencil, and maybe a transparency/fill slider couldn't hurt.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can completely understand what you are saying with Photoshop Express; indeed it has very little to offer the user.
As to Picsay Pro, I agree it does not handle full size images and for that alone I would say if full size is important Picsay Pro is not for you.
However, it does have a lot more going under the surface and for some of the tricks you need to look outside the box.
I do a lot of post editing using Picsay and one of the tools I use is a combination of many with the History Tool.
An example is I set a blur around a part of the image, save it then repeat on other parts already blurred to give that natural depth of field experience.
I then use the History Tool to take out areas I don't want affected.
Lets also not forget if the work is being done on photo's taken by the Tab it doesn't matter so much on the size.
For pictures taken with my dedicated DSLR I use the desktop Photoshop or Lightroom.
However, you work on illustration. I wouldn't want to do any illustration work on what is basically a large phone. When the processor, graphics chip and screen size are stronger and larger, then maybe illustration work could be attempted.
As these improve it would be safe to expect better, stronger and more demanding Graphic Editing Tools.

Beards said:
I can completely understand what you are saying with Photoshop Express; indeed it has very little to offer the user.
As to Picsay Pro, I agree it does not handle full size images and for that alone I would say if full size is important Picsay Pro is not for you.
However, it does have a lot more going under the surface and for some of the tricks you need to look outside the box.
I do a lot of post editing using Picsay and one of the tools I use is a combination of many with the History Tool.
An example is I set a blur around a part of the image, save it then repeat on other parts already blurred to give that natural depth of field experience.
I then use the History Tool to take out areas I don't want affected.
Lets also not forget if the work is being done on photo's taken by the Tab it doesn't matter so much on the size.
For pictures taken with my dedicated DSLR I use the desktop Photoshop or Lightroom.
However, you work on illustration. I wouldn't want to do any illustration work on what is basically a large phone. When the processor, graphics chip and screen size are stronger and larger, then maybe illustration work could be attempted.
As these improve it would be safe to expect better, stronger and more demanding Graphic Editing Tools.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is as I feared, I think my problem is that, as you say, the platform isn't suited to what I want. In that case I suppose I could say that PicSay isn't a poor tool, but that it's in fact the wrong tool.
On the other hand, on the rear occasions I have wanted to post process some images, PicSay Pro has done about as good as I would expect from a mobile device, and certainly gotten me out of a pickle when I have had no computer around. That said, I have only ever used it to manipulate images from my HTC Desire's camera and havn't/wouldn't try ask it to work with anything from my DSLR.

What Do you Expect with the Nook Color 2?

I know we are probably no very close at all to the release of the Nook color 2 but i want to know what you people want to see in the next nook.
I want to see
1. 1 Ghz Processor Stock (not having to put custom kernel onto)
2. One camera on front of the device
3. HDMI port

IIDeViiNII said:
I know we are probably no very close at all to the release of the Nook color 2 but i want to know what you people want to see in the next nook.
I want to see
1. 1 Ghz Processor Stock (not having to put custom kernel onto)
2. One camera on front of the device
3. HDMI port
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All three are pretty much unnecessary for the ebook market.

Nburnes said:
All three are pretty much unnecessary for the ebook market.
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If the original only had what was "-necessary for the ebook market," none of us would be here

Taosaur said:
If the original only had what was "-necessary for the ebook market," none of us would be here
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Click to collapse
Lol
I agree it will probably have the Camera, maybe the 1ghz processor(but definitely not dual core) and definitly no HDMI port. lol that last one was just dreaming... but a guy(or a women) can dream
I suspect louder speakers! lol

I agree with burns... If they do anything to the Nook Color, it'll be make it lighter. I doubt they'll continue to try and compete in the Tablet market. It would just be silly, especially with Amazon positioning themselves to make a tablet that undercuts everything on the market less of chinese tablets.

I do agree it's unlikely that the tablet 'sweet spot' B&N hit with the current NC will still be there around October when it's time for a new device. They would probably be smarter to focus on increasing battery life and lowering cost while increasing their color-specific offerings (kids books, magazines, cookbooks/how-to).

Same device, slightly new proc maybe but....
Half the weight!,
Sent from my NookColor using XDA Premium App

Please, oh please...an 8.9" screen that approximates the page size of a "trade" paperback.
This has been my reading goal from the beginning as 6 is too small and 10.1 is too large.
More up-to-date processor (though the current is doing just fine) and full Andorid Market access without rooting (let the quality of the unit speak for itself...don't hamstring it).
A truly non-glare AND (largely) non-reflective screen.
A front firing speaker!!!
8 1/2-9.0 would be a real "Goldilocks" range though I have gotten quite used to the 7"!
And, last but not least, a removable battery or significantly extended battery life.

A user serviceable battery for sure

Def. the battery
lighter
better "anti-glare" technology, whatever that may be
camera would be nice, but probably won't get it
Proc would be nice too, and may get that
Speaker quality is really imperative....
Here's hoping!
DB

Honestly I don't expect anything out of the Nook Color 2, because I don't think it will have the same developer community so I won't want one.
The Nook Color is what it is because from October of last year, to this month (when sub-$300 Galaxy Tabs began popping up on the internet) it was the best tablet value. For much of that time, it was BY FAR the best tablet value- beating other options by $hundreds.
That is no longer the case, and it won't be the case for the next Nook Color. We will probably keep our pace of development on the original for at least another six months due to critical mass, but the next great hackable ereader is probably that tablet Amazon is keeping under wraps.
If B&N is smart they won't replace the first Nook Color for a while (aka sometime in 2012)...

Who needs a tablet in 2012? We'll all be gone anyways! lol... silly interwebs-peoplez.

There will be no crazy nook color 2.
The nook color does everything an ereader should do, too much in fact. B&N dont want you to buy the NC they want you to buy BOOKS! Adding more features to appeal to this community is the LAST thing they will do.
If anything they will revise the current nook with a better anti glare coating, hopefully a better speaker and i would not be surprised to see a locked bootloader and the ability to boot from SD removed.
The "hacking" community has been great thus far because now they can say we have sold "eleventy billion machines"! Now that they have that bit of marketing under their belt theres NO reason under the sun to cater to us anymore and every reason to start locking it down and protecting their interests...
My guess is it will probably happen as soon as amazon uses nook marketing against them. "XX% of nook colors are running the amazon kindle app" Makes one appealing tag line for amazon. If that happens the shareholders will put an end to the fun quick enough.
TLR the original nook color is probably as good as its going to get for us.

For me Nook is perfect as it now with CM7 + OC kernel:
Fast and smooth for ebooks, web, music, movies and casual gaming.
As the bug for battery life is fixed, it is astonishing about power.
Wifi is really ok with my MB511 (tethered 3G/Wifi from the backpack to the nook).
Maybe a bluetooth keyboard or a dock like the asus transformer and i have a netbook
For the size, 8.9" would be great without screen border.

I'd like to see at least a mono mike input
for voice control & email - SMS to text apps and voice chat

The fabled Amazon tablet will have a lot to say about whether there will be another NC, and what it will look like.

We should do everything we can do prolong the life of the NC now.
Still rocking the Incredible with the XDA Premium App.

The only improvement I can think of considering this is an ebook device would be a better screen for use outdoors as others have said.
The current screen is awesome indoors... great color, great viewing angles. I'm also impressed how good the touch sensitivity is for a resistive digitizer. But outdoors I can barely see what I'm trying to read through the reflection of my face or of the sky.
Had I bought this primarily as an ereader I'd be disappointed.

chrisjs81 said:
I'm also impressed how good the touch sensitivity is for a resistive digitizer.
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Click to collapse
Good sensitivity "for a resistive digitizer" is a rather poor review of a capacitive touchscreen

Taosaur said:
Good sensitivity "for a resistive digitizer" is a rather poor review of a capacitive touchscreen
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Whoops. I swear I read it was resistive before I bought it. Either way it's quite good the only issue I have is the position jumping when I lift my finger off (such as when using the arrow to move the cursor) I don't have the same issue on my phone but that may just be the angle since the NC is so much larger.

Acer Iconia vs Galaxy Tab 10.1 hand on comparison.

I hope this is of some use to someone as Ive been on a search for an ideal tablet for myself since the Xoom was released.
Ive had the Acer for about a month and love it for the most part.
Galxy Tab owner for about a day ((so why a review ??)) Its not.
Its a physical comparison as its difficult to track down an Acer without a huge magnet brick stuck to the back and the Tab releases country wide tomorrow.
Anyways...here goes any questions more than happy to answer.
HxW
This was a big surprise. Unlike the Asus Transformer with its mega wide bezel the Acer is actually pretty compact in that area. So much so that stacking the Tab on top produced negligible difference. As far as height and width theres about 'half a skinny straw' difference.
Weight
Well this is where the difference comes in. The Tab is simply much lighter. If you hold both in your hands it may seem like a "slight" difference. But after a short period you will quickly notice the acer is just plain heavy. After using the Tab for a bit then picking up the Acer the difference is huge.
Thickness
This IMO is the second biggest determining factor. Do you want the slimmness ? .......Or the Ports.
Holding the Tab it feels like a larger Kindle. Or just a truly "slate" computing device. Ive had several star trek moments holding it thus far.
Acer has always felt like a laptop cover ripped off the keyboard where the ports somehow magically transferred to the top. Yes its thick but I can connect this sucker to a monitor , a external drive , a card reader , and easily expand with a micro SD.
Look good or be efficient ?? Your choice IMO cant go wrong.
FYI:Tab will require at least 2 add ons , plus a case that can accommodate your extra accessories in order to match connectivity.
Microphone-
**SO FAR*** my biggest grip with the Acer has been the awful mic. It just sucks. Dont know if its the quality or the placement but the end result remains suckage. Far too often a phrase like "When can we meet ?"
results in "can we me".... or worse "w"..... WTF?!!?
Voice to text is my primary need/use for a tablet, this was a huge deal for me.
Galaxy Tab has been better. But frankly neither are up to snuff to my Nexus One. Im assuming phones in general will just have better mic quality.
Audio clip from Tab (using camcorder)
http://db.tt/XrcHGaK
Audio clip from Acer (using camcorder)
http://db.tt/eZ0rOIa
While not a tell all example the above differences in clarity were consistent with other apps as well.
Screen-
Thus far there really isnt a reason to side for one or the other outside of need or preference. Until this.
The screen on the Tab is gorgeous and is simply richer in color and after flicking through Picasa it seems to have gotten a more accurate representation of the pictures taken.
While I do feel the tab pushes colors a bit much ;almost like oled does. Ex: The YT still shot Rebecca Blacks red jacket is too saturated
However over a wide range of pictures and videos it just felt more vivid with better blacks.
This isnt a Ipads "cool" vs Tabs "warm" approach to color temp. The Tab is simply a better looking screen.
Software---
Not touching on this unless asked.
I will say I still have numerous videos FC on YT and the browser does NOT have any quick controls on the galaxy tab. Major bummer and worthy of return or sell if it cant be added as I find the controls are what make two handed Tablet browsing possible.
Wrap up-
In short Lebron James is overrated.
But seriously
Acer-8/10
Tab- 9/10
If you will make regular use of the ports , or weight isnt an issue the Acer is the choice.
If you care about aesthetics and or mobility is a bigger concern then the Tab is the way to go.

i stopped reading when u said the acer is heavy and teared up with laughter at the thought of u weight lifting

BrianDigital said:
i stopped reading when u said the acer is heavy and teared up with laughter at the thought of u weight lifting
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Right, because "heavy" means "unable to lift" and not relative to the topic of tablets. Try harder next time.

Very detailed.connectivity is why my Acer rules
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA Premium App

LIKE YOUR REVIEW, very truthful...
i bought the acer because it came first in my country.... but then loving it... usb port is the biggest difference among 2 tablets in favour of iconia, where weight is the biggest difference in favour to the tab

I was contemplating on whether to buy Galaxy Tab or Iconia A500, and I chose Iconia A500 because of USB host mode port, plus the fact that I don't need any proprietary adapters or cables. Those kinds of things are surprisingly hard to come by here, and they're a lot more expensive to replace should they break.
As for the weight: well, everyone has their own taste. I personally don't see enough of a difference for it to make matter to me.

I choose Acer because of non proprietary adapter and cables...
now
- galaxy tabs is really toooooo light... I feel like I was about to broke it just by holding it hahahah
I wanna buy it so deep... but after tested it... hu... no thanks, maybe the 8.9...

I'm amazed at the white color temperature difference between the two displays. Which is which in the pictures?

I guess samsung is the warmer one... you don't mess with samsung displays.

@xManMythLegend,
What video files will it support?... the only thing that bugs me is my Archos can support all my xvid divx out of the box... my samsung epic also supports divx... my acer doesn't know what divx is... bummer.

After the Captivate, Samsung is dead to me. Thanks for the review though. The Acer holds up better than I expected it to in the comparison.

What was wrong with captivate? i9000 is still awesome for me. Branded/carrier versions will always suck.
I'm pissed at samsung's tablet atitude, It's like they're trying to imitate Apple. I don't want a stupid adapter to be able to use usb!
Anyway, great review! I was actually waiting for the Galaxy tab but now I couldn't care less. Iconia's connectivity outweighs it's weight by far

Excellent review -- thank you! I'm sold on my A500 (primarily because of the USB port), but it's always good to know what else is out there and how it compares.
I don't understand why people rely on the stock software and configuration for images and/or video on any tablet. Even with a desktop PC monitor, you have to fine tune the settings to get your photos and videos to display properly. I wouldn't use the Samsung's default display settings because I think they're (for the most part) over-saturated. I use 3rd party gallery and video apps, both of which allow for rather customized display settings. I'm very happy with my A500's display the way I have these apps customized, and this was very important to me (right along with the USB port and memory expansion options) due to being an avid photography hobbyist.
I hope that doesn't sound too defensive, because I'm really not -- I knew the A500's display is "cooler" (more blue) than most when buying it. I just think they all need tweaking -- even the precious iPad, which everyone raves about the display out of the box.
Thanks again!

Well i bought Acer Iconia A500 because of the ports i don't mind a difference of 0.00000033mm in thickness or 0.000000888 pound in weight but i do care a lot if my device has all the ports i can use without the worry of looking them here and there.

sanaell said:
I choose Acer because of non proprietary adapter and cables...
now
- galaxy tabs is really toooooo light... I feel like I was about to broke it just by holding it hahahah
I wanna buy it so deep... but after tested it... hu... no thanks, maybe the 8.9...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe 8.9 will be a very interesting form factor for many people especially if it does include an sd card slot.
silencer51 said:
I'm amazed at the white color temperature difference between the two displays. Which is which in the pictures?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Top Is the galaxy tab Bottom is the acer.
threedfreek said:
@xManMythLegend,
What video files will it support?... the only thing that bugs me is my Archos can support all my xvid divx out of the box... my samsung epic also supports divx... my acer doesn't know what divx is... bummer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I immediately installed mobo player. Plays everything but .mov thus far it also has terrific on screen controls.
internetpilot said:
Excellent review -- thank you! I'm sold on my A500 (primarily because of the USB port), but it's always good to know what else is out there and how it compares.
I don't understand why people rely on the stock software and configuration for images and/or video on any tablet. Even with a desktop PC monitor, you have to fine tune the settings to get your photos and videos to display properly. I wouldn't use the Samsung's default display settings because I think they're (for the most part) over-saturated. I use 3rd party gallery and video apps, both of which allow for rather customized display settings. I'm very happy with my A500's display the way I have these apps customized, and this was very important to me (right along with the USB port and memory expansion options) due to being an avid photography hobbyist.
I hope that doesn't sound too defensive, because I'm really not -- I knew the A500's display is "cooler" (more blue) than most when buying it. I just think they all need tweaking -- even the precious iPad, which everyone raves about the display out of the box.
Thanks again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I completely agree! If these were hd tvs you could not even begin the discussion without calibration. I even cut out a portion on it. In short since there are no universal apps to do this and most devices require root access ;along with the fact most people simply would not bother. So unfortunately out of the box is what people will judge it by.
But you are 100 percent correct calibration can fix many many issues. I have yet to try on the tablet but fully intend to.
P.s apologies for any weird typos. voice to text is strangely capitalizing words that shouldn't be.

I had the Acer and returned it for the Galaxy Tab 10.1
I'm loving the GT much better. The main reason I wanted a tablet was for mobility and having something lightweight. The Acer was nice, but after surfing the net for a while I was inclined to place it either in my lap or on a solid surface. If I put it in my lap it would start sliding all over the place. The GT doesn't slide in my lap like the Acer did. It's also not as heavy, so I don't mind holding it if need be.
All tablets that come with a USB will be rather thick in size. There's no way that the GT could keep it's slimness with a USB port on the device itself. This was a concern for me in deciding if I wanted the device. Once I found out that they have a USB adapter, I was sold. The Acer had many ports, but I rarely used any of them when I had the device. It all boils down to how you're going to use a tablet. That will determine which one is the best fit.

cdf3 said:
I had the Acer and returned it for the Galaxy Tab 10.1
I'm loving the GT much better. The main reason I wanted a tablet was for mobility and having something lightweight. The Acer was nice, but after surfing the net for a while I was inclined to place it either in my lap or on a solid surface. If I put it in my lap it would start sliding all over the place. The GT doesn't slide in my lap like the Acer did. It's also not as heavy, so I don't mind holding it if need be.
All tablets that come with a USB will be rather thick in size. There's no way that the GT could keep it's slimness with a USB port on the device itself. This was a concern for me in deciding if I wanted the device. Once I found out that they have a USB adapter, I was sold. The Acer had many ports, but I rarely used any of them when I had the device. It all boils down to how you're going to use a tablet. That will determine which one is the best fit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did the exact same thing today and share the same sentiments. I think the acer is very good at being a full featured unit out of the box. But it was not comfortable for me to use and my glove size is an 11. I picked up the GT10.1 and wow I didn't care what is was missing.

usman3206 said:
Well i bought Acer Iconia A500 because of the ports i don't mind a difference of 0.00000033mm in thickness or 0.000000888 pound in weight but i do care a lot if my device has all the ports i can use without the worry of looking them here and there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
The Acer wins for me based on connectivity and flexibility overall.

PLease tell us about the software. Tab is 3.1....is it smoother? The Acer is still driving me crazy with the scroll lag.

Actually the weight and size difference is dramatic. The photos and numbers paper really dont translate well to how well it feels in hand. Saying that I do miss the usb port on the a500 but the GT10.1 is more portable and hand friendly. Using it as an ereader is great as well because it balances in the hand without feeling top heavy.
Go play with one at BB and tell me what you think, just curious.
Another reason for my switch was I truly feel thus device will sell well and therefore have longer support. Acer already announced they were scaling back production due to slow sales. Which tells me Acer really needs to do better advertising because they have a winner.
I think noils down like this.......
If you want a light hand friendly device then get the GT10.1
If you want a device that has more media input/output accessiblity device and offers expandable storage then go with the a500.
Sent from my GT-P7510 using Tapatalk

Can the A500 screen really be this bad?

I bought an A500 and a Nook Color during recent deals, with plans to return one of them, and both arrived yesterday. I've rooted the Nook but left the A500 stock. I installed MX Player on both of them and have been playing movies ever since ... and am really disappointed in how the A500 screen looks in general and especially in comparison to the Nook's. It's kinda washed out, with bland colors, and just isn't sharp, while the Nook's is the opposite in all regards. Plus, movies on the Nook run very smoothly, while on the A500 there's a hint of hesitation throughout.
Sigh.
And I really wanted the A500 to be the tab I kept, because of everything else it can do that the Nook can't, with a bigger screen ta boot.
Might my A500 be defective or is this just the way things are, given that the screens use different technologies? I have tried fiddling with the A500s brightness adjustments, to no avail.
Thoughts? Suggestions? Thanks!

Have you tried to simply return for an exchange, or go to like a best buy and compare it to another? I watch movies on mine all the time, and usually via HDMI to my TV with no problems. I think I am using Twist player though for movies, so not sure if thats the trick. And, maybe try and convert the videos to different formats?

Not my experience
linter said:
I bought an A500 and a Nook Color during recent deals, with plans to return one of them, and both arrived yesterday. ... It's kinda washed out, with bland colors, and just isn't sharp, while the Nook's is the opposite in all regards. Plus, movies on the Nook run very smoothly, while on the A500 there's a hint of hesitation throughout.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have both, and my experience is different from yours. I find the A500 (tested outdoors) to be a bit brighter and truer whites (the NC has a very slight greenish tint).
I have viewed the same images on both, but not tried any movies.
The pixel density is higher on the NC, which is why it may appear sharper.

DeanGibson said:
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hope not as I am basically getting this to replace my nook color (not nook tablet). I'm hoping the extra core/bump in processor speed, honeycomb/ics, and bigger screen will make it a better browsing experience. Although movie playback works well on nook so I will be bummed if that is worse here. Do you still use both DeanGibson?

Fer: Nope, haven't gone to BB to check others out. It's a ways away, and time is short ... but maybe have to go.
DeanG: Pix are fine, no problemo. It's movies I'm talking about. Really, the diff b/ the A500 and the Nook is pretty significant. Hopefully, some other movie-watching Nook and A500 owners will chime in.
Nstong: Hope your experience is better than mine has been so far!

Use both
nstong said:
Do you still use both DeanGibson?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, regularly

It is a bit washed out. I'd copied a movie onto my A500 and was comparing to my monitor last night and the colors are definitely more crisp and vibrant on the monitor. Cranking up the brightness on the A500 helped a bit. The A500 seems to need brightness turned up or it seems a bit dim.

Gnoop said:
It is a bit washed out. I'd copied a movie onto my A500 and was comparing to my monitor last night and the colors are definitely more crisp and vibrant on the monitor. Cranking up the brightness on the A500 helped a bit. The A500 seems to need brightness turned up or it seems a bit dim.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After a few more tests, I've decided to return the A500. Sigh. Oh, well, maybe next year something'll come out that I can afford and that has a nice screen, etc. In the meantime, the Nook will do just fine ...

linter said:
After a few more tests, I've decided to return the A500. Sigh. Oh, well, maybe next year something'll come out that I can afford and that has a nice screen, etc. In the meantime, the Nook will do just fine ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
**** really? Was the browsing, user interface etc. smoother?

For the price, it falls into the "good enough" category for me. The wife did not like the 7" size so it was 10" or bust. Given that, this ended up being a pretty decent deal. It's mostly going to be used in the car and traveling for web browsing and movie watching when needed. The display doesn't have to be fantastic for that.
As it is, I'll probably end up with a Win8 tablet in the future. Nothing like having a full blown OS when you need it.

linter said:
After a few more tests, I've decided to return the A500. Sigh. Oh, well, maybe next year something'll come out that I can afford and that has a nice screen, etc. In the meantime, the Nook will do just fine ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You made the right choice!
The A500 is a piece of junk!

Coming from a consumer electronics background and now working in IT, posts like make you stop and ask "Is it better color or exaggerated?" All the SG2 fanboys out there love that screen. When I see it I think OMG oversaturation! I think the colors are very true on my A500. No complaints here.

Turboboxer said:
Coming from a consumer electronics background and now working in IT, posts like make you stop and ask "Is it better color or exaggerated?" All the SG2 fanboys out there love that screen. When I see it I think OMG oversaturation! I think the colors are very true on my A500. No complaints here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I totally agree.
If you don't like this product take it the fffffff.BACK to store get what you want.save us the time from reading your crying. Please
This is a Development forum.not a complaint arena take that to acers front door.
Thank you and sorry for being so rude its not really my style.
Xo my friends.

erica_renee said:
I totally agree.
If you don't like this product take it the fffffff.BACK to store get what you want.save us the time from reading your crying. Please
This is a Development forum.not a complaint arena take that to acers front door.
Thank you and sorry for being so rude its not really my style.
Xo my friends.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Someone got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning huh? lol
I chose a much more diplomatic/sarcastic response

I noticed the slight hesitation as well, if u use moboplayer its mitigated quite a bit. It also helps if you encode your videos at a less taxing preset.

linter said:
I bought an A500 and a Nook Color during recent deals, with plans to return one of them, and both arrived yesterday. I've rooted the Nook but left the A500 stock. I installed MX Player on both of them and have been playing movies ever since ... and am really disappointed in how the A500 screen looks in general and especially in comparison to the Nook's. It's kinda washed out, with bland colors, and just isn't sharp, while the Nook's is the opposite in all regards. Plus, movies on the Nook run very smoothly, while on the A500 there's a hint of hesitation throughout.
Sigh.
And I really wanted the A500 to be the tab I kept, because of everything else it can do that the Nook can't, with a bigger screen ta boot.
Might my A500 be defective or is this just the way things are, given that the screens use different technologies? I have tried fiddling with the A500s brightness adjustments, to no avail.
Thoughts? Suggestions? Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I read the above post and looked familiar - like deja vu. It stuck in my mind cause I was exasperated after reading it. To the OP, there are some things you should just share with your significant other, or better yet your cat. "sigh":
12-06-2011, 09:36 PM
floete floete is offline
L4: Apprentice
got my a500 yesterday and after all that waiting and fretting, i hate to say it but ... bleh. main problem is screen with movies is just okay, especially compared to the nook's. it's washed out and not all that sharp. plus, the thing is fairly heavy. yeah, i know, i read the specs beforehand, but it's one thing to read em and another to feel em. as long as you've got something to rest it on, of course, no problemo, but it's not fun to sit w/ it in bed, at least as compared to the nook, which i also got yesterday, from the earlier BB refurb deal.
i'm only going to keep one of them. so far, i'm leaning toward the nook. but, damn, the a500 has so much to offer. if only the screen was better, i could probably deal w/ the weight. but the two of them together ... i dunno.
http://slickdeals.net/forums/showpost.php?p=45664562&postcount=1140

Users writing such posts, are close to being blind and much worse..
comparing a computerscreen and a tablet cannot be done by the eye. If this owner went and played a 720p edition of a movie on the tablet, using software decoding and later on played using hardware decoding and totally different calibration settings for colours your result is probably what most people buy a TV on, vibrant colours which are way off ISF calibrated standard, but for regular colour blind users, it looks nice . NEVER trust regular user opinions on screen and its appearance, we all see colour differently when it comes to personal taste, and you cannot ask one which is not a professional, about colours being wrong, if that user never had any idea on gamma settings, CMYK or CMS or even grayscale corrections done to the screen.
this user cannot be trusted, but if you do choose to do so, beware, you eyes might just be alot better and you get a personal better experience with a500 than the user chosing another tablet with different display, just because it looked vibrant.
meassuring colours on a500, will give an idea on which is wrong or how accurate it is, and its really not that bad..
Its like saying you prefer "SPORTS" picture settings on your telly compared to MOVIE settings. both are equally bad, but you get a personal view on it, making it better.
Best screen available today for any tegra2 tablet is the one on Samsung Galaxy 10.1, their panel used is alot better and more accurate. If just everybody included colour management on their tablet we could even calibrate it to be perfect.

Dexter_nlb said:
Users writing such posts, are close to being blind and much worse..
comparing a computerscreen and a tablet cannot be done by the eye. If this owner went and played a 720p edition of a movie on the tablet, using software decoding and later on played using hardware decoding and totally different calibration settings for colours your result is probably what most people buy a TV on, vibrant colours which are way off ISF calibrated standard, but for regular colour blind users, it looks nice . NEVER trust regular user opinions on screen and its appearance, we all see colour differently when it comes to personal taste, and you cannot ask one which is not a professional, about colours being wrong, if that user never had any idea on gamma settings, CMYK or CMS or even grayscale corrections done to the screen.
this user cannot be trusted, but if you do choose to do so, beware, you eyes might just be alot better and you get a personal better experience with a500 than the user chosing another tablet with different display, just because it looked vibrant.
meassuring colours on a500, will give an idea on which is wrong or how accurate it is, and its really not that bad..
Its like saying you prefer "SPORTS" picture settings on your telly compared to MOVIE settings. both are equally bad, but you get a personal view on it, making it better.
Best screen available today for any tegra2 tablet is the one on Samsung Galaxy 10.1, their panel used is alot better and more accurate. If just everybody included colour management on their tablet we could even calibrate it to be perfect.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No one is saying it's that bad. People are just saying there are others that are better. For some it isn't as important. For some it is.
As for color management, that can help but even then, there can be consistency issues across the screen. I do wish we had color management on Android devices as it would help.

Gnoop said:
As for color management, that can help but even then, there can be consistency issues across the screen. I do wish we had color management on Android devices as it would help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
maybe the CyanogenMod team can do so, they already played with colours, so why not go all the way, and let us chose ourselves.
anyways, an app might just do it too, at least on tegra2 tablets. dunno, if it can be generally used on all, since hardware changes and some might utilize and other simply skipped the functions of the display.

linter/floete - I've had the A500 for over a week and can attest that the display is not "washed out." Over the weekend I attached a compact flash card reader and viewed huge jpg images from a full frame dslr. The detail was amazing, and very useful for inspecting an image before sending it off. For movies, the display is also nice. This is subjective, but really, the IPS screens may be better, but the A500 is still really good. I don't feel like I'm missing anything with the A500. My only complaint is the 3' power cord - too short...