Database Users

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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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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Click to collapse
no ****. you gotta laugh when someone complains how tablet x is soooo much heavier than tablet y... and the difference is only 100 grams!

Anyone considering the Toshiba Thrive?

There's some info on Endgadget and the specs don't look too shabby, is anyone considering this machine?
Toshiba didn't exactly jump into the tablet market head first, but now that it's come clean with the Thrive, its first pad for the US market, it's wasting no time -- we just got some hands-on with the 10.1-inch, Android 3.1-powered slate -- which, by the by, is the first that we know of to sport a removable battery. It's also got a few more rarities: full-sized USB and HDMI ports and a full-sized SDHC / SDXC slot. Oh, and its $429 starting price ain't bad either. So was Toshiba's entry into the world of Android tablets worth the wait? Join us for a tour past the break, and decide for yourself.
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http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/07/toshiba-thrive-hands-on/

This does seem like a fully loaded device but I think compared to the portability of the Tab 10.1, it will soon become annoying. I think I'm going to stick with the Tab 10.1 and purchase the adapters for USB/HDMI. I'd only need to carry them on 5% of my journeys anyway.

Yes, I'm interested. 1.6 lbs is like the Ipad 1 tablet and the reviewer states that its really not that bad. Ports are important, and the user removable battery is a real plus. Thickness is a bummer, but over all, the tablet looks like a real contender

this WAS the 1 i really wanted but when i saw it had more bulk than my xoom i've decide to go with the 10.1, but i would take this over the xoom.

The location of the cameras is ODD. Seems like it would be difficult to hold and not obscure the cameras.

I like that you can change the battery but me personally I don't need all those ports. If I have to have all that I may as well get a laptop or netbook. Also I'm not keen on that chrome around the camera. It's petty but I also like looks when it comes to my devices

It just moved up to number one on my list just waiting to see what HTC comes out with with in a 10.1 tablet
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA Premium App

No.
1. I hate that silver / chrome plate around the camera. It is too distracting, look cheap and ugly. I cannot stand it, period.
2. It is too bulky and heavy. I don't need all those ports, especially because I will use it rarely.
3. I don't need replaceable battery. From my experience, even after a year or two, the lithium battery is still good. And by that time, I have upgraded to a new device anyway. I know, it is a plus to have replaceable battery, but if it adds to the weight and bulkiness (because of the mechanic or whatnot), then I don't want it!
GTab 10.1 is still my number one choice ... IF I can buy one

I like what I've seen. I was following this for a few months, but scratched it off due to the Tab 10.1. Now I've written off the tab 10.1 I think, because it just leaks cheap. I'll reserve my final judgement until I see some reviews.
I'm sorta curious what the odds of being able to install Windows 8 on it might be. It appears to be the same exact design as one of Toshiba's upcoming Windows 8 tablets they showed at Computex, just with a different processor. I'm not excited about Tegra 2... but..... if it's really that bad, that is why they have return policies. A Dual boot Android / Windows 8 tablet might be a serious case of Winning!
Oh, I also am looking forward to see what HTC is bringing to the table as well. I don't want to count them out.

I am the one considering the Toshiba Thrive as well.
Yeah the Thrive is thick and heavy with the chrome camera and rubber back that sound odd, but the fact that the Galaxy Tab 10.1 has no SD card and USB slot turns me off, it seems like Samsung is going to rip us off with accessories that I have seen in the youtube video shown in another thread, so Samsung learned styling and ways of money making from Apple huh?
Full size USB, HDMI and SD card port, plus attractive pricing and the Toshiba brand outweight the clumsy look. Hope XDA will have the Thrive forums soon.

bbeelzebub said:
Now I've written off the tab 10.1 I think, because it just leaks cheap. I'll reserve my final judgement until I see some reviews.
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Click to collapse
Definitely worth reserving your final judgement because the reviews that I have read all pretty much say how premium the quality of the 10.1 is compared to what they expected before they saw it in person. I didn't bookmark all the reviews I read so can't seem to find them all but Engadget wrote:
"It's a tremendous thing to hold, and it truly oozes quality from corner to corner".
http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/08/samsung-galaxy-tab-10-1-review/
Personally, I don't think it looks that cheap but like you, I am also reserving my final judgement until I see it in the flesh.

No XDA forum - No buy!
It's very simple, I like the device and want to get one. But with no XDA forum (yet), I'll have to wait. I do like to try out custom rom's, etc., as well as the practical uses. Right now I have an LG G-Slate, and with no XDA forum I can't do anything (other than rooting). So, if one is interested in simply "using" a device, then the Thrive looks excellent except for its bulk. For those of us who want to do more - we'll need an XDA forum.

Looks like a cool tablet. Had it come out a month earlier, I might have bought it.
These guys releasing Honeycomb tablets in July, August, and September just feel like they are a bit late to the game.

Ravynmagi said:
Looks like a cool tablet. Had it come out a month earlier, I might have bought it.
These guys releasing Honeycomb tablets in July, August, and September just feel like they are a bit late to the game.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That makes total sense. So I take it you only buy your devices briefly after a new OS is introduced? How old is your Windows/Apple desktop/laptop?

akarol said:
That makes total sense. So I take it you only buy your devices briefly after a new OS is introduced? How old is your Windows/Apple desktop/laptop?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With laptops/desktops, I can update the OS whenever I wish. I'm not dependent on the hardware manufacture to make a custom OS for my computer. So tablets are very different from a laptop or desktop. Though I do know people that do hold off laptop/desktop purchases if a new OS release is near, to avoid having to buy an upgraded OS later.
I love Android, but 3.0 and 3.1 have not been that good. It was a rush job and the source code was never even released. And hardware manufactures already proven they are very slow with major OS release updates. With the hope that Android 4.0 will unify the phone/tablet OS and includes major improvements to stability, compatibility, and fragmentation...
Personally I think there probably is a line in the sand somewhere where a person should ask themselves, do I really want to get into an Android 3.x tablet now with 4.0 coming soon?
I'm not sure I made a good decision getting my GT 10.1 back on June 17th (really nice hardware though). It is really going to suck if I'm still rocking Android 3.crap in 2012. Really hope that doesn't happen, but I have no idea.

Techno79 said:
This does seem like a fully loaded device but I think compared to the portability of the Tab 10.1, it will soon become annoying. I think I'm going to stick with the Tab 10.1 and purchase the adapters for USB/HDMI. I'd only need to carry them on 5% of my journeys anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I totally agree.
By looking at the photos, it seems as though the rear camera does not include a flash.

I went with the GT 10.1. LOL I got tired of waiting and I didn't like that the Toshiba doesn't have Gorilla Glass, is a lil' heavy and apparently just uses a regular LCD screen with some sort of software to make it crisper and brighter.... The GT has such a nice screen, I couldn't resist. It also feels so light in hand.
Still, different strokes for different folks. I'm sure the Toshiba has nice things about it too... like the ports. Still... I like weight of the GT sooooooo much.

I was seriously considering waiting for the thrive since its almost 100 bucks apart, you could get a 8g, plug in a 16g SD and in the end beat the 10.1 in memory.
But then I thought real hard about what I needed a tablet for. I have a NB at home and at workplace, and if I needed to do stuff that needed serious computing, I would choose the NB over any tablet even if it was quad-core.
The reason I need (or, want) a tablet is for portability, acccessibility to games, video, web surfing and data/email checking. I dont see how often I will cry over that lack of ports, if ever at all. and ports and price are probably the only things that toshiba has an edge over the 10.1. Once I decided that I really dont need the ports (especially you can get the usb dongle for $20 for the rare occasions that you need the port), it was a no brainer decision.
I would think that the Thrive buyers would have to use usb host a lot in order to feel better about the decision over 10.1. Otherwise, everytime you browse the web, watch videos, read papers, or play games on 10.1, it's just hard to think that there's a alternative attractive choice.

arnold88 said:
It's very simple, I like the device and want to get one. But with no XDA forum (yet), I'll have to wait. I do like to try out custom rom's, etc., as well as the practical uses. Right now I have an LG G-Slate, and with no XDA forum I can't do anything (other than rooting). So, if one is interested in simply "using" a device, then the Thrive looks excellent except for its bulk. For those of us who want to do more - we'll need an XDA forum.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here is a Thrive forum for you. Its not XDA but a good one never the less
http://www.thriveforums.org/forum/forum.php
If I just wanted to have a usb port or SD slot just once in a great while, than the Thrive is a winner. The comments that the thrive is clunky and heavy is way off base. Its been reported by reviewers that the weight is not heavy and feels good holding it. By the way, the Transformer 2 has been reported today to be coming out this October with Tegra 3, the new OS and goodness who knows what other upgrades. Some thing to consider as well

SR45 said:
Here is a Thrive forum for you. Its not XDA but a good one never the less
http://www.thriveforums.org/forum/forum.php
If I just wanted to have a usb port or SD slot just once in a great while, than the Thrive is a winner. The comments that the thrive is clunky and heavy is way off base. Its been reported by reviewers that the weight is not heavy and feels good holding it. By the way, the Transformer 2 has been reported today to be coming out this October with Tegra 3, the new OS and goodness who knows what other upgrades. Some thing to consider as well
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Thrive is 1.6 pounds. My Acer was 1.7 pounds, and it felt a lot heavier than my Tab 10.1
I can now surf the web with one hand, unlike the Acer. The Thrive will definitely feel heavier than the Tab 10.1
Sent from my GT-P7510 using Tapatalk

TF Love

So, I used to be relatively anti-tablet. I will admit that a lot of that stemmed from how much people freaked out about the iPad when it came out. I'm not a big fan of apple, regardless of the beauty of their devices.... I can't stand how locked down and controlled their phone\tab is.
Either way, I was pretty meh on tablets and honestly that sentiment was still there when the first android tabs came out. Why the heck would I want a blown up Froyo OS if I didnt want an overblown iOS? Then.... THEN... google showed off honeycomb.
I instantly had a little twinge in my feelings of tablet-hate. Wait.... I really like Android on my phone, and.... and... an operating system that actually is MADE for tablets? I didn't understand what I was feeling.. so many conflicting emotions!
By the time the Xoom was announced I was trying my hardest to get rid of my problems with a tablet because I was so intrigued by the possibilities of honeycomb.. The issue that took the longest to overcome was... hey.. I have a nice laptop (M11x) and a phone that I use quite often. When the heck am I actually going to WANT a Tab?
I went and picked up a Xoom wifi the first day, cringing at the 600$ price-tag. So much money. I ripped the thing out of the box and set it up and found that I absolutely loved honeycomb just as I thought I would. But I had some major disappointments with the thing as well. 600$ was probably the biggest problem, but the second issue I had was my gigantic disappointment with the screen itself. It really just looked BAD, and I felt that if I was using a tablet, it had to be a TREAT to look at. And with the xoom, I appreciated the resolution, but the screen was just too poor to handle.
I boxed the Xoom up and on a whim, after about the 3rd day, decided I NEEDED to take the thing back (something all my friends did NOT expect, as I LOVE my gadgets). I felt good about my decision, and pleased to get my 600$ back. I decided I just NEEDED to wait for more tabs.
I wasn't planning on getting one so quickly after that, but when I read about what Asus was packin', I couldn't believe it. From the very first "impressions" on the TF that I read, I KNEW I had to have it. It was perfect.. beautiful screen at an amazing price point. This thing wasn't losing ANYTHING (other than 16gb) that the xoom had, yet it was gaining so much... for 200$ less!!
I dont know how Asus did it 200$ cheaper than the xoom, but I absolutely love my TF and I use it way more often than I expected I would. The screen is beautiful, the thing is lighter than the xoom, and it has a freakin' working SD card slot! My TF has it's problems (light bleed), and honeycomb has its bugs, but I couldn't be happier with my purchase. My tablet is an absolute pleasure to utilize, and its so nice to just break the thing out on an airplane or go sit outside and smoke a cig while surfing the web.
The TF really should have been the flagship product to showcase honeycomb, at the same price point, with the same screen, with the same keyboard adapter (which I am not buying\using). Maybe the public perception of android tablets would be a lot higher.
I know, cool story hansel, but so often there is a lot of negativity on these boards, I thought a happy owner story might be nice to hear. I can't be anything but excited regarding the future of Android and tablets in general. I'm truly a convert

I was in the same mindset as you until the Transformer came out. I am on my second TF (first one had a vertical line on the third IPS panel) and have no light bleed or any issues. The price point was what sold me on it's beautiful display. Now I make fun of my friends that own an Xoom and complain that their display colors are off (they use them to draw).

Ah so nice to see a refreshing I love my TF thread in the middle of all the complaining....
Here I am typing away on my Honeycomb tablet that last me for days (with combination of the dock, started at 10am this morning, I'm sitting at 80%) and actually lets me type and multitask with ease.
It took me a couple tries to get one where light bleed wasn't bad, but assuming this thing lasts (with care), I am a very happy user so far.
It's funny your story started out just like mine with the Xoom; it was the display for me too that made me take it back.

I think the part I love the most is that is not Apple nor Windows.

Baconstrip said:
So, I used to be relatively anti-tablet. I will admit that a lot of that stemmed from how much people freaked out about the iPad when it came out. I'm not a big fan of apple, regardless of the beauty of their devices.... I can't stand how locked down and controlled their phone\tab is.
Either way, I was pretty meh on tablets and honestly that sentiment was still there when the first android tabs came out. Why the heck would I want a blown up Froyo OS if I didnt want an overblown iOS? Then.... THEN... google showed off honeycomb.
I instantly had a little twinge in my feelings of tablet-hate. Wait.... I really like Android on my phone, and.... and... an operating system that actually is MADE for tablets? I didn't understand what I was feeling.. so many conflicting emotions!
By the time the Xoom was announced I was trying my hardest to get rid of my problems with a tablet because I was so intrigued by the possibilities of honeycomb.. The issue that took the longest to overcome was... hey.. I have a nice laptop (M11x) and a phone that I use quite often. When the heck am I actually going to WANT a Tab?
I went and picked up a Xoom wifi the first day, cringing at the 600$ price-tag. So much money. I ripped the thing out of the box and set it up and found that I absolutely loved honeycomb just as I thought I would. But I had some major disappointments with the thing as well. 600$ was probably the biggest problem, but the second issue I had was my gigantic disappointment with the screen itself. It really just looked BAD, and I felt that if I was using a tablet, it had to be a TREAT to look at. And with the xoom, I appreciated the resolution, but the screen was just too poor to handle.
I boxed the Xoom up and on a whim, after about the 3rd day, decided I NEEDED to take the thing back (something all my friends did NOT expect, as I LOVE my gadgets). I felt good about my decision, and pleased to get my 600$ back. I decided I just NEEDED to wait for more tabs.
I wasn't planning on getting one so quickly after that, but when I read about what Asus was packin', I couldn't believe it. From the very first "impressions" on the TF that I read, I KNEW I had to have it. It was perfect.. beautiful screen at an amazing price point. This thing wasn't losing ANYTHING (other than 16gb) that the xoom had, yet it was gaining so much... for 200$ less!!
I dont know how Asus did it 200$ cheaper than the xoom, but I absolutely love my TF and I use it way more often than I expected I would. The screen is beautiful, the thing is lighter than the xoom, and it has a freakin' working SD card slot! My TF has it's problems (light bleed), and honeycomb has its bugs, but I couldn't be happier with my purchase. My tablet is an absolute pleasure to utilize, and its so nice to just break the thing out on an airplane or go sit outside and smoke a cig while surfing the web.
The TF really should have been the flagship product to showcase honeycomb, at the same price point, with the same screen, with the same keyboard adapter (which I am not buying\using). Maybe the public perception of android tablets would be a lot higher.
I know, cool story hansel, but so often there is a lot of negativity on these boards, I thought a happy owner story might be nice to hear. I can't be anything but excited regarding the future of Android and tablets in general. I'm truly a convert
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You're a good man... I agree with you 100% on everything you said. This tablet is amazing and it very well should have been a flagship device but google is already in bed with samsung, htc and moto so there really wasn't a chance for that.
I'm willing to bet though that if Asus did some aggressive advertising in the American market, android tablet sales would blow up much more than how they did through moto's xoom advertisements. The TF appeals to so many different kinds of people, it offers something unique that other tablets don't and it's priced extremely competitively. This thing should of blown up by now.

The Xoom's display was really just lacking a sharpness and it really disappointed me. The screen on the TF was exactly what I was looking for. I'm a big sucker for NICE screens, and it's nice to use that instead of my M11x for casual browsing and stuff.
TF screen is STILL so pleasurable, even after owning the thing for a month.
I'm struggling with the thought of getting the keyboard dock for the TF. Not only would it actually be nicer than I expected to be able to type on my TF (I really am not a big fan of touchscreen keyboards so I switch to my laptop when heavy typing occurs), but the other benefits are pretty exceptional too. People say it's expensive but you really get kind of a lot for your money. It's WAY more intriguing than I expected it to be, purely because I love using my TF so much

Oh and starplaya... I'm at LEAST pretty happy with the fact that the TF seems to be selling pretty damn well and beyond expectations. It could STILL be the jumpstart android tablets need.
I really seem to get a lot of positivity when people who have HEARD of the TF actually see me using it. People seem intrigued and generally have a favorable amount of interest, whereas the Xoom seems to generally be thought of as negative. That's important for sales.

I agree 100%! Great post!
When I had the xoom I doubted every second of using it. I think every other electronic device I own has been doubted at one time or another after purchasing it.
I have no regrets at all after finally getting my eee pad. One of the best investments I have made in a long time.

Nice post Baconstrip.
I agree with your thoughts on the matter...I too was a doubter at first.
Incidentally I'm a TF user with no hardware issues whatsoever - which contributes to my happiness with the situation.
Only a couple of downsides for me: No 3/4G and No standard USB on the tablet.
One BIG positive that people often confuse as a negative:
It's early days for honeycomb. Sure that means not a whole boatload of apps right now but we do get to be there right from the start of the journey. There is going to be a whole lot of awesome coming for android tablets soon enough.

my friend got a galaxy, i held it and it felt...off. felt almost like a toy, easy to break almost. i like the transformer much better ^_^

I really enjoy using the transformer,
The hdmi port which I didn't think I will use much,
But now I am always connecting it up to my tv for playing games, streaming moving, playing flash streams,
I don't even use the built in Internet on the tv anymore...

Agree with you.
The only thing I miss is an Usb port. But I agree it should be honeycomb flagship. With its specs and price it would be the greatest threat to ipad, and would make android recognized as the #1 tablet OS.
Regards.

Love the post OP. Just like you, I was not on the Tablet train; AND I don't consider to be part of it even after buying the TF + Dock! When the iPad was first released I thought it was the dumbest thing ever and was later baffled by the insane explosion that the Tablet market became. The Transformer is different though, it.... Transforms! XD
But yes, the screen, build quality, seems to rival that of any top-quality gadgets. Sure, the TF has its issues, but mine is great and I love every second of it!
This thing has 1GB of RAM, a Dual-Core processor, and excellent integrated graphics! Think about running Windows 8 in a year or even running a Native Ubuntu in the near future!

xTRICKYxx said:
Love the post OP. Just like you, I was not on the Tablet train; AND I don't consider to be part of it even after buying the TF + Dock! When the iPad was first released I thought it was the dumbest thing ever and was later baffled by the insane explosion that the Tablet market became. The Transformer is different though, it.... Transforms! XD
But yes, the screen, build quality, seems to rival that of any top-quality gadgets. Sure, the TF has its issues, but mine is great and I love every second of it!
This thing has 1GB of RAM, a Dual-Core processor, and excellent integrated graphics! Think about running Windows 8 in a year or even running a Native Ubuntu in the near future!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Imagine being able to dual boot either android or ubuntu - now that would be the sweet spot!
Rob

silverball.slayer said:
Imagine being able to dual boot either android or ubuntu - now that would be the sweet spot!
Rob
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Click to collapse
It would be amazing! Unfortunately, I only have a 16GB TF101 so, I would be short on memory constraints unless I use the 16GB SD card.

xTRICKYxx said:
It would be amazing! Unfortunately, I only have a 16GB TF101 so, I would be short on memory constraints unless I use the 16GB SD card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's more than enaugh for ubuntu distro together with honeycomb.
On topic - I love my transformer and except some light bleed and SOD 5 times/day, it's perfect. I believe SOD will get sorted out eventually anda light bleed is nothing to worry about (I can always return it if it bugs me).

Hahaha sweet. OP I'm using an m11x here too as my laptop! *high fives*
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk

I went from a playbook to a transformer and honestly what a huge difference. The playbook did appear to be pretty smooth at handling multitasking but the biggest problem was what could you multitask with....Once i got my transformer I had it rooted, overclocked and had ubuntu running vnc within days of purchase. These forums are forever giving new ideas and the devs are amazing so i couldn't have made a better purchase imo.

*high fives back* I love the combo

I would hardly call the Transformer a Tablet. it just feels like it can do so much more!

KUDO's to Asus

I typically do not post raves, but this time I have to rave about the Transformer. This is what everyone that try's to do an android tablet should be making. I got the Gtab last fall and did all the moding to get a usable tablet. Worked pretty good I had to say. Until now. The TF is outstanding. I had the pleasure of quieting a couple friends with iPads on Friday. The TF tore through internet pages, video on Youtube and anything else they could challenge me with.
I have been a fan of Asus for awhile and will continue to praise their product.
FYI, buy from a reputable vendor and you wont have the headaches.

Yeah this thing is amazing. I remember watching a reviews before I ordered it, saying the back felt cheap because it had a strange pattern but it feels so nice, and of course, doesn't scratch!

+1 had to go show it to my old boss the ultimate apple product fanboy, he looked for a bit, then quickly found a reason not to talk to me anymore normally he would argue with me about how apple is far superior, there is no argument that really holds water in the ipad vs eeepad shootout

I completely agree. After I messed around with most tablets out there. (Xoom, Iconia, iPad 1 and 2, etc...) I finally settled on the TF and I do not regret a thing. I absolutely love the little guy. The transformer is easily my favorite tablet and product that I've purchased from ASUS.

Almost a year ago Asus was showing off that 12 inch win7 tablet/laptop/transformer, and I wanted it so bad back then...
Januari this year I bought the Toshiba Folio 100, and after modding it, it does work very well imo... But when I walked through a MediaMarkt XL store (just to look aroudn and play around with some stuff), I saw this transformer, and I knew I was going to buy it, but I wanted to make sure it really was what it looked like... so I read and watched a lot of reviews, and bought it the next day!
It's so nice that I even leave my 15" HP ProBook at home most of the time!
(The wallpaper is a live video wallpaper)

I have to agree on that.
The Transformer is a very well done and smartly design product.
Kudo's to asus !
The keyboard integration is so good that i'm using the tablet almost exclusivly with the dock.
It's light, easy to use, the trackpad is awesome, the connectivity is top notch and the battery life is....well it's basicly the longest battery life there is in any device. Want to use it all day long in your garden downloading movie, watching them and browsing internet while chatting with friend ? You can ! This thing just can't run out of juice !
Gratz Asus! Waiting for you to roll out Ice cream as soon as you can.

Same here, Kudos to Asus! I'm moving on close to 2 months since the release and couldn't be happier...no problems. And, oh so, glad I got the dock/keyboard that really makes it unique and above the rest.
And please with all the card slots, etc. it offers that others don't. Also, pretty impressed that they rolled out the new update in a timely fashion for 3.1, while it looks like other tablets were waiting.
Guess that's why it's reported Asus Transformer is best selling android tablet!
I'm a happy customer and use it every day, all day long most time with a great battery life between it and my keyboard.

I must say that I'm also very pleased with the TF101. There have been lots of other posts/threads which slam them for the light bleed, non-working issues, etc., but really, I think ASUS has done a great job considering that it's their first foray into Android, AND they come with a product that no one else offers (dock functionality). It takes a hell of a lot of QA to make sure that it's ready for production, and despite myself having to return a faulty dock, I also give Kudos to them.
In fact, as I was reporting on my faulty dock issue a while ago, I received a PM from ASUS themselves! They offered to exchange my complete setup for a brand new one (dock, tablet, cables, etc.), however I declined because everything is working great for me once exchanging my faulty dock at the store I purchased it from.
Getting that message and noting that ASUS themselves are watching these boards, as they know we have a great passion for 'pimping out' devices gives me another great feeling.
Has anyone else been in contact by ASUS on XDA?
Regardless, yes. Kudos to you ASUS!

I, too, love my Transformer plus dock. Mine has no light bleed, no creaking, no problems at all. And I'm a total n00b when it comes to Android, but by reading the manual and the helpful advice here and another forum, I've gotten most or all of my questions answered. If even a beginner like me can feel comfortable, Asus has hit it out of the park.

xTRICKYxx said:
Yeah this thing is amazing. I remember watching a reviews before I ordered it, saying the back felt cheap because it had a strange pattern but it feels so nice, and of course, doesn't scratch!
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Mine feels extremely solid, and well built...not sure where the reviewers are getting this unless they were stuck with some bad ones...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA Premium App

garak0410 said:
Mine feels extremely solid, and well built...not sure where the reviewers are getting this unless they were stuck with some bad ones...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA Premium App
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Review units are usually from pre-production or 1st production runs, and almost always have disclaimers that they are pre-prodution run review units. It also explains some of the early units that appear on the market having some QA issues.
I have a B05 UK model, and have none of the problems mentioned, it's got fantastic build quality, and my Apple loving boss has last week sold his ipad2 and bought one too after seeing mine+dock.
The days of Apple ruling the roost are long gone, you can get better and cheaper buy buying non-Apple these days. My phone is a HTC that's WAY better than anything Apple make, my tablet is an Asus and ditto....

My tab definitely feels solid too. I don't get all the "cheap" complaints because mine has been just fine and dandy. I do have a little bit of light bleed but it's really only visible when the entire screen is black, and honestly, it's something I can overlook. Just a minor annoyance, and I'll take dealing with it given the price
<3 the TF!

Have to agree pretty much with all the previous posts here. Have read most all the other posts of complaints and honestly while some were bonafide issues I rather felt some were suffering from too high expectations. My TF is quite probably from the initial release go-round and pretty much has been fine. A few annoyances? Sure. The dock battery drain is troublesome as is the charger (email to Asus was NEVER even acknowledged sad to say) but hoping future software fixes will be forthcoming.
Overall, I'm pleased and impressed.

Baconstrip said:
My tab definitely feels solid too. I don't get all the "cheap" complaints because mine has been just fine and dandy. I do have a little bit of light bleed but it's really only visible when the entire screen is black, and honestly, it's something I can overlook. Just a minor annoyance, and I'll take dealing with it given the price
<3 the TF!
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well I can't tell if I have any light bleeding... I've ran several dead pixel and light bleeding test programs and all of the colors of 100 percent solid. My settings screen and my browser bookmark page look like they have light bleed but several people have told me that is by design.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using XDA Premium App

I am very satisfied as well. I also have the keyboard version and it's not only usefull when writing longer texts (e.g. emails) but it gives the extra boost in battery life which is very welcomed!

I'm definitely not selling mine!
I'm thrilled with almost everything about it.
I also own an iPad and can comment without bias. The TF is better in nearly every way (especially the OS). The one area I think the iPad wins is the structural strength. It just feels tougher. I do like the really simple design but unfortunately apple let that spill over into every facet of the device.
TF for the win (especially with prime! 1.5)

Not untill this has netflix,hulu plus, words with friends honeycomb edition and potrait frame rate fix honeycomb tabs would never be an iPad killer

bboyle said:
I typically do not post raves, but this time I have to rave about the Transformer. This is what everyone that try's to do an android tablet should be making. I got the Gtab last fall and did all the moding to get a usable tablet. Worked pretty good I had to say. Until now. The TF is outstanding. I had the pleasure of quieting a couple friends with iPads on Friday. The TF tore through internet pages, video on Youtube and anything else they could challenge me with.
I have been a fan of Asus for awhile and will continue to praise their product.
FYI, buy from a reputable vendor and you wont have the headaches.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My cousin, a huge apple fan boy, talked trash about my tablet for a while. Then he came over the shoot pool with me yesterday, and he saw my tablet with the keyboard dock, and he was like on nice you got a new netbook? I guess your tablet was not enough.
I told him this is my tablet and then showed him how it works, he was like Sh!t, why cant apple do cool stuff like that!!
"Android" steals the best stuff, and improves on it" I had to laugh at him.
Brandon

cowballz69 said:
Not untill this has netflix,hulu plus, words with friends honeycomb edition and potrait frame rate fix honeycomb tabs would never be an iPad killer
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Click to collapse
To each their own! Plenty of people could care less about those apps and don't even miss them when they're gone.

dan-htc-touch said:
+1 had to go show it to my old boss the ultimate apple product fanboy, he looked for a bit, then quickly found a reason not to talk to me anymore normally he would argue with me about how apple is far superior, there is no argument that really holds water in the ipad vs eeepad shootout
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Reality check.
Rational arguments favoring the iPad 2 would include build quality, form factor (half as thick and also lighter), resale value, screen quality (brighter at max, dimmer at min, less reflective), performance (iPad's PowerVR crushes Tegra 2, no problems with 720p h.264 and iOS 5 has no problems even with 1080p h.264 whereas my TF cannot currently decode 720p acceptably, negating for me the advantage of the 16:10 screen). Also consider O/S maturity and reliability (most obviously the default Honeycomb launcher+browser are junk although ADW+Opera are much better, if buggy), the development tools (the Android emulator in particular is laughable - the iPad emulator in XCode is literally ~100x faster), app selection (Netflix an obvious example, there are thousands more), app quality (same app on both platforms is almost always inferior on TF) - in fact I don't see Android app performance ever approaching iOS here on similar hardware due to the overhead imposed by the Dalvik VM. Also, iTunes movies, TV shows, audiobooks etc. are one click away (although you have to pay for them vs torrents/Handbrake etc). Maybe if I had I non-rooted non-wifi-only Xoom I could try Google movies - I wouldn't known since I have an Asus TF and it has not been white-listed yet (BTW this kind of will-it-install/run/work roulette would not fly on the iTunes store). AirPlay, AirPrint and Home Sharing also 'Just Works.'.
I guess none of these arguments 'hold water' to you but if Google, OEMs like Asus and users rationalize away these things I think you can pretty much kiss this platform goodbye.
... which would be unfortunate because the Transformer's advantages are not insignificant - for $100 less (32GB vs 32GB) I get the MicroSD slot (plus SD with the dock) which gives me 64gb swappable storage in addition to the 32gb onboard (vs 64gb total on iPad), Apple's 'walled garden' is breached so I can install 3rd party keyboards, cloud-based music players, launchers, widgets etc. I also don't have to worry about Apple yanking the Kindle app etc for not paying the tithe etc.

[Q] old school xoom-like system bar

Hello, I'm debating on replacing my Xoom WiFi I bought on launch day with a nexus 10. Would you say its a good upgrade or should I hold off for something newer. I always try to buy Google experience devices. My phone is a sprint g nex back up is a nexus s 4g. Well they faux GED.
Is there a ROM available to change out the navigation buttons and top notification bar to the old system bar with navigation keys at the left and notification tray to the right? I'm running a ROM now on the Xoom where I can switch back and forward and using the old style for going on 2 years I've gotten quite used to it and like the extra screen real estate. Maybe if not there's a ROM like team eos 4 for my Xoom. That gives low profile buttons maybe? Thanks

From someone who has done the same switch, I would personally say stick with the Xoom. Whilst the screen on the N10 is great their isnt a huge amount of other differences to make the switch worthwhile in my opinion considering the N10 is probably 2-3x what you will likely fetch for your Xoom. Also my N10 both with stock and custom ROMs crash way more than my Xoom with EOS ever did!
(Just to qualify the above i am not a tablet gamer and I believe that is where the main differences lie. If you want something to rum the latest games and look stunning doing so then go for it)

cyberkid2002 said:
From someone who has done the same switch, I would personally say stick with the Xoom. Whilst the screen on the N10 is great their isnt a huge amount of other differences to make the switch worthwhile in my opinion considering the N10 is probably 2-3x what you will likely fetch for your Xoom. Also my N10 both with stock and custom ROMs crash way more than my Xoom with EOS ever did!
(Just to qualify the above i am not a tablet gamer and I believe that is where the main differences lie. If you want something to rum the latest games and look stunning doing so then go for it)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the advice, I don't game much and browse the web 99% of the time and use Google docs a little for invoices and that's about it. I'll stick to what I have a little longer then and maybe pick up a used N10 in a year or so. I still have a soft spot for my ole Xoom. Its been the most reliable piece of hardware I've ever bought in my life. When I paid 600 on launch day it made me almost sick to pay that much money for something that's a novelty instead of a tool yo make money with. 2 years later if it broke today I'd say it owes me nothing.
Thanks for a realistic answer I wasn't expecting!

cyberkid2002 said:
From someone who has done the same switch, I would personally say stick with the Xoom. Whilst the screen on the N10 is great their isnt a huge amount of other differences to make the switch worthwhile in my opinion considering the N10 is probably 2-3x what you will likely fetch for your Xoom. Also my N10 both with stock and custom ROMs crash way more than my Xoom with EOS ever did!
(Just to qualify the above i am not a tablet gamer and I believe that is where the main differences lie. If you want something to rum the latest games and look stunning doing so then go for it)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just slap an AOKP ROM on it and say goodbye from all the random reboots. I've had ZERO since I've installed a custom ROM.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using xda app-developers app

dodsonhaycattle said:
Thanks for the advice, I don't game much and browse the web 99% of the time and use Google docs a little for invoices and that's about it. I'll stick to what I have a little longer then and maybe pick up a used N10 in a year or so. I still have a soft spot for my ole Xoom. Its been the most reliable piece of hardware I've ever bought in my life. When I paid 600 on launch day it made me almost sick to pay that much money for something that's a novelty instead of a tool yo make money with. 2 years later if it broke today I'd say it owes me nothing.
Thanks for a realistic answer I wasn't expecting!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I disagree. I made the jump from Xoom to N10... and performance and screen resolution have been worth it. Text is sharp where my Xoom would show a little fuzz. Battery life of the Xoom is superior though. I still kept the Xoom though... Still an awesome device.