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The Transformer is one of the first wifi only honeycomb tablets. I received mine on Friday and here are my thoughts, coming from the ipad and ipad 2.
The build quality is terrific. The textured back is convenient for gripping the tablet. The bezel is thing and not too wide, meaning its perfect for holding the edges while watchng a movie or browsing the net. The Transformer isnt as thin or light as the ipad 2 but its about the same as the original ipad, which was just thin and light enough. Lets just say the weight and thickness is definitely not an issue, and i was more impressed than i thought it would be.
The screen quality is very good. It is bright enough and high res enough as well. Its pretty great. The Transformer uses the same IPS technology as the ipad, and I cant tell a difference.
This is my first experience with Honeycomb as well. No major complaints. It takes a little getting used to, but thats because its not exactly the same as android on the phone, like the ipad is exactly the same as the iphone. Not saying its good or bad, just different. The notifications system is excellent. Its nice that when i get a Words With Friends notification, that it doesnt interrupt everything Im doing and force me to click out to resume. Just a pop up in the bottom right. Love it. Overall i like honeycomb very much. It could use an update or two to improve the speed marketplace layout, and maybe small bugs here and there.
Its nice to have the option of using flash. You can run it on demand so the flash content doesnt load unless you want it too. This means you get all the speed of html5 like the ipad, and you get the versatility of flash when needed. Its nice to have options. Speaking of flash, the browsing experience is top notch. I love the tabbed browsing, it makes browsing so quick. I also like the Chrome sync, which syncs my bookmarks over the air.
Multitasking on the Transformer is very fluid. Once I got used to the multitasking button, i couldnt go back to the ipad way. When you press the multitasking button, you get a thumb view of your most recent apps, instead of just an app icon. The only thing i wish you could do would be to scroll down to see more than five recent apps.
The live widgets on honeycomb are really cool. I especially like the gmail, calendar and bookmarks widgets, where you can scroll through the content without even opening an app. Its a much easier way of getting information than actually opening the app.
The built-in apps like gmail, maps, and gallery are excellent. I instantly found myself actually using gmail like i do on the desktop, instead of having to manage on the ipads email app. You can do all the things you can do on regular gmail, like star, labels and more. Gallery syncs with picasa automatically, so i dont have to put any photos on the internal storage.
Polaris Office apps that come with the Transformer are surprisingly good. I wrote this whole review in the document editor. The MyNet app is a dlna client. I streamed my video from my mac to the Transformer without a problem.
There arent too many honeycomb apps available but more come everyday. The app that are optimized for honeycomb are mostly terrific and i have no doubt that more will come and they will be good as well. Even the non-optimized apps run decent. Its not like the ipad 2x mode at all. You cant even tell that some apps arent optimized in some instances on honeycomb.
I really like the Transformer. The 16gb version is only $399, and its not cheap on build quality. The reason I ditched my ipad 2 for the Transformer was mainly price, but I came away very impressed. Battery life is not an is not an issue. Been using the tablet for a good 5 hours and watched parts of a movie, browsing the web, and stand at 64%.. While the ipad still holds a slight edge for the average consumer, it is no longer a clear cut choice. If you want a cheaper tablet, yet one that doesnt disappoint, the Transformer is the one. Its good enough and there is so much potential in honeycomb, that i am excited to be a part of android on tablets, and this Asus is a winner.
Video to come.
Thanks for the in-depth review it is really going to help me with my decision and now I'm amped to get one
I'm been using android for about a year (first phone was myTouch 3G) and I have been impressed with the openness of it, you can customize so much which fits me perfectly (when I was younger I took things apart just to see how they worked). That's why I'm going to school to become an engineer.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA Premium App
I’ll be starting grad school in the fall and am in the market for a laptop/tablet and currently the Transformer is at the top of my list right now. I was hoping I could get some honest opinions on how the well the transformer works as both a media and productivity device (primarily concerned with the latter). I plan on using it for grad school, but since I’ll also be working a full-time job during the day, hope to use it as a work device as well. I also moonlight as a photographer, and am looking for ways I can incorporate the transformer into that as well.
My main concern is the stability of Android. I’ve owned both an EVO and an HTC HD2 running Android/Windows Phone 7 (thanks xda!), and although I loved the openness and overall capability of Android, the instability and battery life made things too cumbersome at times. My phone doubles as a work and personal device, so I fire off a lot of e-mails all day, view docs, send calls, etc etc. Nothing was more frustrating than having the phone lock up in the middle of something important, or die in the middle of the day if I used it a lot (on days when I need to use it a lot). Currently using an iPhone 4, which I know doesn’t get a whole lot of love around here, but simply works when needed. Not an Apple fanboy by any means…actually an old Windows Mobile guy, but sometimes stability and accessibility are important…particularly for heavy users like me.
Secondly, I’d like to know how productive one can really be on the transformer. What’s piqued my interest about Android on a tablet is the ‘desktop-esque’ experience it provides. As good as iOS to me is on a phone, its utterly neutered and has very little utility on a tablet IMO. For instance, true multi-tasking isn’t too important to me on a phone, but it would be on a tablet. Interested in knowing how well the tablet handles word docs, excel sheets, and PDF files…particularly from those who have experience with the keyboard dock.
Looking for honest answers here, and hope people can look beyond ownership bias. Hoping to hear the good and the bad. I’ve used enough mobile and desktop OS’s and devices to know that nothing is ever perfect.
I can't really comment on the productivity end as I mainly use my Transformer to read, watch videos, play games, and web browse. For what I need it to do it is great. HD videos on YouTube play great. It does have issues playing HD videos that are in mkv format but one they are re-encoded they play great.
The screen is where this thing really shines though. I have yet to see a better screen on a tablet anywhere. None of the HC tablets even come close, imho. I do have some light bleed but it isn't enough to bother me and I don't even see it unless I am in a dark room with the brightness cranked up.
One thing you won't have to worry about is battery life. The battery in this thing is way better than I expected. I can get 2 days with my average use, easy. It also hardly loses any battery when in standby also.
Honeycomb does still need some tweaking but it is not a big problem. There aren't a lot of apps optimized for HC yet but the list will increase with time.
Personally I think you would be better off with a laptop for your needs.
I think you will suffer the same frustration you did with your andriod phones if you are using the tablet for lots of documents, spreadsheets and other office type apllications.
I think these things are really designed for web browsing, casual email, game playing, music & video playing, etc.
You can edit docs etc and the optional keyboard helps a lot, but I think of these as a secondary machine. I have a desk top and a laptop too. At home it has pretty much replaced the laptop but not for work related tasks.
Im new to tablets and android all together. As a computer tech by trade, I figured it would be good to learn somethign new, did some research and went with the transformer. And I must say, coming from a windows & iOS background, Android has been a HUGE let down.
the hardware on the tablet is great. Build quality, the screen, the dock works wonderfully. USB ports that charge my phone. etc. All top notch.
Android is the downfall of the eee pad. To get the tablet to perform anywhere near the capabilty of my iPhone or PC, its about 5x the amount of work.
Video playback is a joke. when I try to copy any file over 3 or 4 gigs onto it, it crashes. And of all the videos ive copied over, only 2 worked properly. Even supported file formats are iffy at times.
App support is also very weak. The list of apps on this site that are supported by the eee pad is pretty much all you get. Which is sad compared to the App support that the iPad / win7 tablets have.
From a work standpoint, the failure of the proxy support is huge. I have to use a proxy server at work for my devices to function properly. Laptop: works fine. iPhone: works fine. Android: doesnt work at all. Native proxy support in 3.1 just doesnt work. Using apps to get proxy support KIND of works, but is flakey at best. If your work/school relies on proxy servers , then dont expect to use the eeePad there.
Hotspots.. again, a big problem. Bluetooth tethering KIND of worked for me, but since the proxy support is so shoddy, that started interfering with tethering when proxy wasnt needed and... you guessed it, didnt work. Not only that but for proper adhoc tethering , youll have to root the device and install a custom kernal or something.
So, all those issues are Honeycomb related. Gonna hit the same problems on the Xoom or anythign else that uses 3.x The only reason im keeping my eee pad is because software issues get worked out in time. They better... because right now this thing is just a giant paper weight for me. still on the edge of returning it and buying it again later once all the problems are fixed. So ya, it may be able to handle word, excel and such documents (so can the iPad by the way), but with such severe connectivity and networking issues, it really doesnt matter. *shrugs. honesty! EP121 anyone?
The TF would be good to SUPPLEMENT a full desktop or more powerful laptop but it could never be my primary machine. I need the application/device support of windows.
Being said if I had a computer at home I could have made it through college with the transformer as my mobile device.
As for the guy above me i havent experienced any of his issues. It only supports a few video files but that goes for all android stock media players. Recoding them to mp4/m4v in handbrake results in flawless video playback, never had a failure.
Apps are weak, its a new ecosystem. Like the ipad when it came out the vast majority of the "compatible" apps are just the phone apps scaled up. That will change.
Not sure about the proxy, havent encountered that. Ive never had a hotspot issue. In a restaurant, at work, using my Evo to wireless tether or on the plane. Its connected to every "infrastructure AP" network Ive ever tried and that is all I encounter. I have never had a need to connect AdHoc.
Before I got my tablet, I had imagined all these things I would use it for.
I was going to be able to do all of the following on one device!
For productivity:
- Check emails
- Read textbooks in pdf format, be able to highlight, save bookmarks and annotations...all in digital format.
- Use office programs like Word & Excel for typing up papers and creating charts.
- Watch video lectures & tutorials
- Use Anki flashcards
For entertainment:
- Watch videos from streaming sites
- Have a library of HD movies/miniseries on the device
- Be able to HDMI out my video library wherever I was
- Have emulators with a whole bunch of games I could play whenever I had down time
- play Android market games
This is what happened after I got the Transformer:
I realized I could do all the above, but ended up going to other devices because it just felt cumbersome on a tablet.
About all I used the tablet for was to watch videos and...watch videos..oh yeah and casual web browsing.
- Checking emails...I ended up just pulling out my phone.
- Reading textbooks...not many available in PDF...and it's not that great on a digital screen. Writing notes...don't even try it...even with one of those capacitative pens.
- Word and Excel are ok...but you can't do multi worksheet formulas...etc. I ended up just using my laptop or desktop.
- Video lectures...a lot of them required plugins and the browser/OS did not support that...back to laptop.
- Videos from streaming sites...choppy...unwatchable.
- HD movies...commonly downloaded ones dont work...had to re-encode or transcode at least 80% of them.
- HDMI haven't tested....I had to return my transformer...since the touch screen locked up.
Emulators...never did it.
- Android games...as a gamer...I find the current crop of games to be too simplistic and boring (minus Spectral Souls)
I have another one on order that's arriving today, so I'm still giving it a chance. Maybe I'm not using it properly...in any case it is still a pretty cool device to have around. I would consider it a borderline second device...but more like a third (i.e. Desktop for true power productivity/gaming, Laptop for moderate mobile productivity, then a Tablet when you go on quick vacations and you don't want to carry the others).
I would look for something like a laptop that cam run windows and android at the same time. Like the viewsonic pro.. acer w 500..better yet the evolve three convertible.
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk
I have my Transformer for about 2 weeks now. Actually today is the day I would have to decide either to keep it or to return it back to BB. Just finally got the keyboard dock just 2 days ago. My perseption before and after having it is completely different.
Before having it, I was really excited, kind of hoping finally the perfect device has arrived. A perfect device that can do everything I need.
I kind of know from reading everywhere, mostly from this forum what to expect and what is not there yet. Yet I finally decided to buy it with big hopes that with time, everything will be there. Buying the transformer also means I decided to invest in the Honeycomb platform rather than others (like iPad). I have no luxury of keep buying new devices, so I had to be careful to choose and decide.
My previous experience with Android was very good indeed (have a HTC Evo, my first Android phone). Before that, I always used Windows Mobile phone, which did everything I needed.
Well, my HTC Evo did everything and more, and that's why I had a big hope with the transformer/honeycomb. I chose the transformer among other honeycomb tablets for some obvious reasons: the keyboard dock that has the USB ports and the SD Card reader, and extra battery.
I also like photography and I needed to make sure I can use it to transfer pictures from my camera SD Card to an external HDD. I checked and found out the transformer does that perfectly, with the NTFS support right out of the box. That's incredible in my opinion.
I also imagined I would be able to connect to my work network and do anything I needed to via Citrix. And for personal communication, there is a Yahoo Messenger, Google Talk, and Skype.
After getting it, my expectation dropped and everyday is a learning day for me, as well as improvement day.
My first day with the transformer, I got all my emails setup (dual Exchange support! My Evo does not do that (I heard some custom ROM can do that), then I could not find Yahoo Messenger (dissapointed, well, there is a Yahoo messenger for my android phone, and its perfect!), Skype is a phone version and looks weird and many features missing (video call is the most important missing feature).
Day after day, until now, I still do the improvement jobs, and got many items not available previously. Got Yahoo Messenger from a good guy here in the forum, got a battery indicator wigdet from this forum also, and many bug fixes here and there.
For work purposes, I also drop my expectation. The connection from Citrix client in honeycomb takes very long (3-5 minutes) while from my Evo it takes much quicker. Not sure why, I contacted Citrix support about this. They said they both should perform the same as the core are the same, but they behaves differently.
Checking email only is not enough for me, if somebody sent an email, it comes with an issue to fix.
Yes, its hard to decide to let it go, or continue to keep it. I decide to continue to keep it, again, with hope, over time, things get better and better.
What do I gain from the transformer compared to my netbook?
Well, battery life, like many said here, is very exceptional. I got 2 full days. 1 day plus without the keyboard dock before. Really full day till night, with everything I do, from emails, browsing, youtube, reading, etc.
Instant on and ready. Wifi always on.
No spinning harddrive. No heat.
I was surprised! The device was not hot at all. Very different even compared to my Windows phone, connect to the wifi to a while and you can feel the heat. I'm not even talking about my netbook.
And I agree that many said here that its not a primary/replacement device. I still need my Windows machine to do most of the work.
It pains me to agree, but the above coments are true, as follower of android from day one. to anyone who has used an rooted/jailbroken ipad, honeycomb is way behind, to be honest google should be ashamed. as i type this on my transformer the lag is horendous. with the ipad you can nearly replace a netbook, full printing, ipgages and numbers are real tablet work tools. The TF is just about ok for web browsing, but just. As a media device it sucks. I tried to watch a streaming movie on movie stream, ok it plays but stutters and is awful. switched on my now ancient ipad with 256mb ram clicked on istream net and bang same movie looking almost 720p smooth as a nut. All the points brought against the ipad now seem to be a joke to me, even the no flash issue. Ok you have limited access by usb and SD card but there is some plus work arounds. I mentioned on a Archos site that i could stream any movie via air video from a crappy netbook hooked up to a 1TB HDD and if not in playable format they could be converted on the fly, this is over a local wireless network or over 3g anywhereon the ipadand they all took the piss, but its true. As an owner of a TF and Ipad, I have togive credit to ASUS, i love the concept. But as stated in an earlier post, I will be reaching for my HTC desire or IPAD more than the transformer. Lets hope Google step up, and support ASUS and the other manuacturers.
If honeycomb worked like the ipadit would blow apple out of the water. Anyway going to watch Tron on my year old Ipad.
i have to echo most of the above sentiment.
this is such a good idea, but it's just not ready...at least for me. i bought it for the reasons the op cited, and i'm let down. the lag kills the experience, even typing this on the keyboard is painful. honeycomb is great for usability imo, and the open ability to customize, but it is flat out slow. the browser is capable, but slowdolphin is buggy, adbloc is hard to come by (that works properly)
editing docs in polari is slow, screen rotation is slow, it's just everything i so slow. my dell mini 9 runs faster for the few times i need to doc edit, and the ipad run circles around it in terms of tablet function (but has several huge letdowns in its own right)
the one difference from some of the above posters is that i won't hang onto it and hope software gets smoothed out, by the time that happens we will have at leat one generation newer devices, maybe 2...so suffer with inferior experience to be outdated..not for me.
As I sai in another thread, i see this concept as the future...without doubt. my days of wanting to pay to beta test are over though.
Edit from my iPad. - see all those missing letters at the ends of words, that was typed with the dock..that's how bad lag is. I see no choice but to return it, I can't see google/ ASus releasing a realistic fix in the next couple weeks...but I hope I'm wrong.
Stability: maybe I'm lucky but I find Transformer to be VERY stable. Only FCs I have were when closing some game and maybe once in the browser.
Honest opinion: it's still only a toy. Don't expect it to be able to do anything better (or even on par with) than laptop or PC - but it is quite a good toy for many thins.
Right now I do most of my browsing on Transformer, for browsing it's in some things better than computers/laptops but in others it lacks greately (adblock, lack of extenstions in browser). It's also great for comics and PDF. And it's quite good for small games (Aporkalypse is great!).
I bought it mostly to write applications for it. In my personal opinion the OS is just great. The apps are mostly a mess with some pearls in it - like Newsr which just great or Dolphine Browser HD (or many others that you can find mentioned here and there on this forum). The problem is there is quite a huge lack of pearls in some departments. But it will change, I don't see what could stop it.
SCARED
I wish I had not read this thread. I´m very exited to collect my TF tomorrow. Looking forward to it for weeks. Planning on using it on the couch for browsing, playing with some apps, reading and responding to email, hanging around in a variety of forums etc.
Same as I do now with my HTC Desire and Asus T101MT netbook...so no really heavy stuff...
But as I read all these unsatisfied experiences I feel a bit uncertain about it. I mean I´m not an Applefanboy (ok, I do own an iPod) and I always feel a bit pity for all those people who buy an iPad just because it's an iPad...but now I'm in doubt...
Is this toy really that bad???
jpvdw said:
I wish I had not read this thread. I´m very exited to collect my TF tomorrow. Looking forward to it for weeks. Planning on using it on the couch for browsing, playing with some apps, reading and responding to email, hanging around in a variety of forums etc.
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Click to collapse
For things like that it's great. Only problem is that on some forums (this one is an example) most browsers are slow (but usable and with keyboard dock it should be much more easy to write on forums thank using screen keyboard).
Is this toy really that bad???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not.
If you are not sure - go to some shop and play with it for a while. By "it" I mean - any tablet with HoneyComb.
Well after using the TF for about 3 weeks, I have to admit it is only a good toy. If you want productivity at school and home, stay away from the tablet form factor as a whole. HC is good, but the app support is bad, and its still a platform which is evolving. Other than watching YouTube videos, I don't use it much. The stock browser even on 3.1 is bad and slow. The browsing experience is way better on the laptop than this one.
Will try the Tab 10.1 too and see if it has a better experience. Otherwise, I don't feel the need for a tablet now, especially keeping in mind the current state of HC. Won't go for an iPad because I feel 4:3 aspect ratio is ridiculous.
Great toy for work and home. Wife loves it and my 7 year old enjoys it. Is hc beta? yes. Will it get better? yes
What's wrong with document editing in Polaris? Certainly it's a good deal better, in UI and features, than say QuickOffice or Doc2Go. I don't know if the rest of you are trying to manage complex multi-sheet spreadsheets or something, but for basic word processing it seems more or less adequate. Some people have weird and unrealistic expectations.
Be realistic as to what to expect
im new to the tablet and android world. When i bought the tablet, i wasnt expecting it to replace my laptop for heavy duty usage. Simply not there yet..
Allow me to give you and example of every day usage for me:
My tablet is always on.(sleep mode) i wake up, check my emails, the news, weather, all while im still in bed. I even check XDA forum to see the latest "oh no..im returning the transformer (sad Face)" thread...
when i get home, i do the same, but this time i sit in front of my tv, watch some nba finals, lookup some articles or "do it yourself" tutorials.. i get bored, open some tabs, tune my guitar (with the TF), and just jam out.. (reading tabs on portrait mode is beautiful)
Then my little girl gets to play on my "little computer" (barn stack, angry birds, read a long stories, etc.... which came in super handy on our recent road trip)
Before bed, i lookup some reviews on Netflix, add them to my instant queue, fire up the TV, check my Chase account (also app), more emails,
its convenient..
just last night i wanted to be nos and see how much the house on our street is selling for.. (zillow App) quick, with a gorgeous map. My xboxlive app notifies me of whose online.. just a lot of cool features
And im sure im not using the tablet to its full potential.. Ive tried the cloud jsut once (and monitored my laptop as it downloaded some "Stuff"//haha)
grainysand said:
What's wrong with document editing in Polaris? Certainly it's a good deal better, in UI and features, than say QuickOffice or Doc2Go. I don't know if the rest of you are trying to manage complex multi-sheet spreadsheets or something, but for basic word processing it seems more or less adequate. Some people have weird and unrealistic expectations.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lag. Also, the touchpad in the dock is a mess....unless I missed a way to disable tap clicking natively. It really has to be turned off. Polaris as a program is fine, and I liked the easy integration with dropbox...but even editing a light 2 page resume was laggy. It's probably not polaris' fault..the platform is laggy.
@jpvdw I actually think the iPad would be better suited for what you want to do. I see a ton of shortcomings with the iOS devices, but most of them involve getting work done for me. Like uploading files through a web browser and wanting to use a real keyboard (though there are bt options).
I want to move to android...there's just nothing for me to move to that can equal what I get. If maybe the device was 15% faster I'd bear with it.
two things..
first, there has to be a memory leak in one of the stock apps, or os, or something. i can reboot and be working fine for about 10 mins... then it gets all wonky again.
i reset the browser to factory defauults, and it actually seems like it's a bit faster now. even with plugins enabled
People - please DON'T EXPECT tablet performing well as your laptop or desktop replacement....how could a Tegra 2 with integrated GPU comparing to your laptop/desktop power horse!!
Now please go and enjoy your own Transformer device while sitting on the couch, lying on the bed or even in your bathroom (make sure you have accidental damage insurance in case you drop into the water ...)
For me, this tablet makes me more connecting to digital world...well sort of because sometimes I just use my blackberry without tablet or desktop at all...
good luck/enjoy!
rcjpth
Hey, cool forum :good:
I am trying to decide if a Nexus 10 is suitable for me. I currently have a Nexus 4 and a Acer C7 Chromebook.
I mainly browse the internet on sites like reddit, XDA (obv), checking emails and YouTube.
What attracts me to the Nexus is having the stock Android experience combined with killer specs like the screen resolution, I watch a lot of movies so having a high resolution screen is important because I prefer HD content (Who doesn't, right?). Also, will most content on YouTube play on it?
Is the battery life good? And lastly, is it worth getting a screen protector and case with a keyboard?
Crap Username said:
Hey, cool forum :good:
I am trying to decide if a Nexus 10 is suitable for me. I currently have a Nexus 4 and a Acer C7 Chromebook.
I mainly browse the internet on sites like reddit, XDA (obv), checking emails and YouTube.
What attracts me to the Nexus is having the stock Android experience combined with killer specs like the screen resolution, I watch a lot of movies so having a high resolution screen is important because I prefer HD content (Who doesn't, right?). Also, will most content on YouTube play on it?
Is the battery life good? And lastly, is it worth getting a screen protector and case with a keyboard?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Buy. Its very good.
sharp910sh said:
Buy. Its very good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I secnod this, even if I'm having issues with Samsung's service. Hopefully you don't get a defective unit. Love the N10, hate Samsung.
Had my N10 for just over a week and do all the activities in your list. I am very pleased with my purchase. I have a lot of tech devices and am rarely surprised but several times as I customize the UI or find another "cool" app I am amazed at the overall speed of the N10 and how visually impressive it looks.
If you try to use it outside of its intended sphere (media consumption) I asume you could gripe at what it does not do well. Mine replaced a netbook used for media consumption and it blew that away. Viewing emails and short replies are fine but I use my desktop PC for any extensive typing. Right now I do not intend to purchase a bluetooth keyboard.
The lack of accessories can be a pain. I had to make my own dock, so I could watch videos hands free in bed, while waiting for a better solution. It looks crappy but does the job.
I got the N10 early December and haven't regretted it for a moment, I use it for all the activities you list, I travel for work and basically live away 3 to 5 days a week. My work Laptop is VERY locked down as I work in a secure business so the Nexus is my laptop replacement while I'm away, I used to lug two laptops at times but no longer. The Nexus does media, games and browsing in style. I also use it to maintain a couple of websites while I'm away and it works well with the simpler stuff. I wouldn't pretend it's perfect but all round an excellent package and I wouldn't want to go back to hauling two laptops round.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using XDA Premium HD app
3DSammy said:
Had my N10 for just over a week and do all the activities in your list. I am very pleased with my purchase. I have a lot of tech devices and am rarely surprised but several times as I customize the UI or find another "cool" app I am amazed at the overall speed of the N10 and how visually impressive it looks.
If you try to use it outside of its intended sphere (media consumption) I asume you could gripe at what it does not do well. Mine replaced a netbook used for media consumption and it blew that away. Viewing emails and short replies are fine but I use my desktop PC for any extensive typing. Right now I do not intend to purchase a bluetooth keyboard.
The lack of accessories can be a pain. I had to make my own dock, so I could watch videos hands free in bed, while waiting for a better solution. It looks crappy but does the job.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I found the MoKo case w/ bluetooth KB on AMazon for $28 to make a great stand and keyboard case. Keyboard's magnetic and removable, too
I have my Nexus 10 for about a week now and I also hesitated for a good while if I should buy it or not. Now that I've been using it for a while I can safely say that it was an awesome purchase.
The screen is brilliant, it's lightning fast, the build quality is top notch (none of the hardware errors that made me so worried in the first place, very solid back etc.) and it does everything I want it to do.
I got a Logitech bluetooth keyboard to go with it (you can find it here) - it says it is for the iPad, but everything works just fine for Android. It's big enough to make typing a breeze and I use it all the time during my classes.
Battery life is very good at about 8-10 hours of heavy usage (brightness adjusted to about ~30%), which lasts me the entire day and I never need to worry about running out before I get through the day.
Make sure you get a nice case for it as well and you're all set. I read so much about reboots and lockups, but during this week I've used the devise intensely and I didn't get a single reboot or lockup. I think Chrome crashed on me once and that certainly is nothing to complain about.
Media playback feels sooo nice - the screen really shines when watching movies and the speakers are also really good.
I was weighing so many options - the Transformer Prime, different Asus und Acer tabs, I even looked at the Surface RT and the Sony Xperia Tablet Z which is gonna be released soon. It was a close call between buying the Nexus 10 now or waiting for the Xperia Z - in the end the small battery on the Xperia Z made the difference for me. I need at least 8 hours usage from my tablet and I wouldn't have gotten that from the Sony device, so I'm very, very happy.
It's the best tablet out right now and I'm saying that after watching hours of Youtube reviews, reading on a lot of sites and finally having the Nexus 10 at home. You can't go wrong with it!
I love mine. It was a Christmas gift from my wife and I've used it everyday since. I use it for what you described. I'm not much of a gamer, but every so often I might play something.
Regrading battery life, mine is more than acceptable. Over the weekend I got over 48 hours before having to charge it (about 5 1/2 hours of screen on time) and yesterday, with heavy usage, I got 7 1/2 hours of screen on time.
One bit of advice, if you can, buy it locally from Walmart or Staples instead of going through the Play Store. Unfortunately, there are some units that suffer from bad light bleed and other issues. Exchanging it at a store will be easier than the RMA process with Google.
Even I'm stuck wid the same problem... One of my czn's got the N10, and he's getting a 100% CPU load wid nothing on it.... No background process, nothing else.... And reading abt the defected ones is so scary, that to me, every second N10 seems to be defected (Okay... that's a bit of exaggeration, but yeah, it feels like that...) Would someone recommend a good place to buy an Un-defected N10???
Hey guys! I'm looking to buy an Nexus 10 in the next few weeks but I'd like to get some reviews or opinions on your guys experience after using it for some time now. I have a nexus 4 and am real into the android eco system and all but I also have an Ipad and am worried about the app selection. Do you guys find it lacking? ANyone else have an ipad to compare experiences? I love android but if all Im gonna be doing is using the chrome app then I might as well stick to the Ipad and not spend the extra money. What do you guys think? I use my Ipad for mostly media consumption, web browsing, flipboard, reading books & time magazine and other tablet magazine/newspapers, movies and music, and some productivity stuff. Help me out guys! Also if you have the 16 gig version, are you finding yourself out of space? I may opt for the 32gig.
vibrant808 said:
Hey guys! I'm looking to buy an Nexus 10 in the next few weeks but I'd like to get some reviews or opinions on your guys experience after using it for some time now. I have a nexus 4 and am real into the android eco system and all but I also have an Ipad and am worried about the app selection. Do you guys find it lacking? ANyone else have an ipad to compare experiences? I love android but if all Im gonna be doing is using the chrome app then I might as well stick to the Ipad and not spend the extra money. What do you guys think? I use my Ipad for mostly media consumption, web browsing, flipboard, reading books & time magazine and other tablet magazine/newspapers, movies and music, and some productivity stuff. Help me out guys! Also if you have the 16 gig version, are you finding yourself out of space? I may opt for the 32gig.
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After 4 months of using my Nexus 10 it's defiantly one of my favorite devices that I own, my friend was a hard core ipad user but he recently switched to a Nexus 10 and really likes it. As far as app wise, Android has come a long way in regards to tablet optimized app's and virtually all of the major app's are optimized for tablets. For media consumption I love using the Nexus 10 I often find myself watching Netflix on that at night because of the great screen over my TV. It's also great for regular movies, and tv shows you have loaded on and the speakers for music are quite loud for a tablet. Web browsing is great with chrome fast and smooth. I haven't tired flipboard personally so I can't comment on that unfortunately, for magazines and newspapers most seem to read nicely but a couple of them can be oddly formatted. For productivity, I use app's like Photo Editor and Sketchbook Pro for Tablets which all work well in usage experiences. As far as storage goes I have the 32 GB version and I am glad I went for it over the 16 GB because there is not sd-card slot it's better to have the storage capacity for when you need it rather then being frustrated when you run out of storage room.
I've also had it for 4 months. I'm a full time student and I find myself using my tablet every day as opposed to my computer. Honestly I didn't expect it to be as useful as it turned out to be. The only thing I can't use it for is advanced video editing. And the only thing that I prefer doing on my computer rather than Nexus is typing long essays. I don't actually have a tablet keyboard though so I imagine it would be much smoother with a physical keyboard and mouse.
As previously stated, my Nexus 10 is an awesome media device. I have a lot of 3D action games that I enjoy playing. Plus whenever I go a few days without my Nexus, I'm always blown away by how crisp the screen is when I come back. You never permanently get used to the high quality screen.
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Just wondering as that would be my main use, or should I just wait for the nexus 10?
If you will use the S-Pen a lot, for writing notes/drawing/etc: definitely buy this tablet, 100%
if you won't use the S-Pen much: wait for the nexus 10
simple as that
Or if you want to use multitasking features
Sent from my SM-P600 using Tapatalk 4
Yes, it's terrific for reading on
I'm using it to look at PDF's, ebooks, and reading comics on it - the screen is fantastic, and one thing this has going for it is the microsd support - you can store a ton of things on it that way.
I upgraded from the original note 10.1 just for the better screen resolution for ebook reading. Most of my medical textbooks were available in Adobe DRM PDF format and the new note is much easier on my eyes as well as faster dealing with 2,000 page books with oodles of pictures. As others have said though, if you are not going to use the same pen, the next Nexus may be a better deal for you.
Sent from my SM-P600 using Tapatalk 4
I'm not going to use the s-pen that much to be honest. Just wondering how this tablet displayed pdf's and ebooks, apparently pretty good . I'll wait to see if google announces the new nexus 10 tomorrow at their event. I'd be interested in the resolution and if it has an sd card slot, if it doesnt then I'm leaning towards this tablet. What about videos? Netflix, youtube, your movies off an sdcard? Any issues? buffering?
SysAdmNj said:
I'm not going to use the s-pen that much to be honest. Just wondering how this tablet displayed pdf's and ebooks, apparently pretty good . I'll wait to see if google announces the new nexus 10 tomorrow at their event. I'd be interested in the resolution and if it has an sd card slot, if it doesnt then I'm leaning towards this tablet. What about videos? Netflix, youtube, your movies off an sdcard? Any issues? buffering?
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Nexus devices have a history of not including a sd card slot and the resolution would probably be similar to the note 10.1.
Videos work great as on any other recent android device but the nice thing about this one is you can multitask very easily with some apps like youtube or the built in video player and play a video on one side or in a floating window while you do something else.
ChrisNee1988 said:
Nexus devices have a history of not including a sd card slot and the resolution would probably be similar to the note 10.1.
Videos work great as on any other recent android device but the nice thing about this one is you can multitask very easily with some apps like youtube or the built in video player and play a video on one side or in a floating window while you do something else.
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I know about the nexus devices but just maybe they may change that with the nexus 10 but thats just wishful thinking. The multitasking sounds cool, wish it worked with apps of your choice. Like youtube on one and and some workout timer on the other window. Hearing a little bit about lag especially in apps like flipboard? Samsung has made a rep of lagging their devices up like the samsung galaxy s4 which I sold for the Lg g2.
SysAdmNj said:
I know about the nexus devices but just maybe they may change that with the nexus 10 but thats just wishful thinking. The multitasking sounds cool, wish it worked with apps of your choice. Like youtube on one and and some workout timer on the other window. Hearing a little bit about lag especially in apps like flipboard? Samsung has made a rep of lagging their devices up like the samsung galaxy s4 which I sold for the Lg g2.
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With root, you should be able to multitask on almost any app. I disabled a lot of the samsung bloat like the eye tracking features and it doesn't lag at all anymore. If you want to make it even faster, you could install a custom launcher like nova, apex, etc. and it should be extremely fast.
Also I have the S4 as well and some custom ROMs really optimized the phone and I get no lag on that anymore either.
If you're not sold on the pen, its still probably best to wait and see. Also one thing to note, nexus tablets have multi-user feature while samsung took that out for some reason.
ChrisNee1988 said:
With root, you should be able to multitask on almost any app. I disabled a lot of the samsung bloat like the eye tracking features and it doesn't lag at all anymore. If you want to make it even faster, you could install a custom launcher like nova, apex, etc. and it should be extremely fast.
Also I have the S4 as well and some custom ROMs really optimized the phone and I get no lag on that anymore either.
If you're not sold on the pen, its still probably best to wait and see. Also one thing to note, nexus tablets have multi-user feature while samsung took that out for some reason.
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There is root for this?
I read ebooks, comics, pdf (magazines and some school papers) on mine without issues. Besides the awesome screen, having the microSD card was key. Those documents that have graphics tend to to be big...and they add up after time. And I must say, simply using the S-pen to flip pages has been useful in keeping the screen clean.
I also have a few movies and TV episodes, as well as a ton of music, and they all run flawlessly directly from the card. I have to do this because I am deployed and I can't stream anything where I'm at (especially when I travel).
As others mentioned, just disable the bloat and you'll be lag free. I was originally planning to install Nova Launcher to keep things fast & clean, but honestly, I hardly had any lag to begin with, and now that I cleaned up some of the bloat, it runs great with the stock Touchwiz (which has certinaly come a long way since I last used Touchwiz when I first got my S3).
I absolutely LOVE the multitasking too! being able to browse the internet with a book, video chat, facebook, or a movie going is absolutely awesome! Quite a few (of the main) apps are supported by the side-by-side multitasking option...I was quite surprised. It's the small hovering window (that you draw with the S-pen) that only supports a small handful of apps.
So if you don't care for the S-pen, the microSD storage option, or the multitasking, then wait for the cheaper Nexus.
SysAdmNj said:
There is root for this?
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Not yet but there probably will be since the note 3 was just rooted and its very similar to this
GitterDunn said:
I read ebooks, comics, pdf (magazines and some school papers) on mine without issues. Besides the awesome screen, having the microSD card was key. Those documents that have graphics tend to to be big...and they add up after time. And I must say, simply using the S-pen to flip pages has been useful in keeping the screen clean.
I also have a few movies and TV episodes, as well as a ton of music, and they all run flawlessly directly from the card. I have to do this because I am deployed and I can't stream anything where I'm at (especially when I travel).
As others mentioned, just disable the bloat and you'll be lag free. I was originally planning to install Nova Launcher to keep things fast & clean, but honestly, I hardly had any lag to begin with, and now that I cleaned up some of the bloat, it runs great with the stock Touchwiz (which has certinaly come a long way since I last used Touchwiz when I first got my S3).
I absolutely LOVE the multitasking too! being able to browse the internet with a book, video chat, facebook, or a movie going is absolutely awesome! Quite a few (of the main) apps are supported by the side-by-side multitasking option...I was quite surprised. It's the small hovering window (that you draw with the S-pen) that only supports a small handful of apps.
So if you don't care for the S-pen, the microSD storage option, or the multitasking, then wait for the cheaper Nexus.
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ChrisNee1988 said:
Not yet but there probably will be since the note 3 was just rooted and its very similar to this
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How much battery life are you getting per charge?
SysAdmNj said:
How much battery life are you getting per charge?
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About 5-6 hours of screen on time with moderate to heavy use. If you're just going to be reading, it'll probably last a lot longer than that.
SysAdmNj said:
How much battery life are you getting per charge?
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I have only had it for a few days, but I have not had to charge it each night. It's on par with my other tablet...which is pretty good. Probably a good full work day (or school day) of heavy use, otherwise, more with light use.
SysAdmNj said:
Just wondering as that would be my main use, or should I just wait for the nexus 10?
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If that is your main use, I suggest saving 70% of price and buy a Nook HD+. Seriously. I have the Nook HD+ and besides a few games that are resource hogs (Asphalt 7 and Vice City), the HD+ is great for everything else and blows away my two Tegra 3 tablets for game emulators like MAME, PSP and N64. Asphalt 8 actually plays smooth on it, so 7 must really have been a hog.
Since however you are mainly reading, the Nook HD+ has a better form factor for reading (4:3 and 1" smaller overall) and you save 70% of the cost of a Sammy 2014. It lasts at least nine hours if just reading, but not tested until dead. About 7.5 hours with mix of browsing, videos, games, etc. 3D games though tend to drain quicker, so the number goes down from there.
rushless said:
If that is your main use, I suggest saving 70% of price and buy a Nook HD+. Seriously. I have the Nook HD+ and besides a few games that are resource hogs (Asphalt 7 and Vice City), the HD+ is great for everything else and blows away my two Tegra 3 tablets for game emulators like MAME, PSP and N64. Asphalt 8 actually plays smooth on it, so 7 must really have been a hog.
Since however you are mainly reading, the Nook HD+ has a better form factor for reading (4:3 and 1" smaller overall) and you save 70% of the cost of a Sammy 2014. It lasts at least nine hours if just reading, but not tested until dead. About 7.5 hours with mix of browsing, videos, games, etc. 3D games though tend to drain quicker, so the number goes down from there.
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I actually went with the nexus 7 2013, Guess 1/2 the price and weight. I like it so far for my needs.
SysAdmNj said:
I actually went with the nexus 7 2013, Guess 1/2 the price and weight. I like it so far for my needs.
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I would definitely recommend the nexus 7 over any other 7-8 inch tablet.
SysAdmNj said:
I'm not going to use the s-pen that much to be honest. Just wondering how this tablet displayed pdf's and ebooks, apparently pretty good . I'll wait to see if google announces the new nexus 10 tomorrow at their event. I'd be interested in the resolution and if it has an sd card slot, if it doesnt then I'm leaning towards this tablet. What about videos? Netflix, youtube, your movies off an sdcard? Any issues? buffering?
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Nexus won't likely have removable storage, but is rumored to have a 64GB option. Something to think about though, is if you're going to be reading a lot on the tablet, using the S-pen to more easily highlight text and make annotations is handy.
PS: Videos look AMAZING on this! Full 1080p videos play from my MicroSD card fine with MX Player Pro!