I bought a 32gb Nexus 10 from Staples over the weekend and am enjoying it, but I realize that I'm seven months late to this hardware (while still paying full price). Is there anything coming in the next month that I should return this unit for? A high PPI is a must at this point.
Thanks.
Samsung was trying to get a Nexus 11 going and had specs for it, but at the time Google had not yet approved the production of it. No word has been heard since then about a new model upgrade for the Nexus 10.
trimalchioinwestegg said:
I bought a 32gb Nexus 10 from Staples over the weekend and am enjoying it, but I realize that I'm seven months late to this hardware (while still paying full price). Is there anything coming in the next month that I should return this unit for? A high PPI is a must at this point.
Thanks.
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The next Nexus 7 will probably come out in a month or so, if you're okay with a 7" tablet. If you must have 10", the high-end announcements so far are a new Asus Transformer Pad Infinity, not coming till the fall, and the Toshiba Excite Pro, coming next month, both running Tegra 4 and with the same 2560 X 1600 resolution as the Nexus 10. If you want a stylus, the Toshiba Excite Write is the same as the Pro, but with a Wacom digitizer and a stylus.
There are always new announcements being made in the runup to the holidays, this is just what we know so far. We can't say how good any of these devices will be, as none of them are out yet.
Just got the Toshiba Excite Write
And it looks to be a damn fine tablet. Antutu scored 28k+ and the graphics power is phenomenal. Has built in video and audio enhancements, seems pretty stable on this kernal build, although I expect an update soon because of a couple of weird quirks. The stylus works great (love the eraser by turning over the pen!), but not as developed as the Note 10.1, however, the screen rez is fantastic at 320 DPI and looks as good as the Nexus 10. The rear camera is REALLY great...best I've seen so far on a tablet, and the speakers are clear as a bell with excellent surround sound controlled in hardware, so anything you play gets enhanced. It does get a little warm on the left side under the camera when running an intensive app.
If you have any questions or requests, fire away!
babblin5 said:
And it looks to be a damn fine tablet. Antutu scored 28k+ and the graphics power is phenomenal. Has built in video and audio enhancements, seems pretty stable on this kernal build, although I expect an update soon because of a couple of weird quirks. The stylus works great (love the eraser by turning over the pen!), but not as developed as the Note 10.1, however, the screen rez is fantastic at 320 DPI and looks as good as the Nexus 10. The rear camera is REALLY great...best I've seen so far on a tablet, and the speakers are clear as a bell with excellent surround sound controlled in hardware, so anything you play gets enhanced. It does get a little warm on the left side under the camera when running an intensive app.
If you have any questions or requests, fire away!
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I will keep my tablet thanks. At least I know my benchmark scores are 100% raw horsepower and not shady nVidia "optimizations".
brees75 said:
I will keep my tablet thanks. At least I know my benchmark scores are 100% raw horsepower and not shady nVidia "optimizations".
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Suit yourself, but that's a lot of wasted CPU cycles and amps there for a misplaced sense of "power." Mobile devices are all about optimization right now, and if the reports show the device to be fully usable, then you're unlikely to run into issues. Certainly this has my eye.
babblin5 said:
And it looks to be a damn fine tablet. Antutu scored 28k+ and the graphics power is phenomenal. Has built in video and audio enhancements, seems pretty stable on this kernal build, although I expect an update soon because of a couple of weird quirks. The stylus works great (love the eraser by turning over the pen!), but not as developed as the Note 10.1, however, the screen rez is fantastic at 320 DPI and looks as good as the Nexus 10. The rear camera is REALLY great...best I've seen so far on a tablet, and the speakers are clear as a bell with excellent surround sound controlled in hardware, so anything you play gets enhanced. It does get a little warm on the left side under the camera when running an intensive app.
If you have any questions or requests, fire away!
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How did you get your hands on it? None of the major tech sites have even reviewed it yet and they say it's not supposed to be delivered to buyers for another week.
How does it compare to the Nexus 10 otherwise? Specifically, the resolution is the same, but are the colors as good or better? Forget about benchmarks, do you notice any differences in a quad-core A15 compared to the dual-core A15 in the Nexus 10 in real-world use? What is battery life like with such a powerful CPU? Do the speakers go louder than the Nexus 10's speakers, when cranked up to the max? Can you post some pics from the rear camera, so we can see how good it is?
I'm happy with my Nexus 10, so I doubt I'll be picking up another tablet for a while. But I'm curious how these upcoming spec-hogs will compare to the current spec-hog king, the Nexus 10.
joakim_one said:
How did you get your hands on it? None of the major tech sites have even reviewed it yet and they say it's not supposed to be delivered to buyers for another week.
How does it compare to the Nexus 10 otherwise? Specifically, the resolution is the same, but are the colors as good or better? Forget about benchmarks, do you notice any differences in a quad-core A15 compared to the dual-core A15 in the Nexus 10 in real-world use? What is battery life like with such a powerful CPU? Do the speakers go louder than the Nexus 10's speakers, when cranked up to the max? Can you post some pics from the rear camera, so we can see how good it is?
I'm happy with my Nexus 10, so I doubt I'll be picking up another tablet for a while. But I'm curious how these upcoming spec-hogs will compare to the current spec-hog king, the Nexus 10.
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I don't have a Nexus 10 at the moment for direct comparisons, but I personally think the brightness and color are at least on par. I do feel that the viewing angles aren't quite as high however in the Write. Don't know if this has anything to do with the digitizer or not. The pic of my kitteh was taken with the rear camera in room light, but I'll shoot a few more and post.
I also think that the Write's Tegra 4 delivers the goods in gameplay, even when set to balance mode, there's no stuttering in anything I've thrown at it so far, and Autocad 360 rendering is blazingly fast in real time 3D view, even when rotating fully rendered 3d models. I'm not sure how well the Nexus 10 would handle the same stuff, especially in power saving mode.
I do question the battery life a bit, as it seems to chew through the battery at times, and at this point I'm kind of doubting the life claimed by Toshiba. I'm not sure if the current kernel build is fully optimized yet, as there's at least one major issue when streaming or watching video, both through Google Play or from a file saved on the SD card. The screen goes black after a few seconds of playback, although the sound continues to play. Pressing the power button to put it in sleep mode, then again to wake it up, solves the issue and everything plays and streams fine after that. YouTube streaming doesn't have this issue. Also, it doesn't matter which player you use, it still does it, which leads me to believe that the unit I got might still have an early, unoptimized build on it. I seriously can't see them mass shipping with that kind of readily apparent bug, but who knows?
The sound is also a bit odd. It seems pretty muted, even at full volume, when playing any type of media. Games are plenty loud though, and the stereo separation and surround enhancements are simply stellar, even when I have the thing parked on my lap. I strongly suspect that there's some sort of limit as to the max volume switched on in the hardware to avoid blowing out the speakers or something, or it could be in the kernel itself...I honestly don't know at this point. I just know that the maximum volume is significantly lower in media playback for some strange reason.
As for how I got it, I'm just as amazed as you are. I pre ordered on July 2, and the shipping date showed July 3 on my order. I called toshiba and asked them if this was correct, and was told that they weren't scheduled to ship until the 18th. I thought they'd go in and change the date after I called attention to the ship date, but it stayed showing the 3rd. Low and behold the next day I got an email with a tracking number, and sure enough it arrived the following Monday due to the delay caused by the 4th (2 day shipping).
Was it a mistake? I have no frigging idea, and feel pretty privileged to have one before any of the major sites have reviewed it. Here's a pic of the tablet and box it came in, to satisfy any doubters that might be out there, as well as the invoice that came with it.
babblin5 said:
Was it a mistake? I have no frigging idea, and feel pretty privileged to have one before any of the major sites have reviewed it. Here's a pic of the tablet and box it came in, to satisfy any doubters that might be out there, as well as the invoice that came with it.
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Thanks for the info, sounds like a nice device, although with some early hiccups. This is the first Tegra 4 device on the market, now that the Nvidia Shield has been postponed, so I was curious how it would do.
How long does it last in normal, continuous usage? My Nexus 10 goes about 5-6 hours.
joakim_one said:
Thanks for the info, sounds like a nice device, although with some early hiccups. This is the first Tegra 4 device on the market, now that the Nvidia Shield has been postponed, so I was curious how it would do.
How long does it last in normal, continuous usage? My Nexus 10 goes about 5-6 hours.
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I'd say it's at least 5-6 hours, but nowhere near the 9-11 that Toshiba claims.
Here's some photos off the rear camera of the Excite Write.
Excellent stuff, thanks for posting babblin :thumbup: I have one heading my way (shipped July 12th) and will admit to a certain amount of trepidation since that last 5 tablets I've tried to buy (2 Nexus 10, 2 Nexus 7, 1 Xperia Tablet Z) were faulty out of the box.
I'm curious — although I suppose I'll find out for myself soon enough unless it's a total dud — does stylus pressure register in any drawing app (eg. SketchBook)?
TellTenPeople said:
Excellent stuff, thanks for posting babblin :thumbup: I have one heading my way (shipped July 12th) and will admit to a certain amount of trepidation since that last 5 tablets I've tried to buy (2 Nexus 10, 2 Nexus 7, 1 Xperia Tablet Z) were faulty out of the box.
I'm curious — although I suppose I'll find out for myself soon enough unless it's a total dud — does stylus pressure register in any drawing app (eg. SketchBook)?
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I'm not sure, but I'll check into it. I did use it to sign a PDF though, which was pretty cool...
babblin5 said:
If you have any questions or requests, fire away!
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What is the available ram after reboot? The N10 GPU takes 800 meg now so only ~1.2gig available.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
no.
this tablet will long for the next 3 years at least
rxnelson said:
What is the available ram after reboot? The N10 GPU takes 800 meg now so only ~1.2gig available.
T
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
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I have quite a few things running in background, and it's using .89 gb
To the OP...
There is "ALWAYS" a better tablet coming soon. You should never, ever, ever purchase a tab because of what is around the corner.
Of course this means that you'd never, ever, ever own a tablet either
I don't see a problem with an N10 purchase around this time, after all, I purchased one last month. The closest "reviewed" tab is the Sony 10.1" tab and it's not enough of a boost over an N10 to warrant upgrading from the N10 to one.
Specification wise, other than a microSD slot (which has less benefit with each release of Android due to DRM), camera and the ability to take it swimming (water isn't good for the Nexus), the N10 still seems to have the top specs. Screen resolution, audio quality and several GPU benchmarks appear to have the N10 still in the lead.
This fall? That's when you'll likely see some 10" tablet refreshes.
babblin5 said:
Here's some photos off the rear camera of the Excite Write.
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Nice, there's no way the Nexus 10 produces shots like those, with its below-average camera. Looks like a clear win for the Excite Write camera, though I barely use the camera on my Nexus 10, so not a big deal for me.
To answer my own question, the Toshiba Write doesn't get pressure sensitivity — much less good performance — out of either SketchBook Pro or Ink. It does, however, do a nibble job in HandyNote Pro which is why I bought it.
The normal swiping and app switching is not quite as smooth as I was expecting from the "next gen" Tegra 4 — especially not in Balanced performance mode. I also find it odd that it has a dedicated charging port which I keep mistaking for the headphone/mic jack, but at least it charges reasonably quickly which is good because battery life leaves something to be desired — like more of it.
Nevertheless, I'm still giddy from actually being sent a tablet without any discernible defects. 6th time the charm And it only took 8 months.
Update - July 29, 2013:
I celebrated too soon — defects discerned.
1) Brightness fluctuates even with Auto-brightness OFF. The screen seems to go brighter when displaying light content and dimmer when displaying dark content. It does it abruptly and annoyingly at any brightness and there's no way to disable it.
2) Dust under screen protector or, worse, glass. The Write, like the Xperia Tablet Z, seems to have a factory installed screen protector over the glass. Whether the dust was under this protector or the glass I could not tell. The two Nexus 10 I had (and returned) had stuff under the glass so it's possible.
I contacted Toshiba Canada and they sent me a box to send it back to them for service. At least they're paying for all the shipping.
After a week's heavy use, I have to say that either the OS is still unoptimised for the hardware, or the tablet I got was defective (not beyond the realm of possibility). The Balanced mode was very stutter-y and sluggish especially in app switching. Maximum Performance mode was smoother but ran real hot and got about 6 hours battery life.
Furthermore, some apps (including the built-in Think Free Office) flickered when the onscreen keyboard was engaged. Also happened with the xda-developer app and Flick Note and a few others but not with Google Docs or Evernote so I suspect it's down to app/OS optimisation for high res screens. Does the Nexus 10 have this problem?
Related
Alright guys, as promised here is my in-depth review of the Droid Xyboard 10.1
Its important to note that I’m coming from an Archos 101 tablet, Gen 8 model, running Froyo, on a 1Ghz ARM processor with 256 MB of Ram!
I also have a Motrola Atrix 2 phone which I got recently running GingerBread on a 1Ghz TI OMAP4 dual Core processor with 1 GB ram
So that was the extent of my experience with Android.
I picked up the Motorola Droid Xyboard 10.1 64GB and signed up for a two year contract with Verizon.
I wanted to first start off by saying, I ABSOLUTELY LOVE this tablet… absolutely love love love it!
Yes its incredibly overpriced, and yes the 2 year contract is freaking ridiculous, but come to think of it, I would really like to keep the tablet for that long… or even longer, so the contract serves as a nice reminder for me not to upgrade the second something better comes out and avoid that vicious tech cycle that we all know :-D
Now, my justification for that crazy price is that, I consider the Xyboard a premium product. You see folks, initially when I purchased my Archos, I mainly just wanted to use it for watching movies on a plane (I travel a lot for work), and for some basic internet browsing. After using it for a while, I’ve discovered that this tablet could really be used for a lot more… but the weak processing power of the Archos is just flat out sad. So I realized its time to upgrade, and this new tablet would be used for much much more than just movie watching. I’m practically replacing my laptop with it (I have a 17” Sony which is pretty much a desktop now in my study),
So I use the Xyboard for work, and grad school, and movies, and playing games, and chatting, and internet, and a lot of things. 64 GB might be overkill, but since I’m keeping this for at least 2 years, I figured I’d look ahead to the future, and pay for that now, instead of regretting not having storage later down the line!
I spent a lot of time debating whether to get the Xyboard or the Quad Core Transformer Prime. Really… I freaking stressed about it.
Now on paper, everything was screaming GET THE PRIME!!!!!! But my heart was just not convinced… Aside from the fact that I’m really biased towards Motorola Products (I once spent months scouring the earth trying to find the original Motorola Q unlocked in GSM when it was first announced), and aside from the fact that I really prefer to buy American Brands (Very Cliché – I know)….
I was just worried about the Asus being the first Quad Core tablet, what sort of bugs would arise…. There was a major problem with wifi in the first batch released, and I’m hearing its happening even with later batches that got shipped out to customers, plus there’s also a GPS problem, plus I was concerned about the single speaker (which lies RIGHT where you would be holding the tablet), and some people on forums have stated the touchscreen has its blips!
For some strange reason I just KNEW I would regret not buying theXyboard – I dunno why, it was just a feeling, and now that I have it…… I’m soooooo glad I never bought the Asus and I bought this tablet instead.
Now, enough blabbing, let me start the review, and break it up into different sectors.
1. Name:
I know a lot of people hate the name, but I liked it… Maybe its because I’m biased toward Motorola, but I thought it was original… A. Because they linked it with the Droid brand which has been hugely successful, and B. Xyboard get a geek like me very excited! I feel like I’m about to take on SKYNET with this bad boy! I don’t blame people for thinking it’s a dumb name! But I like it.
2. Design and Hardware:
Ok, I personally think this is the sexiest tablet on the Market… The design is obviously mimicking the Droid Razr… but in my eyes its very reminiscent of the original Motorola Q (The silver version released with Verizon and Sprint – not the black GSM version).
We all know very well those tapered edges were done to avoid lawsuits from Apple, Motorola should just drop the whole “they were made to make the tablet easier to hold” – which is not the case, the edges dg into your palm and are annoying, nothing unbearable but if you hold it in landscape mode for a long time you will definitely start feeling them digging in. Again this isn’t all that annoying, but its only fair to point out that its there!
The back is aluminum and feels and looks AWESOME! I also really like the rubber lining, both for aesthetics and for the way they feel in your hand, just makes it less slippery when holding and doing work.
The Droid Xyboard feels VERY STURDY!!!! Maybe not as sturdy as the original Xoom because that thing was built like a tank, but it feels like a quality build! Especially when I compare it to my Archos 101 which is all plastic on the (except for the internal metal frame), the Archos 101 just feels very cheap when compared side by side… But the Archos feels lighter in the hand…. Again its not that Xyboard feels heavy, its just heavier but STURDIER than the Archos! But I guess its not really fair to compare a budget tablet like the Archos which is $300 and a premium tablet like the Xyboard which is 730!
I know that the power button on the Xoom was a huge complaint, and its not much better on the Xyboard either. Its not AWFUL… but its not the best design… just takes a few seconds to find it in the back, I have yet to have to turn the tablet over to turn it on and have not pressed the volume buttons by accident or anything. By the way, the volume buttons are raised a bit higher so easier to control, the power button is more recessed so needs some work to make sure you’re pressing it right. Not terrible, but not great either!
The TI OMAP4 Dual Core processor is really very snappy… nothing out of this world, but you wouldn’t use it and go “ewwwww this tablet is so slow” no no no, its very impressive! More on this in the software section!
3. Screen:
WOW…. JUST WOW!!!!!!! The IPS Screen is AWESOMMMMMMMMEEE!!!!!!! I can’t say that enough, its HOT!!!!! I was never one who though that the Xoom’s screen was THAT bad (granted I’ve never owned one, I’m going only by my tinkering with it in Best Buy), but the Xyboard’s IPS screen blows the Xoom’s screen away… This is important for me because as I said I watch a lot of movies on my tablet, so this could come in handy.
I have the brightness always set to 30% and even then its PLENTY BRIGHT!!!!! Albeit, I still would prefer it to be even BRIGHTER than it is now… but really, I don’t think there is room for complaining, the quality is just superb!
Again, comparing it to my Archos – which was also always set to 30%, it blows it away, the archos screen, wasn’t very good – it wasn’t terrible, but it had poor viewing angles, plastic display, and it only had a resolution of 1024X600… So the Xyboard 1280X800 IPS screen really does a number on it…. It has awesome viewing angles too!! You can practically hold the Xyboard completely to the side and still comfortable watching whatever is playing.
I did notice though that my Atrix 2 set to 30% is noticeably brighter than the Xyboard set to 30%... guess that qHD screen they have on the Atrix 2 is no joke :-D
There is just one bug regarding the screen that REALLY annoys me… For some reason, sometimes when I take the tablet out of sleep mode, the screen will be set to MAXIMUM brightness!!!!! Even if I have it set to 30%, dunno why it does that… I end up having to press the power button one more time, then press it again and its back to my normal setting.
I guess that’s really a software problem…. Its not a deal breaker or anything, just gets obnoxious, because I have the Auto-Brightness set to off.
4. Software:
Since I’m coming from Froyo and Gingerbread, Honeycomb is very new to me. Albeit it’s a very sexy interface, but its not without its fault!
To be fair the software for the most part is VERY snappy…. Does what I want it to do right when I want it to do it, just like gingerbread on my atrix 2 which is also a TI OMAP4 Dual Core…
But honeycomb does every now and then have some hang ups and lags! For the most part though its not a big deal..
BUT… this is what pissed me off more than anything, I’ve had the tablet for 1 week… and I’ve already had 3 or 4 random reboots…. These are the things that piss me off beyond belief… now, I’m a major techie and I know not all electronics function 100% perfectly, but still it really got to me. Nevertheless, its important to note that I was really pushing the tablet when all this happened, I had multiple sites open, some videos, 3D games, etc… so its not just doing it on its own!
Overall, I really can’t complain much about the software. They promised that the Xyboard will be upgraded to Ice Cream Sandwich, so we’ll wait and see what improvements this will add.
Also, strangely enough, the Xyboard does not come with any stock File Manager, I dunno how this tablet passed a quality check while missing this feature! Anyways, I ended up installing Astro File Manager and problem solved, I just thought it was REALLY WEIRD! lol
5. 4G LTE
I haven’t used this feature much, I mainly use it with wifi, but the instances that I used the 4G LTE, it was FAST… I ran a speed test and got 24 MB/S
When I do use the mobile network, I usually use it on 3G which is really plenty fast, and save the battery draining 4G LTE mainly for streaming videos!
Also, just for the hell of it, I tethered the Xyboard to my Atrix 2 using Bluetooth and got it running on AT&T’s HSPA+ 3G network, and it worked just fine! :-D So its cool, if ever I’m travelling in a non-CDMA area, I can always tether it to a GSM phone and still have web access!
6. Video playback
This is a very important feature for me, because I am a big movie buff, and I will be using the tablet a lot for movie watching…. So it came as a major shock to me to see that the stock video player on this tablet kinda sucks. It wouldn’t play any of my HD movies (some Xvid, Avi’s, all 720p), even though the specs say it will play 1080p… Not sure whats going ont and was kinda pissed by this!
If Archos did anything right with their tablet, its that their tabs will play ANYTHING and Everything, throw at it any 1080p MKV Blu Ray Rip and it will play without a single stutter!
Anyways, to bypass this issue, I downloaded both Mobo Player and Rock Player, set to soft decoding (not sure what the hell that means) but my 720 p movies played just fine then, and looked ABSOLUTELY STUNNING on the IPS screen! Problem solved I guess! I have yet to try any 1080p movies, so I can’t really comment on that!
7. Gaming
Ok this is really a hit and Miss…
Riptide plays AWESOME on the Xyboard, beautiful graphics (minus the water effects you get on the prime due to the Quad Core power), but it ran for me without any lags or stuttering, great response, really no complaints there!
Grand Theft Auto III also ran excellently on the Xyboard…. There were a few instances of SLIGHT stuttering but it wasn’t anything all that noticeable, and the game was very playable and enjoyable!
Gameloft games are where the major problems lie! I dunno if someone at Texas Instruments slept with some Gameloft executive’s girlfriend, or what… but most of the gameloft games do no play nice at all with the Droid Xyboard!
Few games work…. For example, Lets Golf is pre-installed on the Xyboard and plays just fine!
But many of the Gameloft games just flat out do not show up on the android market, and when I sideload them, they will either A. Not Function at all, or B. the Introduction/cutscene of that game will play but when it comes to the actual game it will either shut off or the screen just turns white and you can still hear the game sounds.
I tried, Nova, Asphalt 6, 9mm, backstab, Rainbow Six, Nova 2, - these games all had problems!
I WAS able to install the Galaxy Nexus version of Modern Combat 2: Black Pegasus – and that game plays fine with very smooth graphics and no hiccupts, but it doesn’t take up the whole screen… I guess because it was meant for a different device.
Heavy Gunner 3D, installed fine and plays, but has some CRAZY lags, so I uninstalled it!!!!! (But it worked just fine on my Atrix 2)…
Angry birds play with no problems whatsoever!! So do some other games like Frontline, Blood and Glory, Captain America, Madden NFL 12! Those work perfectly!
I see Shadowgun and Samurai II Vengeance both on the Android market, and from whatever I’ve seen online they play well on the xyboard too!
So its kinda just gameloft that’s having the major glitches! Not sure why they were so focused on just the Tegra 2 devices!
8. Audio
Not gonna say much about this, because at the end of the day its still a tablet, not a home theater, but I have no complaints, the sound is good, the two speakers perform well…. And the output through headphones is very good too!
9. Camera
Haven’t used it much, but its good (not great), its 5MP for the back one, and 1.3MP for the front – don’t really think one needs more than that on a tablet…. My Atrix 2 is 8MP and does 1080p video capture… so if I must take a pic, it will usually be with the phone, but its good to know that the one on the tablet is there (The Archos only had a front facing camera so this is an upgrade for me!)
Something I can’t get much info about is, I dunno if the video capture for the rear camera is 720p or 1080p, I really can’t find much about it, and right next to the camera the words written are “HD Video” - my atrix 2 says “8MP 1080P) – not sure about that one, maybe somebody can shed some light on this, I’ve heard two different things so I really dunno – guess I can go test it out on the device itself – but I’m lazy :-D
10. Battery
Battery is EXCELLENT!!!!! Engadget rated it at 8:55 hours, I say that sounds about right, maybe even longer if you’re just web browsing and not watching many videos or gaming… the Xyboard just won’t die!!!! And its standby time is awesome!!! I left it not charging over night, turned it on 8 hours later in the morning and the battery was still at 100%
Overall, I honestly have to say, I’m soooooooooooooo happy I bought this of the Asus Transformer Prime…… I’m sure that that the Asus is awesome and has a lot going for it…. But if anything, my heart is right there with Motorola and the Droid Xyboard. VERY happy with my purchase, and no regrets for paying that outrageous price! Note that, its STILL more than $100 cheaper, than a 64GB ipad 2 with 3G But I’m not gonna sit here and compare…. Apples VS Oranges…er… Android!
Should you upgrade your Xoom to the Xyboard? I really dunno… The Xoom is an awesome product, and it will be getting ice cream sandwich. If you’re happy with it and can look past the screen and the form factor, then I really don’t see why you should upgrade! If I had a Xoom, I probably wouldn’t have!
I upgraded to the Xyboard because I was coming from an Archos – which at the end of the day is really a budget/el-cheapo tablet!
Yes I probably could’ve gotten a Xoom and been plenty happy, but since the latest and (greatest?) was available and my budget at this time permitted it, I decided to go for this!
One thing that was hard for me to accept was the fact that I have a 32GB Micro SD card in my Archos (which by the way, now I will be selling my Archos, if anyone is interested :-D) and was very hard to justify to myself paying more for memory, when I have memory sitting there, but I guess I was able to finally look past that lol. Seems that this is where things are headed considering the Samsung Galaxy Nexus also does not have a MicroSD slot just like the Xyboard!
I ended up taking the 16GB micro SD out of my phone, and put in the 32GB one.
Well, this is what I have to say about this. Overall, VERY HAPPY! No regrets, and looks like I’ll be using this baby for a while… Not only did I have to sign a contract with Verizon, had to promise the wifey two years with this tablet to justify the ridiculous price :-D Guess you can say its an investment of some sort!
Feel free to shoot me any questions or concerns and I’ll be happy to answer them to the best of my ability!
All the best!
Ach
Nice writeup.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App
Nice read and congratz on your new tablet. I love my XOOM!
Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk
Great Unbiased Awesome Review Better than jon4lakers
Nice writeup, ty mate. I was on the fence of either keeping the xoom (bought Dec 21 open box for $348) or pay $499 for Asus prime. I was lucky to pick up the prime locally on the Dec 26, was super excited couldn't wait to go home and compare it to the xoom. Boy I was super disappointed, screen bleed like crazy (worst than my Evo 4g, and Evo got it bad) , 7 dead pixel and absolutely non working gps. Returned it next day and again lucky enough they had one more left for me to swap. Store clerk suggested I'd open it right there and then to inspect it, which I did. 2nd one was better no major screen bleed and only a couple tiny dead pixel, which I can live with. Tested GPS and was able to lock outside the store eventually. Told the clerk this might be a keeper, again really really excited.
Got in the car, tether the prime to my phone. Open up Google nav and finally got lock after like 10-12 mins, long time compare to my phone or the xoom. Drove away and shortly after notice the Google nav was way off and inaccurate, OK keep driving maybe it fixes itself. Drove for about a mile this thing telling me GPS lost signal and just stuck at searching. Damn the whole trip home the prime GPS was useless.
finally get to compare the xoom to the prime. I came from the evo 4g which have one of the worst camera on a phone as far as low light goes, so my expectation is high for the prime which advertise to have sensor that allow awesome capture and recording in low light environment. Side by side I quickly test the xoom and prime out in low light. In low light the prime picture is over expose by the flash where as the xoom picture came out nice and well balance as far as light exposure goes. I even lower the exposure and set ISO manually and the picture doesn't come out any better than the xoom. I'm no expert by any means but my eyes can tell which picture looks better and the xoom does an excellent job in low light compare to those of the prime. Video recording the prime can do up to 1080p and xoom only in 720p and below. Again in low light the xoom killed the prime in video recording. The prime recording came out with a lot more noise and color are a little too orange. The xoom seem a bit wash out but a lot more natural looking then those of the prime. High light or day light doesn't really matter they both look good, heck my evo 4g looks good in day light.
I played with almost all the available tablets camera including the big name ipad2, Samsung, Acer and Toshiba and IMO the xoom is the best and ipad2 is the worst camera in a tablet. People gonna laugh as why I care so much about the camera is not like it can replace any point and shoot camera anyways, but I just do, sorry. Lol, not that im hauling this thing around with me to take photo and video but nice to have it when you need it.
On the other hand the prime display is stunning, rocking IPS+ and is super gorgeous, something i wish the xoom would have. Battery on the prime is also better. Prime is lighter which is more comfortable to hold, but I like the xoom design better. I'm sure prime have a lot more horse power due to the new teg3 and gpu.
But between the non working gps, dead pixel, not so stellar camera and higher price, those right there is enough for me to return the prime and keep the the xoom. Now that I've read your review of the Xyboard comes with ips display I'm over here drooling over it. I'll be super happy if the xoom comes with IPS display, but can't justify paying the high price of the Xyboard. So Congrats! on your new purchase my friend I'm sure you'll have a great time with your new toy. now for me this $348 xoom is good to hold me of until Motorola or the rest drop something new in my price range and with IPS display (will not settle for less).
I guess a a happy medium for people who love their xooms, but REALLY REALLY REALLY want IPS - could be the Xoom Family Edition...
Pros:
IPS Display (I've seen it myself and its hot)
Confirmed by Motorola to be getting Ice Cream Sandwich
Micro USB Charging
Tegra 2 Dual Core processor
Thinner and Lighter than Original Xoom
Cons:
Only has 16GB of internal memory (But has MicroSD card slot - so thats good)
Currently running Honeycomb Android 3.1 (not 3.2)
Screen is not Gorilla Glass
Slow Charging due to MicroUSB (they said the same about the Xyboard but I haven't noticed anything too bad, not sure if FE is the same)
Does not have 3G/4G capabilities
Price at Best Buy has been fluctuating between 350 and 450 (Today its 399) http://www.motorola.com/Consumers/U...es/Tablets/MOTOROLA-XOOM-FAMILY-EDITION-US-EN
So im not sure if i should buy the Nexus 10 the Nexus 7 or a Sony H30V digital camera:silly: Is there a huge difference in performance between the N7 and N10 wondering if anyone here owns both and can give me a better advice on what to get, I currently own a Nexus 4 but i want a bigger screen mostly to browse the internet
I had an N7 and it was great in every way, however after about 2 months I quickly realized it was too small. Reading books and light browsing was good,however zooming in and out on websites got old. I now have an N10 and am very happy. I am just a big tablet guy, but the N7 is much more portable. Both tablets are great, however the question is what size tablet person are you........or get the camera. Good luck, but there is no bad choice
miicho85 said:
So im not sure if i should buy the Nexus 10 the Nexus 7 or a Sony H30V digital camera:silly: Is there a huge difference in performance between the N7 and N10 wondering if anyone here owns both and can give me a better advice on what to get, I currently own a Nexus 4 but i want a bigger screen mostly to browse the internet
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
N10 is actually faster than the N7 is... a lot faster. However, it also overheats more and thus throttles the processor, which makes it lag a lot when the processor is heated. From experience, the throttling starts around 5 races in NFSMW, and around 3 multiplayer matches in MC4. Normal usage, probably not a problem at all.
Battery life is awesome, especially with custom kernels. On stock, it's around 10-12 hours web browsing, etc.
Screen size is your preference, though the 1600p screen is amazing. I've heard that if you buy it from the Play store, you get less light bleed issues, but I'm not sure. I got it from the Play store, and mine is fine.
All N10's have a little bit of a multitouch issue in which if you put your palm on it, the touchscreen will be very wonky to touches, but it will reset itself within a few seconds. N7 has its own multitouch issues.
In short, I'd go for the N10 over the 7
eliwu26 said:
N10 is actually faster than the N7 is... a lot faster. However, it also overheats more and thus throttles the processor, which makes it lag a lot when the processor is heated. From experience, the throttling starts around 5 races in NFSMW, and around 3 multiplayer matches in MC4. Normal usage, probably not a problem at all.
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Click to collapse
Throttling (to an extent) can be lessened via undervolting luckily
As for a camera; I find my Nexus 10 perfect for a camera. 5MP is around the same resolution that's view-able on the N10 (if I understand right anyway), and pictures come out pretty clear; it's the best camera I've ever owned
With that said though, apparently most people laugh at the idea of using tablets for cameras... I find it pretty cool though
I purchased the N10 mostly for games when I'm not near my Desktop, and so far it's managing to do that pretty well Only gaming-related issue I have is that osu!droid doesn't like multi-touch for whatever reason (had the same issue on my Nexus 7), but hopefully that'll get fixed at some point.
Thanks so much for your feedback guys i'm leaning more towards the N10 at the moment, i went to sam's club and played around with the N7 i found it kind of small for me, but the fact that the N10 is sold out, and that the price for the sony camera and the N7 combined is just as much as the N10 is making harder to make a decision.
I just don't wanna get the N7 and end up disappointed its the performance
I've got both and I still like and use my N7.
The N10 is definitely faster and has the better screen. The N7 is no slouch though, before the N10 it was the fastest tablet I've used or owned and I've used and owned quite a few (Asus, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba and Apple). I like that it's portable and its pretty good for gaming, the Tegra3 is very capable.
For one handed use the N7 is better, it feels like a slightly larger version of my N4 whereas the N10 provides a completely different experience.
It really depends on what you're looking for, I've found uses for both because they do different things.
For the money, both are excellent value and you can't go wrong. Just determine what you'd really do with it and go from there.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using xda premium
The N10 is a better/nicer device in almost every way except portability. I still love the N7 for its portability and it holds its own performance wise too.
Hopefully things will get even better for the N10 as games/apps are optimized for the screen resolution and as more devs get involved and google shoots out some updates.
Hello Friends,
From last few days I m researching for best tablet available to buy. I was thinking of buying Nexus 9 but after reading lot of reviews regarding light bleed and heat, I'm Confused whether to buy it or should I go with Nvidia Shield Tablet. Please share your knowledge and issues if you own one of them.
gD ™ said:
Hello Friends,
From last few days I m researching for best tablet available to buy. I was thinking of buying Nexus 9 but after reading lot of reviews regarding light bleed and heat, I'm Confused whether to buy it or should I go with Nvidia Shield Tablet. Please share your knowledge and issues if you own one of them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My experience with the shield tablet has been cracking, case separation, weak wifi and battery drain while plugged in.
gD ™ said:
Hello Friends,
From last few days I m researching for best tablet available to buy. I was thinking of buying Nexus 9 but after reading lot of reviews regarding light bleed and heat, I'm Confused whether to buy it or should I go with Nvidia Shield Tablet. Please share your knowledge and issues if you own one of them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I too was set on the Nexus 9 originally, But after Issues with Amazon about my pre-order, and reading up on some first impression reviews. I decided to get the Shield Tablet and honestly, I don't regret it. I was set on that 4:3 aspect ratio but the 16:9 is just natural already, coming from having a kindle fire previously.. With the Lollipop update, man this thing flies. No lag, No crashes (yet). I got viper4android and modified the audio configs and the sounds is fantastic. And having an Sd Card slot makes it better.
Asus memo 181 8 it's your better buy
Sent from my SHIELD Tablet using Tapatalk
The question is a no brainer.
Have the Lte version for 7 weeks now and no cracks, no case separation, build quality is perfect and no problems with Wifi and Lte.
Just works perfect and with Android 5L update it's even little faster.
Comparable Nexus 9 with Lte still is here in Europe € 165,00 more expensive and has no MicroSd slot.
But you have to make your own choice.
Do you had any lag or battery problem
no, I didn't and still don't.
Snah001 said:
The question is a no brainer.
Have the Lte version for 7 weeks now and no cracks, no case separation, build quality is perfect and no problems with Wifi and Lte.
Just works perfect and with Android 5L update it's even little faster.
Comparable Nexus 9 with Lte still is here in Europe € 165,00 more expensive and has no MicroSd slot.
But you have to make your own choice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Snah001 said:
no, I didn't and still don't.
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Click to collapse
Ok. Thanks for this. Will consider shield or ipad mini retina
Save your money on the iPad and N9. I bought my WiFi version a couple weeks back and the only problem I had was that something borked my MicroSD during the 5.0 update. Aside from that this unit rocks and wouldn't give it up for anything.
MG
Are you also using shield tablet ?
I have a pile, and I mean a PILE of tablets, I'd take the nexus 9 over anything out today.
I gave up on the Nexus 9 and went back to the Shield Tablet (LTE).
Had planned on selling the Shield but in the end, I couldn't get over the build quality issues with the N9.
I tried to like it, I really wanted to, had been looking forward to it since it was announced. The first unit I received was ok for the most part, but then it just randomly crapped out. The replacement had horrific light bleed, something that usually doesn't bother me at all. In the end, it didn't make sense to give up LTE and expandable storage, while paying a $100 premium.
That said, I know Nvidia has had their share of build issues w/ the Shield Tablet, but I've been fortunate so far...and that's likely been the difference maker. I might consider an N9 again when the price drops (if nothing better is out), if I could get my hands on a decent unit.
I've also owned dang near every Asus/Samsung/Nexus tablet since the original Xoom.
They've all had their pros, cons, and quirks...but right now I'm most satisfied with the Shield...just my $0.02
di11igaf said:
I have a pile, and I mean a PILE of tablets, I'd take the nexus 9 over anything out today.
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Have you tried the nst? Because the nexus9 does not compare. In my opinion, just like Apple products, a hype product but implemented poorly... Htc could have done so much better if they didn't target Ipad lovers. It's too expensive and it does next to nothing. The 4:3 ratio doesn't make sense. Lack of sd card slot is just a bad decision. Sorry, but i can't agree
Add me to the list of people who had their heart set on a Nexus 9 for weeks and ended up going with the Shield instead. The Shield is by far my favorite Android device of all that I have owned or used.
Sent from my SHIELD Tablet using XDA Free mobile app
Same, I'm Nexi guy for last three years only, I passed this year and went with team Shield. I'm quite happy with it, even with supposed issues as what device doesn't have them. But this with LTE an SD card ability wins.
WR
Shield tablet. Not only is it a better build quality, but it has expandable memory slot up to 128 GB, and it is cheaper. On top of that if you plan to do ANY type of gaming; the Shield will come out on top (especially with the insanely nice controller) . Nvidia is also very quick with pushing updates. Shield is also the only tablet besides the nexus devices that have lollipop . Oh yea... and it has a built in stylus with some pretty cool bundled stylus apps that utilize the K1 to its fullest!
As with most people here who were set on the N9 I went with the Sheild Tablet. I actually had a Galaxy Tab S 8.4" for a few months, both Tab S and Shield for a few weeks and now just the Shield
Few turn offs for N9, like most no expandable storage and being forced to shell out almost $500 for 32gb but a big downer too for me is I can't palm the N9 with 1 hand comfortably.
What sold me on Shield Tablet, SD card obviously, the pen is a neat bonus especially for Citrix my company uses, magnetic cover is bad ass, totally worth the $40, compact form, I can stick with Kitkat and xposed for multi window and other features (having Google Maps and Waze open in the same view is a must for me as I drive like 45k miles a year)
FWIW the Tab S 8.4" perks were IR blaster, very stable multi view, email client, AMOLED screen obviously, ridiculously thin and light. Downers were AMOLED's degrade over time, not the fastest thing out there, Google maps and Waze lag always.. not bad lag but just it's never smooth. AMOLED screen was the main deal breaker, I plan to keep this for 2-3 years. I just now upgraded from an original TF101
After using a Galaxy S2 abusively for two years, I still have no idea where the thing that AMOLEDs degrade over time comes from. It still looks embarrassingly good, especially in a dark room, even now.
If the Nexus 9 experience is anything like the Nexus 7, we aren't missing much. Except an extra preloaded app or four (Fitness, Docs, Sheets, Slides) to add to the growing repertoire of Apps So Good That Users Can't Be Trusted To Install Themselves on Nexus devices.
Despite the Shield's obviously inferior screen compared to the Tab S, I gotta say NVIDIA still made it look really good. Light leakage is only obvious when starting apps or the tablet with a black screen.
I still maintain that the Shield is the best tablet you can buy right now. I've had zero issues with mine, except occasional lag on Lollipop after heavy usage, and this is remedied (for me, at least) by opening recent apps and clearing out the ones I'm not using. I imagine it'll be fixed in due time, as Nvidia has been fantastic with updates (my girlfriend's Nexus 7 LTE is still on 4.4, for what it's worth...). I do have hairline cracks at three of four corners, but I'm not so petty as to let some heat expansions lead me to conclude it's not a fantastic tablet; the blemishes have no impact on performance, and a responsive interface is what was important to me.
As for the Nexus 9, I was worried that I was too impatient when I got the Shield as I knew the new Nexus was coming out soon, but after reading the reviews (most are underwhelming), I don't have any regrets. I also wanted a form factor that could fit in my back pocket (as does the Shield, even with the cover), and the Nexus couldn't.
As a slight disclaimer, the stylus was a major selling point for me--I use my tablet in meetings for taking notes, and don't want a bulky keyboard attachment. I'm also not a gamer, though I have spent far longer than I expected to using Nvidia's GRID service. If you don't care about the stylus (or would prefer the Nexus 9's keyboard folio), or you don't want to play games at all (warning: that was my stance before having this tablet), the Nexus 9 is probably an equally viable choice.
I wouldn't touch the N9 if you gave me one. Google gimped the drivers and removed desktop OpenGl, which completely nerfs the tablet's gaming and emulation capabilities. Plus the build issues like light bleed and the 32Gb cap with no sd card. While the K1 in the N9 is a bit faster on paper, the absence of desktop openGl completely counteracts that. Unless you are using your N9 purely for web browsing and productivity apps I see absolutely no reason to spend an extra $100
My nexus 9 recently started doing this...
Credit to Andrew Spyker
I've always had Nexus items.. First gen Nexus tablet, second, 3rd.. hell I have a nexus Q
So with this new issue I've run the gamut of Nexus 9 issues. Frisbee backplate, speed that, so you have a reference understandable to the human mind, ill describe as glacial. Charge to 100% eta. 2017. I got stuck on android 5.0.0 because.. who the hell knows. And now randomly my tablet has what I can only describe as seizures. HTC wants me to RMA it.. but you know what, I do not want to RMA it because then I'd be given another one and I would rather have the current one blow up in my face then to subject myself to the false hope of receiving a replacement and assuming, nay believing that all is well.
This is twice Nvidia has been contracted to put a processor in a Nexus and this is the second time the result has been total complete garbage. The entire Nexus9 experience has gotten me closer than I have ever been to buying an Ipad.. Google's and to an extent all Android tablet makers ability to get a tablet produced that even comes close to an Ipad in its ability to run the same way every day has been weighed and measured and found wanting.
The phones, which by all accounts are still their main focus have not suffered like the tablets so I will continue to enjoy them.
They seem to be unable to produce a table that is consistent or compelling and are thus going through the motions and just making a tablet because they have to.. So the Ipad decision is because quite frankly Apple does "going through the motions" better than Samsung/Google/HTC apparently can.
Maybe this will all change.. maybe it will not. At some point I will make the change these manufacturers will not. One thing I will not do is be suckered into a new tablet every 12 months.
More...
I'm not happy with my Nexus 9 either. It's lacking in both hardware and software.
Hardware:
- backlight bleeding
- too heavy
- flex in the back cover
- battery life is not that great
Software:
- random reboots / crashes
- RAM bug (causing chrome tab reloads for example)
- slow performance occasionally (probably caused by the RAM bug)
- software updates were rather slow for a Nexus device, we had to wait months for 5.1.1
I don't have any hope that Android M will fix any of the software problems. The Nexus 9 has been out for almost a year and there hasn't really been much improvement since the release.
I would like to buy an iPad mini 4 (never owned an iPhone or iPad, but I think there are no good Android tablets out there), the problem is that the Nexus 9 has a bad resell value (<250€) and the iPad mini 4 costs 389€ and I really don't feel like spending that much on a tablet again considering that I haven't even had the Nexus 9 for a year.
Asus zenpad 8.0 S. ... Love mine, sold my Nexus 9 to buy it. Super thin, great screen but get the CA version
I jumped on the bandwagon and bought the 32gb N9 from Google Play in December. After a month of use I felt it was an "okay" tablet. Last month I inherited an iPad Air 1st gen. The iPad gives a much more gratifying user experience.
I feel that Google really blew it with the N9, rushing to get a tablet out and winding up with a rush product at a premium price. I will be much more reluctant to go with another Google product in the future.
I don't know but I actually love my tablet... The biggest gripe I have with it is the tabs in Chrome refreshing, but besides that the tablet works great... There is a small light bleed but nothing as bad as my G3... Sorry to hear you guys had a bad batch, but what might have helped my tablet experience is that I rooted mine and running dirty unicorn...
Sent from my Nexus 9 using XDA Free mobile app
cables2590 said:
I don't know but I actually love my tablet... The biggest gripe I have with it is the tabs in Chrome refreshing, but besides that the tablet works great...
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Click to collapse
Same here. And my N9 is bone stock.
hardware is fine, but the drivers running it are crap. stutters, background task getting killed, refresh on tabs when browsing, touching the screen ramps up the processors (it's why the browser uses more power than the screen, each touch takes a crap-ton of power. a few updates back fixed it to 1/2 but still is too much. lowering it to 800 and it stutters, my other tablets only ramp up to 300 with no stutter)... as crappy as samsung is with support i'd have gotten a better tablet sticking with them. i've tried four different roms with the same results and was on stock/rooted for the longest with fire-ice kernel.
I assume you've done a full wipe and ruled out it being a software bug?
If the company is offering to RMA a defective unit in favor of a non-defective one and you turn them down how is that Nexus/HTC/Android/whomever's fault other than your own?
Other than the backlight bleed I don't have too many issues with my Nexus. And that was purchasing a refurb scratch/dent 32gb model from Amazon Warehouse for $290. Is it what I'd expect for a $290 tablet? Absolutely.
I'd consider an iPad Air 2, but those guys are $600 and won't sync up quite the same as all my other crap. Or alternatively the Mini 4 ($500).
Mine is on Preview M unencrypted. I really like it. My 10 is a fine tablet, as well. The 7's I've had I've never really liked.
The apple tablets I've tried seem no different to me. I've even changed my Window animation scale 1, Transition animation scale 1 and Animator duration scale 1.5 and it acts just like an apple tablet.
The freeze on OP's video is caused by an undervolt-powersave thing. It has been reported many times and only an RMA can save you from that.
The RAM deficiency is caused by the one and only Chrome that consumes a ****load of ram on any platform. It fills my G3's 3 GBs of ram in just 5 tabs.
Just use another browser.
ive got a sluggish n9, backlight bleed and a few reboots. battery life is weak...
love aspect ratio though and still think this is still a good tablet overall...
There is no way anyone that is happy with this tablet uses multiple profiles on a regular basis.
If you fresh boot and sign into one user things are ok... not horrible or super fast but ok. Sign in to an additional profile and the tablet goes to complete hell. Stutters, stalls, crashes, etc.
Really sucks because its shared between myself and my girlfriend. This has been the case since 5.0.1 through 6.0 preview 3.
People are never happy with what they have. Yes the tablet has a few issue here and there. Very little consumer grade electronics are "perfect" there will always be something that bugs you.
I like this tab, took a little tweaking, as it usually does with any device to reach the standards of a "current XDA'r".
But at the very LEAST i would disagree with this being a tab to avoid.
Sent from my Nexus 9 using Tapatalk 4
No offense but your optimism does not apply here. Get off the koolaid
osiris355 said:
No offense but your optimism does not apply here. Get off the koolaid
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The incredible pessimism doesn't apply here, nor belong, either. Get off the juice.
RickInHouston said:
The incredible pessimism doesn't apply here, nor belong, either. Get off the juice.
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Click to collapse
His post is misleading and mine is not pessimism when its reality. Everyone knows this tablet has issues worse than typical bugs or hardware annoyances.
Edit: I just finished flashing 6.0. I can't believe I am saying this but it looks like google has finally fixed most of the performance issues. I can finally load up multiple profiles/chrome browsing and it doesn't start hanging/crashing. 1 year later and they finally got it right. Too bad it still heats up when gaming but that's not as big of a deal.
I love mine personally, there is a tiny hint of backlight bleeding but it's hardly noticeable. Battery life isn't that great, but that's the only downside for me. It always gets me through 2 days of use anyway since I have a phone for other functions. I also would gladly take a slight issue or two for the vastly superior sound setup for media consumption. Apple could maybe get my buck if they integrated FF speakers, and good ones at that. Until then the Nexus is the best for me. I was also thinking about the Asus 8.0 too, it looks good but it's too damned small. I actually think my Nexus is a bit small too, but it's the biggest and best tab I could get for under $300
I've had all sorts of issues with my Nexus 9. Software is better now than it used to be. But up until 5.1.1, multitasking made me want to kill kittens. It's more usable now with the latest 5.1.1 revision on the Pure Nexus ROM and Fire kernel. Except for Chrome, even XDA makes it choke. HD video performance is hit or miss, MX player with Tegra plug-ins was OK and other media apps stutter with high bit rates. I'm not on M now but when I tried it the battery life improved so there is that to look forward to.
The screen bleed on the bottom has gotten worse.
I learned my lesson and won't buy Nexus products again till they are on the market for a while and are thoroughly reviewed/patched.
Stock feels a little clunky on the Nexus 9. Installed CM and it feels much smoother. Overall, I am fairly pleased with mine.
Then again, I do not use Chrome, rather I use Firefox with Adblock+.
I have has both gen 7, and now the 9. I have also had iPads' and a Sony Tablet.
The 1st gen 7 was my favorite. Its form factor felt the best in my hand, the 2nd while faster was uncomfortable to hold. I'm not an Apple fan but work gave me an iPad 2. I rarely used it. Seemed okay. The Sony Z3 Tablet Compact has AMAZING quality. I just wish I could put AOSP on it, not a fan of the Sony tweaks, but over all its made from great materials and its very smooth to operate.
The 9 for me has been great so far. I did the following as soon as I got it, these are things I generally do to EVERY Android device when I get it.
* Change DPI to the screens native DPI (288 in this case)
* Added a line in build.prop to enable hardware UI rendering. <-- not sure if this is really needed anymore so I continue to add it until I'm told its not.
* Hard code the DNS used to the Google DNS servers
* Set all animation scales to .5
* Force GPU rendering to ON
I have never had any crashing or RAM management issues. I DO have the light bleeding issue, but not bad enough to really complain about.
I'm going to save you a lot of trouble if you're considering this tablet and are unsure, as I just put this thing through a lot of testing.
First off I would like to say that I think this is a fantastic tablet. It is just the right size, has an excellent build quality, and runs pretty good all things considered. This has a decnet running/looking Samsng UI, especially considering that it's an older build running on a slower processor. If this tablet had a better processor and maybe stylus support it would be a killer tablet with no competition. It's sad that Samsung doesn't take this size range seriously any longer.
Now for the badish part. This tablet is great for gaming, perfect size, great screen, good enough speakers (mount them stereo next time Samsung!) However it just won't handle intensive gaming stuff, such as Order and Choas 2 or Rules of Survival with the settings turned up. It will certainly play them if you don't mind the low FPS though. Definitely playable FPS for sure, but it won't be butter.
I was curious to see if this was a Samsung processor optimization problem like it is with the Tab s3, so I did some testing to find out. I can confirm that flashing LOS 14.1 it did nothing for the gaming performance. The tablet was quicker and less laggy overall, but the gaming is still limited by the GPU. This tablet also is so good out of the box that it doesn't need the help of LOS anyway.
So there you have it. Great little tablet, just don't expect any sort of massive gaming performance and don't even think about voiding your warratny to try a custom rom because it won't help. In this size range it is really the ultimate for gaming, so I figured a lot of people would be buying it for that, and I wanted to give a heads up. The benchmark scores don't tell the whole story sometimes. I hope they refresh this tablet in 2018 with a better SOC and keep it alive.
Thanks for the info seh6183. :highfive:
You need to tell us what hardware you are testing as the 2015 is using Exynos and the 2016 is Snapdragon. From previous posts on here, the consensus is that the 2015 has the better GPU for gaming but the 2016 is faster.
I don't game on my tablet so I can't add anything to your observations.
I have the 2016 S2, and it is fine for light gaming. However, it heats up fairly quickly if you are doing anything graphically intense for long periods and throttles pretty noticeably. Even fairly simple apps, like Alto's Adventure, will eventually become unplayable if you don't take a break periodically to let the SoC cool down.
Masteryates said:
Thanks for the info seh6183. :highfive:
You need to tell us what hardware you are testing as the 2015 is using Exynos and the 2016 is Snapdragon. From previous posts on here, the consensus is that the 2015 has the better GPU for gaming but the 2016 is faster.
I don't game on my tablet so I can't add anything to your observations.
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Snapdragon 652.
I just bought a new 'open box' from BestBuy for $209.
I'm not a gamer or user of graphics, mainly a business user. I had the latest 9.7 iPad for a week, and I just kept feeling like one of my arms was tied behind my back.
So I returned it and bought the Samsung Tab S2.
seh6183 said:
Snapdragon 652.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for the update seh6183. :highfive:
Are you able to update the title of your post or your initial post to reflect this? Others may find this useful.
Would be interested to hear from a 2015 owner on how it handles the games you mentioned.
I cant imagine buying thos for gaming... If you want to game on a tablet I would just go with the iPad. The new iPad 2017 is so much better than this, and you can get one new for 250 and a bigger screen. I went with tablet only because I can torrent and use my Micro USB to USB 2.0 adapter for music and videos on torrents. Thats literally the only upside to going with an Android tablet nowadays
JoRocker said:
I cant imagine buying thos for gaming... If you want to game on a tablet I would just go with the iPad. The new iPad 2017 is so much better than this, and you can get one new for 250 and a bigger screen. I went with tablet only because I can torrent and use my Micro USB to USB 2.0 adapter for music and videos on torrents. Thats literally the only upside to going with an Android tablet nowadays
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Well, not the ONLY one, but yeah - most of the best games come out for iOS first and then, if ever, for Android. On the flip side, Android lets you actually use your device like a computer and not merely a media consumption machine. I consider that a pretty big plus.
JoRocker said:
I cant imagine buying thos for gaming... If you want to game on a tablet I would just go with the iPad. The new iPad 2017 is so much better than this, and you can get one new for 250 and a bigger screen. I went with tablet only because I can torrent and use my Micro USB to USB 2.0 adapter for music and videos on torrents. Thats literally the only upside to going with an Android tablet nowadays
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For me it has to be Android for little things like power toggles, screebl and the OLED screen.
seh6183 said:
I'm going to save you a lot of trouble if you're considering this tablet and are unsure, as I just put this thing through a lot of testing.
First off I would like to say that I think this is a fantastic tablet. It is just the right size, has an excellent build quality, and runs pretty good all things considered. This has a decnet running/looking Samsng UI, especially considering that it's an older build running on a slower processor. If this tablet had a better processor and maybe stylus support it would be a killer tablet with no competition. It's sad that Samsung doesn't take this size range seriously any longer.
Now for the badish part. This tablet is great for gaming, perfect size, great screen, good enough speakers (mount them stereo next time Samsung!) However it just won't handle intensive gaming stuff, such as Order and Choas 2 or Rules of Survival with the settings turned up. It will certainly play them if you don't mind the low FPS though. Definitely playable FPS for sure, but it won't be butter.
I was curious to see if this was a Samsung processor optimization problem like it is with the Tab s3, so I did some testing to find out. I can confirm that flashing LOS 14.1 it did nothing for the gaming performance. The tablet was quicker and less laggy overall, but the gaming is still limited by the GPU. This tablet also is so good out of the box that it doesn't need the help of LOS anyway.
So there you have it. Great little tablet, just don't expect any sort of massive gaming performance and don't even think about voiding your warratny to try a custom rom because it won't help. In this size range it is really the ultimate for gaming, so I figured a lot of people would be buying it for that, and I wanted to give a heads up. The benchmark scores don't tell the whole story sometimes. I hope they refresh this tablet in 2018 with a better SOC and keep it alive.
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So far the only bad side of this tablet that I saw was mentioned the battery life (as they reduced it from S1) and the speakers.
My main concern is the speakers which are at the bottom - how do they behave when you hold the tablet in landscape for watching a video? Is all the sound on the right side? Can the speakers be accidentally covered off with the hand that's holding the tablet? How is the sound on this thing?
My Nexus 7 (2013) is seriously showing its age now and due for an upgrade.
I'm considering this (T713/715) or the Huawei Mediapad M3 (or lite) 8.0 which is not at all supported on XDA so I would be stuck with it's software and bloatware whether I like it or not.
atirage said:
I'm considering this (T713/715) or the Huawei Mediapad M3 (or lite) 8.0 which is not at all supported on XDA so I would be stuck with it's software and bloatware whether I like it or not.
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I'm in the same boat, but it's vs the M5 and I'm more of a reader. It's a tough decision.
stoatbroker said:
I'm in the same boat, but it's vs the M5 and I'm more of a reader. It's a tough decision.
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If your a reader at night, it's all about the reduced eyestrain of the OLED screen. For me, the M5 is overpriced considering I picked up an M3 for only $180.
Surprise, it was known from the beginning that it has slow gpu, but also not the best cpu, they are continuing this with s3 and s4. They ar selling it for big money and yet, no wonder sales ar low
Extreemator said:
Surprise, it was known from the beginning that it has slow gpu, but also not the best cpu, they are continuing this with s3 and s4. They ar selling it for big money and yet, no wonder sales ar low
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For me the S3 and S4 bring little new to the table.
The S2 (when first released,) had that awesome screen. Even though I never intended to own any Samsung product due to touchwiz, I was sold when that Samsung handed me the 8" version in a store. The combination of killer screen and stupidly low weight set this apart from all opposition. For the 8" version, it could be argued this is still the case.
As long as Samsung keep giving us security updates for the S2, I'm not that interested in the S3 and S4 as 9.7" is too big for me.
So, I bought the 8" wifi version (T713) and I'm severely disappointed with battery life: around 6h SOT!?
I keep reducing the brightness but battery percentages just melt away. I don't know, maybe the LineageOS battery life is better, or a custom kernel would help. (I'm still on stock)
Other things I dislike are the volume/speakers - they're easy to cover up and don't sound so great. Not to mention they're basically mono in landscape mode, I hate that on my phone!
The tablet has sharp edges, very uncomfortable to hold and it hurts my hand after a while, fortunately I can buy a silicone cover for this problem. The rest will stick with me
I come from the Nexus 7 2013, and this is definitely a side-grade. The only thing that I missed on the Nexus is that it struggled with hi-res 60fps video (couldn't even do higher than 720p60).
Oh well.
Not much choice in the Android tablet market currently, but I certainly wouldn't recommend this one.
No problem,in the future it will not be Android tablets anymore,so you will not have choises at all.
Google just removed tablets section from Android page,take a look at http://www.android.com/tablets/ .
Cheers
viasat said:
No problem,in the future it will not be Android tablets anymore,so you will not have choises at all.
Google just removed tablets section from Android page,take a look at http://www.android.com/tablets/ .
Cheers
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There are very few redeeming qualities left keeping me on the Android side of the fence anyway, and Google seems intent on killing them. The ease of data management, and the ability to run apps that wouldn't have a shot in the App Store (like Nova Launcher, Solid Explorer, etc.) are about the only things keeping me in the ecosystem. Otherwise, it seems like every time I look, the iPad Pro gets more and more attractive.
atirage said:
So, I bought the 8" wifi version (T713) and I'm severely disappointed with battery life: around 6h SOT!?
I keep reducing the brightness but battery percentages just melt away. I don't know, maybe the LineageOS battery life is better, or a custom kernel would help. (I'm still on stock)
Other things I dislike are the volume/speakers - they're easy to cover up and don't sound so great. Not to mention they're basically mono in landscape mode, I hate that on my phone!
The tablet has sharp edges, very uncomfortable to hold and it hurts my hand after a while, fortunately I can buy a silicone cover for this problem. The rest will stick with me
I come from the Nexus 7 2013, and this is definitely a side-grade. The only thing that I missed on the Nexus is that it struggled with hi-res 60fps video (couldn't even do higher than 720p60).
Oh well.
Not much choice in the Android tablet market currently, but I certainly wouldn't recommend this one.
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TBH atirage, 6h of SOT is very good for the 8" tablet. My T715 has only ever managed 5h. I doubt lineage will increase battery life by much. At the end of the day, that 4000Mah has to power a hell of a big screen.
I find the tablet the best I've ever held, (also had a Nexus 7 2013 in the past.) but I just hold it in the bottom corner, not attempting to get my hand the whole way around. Agreed about the poor quality speakers.
The thing I've liked about this tablet the most in the last 2 years is the solid, (not ever fantastic,) performance. I've suffered no bugs and everything just works as well as the day I've bought it. :angel:
Not to be all negative about this tablet: the performance is great, granted I didn't fill it up with apps and games yet but I'll see how it will hold up over time.
Even in battery saving mode (70% CPU) it's still blazing fast and a joy to use.
I got a silicon case on it so the handling became better.
And I got used to the sound - it's not good, but passable and loud enough to watch a few YouTube videos in a quiet environment.
I managed to install SABS on it (and make it work), so I got ad blocking now and the ability to disable apps I don't need/use (Samsung bloatware) so I'm hoping battery life will improve a little bit.
It's growing on me.
It was a weird transition from the Nexus 7 (2013), but that fellow got so sluggish that I wanted to chuck it at the wall. That's why I needed the upgrade and the ability to play qHD nicely, and the S2 tab does it oh-so-well.
Anybody can suggest a nice blue light filter app for it?
atirage said:
Not to be all negative about this tablet: the performance is great, granted I didn't fill it up with apps and games yet but I'll see how it will hold up over time.
Even in battery saving mode (70% CPU) it's still blazing fast and a joy to use.
I got a silicon case on it so the handling became better.
And I got used to the sound - it's not good, but passable and loud enough to watch a few YouTube videos in a quiet environment.
I managed to install SABS on it (and make it work), so I got ad blocking now and the ability to disable apps I don't need/use (Samsung bloatware) so I'm hoping battery life will improve a little bit.
It's growing on me.
It was a weird transition from the Nexus 7 (2013), but that fellow got so sluggish that I wanted to chuck it at the wall. That's why I needed the upgrade and the ability to play qHD nicely, and the S2 tab does it oh-so-well.
Anybody can suggest a nice blue light filter app for it?
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Glad your starting to see the advantages of this tab atirage: :victory:
You'll also notice the screen picks up far fewer fingerprints than the Nexus 7 2013. Don't know what Samsung have done with the glass but its much better. Even though the FP reader is very 1st gen, its still nice to have and better than a pin every time.
I find the sound to be much better if you put the tablet of a flat surface so the sound reflects off it.