Database Users

The Tablet You Should Buy (at least Consider...)

I'm pretty savvy when it comes to technological purchases - Unfortunately, I am also WAY TOO anal when it comes to my devices and I like them to look, act, respond, and treat me right...Anyway, over the past several weeks, I have been incredibly torn about which new 10" tablet to purchase and would like to share my journey - Slightly condensed...
It all started with my giving away my beloved XOOM to a close friend - He needed a tablet, limited funds, does a ton of sh*t for me, so off it went - The XOOM Wi-Fi was perfect - A bit heavy? Yes. Kind of outdated with its dual core? Sure. Nevertheless, the screen was crisp, no light bleed, never rebooted itself, and only froze once in 6 months - Not bad.
I needed to buy a new tablet....
Seeing as the XOOM (essentially) isn't for sale, at least mainstream-like, anymore, I first tried....
The ASUS TF700T Infinity - Not bad (internally) but the QC over at ASUS must truly suck! Light bleed around all four corners and 2 sides at the main boot screen, a slight "squeak/creak" when the screen was depressed too firmly, you get the picture. It was fast (enough) for a quad core CPU running ICS, but I found the ASUS tweaks of the FW boring and, coupled with the QC horrors, it went back. I actually exchanged the unit for another, unopened TF700T in the hopes I just got a bad member of some ill-fated batch. WRONG! Number 2 was number 2. Screen/light bleed was actually worse and the screen rippled if I pressed the back of the stupid thing. Well, I have given up on the TF700T and, sorry to say, ASUS as a brand.
Second up was the SONY Xperia Tablet S - Not bad at all - Nice screen, cool tweaked FW out of the box, quad-core, etc., etc., etc. Only slight bleed from 2 corners while I watched a movie but wasn't too bad (even for someone as scrutinizing as myself). But, if you're like me, you NEED a screen protector. You NEED a nice case. So off to Amazon I went and ordered 3 cases, knowing I would return the 2 I decided against. I swear to you all - each case forced me to remove the unit from said case for charging. Nuts! I also started to hate the SONY "water-resistance" covers that I had to pry off to charge the thing (don't bite your nails) and change the full size memory card - The full size memory card was just kind of weird in and of itself...Anyway, while none of this is really SONY's fault (and I DO like their products), back it went along with the other accessories - Oh yeah, maybe it's me (doubtful though) but I could not get a quality screen protector on it to save my life - Bubbles galore!
A week went by....
Still no tablet....
Then I was fuc*i%g around with my Galaxy S II, a phone I have enjoyed for almost eight months and one that has NEVER given me the slightest problem whatsoever and I "remembered"....Hey man! Samsung makes tablets! Right? Hell yeah, they do, and a quick trip to my local BB introduced me to the G-Tab 2 7 and the Note 10.1. I LOVED the price of the 7" tab ($249) but really wanted to stick with a 10" screen. I fiddled with the note and was in love - Not with the $499 tag, but it all looked so damn cool (in the store). Well...Yes. I bought it, Amazon(ed) screen shields and a case from MoKo and off to the races...Again. But, now, with the S-Pen!
First, I was able to find a TON of accessories for the thing from screen protectors to cases. I ordered a 3-pack of the Acase anti-glare shields and the MoKo PU Leather stand case - Admittedly, I screwed up 2 of these protectors - But it's a 3-pack so I had one more shot. With a little more time taken, Scotch tape and compressed air, I got the perfectly cut third one on 100% - And YES! The S-Pen works perfectly with the shield in place. trust me!
Then I slid it into the thoughtfully crafted and well-designed case from MoKo/Amazon and was pleased to see that I didn't even have to open the magnetic flip cover to charge it - AWESOME!
Now...I needed to turn it on (after inserting a nice Class 10 16GB card of course)
Guess what? Screen boots with the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 text in white on a PITCH BLACK screen. yeah - It's black, like it should be. There isn't any light introducing from the corners nor ghostly images emanating from the side. It's just right. Simple, but right.
Like my GS2, it booted past the initial screen quickly and set-up was smooth sailing - An easy root, movie-watching test, quick benchmark (I won by the way) and I knew I had a keeper.
For what it's worth, SAMSUNG continues to earn MY business and will continue to (as long as they keep doing what they do). I don't give a rat's A## what others say is 'acceptable" concerning light bleed, creaking screens, etc. Let's face it. It's NOT acceptable at any level and, for $499 retail, it's also insulting. If one company can do it right, so can another one -
Sorry for rambling and thank me if this helps you buy your next tablet
PS - No! I do not work for nor am I affiliated with SS in ANY way!

I'm happy you found a new tab you like. Samsung GS2 user here as well. My phone is actually being fixed under warranty at the moment...
Anyways, wanted to reflect on my experience as well. After 4 weeks of using GN I plan on sending it back next week. I gave it an honest try but iust couldn't get past lag and stutter. I also tried a 2nd unit which had less lag , which was still there though, but had a less responsive pen. I decided to keep unit 1 hoping I can live with it. It's just too annoying to be dealing with random lag especially considering all the horse power this tab packs, so back it goes. I don't wanna take a chance with my $$$ waiting for JB to see if it fixes the lag.
Someone had said on this forum that there's no android tab out there under 500 with no lag. If so and considering GN specs I think it's gotta be android itself then. Hopefully JB fixes it. I'm gonna try Nexus 7 but don't have much confidence in that reading about all the QC issues. If that doesn't work out I may have to sit back and wait for android on tabs to mature a bit. I might consider larger screen on my next phone if it still not there.
I hope my experience is an isolated case. So enjoy your GN if all is working fine.

When i hear these comments about lag and stutter i just shake my ahead. Absolutely ZERO lag or stutter for me. Tablet is faster than my laptop.
Sent from my GT-N8013 using Tapatalk 2

There is lag and stutter?
Either you got a faulty tablet or you have loaded up some CPU hogging app.
Sent from my GT-N8010 using Tapatalk 2

@SM05
The issue is not typically Android - it's usually companies like Samsung or HTC or ASUS or whatever that change Android by putting on their "skin" that inevitably slows down and hinders Android. When running vanilla Android on phones and tablets alike, I've never seen lag. ICS, and especially JB, are just speed demons.
Sent from my EVO using xda app-developers app

Great review... great story! You gave me the entire visual on that write. Thank you.

Got an S3 and a Note 10.1. Had Tab 10.1 previously. PErfectly happy with all of them.

mitchellvii said:
When i hear these comments about lag and stutter i just shake my ahead. Absolutely ZERO lag or stutter for me. Tablet is faster than my laptop.
Sent from my GT-N8013 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agree with you. Nothing wrong with mine.
O.P. Great review btw
Sent from my GT-N8013 using XDA Premium HD app

The only slight lag i ever noticed on mine was when changing homescreens with the standard clock/weather widget updating ....once i replaced it with HD widgets the lag disappeared...never noticed any lags in progs ...in fact from my point of view this tab is super fast ))

The only lag I have noticed is when trying to type in a website based forum. However I think that is more due to the websites slow servers than the tablet. Typing in Tapapalk is very responsive.
I just wish more of my favorite blogs used Tapatalk.
Good idea for an app. Make an app which allows a user to type into a pop up text box and when done, sends the text all at once to the blog text box.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

mitchellvii said:
Good idea for an app. Make an app which allows a user to type into a pop up text box and when done, sends the text all at once to the blog text box.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what Windows tablets do. It's called the Tablet Input Panel (TIP). One can make corrections and edit with pen strokes before committing the text to the text box.

mitchellvii said:
The only lag I have noticed is when trying to type in a website based forum. However I think that is more due to the websites slow servers than the tablet. Typing in Tapapalk is very responsive.
I just wish more of my favorite blogs used Tapatalk.
Good idea for an app. Make an app which allows a user to type into a pop up text box and when done, sends the text all at once to the blog text box.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its called copy and pastenlol
Sent from my GT-N8013 using xda app-developers app

TonyBigs said:
That's what Windows tablets do. It's called the Tablet Input Panel (TIP). One can make corrections and edit with pen strokes before committing the text to the text box.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a good idea. Will have go suggest that to Samsung.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

dr.m0x said:
There is lag and stutter?
Either you got a faulty tablet or you have loaded up some CPU hogging app.
Sent from my GT-N8010 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is in my case. Both tabs had it. I cannot imagine getting 2 "faulty" units in a row. Forgot to mention thst the 2nd unit creaked like crazy, which was another reason I decided to keep the 1st one, til now that is.
I install apps very conservatively. Been actually running the similar set of apps on my GS2 with no issues, on a custom GB rom to be fair though. Ftr, I've got: adobe reader, flash, kindle, color note, crackle, dropbox, engaged, imdb, skies air, shazam, stocks, timeriffic, weather channel, USA today + a few Google apps. Nothing fancy and nothing crazy running in the background. Home screen has 2 pages, Main 1 with 2 widgets like weather for instance, which is set to not periodically refresh and 1 more widget on another page. Some stutter occurs while scrolling in settings app for example and sadly is noticeable even after a full reset.
So it's gotta be a software problem, ie either android on tabs or Samsung's version of it. I simply don't see how such a high end specs and quality wise hardware could be a culprit. And assuming that's the case it can then be fixed. I hope GN will get better for the rest of you and ones with a similar problems. Enjoy your tab.

I enjoyed reading this article. Before purchasing my Note 10.1, I was a firm antagonist of tablets in general. I have a phone; I have a computer; why would I need some awkward middle device that lacked the power if a computer and the functionality of a phone? It wasn't until I was limited to my computer screen (which is a 50" tv in a room with no desk) when doing homework, due to my books being digital, that I knew I needed portability, and a phone is just way too small. I was holding out for a Surface device, but then saw the Note 10.1. After much debate (with the final justification being the price of school books being similar to the cost of this device, AND it would save me much money on paper, pencils and such) I ordered the Note 10.1 on amazon.
It wasn't available for demo in any local stores, so I played around with similar tablets, like the transformer. I was disappointed with the lag and the freezing, which worried me. I realised that that were demo units, so held my final verdict for my new Note when it arrived
Once I received it, I was blown away. Aside from the folder bug, it was flawless ( Samsung quickly came out with a small update ota to fix it within a day or two! ). It ran way fast, had an operational screen time 10 hours on a single charge with heavy use, and was feature rich. Best of all, this was all without any kind of root. Suffice to say, I kept it. Not only has it almost replaced my computer (still need it for Borderlands 2) but I barely use my phone anymore as well. You can now officially call me an android tablet advocate, with the Note 10.1 being my first recommendation.

I also have an iPad 2 which is really nice. But the Note is actually better in most ways. It's faster, and has a really good OEM case, something the iPad lacks, even though I have a very nice case for it (cases are important I think).
Anyway, it's the pen that trumps the iPad.
Got to Love Wacom.
I think i'll buy the LTE version if it ever shows up.

Thanks for a nice post on your experience, good to see others are enjoying their GN.
I've gotta also post a response here because I had to say that the performance of my GN is flawless, it is quite amazing how fast and smooth it is - I never expected it to be this good, as they should all be for that matter.
I was so close to ordering a TF700 but decided to wait for a GN.

Occasional Stutter or Lag on the S4?

I've been hearing on some reviews that there are some moments that the Touchwiz UI will have an occasional stutter or lag. Do you guys think that downloading a different launcher, like Apix, will help solve that? Or will I have to go to the dark side of the phone and root it?
Also to some of you S3 owners out there, did installing CM10 or any other custom roms help remove any signs of lag or stuttering from the phone?

lemonz23 said:
I've been hearing on some reviews that there are some moments that the Touchwiz UI will have an occasional stutter or lag. Do you guys think that downloading a different launcher, like Apix, will help solve that? Or will I have to go to the dark side of the phone and root it?
Also to some of you S3 owners out there, did installing CM10 or any other custom roms help remove any signs of lag or stuttering from the phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i noticed the same on mine... Its a GT-I9505...
My Nexus 4 is smoother....

I'm afraid to get the s4 because of that. Everyone swore to God that the note 2 was the most fluid device they ever touched with no frame rate drops. I recommend it to two friends, come back two weeks later to find both of their phones a lag fest. There might've been some user error there, they both had 2 or 3 weird apps installed, and I attempted to diagnose the problem but alas the lag remained, with and without apex. It was kinda embarrassing
for me when they both went in to trade their note 2's for an iPhone 5, because of the horrendous lag they suffered.
I say all that because I potentially see that happening here again, especially with touchwiz now BEYOND bloated with features. Not to mention the phone probably isn't optimized for snapdragon the way it is for exynos...
Don't get me wrong I love sammy phones, I think they're incredible as I'm still rocking the s2. I just have a hard time recommending them to people because of the horrible experiences a regular user faces without rooting and throwing an aosp rom on. And it's not like I can freely suggest nexus phones as the nexus 4 is exclusive to gsm (most my friends are on Verizon/Sprint) and most don't like the idea of paying off contract.
Anywho I rambled a bit. Long story short, I'm the biggest Samsung advocate in the world but even I'm skeptical of getting the s4 because of performance drops such as the ones mentioned
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda app-developers app

I'm guessing it's the use of 4.2. It was a big step backwards from 4.1.

MultiLockOn said:
I'm afraid to get the s4 because of that. Everyone swore to God that the note 2 was the most fluid device they ever touched with no frame rate drops. I recommend it to two friends, come back two weeks later to find both of their phones a lag fest. There might've been some user error there, they both had 2 or 3 weird apps installed, and I attempted to diagnose the problem but alas the lag remained, with and without apex. It was kinda embarrassing
for me when they both went in to trade their note 2's for an iPhone 5, because of the horrendous lag they suffered.
I say all that because I potentially see that happening here again, especially with touchwiz now BEYOND bloated with features. Not to mention the phone probably isn't optimized for snapdragon the way it is for exynos...
Don't get me wrong I love sammy phones, I think they're incredible as I'm still rocking the s2. I just have a hard time recommending them to people because of the horrible experiences a regular user faces without rooting and throwing an aosp rom on. And it's not like I can freely suggest nexus phones as the nexus 4 is exclusive to gsm (most my friends are on Verizon/Sprint) and most don't like the idea of paying off contract.
Anywho I rambled a bit. Long story short, I'm the biggest Samsung advocate in the world but even I'm skeptical of getting the s4 because of performance drops such as the ones mentioned
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you ever try to install a custom rom for any of those devices? The only smart phone I've owned was a Samsung Infuse (The little brother of the S2) and the lag on that phone was terrible, despite the amount of roms I've put on it.

I have seen lag in the widget drawer, first time when you try to swipe to a different page in the widget drawer. Seems like 4.2 update have broken a few things in terms of smoothness.

CLARiiON said:
I have seen lag in the widget drawer, first time when you try to swipe to a different page in the widget drawer. Seems like 4.2 update have broken a few things in terms of smoothness.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So did I. Didn't notice a lag in other screens, though...

lemonz23 said:
Did you ever try to install a custom rom for any of those devices? The only smart phone I've owned was a Samsung Infuse (The little brother of the S2) and the lag on that phone was terrible, despite the amount of roms I've put on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I still have the Droid Charge, the Infuse's ugly brother on Verizon. They both use galaxy S hardware in the age of the S II, and Samsung didn't really give a crap about them software wise. I remember when the Charge got the gingerbread update there was a line that read something like this in the source:
/*This is a temporary piece of crappy code that I was forced to write as I did not figure
out how to properly use the driver in the system. Please resist the temptation of ever using
this code in a good Samsung phone. I will remove this code as soon as I figure out the correct
way of using the driver*/
The old hardware and the bad development are likely the problems. We did just get an OTA update a couple of weeks ago that fixed a lot of lag, though. Maybe it was that guy's driver, who knows.

lemonz23 said:
I've been hearing on some reviews that there are some moments that the Touchwiz UI will have an occasional stutter or lag. Do you guys think that downloading a different launcher, like Apix, will help solve that? Or will I have to go to the dark side of the phone and root it?
Also to some of you S3 owners out there, did installing CM10 or any other custom roms help remove any signs of lag or stuttering from the phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's an existing feature in Samsung phones called S-lag.
So how's the dialer? Does it still open for 3 secs?

MultiLockOn said:
I'm afraid to get the s4 because of that. Everyone swore to God that the note 2 was the most fluid device they ever touched with no frame rate drops. I recommend it to two friends, come back two weeks later to find both of their phones a lag fest. There might've been some user error there, they both had 2 or 3 weird apps installed, and I attempted to diagnose the problem but alas the lag remained, with and without apex. It was kinda embarrassing
for me when they both went in to trade their note 2's for an iPhone 5, because of the horrendous lag they suffered.
I say all that because I potentially see that happening here again, especially with touchwiz now BEYOND bloated with features. Not to mention the phone probably isn't optimized for snapdragon the way it is for exynos...
Don't get me wrong I love sammy phones, I think they're incredible as I'm still rocking the s2. I just have a hard time recommending them to people because of the horrible experiences a regular user faces without rooting and throwing an aosp rom on. And it's not like I can freely suggest nexus phones as the nexus 4 is exclusive to gsm (most my friends are on Verizon/Sprint) and most don't like the idea of paying off contract.
Anywho I rambled a bit. Long story short, I'm the biggest Samsung advocate in the world but even I'm skeptical of getting the s4 because of performance drops such as the ones mentioned
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I read somewhere that the lag is not the devices themselves but more on Android's native coding (how it was built ground up). Android works like a computer and differences are the way it utilizes the CPU/GPU. For example, when you are browsing and click on something on iOS, it stops everything and performs new instructions right away. In Android, it still process last set of instructions.
So Android reduces the lag by brute force by (dual, quad core, more memory, GPU etc) whereas iOS, because of different coding they don't need to. Many apps on Android are really customized versions of Java. And didn't Steve Jobs eliminate Java because it is too slow/power consuming for Mobile?
Even Nexus devices lag. When you turn on the phone and start scrolling and browsing right away really fast there is some lag.

There is an interesting just released article on that matter , in french, but numbers speak for themselves :
lesnumeriques.com/reactivite-tactile-ecran-21-smartphones-tablettes-n29229.html
(sorry can't publish full url yet.
Limited set of devices for now but more to come and undoubtly GS4.
So far,
no surprise, Iphone 5 beat them all : 75ms
GS3 : quite good : 105ms
HTC one : a bit disappointing : 145

MultiLockOn said:
I'm afraid to get the s4 because of that. Everyone swore to God that the note 2 was the most fluid device they ever touched with no frame rate drops. I recommend it to two friends, come back two weeks later to find both of their phones a lag fest. There might've been some user error there, they both had 2 or 3 weird apps installed, and I attempted to diagnose the problem but alas the lag remained, with and without apex. It was kinda embarrassing
for me when they both went in to trade their note 2's for an iPhone 5, because of the horrendous lag they suffered.
I say all that because I potentially see that happening here again, especially with touchwiz now BEYOND bloated with features. Not to mention the phone probably isn't optimized for snapdragon the way it is for exynos...
Don't get me wrong I love sammy phones, I think they're incredible as I'm still rocking the s2. I just have a hard time recommending them to people because of the horrible experiences a regular user faces without rooting and throwing an aosp rom on. And it's not like I can freely suggest nexus phones as the nexus 4 is exclusive to gsm (most my friends are on Verizon/Sprint) and most don't like the idea of paying off contract.
Anywho I rambled a bit. Long story short, I'm the biggest Samsung advocate in the world but even I'm skeptical of getting the s4 because of performance drops such as the ones mentioned
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Note II with Nova on here, and zero lags (except if you unlock from deep sleep and immediately without waiting, like within 1 second or something, pull down the notification bar, there's a lag, but that's me being nitpicky here). I guess it's a snapdragon thing rather, I'm on N7100 international Note II. Can vouch for that anyways.

I feel like this will be fixed with updates.
A lot of them said it was in awkward apps.. the kind of apps you wouldn't expect to get lag.

On engadgets review, they say that the air view and air gestures seen to make the phone a lot more sluggish. So hopefully disabling one of those features will help speed it up.

Note 2 user chiming in. Not even mad about lag. There is no such thing as lag free. Show me proof if there is.
Also got an GS4 arriving tomorrow. Removing bloatware as soon as I gain root.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using xda app-developers app

When I was trying out the note 2 at the att store I noticed that some of the transitions would stutter from time to time (getting inand out of the app drawer, notification pulll down stutter) When I was trying out the HTC One, the only lag slight lag I got was on the widget select screen. Everything was literally smooth and fluid, it was awesome! The only reason why I was sold to the S4 instead of the One was because of the power button and volume buttons being so flush in the casing. I would have to slide my finger across the top just to pinpoint the power button which was very annoying and so I was thinking of avoiding the One. And I honestly like the design of the S4 more. But even the slightest lag on the S4 will deter me away from it, if it is constantly happening that is.

i'm not sure why some of u have lag or stutter on N2
i only have stutter on the notification drawer if i have a looot of notifications

Have you noticed some lags on the stock browser app? It seems there are some issues with pinch-in/out.

invano said:
Have you noticed some lags on the stock browser app? It seems there are some issues with pinch-in/out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no stock browser smooth as butter , Chrome stutter sometimes

yahyoh said:
no stock browser smooth as butter , Chrome stutter sometimes
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can I ask you what is the version of the fw?
i9505 or 9500?
Thanks man

Your galaxy note 10.1 2014 edition experience - pro's and con's

Hello I created this thread to share each of our thoughts, opinions, and feelings about the device so far.
I'll start.
Pro's
So far I really like this device. The screen display is the best I've seen so far.
One of the best features is multi tasking. The screen size makes perfect sense for doing so compared smartphones.
The main reason I ordered this tablet is because of college. Reading articles and textbooks are great due to 1080p display and it's pixels per inch.
My magazine/flipboard is a great integration into touchwiz ui even thought it feels laggy at first.
Con's
Though this is branded as a high spec device, I did notice some minor lag which doesn't bother me to much. But for a high end device and it's asking price, it's unexceptional!
Missing certain note 3 features like nfc, usb3.0
Physical buttons personally isn't the best idea. When I use this device in portrait mode, my fingers sometimes might hit them.
Sent from my SM-P600 using Tapatalk

Anyone want to share your impressions and experience about the device so far?
Sent from my SM-P600 using Tapatalk

Pros
- SPen
- Multi Windows Feature
- Hardwarekeys
Cons
- very hot around the camera (in Potrait Mode its to warm for me, on the other side is the home button)
- lags are often (Chrome, Firefox extremly. other Browser ok but not for a tablet for this price)

Agree almost entirely with op. Hopefully custom toms get rid of lag.
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

I'm coming from the TF700, so I'm in heaven.
My pro's, beside not having extreme lag like my Infinity, are the screen and, also, the feel. The TF700 used to dig into my hands when I was holding it between my thumb and forefinger. This device is smoother on my fingers; when I hold the device in the same way, the device doesn't cut into my hands.
My cons are basically using Touchwiz (this is my first Sammy-d, so I have to become adjusted and figure out where to go to adjust settings and what-not. I also don't care for the physical buttons, because I'm constantly changing from portrait to landscape, and vice-verse.
But, overall...I'm very happy; I'll put up with the little things as long as I have a tablet that will do what I tell it to do, instead of waiting for an eternity.
:laugh:

Pros: screen is awesome. S pen seems better than original, stock video player does better job with media server
Con's: Listening to all the people who probably do not even own the device talk about lag!
I propose that you have to prove ownership of note 2014 to post a complaint about lag AND show video proof.

Oh yeah!? Well....... I say anybody NOT having lag should also prove it with video and at least two ghost apparition sightings. It IS nearing Halloween

Just to let you know the resolution is higher than 1080P.
I agree with Most of your list though
Sent from my SM-P600 using Tapatalk 4

Pros:
-Display (as everyone has already mentioned).
-Design is sleek and much more comfortable and easy to handle than the previous model. I love the hard buttons and it works well with me. One issue I have heard about though is that the main menu button isn't receded so sometimes when pressure is applied to a case around that area it will wake up the tablet. As I don't have a case yet I can't confirm that this is an issue, but I believe just be running my finger over the button.
-S Pen (for the most part)
-And despite what many have said this thing is generally very fast. It's only within some applications that it gets a little laggy and I'm hoping that this will improve with software updates.
Cons:
-Mainly the software. I hate the new S Note. So much in fact, that I purchased Lecture Notes without having received my galaxy perks (which I"m still waiting on actually). Also I was a little disappointed that the air command wasn't customizable as I had heard it would be (or maybe I just haven't figured out how to do that yet). Taking screen shots with the lasso and s-button seems slower than it was in the older model, but I love that there are more options to shape the outline more cleanly.I'd also really love to be able to uninstall or disable some of the bloatware, like mymagazines. I'm sure it's a great app, but I personally have no need for it.
-There are hardly any accessories out for this baby yet. I'd feel a lot more comfortable with a case.
-The back of the tablet gets a little warm, but not so warm to the point where I'd be concerned about it. I've had laptops that would get uncomfortably hot so maybe I've just been desensitized to this issue.
And the biggest problem I've had with this thing... the thing that has actually made me consider returning it is the customer service. I have not gotten my perks yet and contacted them several times only to get the run around. Each time I called back I found out that they had taken my information incorrectly and I honestly feel like they were toying with me. I spoke with one rep who seems more genuine than the others and said I should get them by Thursday so I'm holding out hope. There is no way I'll take this thing back, but if I dont' get my perks I may reach out to a friend who works for samsung in Korea. It'd be an awkward convo though cause I haven't spoken to the guy in years.... 대한민국!

May be off topic (I am not writing a review) but I think 'lag' in general on this device is unacceptable. If you're advertising a powerhouse piece of technology and it stutters in an internet browser then something is wrong. Using a different launcher to reduce 'lag' is also unacceptable as it shouldn't even be there in the first place! Hopefully new firmware irons out the kinks (I'm sure the lag isn't tablet-related as it just needs some optimization)

rushless said:
Oh yeah!? Well....... I say anybody NOT having lag should also prove it with video and at least two ghost apparition sightings. It IS nearing Halloween
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As someone with both the this device and an HTC one, I can say that the note certainly lags more. It's not something that's major, but it's certainly noticeable if your coming from something smoother.
Sent from my SM-P600 using Tapatalk 4

rushless said:
Oh yeah!? Well....... I say anybody NOT having lag should also prove it with video and at least two ghost apparition sightings. It IS nearing Halloween
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I recorded a video on my crappy iphone, but i can't transfer it and i refuse to install that memory hog of crap itunes to get to it. I should be getting a note 2 in the next couple of weeks so i'll take a video then. is there anything in particular that you wanted me to do on it?
I admittedly dont' do too much on it besides browsing and taking notes. The worst I've seen the lag is when I have a webbroswer open and I'm writing in lecture notes. the writing shows up a second after i've written something and that is a bit annoying. Over all though I think people are being too critical of the lag. It's not so bad that it's keeping me from working on it (with the exception of using split screen between lecture notes and the default browser.
Besides for this tablet it's all about the s pen. if it wasn't for that i wouldn't have bothered with a tablet at all. I think smart phones are good for when you're on the move and if i'm going to sit down to watch a movie or do some gaming... well that's what i've got my laptop for. I don't live in a big city with good public transportation, but i could easily see myself just using my phone to watch a movie on a train or bus. I wouldn't bring out a tablet for that even if I owned one.

Sitting next to my rooted S3 running AOSP 4.3 it's a bit laggier. That's undeniable, IMO, and I'd argue that it's because of Samsung's bloated OS additions. It's not a device problem, I don't think.
However... I could not possibly care less. It's attractive, feels AMAZING in the hands (why is everyone complaining about the back?? I don't even want a case!!), the speakers are burly, the screen is superb, the stylus with the art apps can make stuff that looks like it was tone with a Wacom tablet, the cameras are SURPRISINGLY solid, it multi-tasks more like a PC than any tablet I've ever seen, and it's just... a joy to use.

gina$zanboti said:
I recorded a video on my crappy iphone, but i can't transfer it and i refuse to install that memory hog of crap itunes to get to it. I should be getting a note 2 in the next couple of weeks so i'll take a video then. is there anything in particular that you wanted me to do on it?
I admittedly dont' do too much on it besides browsing and taking notes. The worst I've seen the lag is when I have a webbroswer open and I'm writing in lecture notes. the writing shows up a second after i've written something and that is a bit annoying. Over all though I think people are being too critical of the lag. It's not so bad that it's keeping me from working on it (with the exception of using split screen between lecture notes and the default browser.
Besides for this tablet it's all about the s pen. if it wasn't for that i wouldn't have bothered with a tablet at all. I think smart phones are good for when you're on the move and if i'm going to sit down to watch a movie or do some gaming... well that's what i've got my laptop for. I don't live in a big city with good public transportation, but i could easily see myself just using my phone to watch a movie on a train or bus. I wouldn't bring out a tablet for that even if I owned one.
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Seems a lot of us sometimes forget the TRUE bottleneck of Android: The byte code Dalvik layer. This type of coding is not exactly multithread friendly and IMO seems amazing as good as the current passive cooled chipsets can do what they already do. Case in point, I never would have thought back in the G1 days emulators would be as efficient (MAME, PSX, PSP, N64). Then again, those apps are designed to not be multi-tasked.
IMO the issue is not as much the hardware or OE rom, but the platform itself as far as having global impact to software. iOS is not much better and ALSO lags. Such is the price of balance: Platform security (iOS andDalvik constraints), passive cooled devices, battery efficiency, etc.

Pros: Beautiful screen
feel and weight in your hand (compared to the previous version - which wasn't bad either)
S-Pen is less laggy and the finer screen allows for more precise writing/drawing
Cons: S-Note. I want the old version back.
Physical buttons. I really miss the natural "awareness" of where they are as compared to the old one where they were always at the
bottom of the screen.
Battery life isn't as nice as the first (alot more pixels to push I guess)
Lack of accessories (I'd really like a case)
Lack of root. I REALLY miss the 'add anything' multiwindow support'
I've waited a long time for a note 10.1 with this resolution but I'm considering returning it

I returned mine to BB. For a high end device and the associated high price I didn't find the performance acceptable. Hoping for this or that doesn't cut it for me. If it doesn't perform up to expectations out of the box, it goes back. I'll keep using my better performing Nexus 10 until version 2 of that device comes out.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using XDA Premium HD app

Count me among the disappointed... I got mine on launch day, and it's slower than last year's note 10.1.
New S Note is inexplicable.
Occasionally it hangs up and is unresponsive for at least a minute. (Happened in my beloved Lecturenotes as well as others)
Try this for a demo of the lag, I use LectureNotes with double tap zoom mode... open a note, double tap to enable zooming, pinch to zoom to 200%. Now double tap again to zoom back to 100% and watch it stutter. You can keep double tapping to switch between 100% and 200% and see the terrible lag. Do the same on last year's note 10.1 to compare.
It's not good enough. I expected this to be an upgrade!
I love the display, I love the more compact form factor, and I'll get used to the new buttons eventually.
Sent from my SM-P600 using XDA Premium HD app

BigStuart said:
Count me among the disappointed... I got mine on launch day, and it's slower than last year's note 10.1.
New S Note is inexplicable.
Occasionally it hangs up and is unresponsive for at least a minute. (Happened in my beloved Lecturenotes as well as others)
Try this for a demo of the lag, I use LectureNotes with double tap zoom mode... open a note, double tap to enable zooming, pinch to zoom to 200%. Now double tap again to zoom back to 100% and watch it stutter. You can keep double tapping to switch between 100% and 200% and see the terrible lag. Do the same on last year's note 10.1 to compare.
It's not good enough. I expected this to be an upgrade!
I love the display, I love the more compact form factor, and I'll get used to the new buttons eventually.
Sent from my SM-P600 using XDA Premium HD app
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Key words: launch day. I know it's ****ty that a new device gets rolled out with imperfect software, but that's what this is. An update or two and this will be perfect. The 10.1, by the time we all upgraded, had a lot of updates to it that ironed out its issues.

SomeGuyDude said:
Key words: launch day. I know it's ****ty that a new device gets rolled out with imperfect software, but that's what this is. An update or two and this will be perfect. The 10.1, by the time we all upgraded, had a lot of updates to it that ironed out its issues.
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You're probably right, but it's shameful that the new note is slower than the old one, launch day or not.
Sent from my SM-P600 using XDA Premium HD app

BigStuart said:
You're probably right, but it's shameful that the new note is slower than the old one, launch day or not.
Sent from my SM-P600 using XDA Premium HD app
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There's a few culprits here.
1) Software just plain isn't optimized for all the cores. Think about the tech advances from the old G1 to now. Are our devices now as much faster, proportionally speaking, as they are more powerful? Not by a long shot.
2) Was the launch day 10.1 2012 faster? I don't think. But that goes back to what I said earlier.
3) I feel like the new OS is just bloated as all hell. The device isn't slower, the burly Touchwiz is. It's like getting a brand new laptop and it takes longer to start: the PC isn't the problem, it's the new Windows.

Mass Placebo Effect on Lag

Seriously I have yet to experience any lag. I've heard much less on the subject for the 12 edition in the galaxy note than the new 14 edition of the note and I've used both daily for high intensity work applications. My 12 edition has been rooted deodexed debloated and is still way slower than my 14 edition unrooted stock. I have to say either xda has been hijacked by apple fans or those early reviews really put a bunch of people with a very critical outlook. Anyway I'm enjoying it......just my 37 dollars in change

jaztech said:
Seriously I have yet to experience any lag. I've heard much less on the subject for the 12 edition in the galaxy note than the new 14 edition of the note and I'very used both daily for high intensity work applications. My 12 edition has been rooted deodexed debloated and is still way slower than my 14 edition unrooted stock. I have to say either xda has been hijacked by apple fans or those early reviews really put a bunch of people with a very critical outlook. Anyway I'm enjoying it so that's all that matters to me....just my 37 dollars in change
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I think people may have been hypersensitive to lag after the first few main reviews seemed to focus on the lag in the My Magazine app and a few other samsung apps. I know I was looking for it right out of the box because of them. I don't see much at all and consider it a very fast tablet that will probably only get faster in time

atg284 said:
I think people may have been hypersensitive to lag after the first few main reviews seemed to focus on the lag in the My Magazine app and a few other samsung apps. I know I was looking for it right out of the box because of them. I don't see much at all and consider it a very fast tablet that will probably only get faster
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+1

OTA update may have also helped, it came out after reviews.

ddavtian said:
OTA update may have also helped, it came out after reviews.
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Ah yes that too...forgot about that!

What I didn't like about all reviews that complained about the lag was that they had no videos of it like they normally do in reviews, so I called BS from thr start. It felt like everyone just wanted to bash Samsung because they weren't Apple.

the 2012 edition had lots of reviews with lag. i believe the verge caught hell because they wined about the lag but had battery saving turned on. the defended themselves and said the lag was still there after turning it off.
there is real lag in the device, especially in heavy graphic websites. but since this lag/stutter seems to be there in every android device i've had i'd say it's an android thing instead of device specific - i'm at 21 android tablets owned at one time or another. it's on phones too, even on the snapdragon s4 but phones are so small that the stutters and imperfections are reduced to the point they're not as noticeable.
one thing i noticed yesterday is that holding the tablet vertically (portrait) induced less lag in reading the desktop version of theoldreader than holding it landscape. i'm sure there was another tablet that was under fire for not using the gpu equally in vertical and horizontal orientation.
also, i'm still on the shipped rom as i haven't taken the update yet, so some of my issues may be fixed after the update.

It appears to be one app causing the lag and not the UI or anywhere else. Some of the reviews even point out it is probably a problem with the third party app. Some kind of photo album app?
As far as the device IMO:
1. Priced $50 too high for both verisons. Seems that should have been prices for a 32/64 gb model.
2. Why no 3.0 USB? This must be produced in a different place, else would have had same connector as the Note 3.
3. Should have had a a little bigger battery.
4. Even though no 3.0, NICE there is a standard usb rather than special connector- I hate those.
5. Too much bloat (as usual)
6. Why no HDMI out??
I was going to get the Asus 701, but I know it will have a special connector and apparently will be different than the 700 version. I will probably wait for the 32GB Samsung 2014 version to be at a lower price during some kind of sale, or whatever. My Nook HD+ will cover my Android needs for now. I also have an iPad 4 that covers commercial gaming. HD+ is for comics, video and emulators.

Nexus 9 and Tegra based tablets are "Tablets to Avoid"

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
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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.