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My 3 Hour Tour With The Galaxy Tab.

rm2092

rm2092

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 30, 2008
402
2
I love all my Apple products, today for the fifth time going into Best Buy playing with the Galaxy Tab I decided to buy one to get more hands on feel knowing that I have 30 days to get a full return on it. To start I have the EVO phone and I love it for the Hot Spot for my iPad. Anyways I did return the Galaxy Tab already its no where smooth like the iPad, The iPad just feels so much better, the icons on the G-Tab where lagging and the web the script would have a buzz look while scrolling then it would get clear plus I felt like I had two phones so in the end that was my 3 hour tour of the Galaxy Tab, cant wait for generation 2 on the iPad.
 
I concur. I played with one @ Best Buy. 7 inch widescreen is too narrow. Web browser doesn't scroll smoothly like the iPad. $599 ????
I bet if Steve does release a 7 inch iPad, it won't be widescreen. Then we will see if a 7 incher is cool.
 
I played with one in Futureshop here in Canada and the experience to say the least was just brutal. Flash videos didn't play half the time and when they did, controls wouldn't work properly and parts of the image would get cut off. You never have that issue with HTML5 on an iPad or iPhone. Also, Flash pages were really laggy. I was definitely not impressed. And yes, the widescreen aspect ratio also didn't work very well for web browsing...
 
I played with one yesterday for 10mins in a store, I liked the fact that has more options than my iPad: USB port, sd card slot, 2 cams... Nothing bad, but in the other hand I found it laggy too, it's not as smooth as my iPad, at times I even had to touch twice an icon to make it work, surfing the web with the
Galaxy simply sux because of the narrow screen, it doesn't feel like a real tablet at all, it's something in the middle between a tab and a phone...
 
MrWillie said:
I bet if Steve does release a 7 inch iPad, it won't be widescreen. Then we will see if a 7 incher is cool.
Click to expand...

Jobs already denied that he would ever release a 7 inch iPad. I am glad! At 7 inches, I would rather just stick with a smart phone. The point of the iPad or the tablet in general is to bridge the gap between the Phone and the laptop. In my opinion, if you make the tablet any larger or smaller than the iPad, you defeat the purpose of owning a tablet device, and should stick with a laptop or smart phone.
 
wirelessmacuser said:
Bash away experts, you're posts are quite entertaining.
Click to expand...

Try one out, THEN actually contribute...

IamHermann0069 said:
Jobs already denied that he would ever release a 7 inch iPad. I am glad! At 7 inches, I would rather just stick with a smart phone. The point of the iPad or the tablet in general is to bridge the gap between the Phone and the laptop. In my opinion, if you make the tablet any larger or smaller than the iPad, you defeat the purpose of owning a tablet device, and should stick with a laptop or smart phone.
Click to expand...

Yep, he sure did. But that doesn't mean he won't. Seven inch model at a 4:3 aspect ratio might not be bad. Not saying that I would buy one, just sayin that it might not be bad.
 
Galaxy Tab.

Awesome: Flash, widgets, front facing camera, back facing camera, CMDA and GSM

Not very awesome: Laggy, graphics don't quite feel right on Android, it's thick, wide screen aspect ratio is kind of weird in portrait mode.....


Overall..... it's a good start but needs polish.
 
Android tablets have a long way to go to become acceptable. Until google releases a version of android for tablets it ain't happening. I especially enjoy watch HSN and seeing those idiot hosts trying to sell inferior android tablets, its terrible. And they keep freezing up during the demonstrations, yet morons still buy them because they think theyre getting something thats cheaper and as good as an iPad.
 
I've posted in detail elsewhere on here about my experience, but to keep it brief - I sold my 3G iPad because I needed something more capable. I got a 13in Air and picked up a Tab for e-reading, quick web browsing in coffee shops, videos in bed, etc... the ability to tether was the deciding factor for me.

Browsing is plenty peppy for me, although I have flash set to require a click to load (same as on my Air). The aspect ratio doesn't feel cramped for web browsing to me, and in portrait most websites scale very well thanks to the higher DPI than the iPad. The aspect ratio is really nice for movies.

I really don't think anyone should be deciding between an iPad and a Tab, at virtually half the size of the iPad its a different product. For some people, the iPad is a laptop replacement, the Tab isn't that. The best thing I can relate it to is a suped up PDA. Aside from at work where I sometimes slip my Tab into my back pocket so I can make notes or look up parts, my Tab goes right in the magazine pocket of my Air's sleeve, so I usually have the two of them together.
 
With today's news that Samsung has moved 600,000 Tabs in the first month of availability, it's clear there is some demand for tablets now that Apple has reinvigorated the market. But let's put this into perspective. While 600,000 is great for an Android device, Apple did the same in the first weekend, more or less, and at a time when people still doubted whether tablets served any purpose.

Another data point, in Samsung's home country of South Korea, they have managed to sell 30,000 tabs in the first week. But Apple, in less than a week, has 40,000 pre-sells of the iPad in Korea (if you believe the Korean Herald) or maybe it's 60,000 (if you believe the Korean Times).

I agree with the earlier posters that it's kinda pointless except as hobbyist fun to get an Android tablet before Google releases a version of Android meant for tablets. You're buying something that just isn't meant to be used that way. So the Tab's success is striking. Either people are so desperate to get a tablet they are willing to get something half-baked, or they truly don't know they are buying a tablet with an OS not optimized for that format (but they'll figure it out as they use it).

Bottom line: Apple has made the tablet market red hot after ten years of moribund sales of Microsoft tablets.
 
Last edited:
NebulaClash said:
With today's news that Samsung has moved 600,000 Tabs in the first month of availability, it's clear there is some demand for tablets now that Apple has reinvigorated the market. But let's put this into perspective. While 600,000 is great for an Android device, Apple did the same in the first weekend, more or less, and at a time when people still doubted whether tablets served any purpose.
Click to expand...

Umm, I know this is my cynical mind kicking in after far too many years of dealing with console sales figures but... is that sold to consumers or sold to retailers I wonder? Not that the figure surprises me, it's the first Android tablet of decent quality to be launched, is available worldwide, has a vast amount of hype behind it and is available with at least a small subsidy in major markets.
 
I got to use the a Tab for a while and came away not impressed. I have a DroidX so I wanted to see if the Tab offered anything over the Droid and the answer is NO. If you already own an Android phone like the EVO, Droid or Galaxy S then the Tab is a waste of money. If you dont have an Android phone then the Tab would be fun to play with for a while. I felt the 7" screen was to small to do anything productive. For just surfing the net and doing email then its ok, but at the same price as the ipad there is no reason not to go with the ipad. I think the biggest fail of the Tab is the pricing, especially the two year contract which is a joke. Just my opinion.
 
smiddlehurst said:
Umm, I know this is my cynical mind kicking in after far too many years of dealing with console sales figures but... is that sold to consumers or sold to retailers I wonder?
Click to expand...

I had the same question. It could just be moved, not sold, but time will tell.
 
I can't wait for a tablet to come out with a revolutionary/magical 7" "narrowscreen" format. Just think of all the .doc files you could browse with that 9:16 aspect ratio on a 7" screen. THIS is the future, my friends ;)
 
walkie said:
I played with one yesterday for 10mins in a store, I liked the fact that has more options than my iPad: USB port, sd card slot, 2 cams... Nothing bad, but in the other hand I found it laggy too, it's not as smooth as my iPad, at times I even had to touch twice an icon to make it work, surfing the web with the
Galaxy simply sux because of the narrow screen, it doesn't feel like a real tablet at all, it's something in the middle between a tab and a phone...
Click to expand...

I have played with one too, but I rather stay with the iPad. I was chatting with a software developer today. He develops for Windows, Mac OS X, Symbian, Android, iOS, and Windows Mobile.

I asked him which Mobile OS he considers the most solid and reliable from a developer's perspective and he said: iOS.

From a user perspective, he likes the simplicity of Symbian. He had just purchased a Samsung Galaxy S ( ? ) and had a lot of problems with it. It was sucking his data plan. he said it was a common problem with Android phones nowadays...
 
I still haven't made my way out to BestBuy to play with the Tab. I like the size but can't see myself spending the money when 3.0 is coming and is suppose to be more for tablets, another Android problem that is Adhoc networks, that puts a damper on me using MyWi. I did hear however that the Sprint Tab was snappier than the Verizon one.

I did get to play with the Archos 7" tab today at Office Depot. I was surprised they had it. Played with it. It was $199 but I have to say, not impressed with it. The screen seemed like my old iPaq PDA and it wasn't as responsive as I thought it would be. I was dissappointed. They had a spot for the ViewSonic but didn't have a display also I played with the HP printer that has a portable tablet with it, it was nice, but slow and was kinda heavy but felt well made
 
Since I bought my Tab, I haven't touched my ipad, except to update to 4.2 right now. The upgrade is taking me about 4 hrs and it's still not done yet. I much prefer the smaller size of the tab. I agree that the stock browser was not that smooth with flash on, but I turned flash to on demand and it's much smoother now. Also I use DolphinHD for most of my browsing which is a much better browser.

I have both macs and pcs at home. I think the ipad is great but it's too heavy to use in one hand. I ended up just leaving the ipad at home most of the time. With the galaxy tab, I find myself taking it around with me. Also, I don't like to have to use itunes to put anything on the ipad.

The galaxy tab remind me of the tricorder from star trek.
 
I used the TAB for 2 days, then boxed it up and it's sitting in my office waiting to be returned to Sprint. I liked the portability. I really liked email, contacts and calendar. The TAB seemed more handy with those apps and it's size. For sure it's more portable. It was great for me and my job. But, the screen was too little for browsing. Any browser (Dolphin, Skyfire) I used didn't help the screen size. In fact, I really think the stock browser was best. I browse a lot on my iPad, and can't give up that screen real estate. I may try the TAB for another couple of days, and see if I like it any better.

I guess it feels strange with an EVO in your pocket, and a TAB in your hand. They are too similar. While the iPad is bigger, it seems more logical to carry it around.


JOHN
 
I haven't used the galaxy tab at all but I just wanted to say that web browsing on the iPad is not that smooth. Whenever I scroll, I always get a checkered screen for a second or two before that section of the page loads.
 
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