Hi all,
Maybe this is useful for some folks. I loved my original Galaxy Tab and have now upgrade to the Plus. For info, I'm using the devices in Asia (Malaysia, Singapore, China, Vietnam) mostly. The version I have is a 3G with calls enabled.
I use the Tab as my primary mobile phone. It is therefore essential that it fits into the back pocket of my jeans or pocket of my suit pants. I have paired it with a VoyagerPro+ Headset and this works perfectly for calls, audio (mono of course) and Skype. I'd say I'm a heavy user with 2-3 hours of calls a day and a fair bit of web surfing, sms and emailing.
What I loved about the Original:
Contrary to many of the reviews, I really enjoyed the fact that this was an oversized phone, not a pint sized tablet. I never felt there was anything wrong with Gingerbread as an OS on a screen of this size, in fact I really liked the experience. Icons were big, keyboards very useable particularly in Portrait and the whole thing had a solid, Tonka like feel to it. It was also really tough, having dropped it countless times, never without a problem. Another handy feature was the sim card slot; very easy to access as I often swap sims.
What I noticed immediately with the Plus:
Clearly this is a small tablet. You tend to hold it in landscape much more often. The resolution of the screen is the same, but all the icons and toggles are much smaller. This makes quick operation (e.g. whilst walking) quite difficult. If placed on a desk, this is not so much of an issue. The learning curve in moving to Honeycomb is quite steep and (personal matter of taste) the transition from home screen to home screen is a bit kitchy. The tablet feels thinner (though it's not...except at the edges)
What I am beginning to like with the Plus:
Though the operation of the device is more "delicate", i.e. more care needs to be taken about where your fingers tap, there are quite a few cool features to be had in Honeycomb. The widgets are superb. Some of the tablet tailored apps are also great, particularly Youtube notwithstanding that rotation of the screen immediately reloads the video (arrrghh!!!). It feels fast, and after a week I'm already noticing that the battery time is noticeably better. In some of the blogs, the Samsung apps which float above open apps have not really impressed the reviewers, but I have found that the dialer and the calculator are particularly useful, say if you're browsing a site and want to dial or check something.
What I miss about the Original Tab:
I hope that over time I'll have the same trust in the sturdiness of the Plus. Going back to the Original Tab, I feel the same sense as when I first bought it, namely that everything on the screen looked huge. It really feels like you were playing with Lego and now you're playing with Duplo . One of my favorite apps (smart keyboard pro) doesn't play nicely with Honeycomb and so I have lost my multilingual inputs until I find a replacement.
Wrap-up:
It's a week in with the Tab Plus. I had the original for a year. Already, I know I would not want to go back to the original mostly because I enjoy the Honeycomb features, the speed and the longer battery life. I'm still not as fast at typing on the Plus, but hopefully this will improve over time.
For anyone looking to upgrade from the original, be aware that it is may not be the quantum leap you experienced when you first got the Galaxy Tab, but provided you can get used to the smaller icons & toggles it's a good upgrade.
Happy to take questions if anyone's interested.
Cheers,
Marc
marcolamy said:
The learning curve in moving to Honeycomb is quite steep and (personal matter of taste) the transition from home screen to home screen is a bit kitchy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You might consider a third party "launcher" app (such as ADW, Go Launcher, etc) that can make your home screen and launcher feel more like gingerbread. Otherwise, happy you are enjoying your tab
take care
gary
I agree that it definitely got the pint sized tablet treatment, which is somewhat of a shame given the choice between cramped tablet or luxuriously roomy phone. It has a nice solid feel though, and I was relieved to see with the latest firmware update the Market app no longer forces a nearly useless landscape mode.
I've made icons even smaller than stock with ADWlauncher EX and locked the tablet to landscape mode. I found the stock setup way too huge and "blown up phone"-like than what I want.
My WiFi only 7+ maybe feels a bit more unstable than the 7? Netflix freezes every once in awhile, which absolutely never happened on the 7. Then again the 7 couldn't even stream half the video that's out there, so I'm not complaining.
I actually like the look and feel of the smaller icons. Yes, a bit harder to navigate but esthetically it just feels better to me.
The only thing I really miss from the original Tab is my high res embedded album art. All of the music players I've used are stretching the thumbnails rather than finding the embedded file. I'm assuming this is a Froyo vs. Honeycomb thing?
Speaking as an old school, analog geeky tech guy who was dragged kicking and screaming into the digital age, I can honestly now say I don't know how I lived my life without a Tab 7+ in my back pocket.
rtfm, how do you find yourself spending your time on the 7+? What do you use it for? When do you use it instead of a phone?
speedrabbit said:
rtfm, how do you find yourself spending your time on the 7+? What do you use it for? When do you use it instead of a phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We're still WiFi only out here in the boondocks of northern New England. No 4G and barely any 3G in the area. So the Tab for me is mostly a media consumer. I've tried to use it at work as a notepad, document viewer but it's a bit cumbersome to get everything in order for that big meeting you're going to have. But for looking at, listening to or reading stuff like I say how did I live without it?
Being an old shortwave/ham radio geek, the ability to lay in bed and stream radio stations from anywhere in the world is still a revelation to me.
I've purchased my first 2 Kindle ebooks from Amazon and read them on the Tab. I still have mixed feelings about "owning" e vs. "real" books on the living room shelves but I looked forward every night to reading a book on the Tab.
The 7+ does video where the 7 couldn't. Netflix just works (mostly).
I threw away my old big-red-LED AM/FM alarm clock and i use the alarm in the tunein Radio app to wake up every morning.
If you download the maps that you need before you go on a trip Google Maps is your GPS all set for your vehicle.
Music. I'm still waiting for the proper player to get the album art right, but it's got all my music on it.
Online news. Every morning with a cup of coffee. Read the headlines and a few stories. From just about anywhere in the world. Still for free. Simply amazing.
All of this from a little box that fits in your back pocket.
Hi, same here. I've been using Original Galaxy Tab for quite some time, and I've bought myself a 7+ last two weeks. For me, it is indeed an upgrade version of the original one, but it's not too far away. It has better speed, but it is not as fast as SII. I used SII last month and I thought they would be more or less the same in term of performance as they share the same processor. Is it related to Honeycomb? Anyway, I love the Honeycomb instead of Gingerbread on the original Galaxy Tab. Honeycomb's widget and notification bar are quite useful and eye-candy.
What I miss on the 7+ is the feeling of toughness and durability. The original Galaxy Tab feels solid and tough. Gorilla glass, and the black colour border makes the difference. On 7+, the silver border looks fragile, I accidentally scratch it last week and the paint drop is obvious at that spot. =(
One more thing, when I put it in my pocket, (yes it's my primary phone), I always mispress the power button and volume rocker. Maybe its because this time, the edge is thinner and sharper.
This will b my first tablet. So my question is the design of the plus exactly like the original because im trying to find cases and things and there's not much out there for the tab plus just wondering mine will b here Monday or sooner so just wondering
Typed by my midget minion
rtfm1777 said:
My WiFi only 7+ maybe feels a bit more unstable than the 7? Netflix freezes every once in awhile, which absolutely never happened on the 7. Then again the 7 couldn't even stream half the video that's out there, so I'm not complaining.
I actually like the look and feel of the smaller icons. Yes, a bit harder to navigate but esthetically it just feels better to me.
The only thing I really miss from the original Tab is my high res embedded album art. All of the music players I've used are stretching the thumbnails rather than finding the embedded file. I'm assuming this is a Froyo vs. Honeycomb thing?
Speaking as an old school, analog geeky tech guy who was dragged kicking and screaming into the digital age, I can honestly now say I don't know how I lived my life without a Tab 7+ in my back pocket.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had both the Wifi and 3G versions of the 7+. The Wifi version was defintiely more unstable. I already sold it. It kept having sleep of deaths.
the 3G version for some reason is rock solid.
Another thing is that I can watch Flash video on the 3G version. For some reason, the Wifi version is more finnicky playing online streaming video. I don't understand it. I tried the same sites, but got different results.
However... the 3G version for some reasons takes a hell of a long time to charge. I was charging it at 4 in the afternoon and it's now 8:20pm and in four hours or so I only got up to about 60% charge. What the hell?!
Mochan said:
I had both the Wifi and 3G versions of the 7+. The Wifi version was defintiely more unstable. I already sold it. It kept having sleep of deaths.
the 3G version for some reason is rock solid.
Another thing is that I can watch Flash video on the 3G version. For some reason, the Wifi version is more finnicky playing online streaming video. I don't understand it. I tried the same sites, but got different results.
However... the 3G version for some reasons takes a hell of a long time to charge. I was charging it at 4 in the afternoon and it's now 8:20pm and in four hours or so I only got up to about 60% charge. What the hell?!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My Tab + charges in 3 hours and it was always full battery.
First tablet ever for me, bought it for the bat life and size. Needed something bigger than the 4.8 inch Viliv N5 or old Sony UX 280p. Seems my vision is getting worse with age lol, anyhows i have found the device to be very gratifying. Been an old pda user for years, so it feels like a larger smoother pda for me. Check news, facebook, watch vids and such on it. Only complaint is not neccisarily its fault (gameloft games dont run on it). Or at least the ones i playon my G2.
Sent from my GT-P6210 using xda premium
rtfm1777 said:
My WiFi only 7+ maybe feels a bit more unstable than the 7? Netflix freezes every once in awhile, which absolutely never happened on the 7. Then again the 7 couldn't even stream half the video that's out there, so I'm not complaining.
I actually like the look and feel of the smaller icons. Yes, a bit harder to navigate but esthetically it just feels better to me.
The only thing I really miss from the original Tab is my high res embedded album art. All of the music players I've used are stretching the thumbnails rather than finding the embedded file. I'm assuming this is a Froyo vs. Honeycomb thing?
Speaking as an old school, analog geeky tech guy who was dragged kicking and screaming into the digital age, I can honestly now say I don't know how I lived my life without a Tab 7+ in my back pocket.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let me update this 2 months later. One firmware update and a couple of Netflix upgrades have come and gone. The video playback is rock solid and whatever slight stability issues I noticed in the beginning are not bothering now. I'm still annoyed by the album art thumbnail issue. But as far as I'm concerned the 7+ is top of the line.
And if I've got what I need right now, why do I need ICS?
My Galaxy Tab "died" over the weekend and since I need a Tab I replaced it on Monday with the Plus.
Overall I'm liking the Plus but some thing are bugging me. The fonts and widgets seem smaller, though the screen's are the same resolution. Can't seem to make home screens I'm happy with
On the plus side the P6200 is so much faster! Also the screen seems much more vibrant.
Now if I could only get my screens sifted I'd be a happy camper.
Sent from my GT-P6200 using XDA App
GPRS/EDGE Class details
This is my first post in this forum. I am planning to finalise on Galaxy Tab plus 7.0 (GT-P6200). The Samsung India website doesn't provide exact information about the Product.
Which data class the GT-P6200 belongs> Is it Class 10 or Class 12 or Class 33?
The Exynos chipset used in GT-P6200 is same as GT-P6800?
Is the CPU Overclocked in GT-P6800?
The Tablet GT-P6200 sold in India comes with IR peer and from which country dose the company imports the Tablet (China, Korea or Vietnam)?
Related
I got the Gtab earlier today. Here are my thoughts.
- standard OS is barely serviceable.
- TNT 2.2 makes this thing so much better
- tegra 2 chipset is a game changer. i played w/ the samsung galaxy and the ipad at best buy. the gtab running tnt 2.2 is so much faster than both devices. i can't wait to upgrade my phone to a dual core later this year.
- this thing would be worth $400 msrp if......the screen was remotely usable
- i can't use this thing for more than 30 mins w/out getting a huge headache. the screen is god awful. if it had a decent screen i would keep it. but i don't want to spend $400 for a tablet that i can't use for more than 30 mins. i literally get motion sickness looking at the screen.
i'm going to sleep on it and try again tomorrow. maybe it's the lighting in my room. who knows. if it doesn't get better, i'm going to return it.
The screen has a limited viewing angle and the resolution leaves some to be desired. But I'm not going to return my tablet. It doesn't bug me that much and I can't wait until there is software out to utilize both cores of the tegra 2.
They really rushed this through production, that is apparent. I'm not gonna whine about it, I could've waited for them to refine it but I want it now!!!!
h_10 said:
I got the Gtab earlier today. Here are my thoughts.
- standard OS is barely serviceable.
- TNT 2.2 makes this thing so much better
- tegra 2 chipset is a game changer. i played w/ the samsung galaxy and the ipad at best buy. the gtab running tnt 2.2 is so much faster than both devices. i can't wait to upgrade my phone to a dual core later this year.
- this thing would be worth $400 msrp if......the screen was remotely usable
- i can't use this thing for more than 30 mins w/out getting a huge headache. the screen is god awful. if it had a decent screen i would keep it. but i don't want to spend $400 for a tablet that i can't use for more than 30 mins. i literally get motion sickness looking at the screen.
i'm going to sleep on it and try again tomorrow. maybe it's the lighting in my room. who knows. if it doesn't get better, i'm going to return it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Assuming that you're in landscape mode, try rotating the gtab 180 degree -- i.e. turning it up-side-down -- and see if you have a better viewing experience (this trick does NOT work for e.g. full-screen youtube).
Also, ensure auto brightness is set to on. The screen going full tilt in a darker room will burn a hole through the back of your head.
I actually leave it at manual and adjust as needed. For example, playing the dreaded Angry Birds I usually jack the brightness down or else my eyes start to hurt very quickly.
The refresh rate might be causing issues, as well. Why did they pick 50 hz?
h_10 said:
i played w/ the samsung galaxy and the ipad at best buy. the gtab running tnt 2.2 is so much faster than both devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WHAT?! NOT EVEN CLOSE. The iPad destroys this thing, even when running TnT lite 2.+
I've had my gtablet for almost a week now, (put TnT lite 2.2 on it immediately) and I just came from the mac store, and 20 minutes of messing with the iPad-- the whole time I was thinking, "jesus, this browser speed and smoothness crushes the gtablet." scrolling, and pinch to zoom are instant, and insanely smooth. This gtablet? not so much.
And yes, the screen is staggeringly bad considering it comes from, oh I dunno, a leader in screen technology!
The same as iPad, No. HORRIBLE I don't think so. The same as almost any laptop / netbook, Yes. When held or used the same as a laptop, should be the same. Notice even Apple store has all iPad's propped up on an angle for better viewing. $379 (ports,usb,usb,sdcard,HDMI?) vs iPad $499
"The 10.1-inch 1024 x 600 screen on the G Tablet has sharp images but colors seem muted. Viewing angles are solid at 90 degrees to the left or right when holding the device perpendicular to the ground or a table. However, when the slate is resting flat on its back, you must be right on top of it or images wash out completely."
Read more: http://www.laptopmag.com/review/tablets/viewsonic-g-tablet.aspx?page=1#ixzz17PIdFM4R
Life in LA said:
WHAT?! NOT EVEN CLOSE. The iPad destroys this thing, even when running TnT lite 2.+
I've had my gtablet for almost a week now, (put TnT lite 2.2 on it immediately) and I just came from the mac store, and 20 minutes of messing with the iPad-- the whole time I was thinking, "jesus, this browser speed and smoothness crushes the gtablet." scrolling, and pinch to zoom are instant, and insanely smooth. This gtablet? not so much.
And yes, the screen is staggeringly bad considering it comes from, oh I dunno, a leader in screen technology!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To each his own I guess.
My tablet runs the internet just fine and pinch and zoom is basically instantaneous. I get flash, so when I access web pages they dont look like swiss cheese and I dont have to deal with ITunes. I also saved $120(even more if you can find a "refurb") by buying the G tab over the IPad. The screen does leave something to be desired, thats for sure.
When you return your G tab and go buy an IPad, please let us know what store your returning to because I'm having a heck of a time finding one of the "refurbs".
The iPad browser seems smooth because it does no intermittent rendering or reflow. It scrolls content, waits, then renders again once scrolling is done. I find scrolling on iPhones and iPads really annoying after using a Nexus One on a modern ROM or my G Tablet in xScope, where you can scroll instantaneously and actually see the content instantly.
Pinch to zoom isn't a performance issue right now, it's a driver issue. Run multitouch tester to see what I mean - the multitouch reading on this chipset/board is very jumpy. That's what causes the problems with pinch to zoom. I remember the Nexus One was like that at first too, and it was fixed over time with software updates, as I expect this multitouch issue will be.
And Flash is actually quite good most of the time on the G Tablet - my wife was utterly impressed when we browsed the web a bit together the other evening and we could look at the Flash-laden furniture websites she wanted to check out (the only issue is the interfaces that use hover and click as separate UI controls - doesn't work so well on any touch device). I can watch Amazon VOD content flawlessly.
Yeah, the screen itself definitely leaves something to be desired. I do expect more from a nearly $400 device, especially coming from Viewsonic of all companies. That is disappointing. I can browse the web, watch video content, and even read books for perhaps a couple hours before my eyes feel too much fatigue from my G Tablet though.
If you gave me a G Tablet with an IPS display, I'd say I had the perfect device for me (a guy who loves hacking and doesn't mind replacing the craptastic stock software and hates Apple's walled garden and anti-jailbreaking policies). But we're the people who chose to be early adopters. We are probably people who habitually piss several hundred dollars away every 6 months on the latest gadget which is often half-baked when it's released. We like this stuff, that's why we're on XDA Developers forums. If you aren't into it, by all means, get the iPad. For lots of people that's a better device right now.
Life in LA said:
WHAT?! NOT EVEN CLOSE. The iPad destroys this thing, even when running TnT lite 2.+
I've had my gtablet for almost a week now, (put TnT lite 2.2 on it immediately) and I just came from the mac store, and 20 minutes of messing with the iPad-- the whole time I was thinking, "jesus, this browser speed and smoothness crushes the gtablet." scrolling, and pinch to zoom are instant, and insanely smooth. This gtablet? not so much.
And yes, the screen is staggeringly bad considering it comes from, oh I dunno, a leader in screen technology!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you do not mind the iTunes UI being needed for file movement, could care less about Flash and do not need USB host function: iPad is a better choice- especially for non-modders.
I have messed with the iPad a lot and do not see the "crushes" speed difference. Especially not with 2.20 and Flash set to "on demand". Dolphin and X browser handle far more pages a lot better.
You do know that iPad client mode is chopped down versions of web pages? If you change the client in settings to "iPad" the Gtablet is actually faster. Everything is relative and not everyone likes the constrained option of an iPad. Seems the ultimate socialist device
All card carrying party members should have one! The display IS sweet, none the less, and a TON of cool and great apps. Kool aid tastes so gooood.
I joke, but next iPad may have USB and a lot of good games are heading to it. PSP2 will be DEAD (IMO of course). I could see me with the G and an iPad.... but my wife may kick my a** having such a vision....
rcgabriel said:
If you gave me a G Tablet with an IPS display, I'd say I had the perfect device for me (a guy who loves hacking and doesn't mind replacing the craptastic stock software and hates Apple's walled garden and anti-jailbreaking policies). But we're the people who chose to be early adopters. We are probably people who habitually piss several hundred dollars away every 6 months on the latest gadget which is often half-baked when it's released. We like this stuff, that's why we're on XDA Developers forums. If you aren't into it, by all means, get the iPad. For lots of people that's a better device right now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This sums it up.
I get the walled garden and what makes it attractive. It is kind of like the Matrix (or AOL). Plenty of people are content in their rigidly defined, "happy" world being machine food. However, others want to see the real world beyond someone else's vision of what it should be. People who want to make their own realities even if it is in a wasteland filled with choas and danger.
The iPAD v.2 will still be lcoked to iTunes and it still won't have Flash or USB support. Those are the deal breakers for me.
Lnin0 said:
I get the walled garden and what makes it attractive. It is kind of like the Matrix (or AOL). Plenty of people are content in their rigidly defined, "happy" world being machine food. However, others want to see the real world beyond someone else's vision of what it should be. People who want to make their own realities even if it is in a wasteland filled with choas and danger.
The iPAD v.2 will still be lcoked to iTunes and it still won't have Flash or USB support. Those are the deal breakers for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same deal breakers for me, and it costs more money too. The IPad works for most people and its very easy to use for the average users. I personally cant stand ITunes and I love the fact that I have flash on my device.
i like the gtab. or rather i like the idea of the gtab. an open unlocked device that's ripe for modding and developing. i just wished they put a better screen on it. if the screen were usable, i'd keep this thing. i just physically can't use this thing for more than 30 mins at a time. i tried using it again a few times this morning and got a headache again.
i'll keep it for the kids to have something to play with and use during the xmas vacation. i'll take it back after xmas and wait for another more polished dual core android tablet w/ a better, ie usable, screen.
i really wanted to like the gtab.
to be clear...
I have faith that once the builds start taking advantage of the real power of this tablet's hardware it will be faster than the iPad in every respect.
(the screen will still suck, but hey...)
Acturbo said:
When you return your G tab and go buy an IPad, please let us know what store your returning to because I'm having a heck of a time finding one of the "refurbs".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HEY NOW! I never said anything about getting rid of it!
My wife plays a ton of those flash based browser games and I'd be murdered if I took this thing away...
Life in LA said:
HEY NOW! I never said anything about getting rid of it!
My wife plays a ton of those flash based browser games and I'd be murdered if I took this thing away...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yours and mine both haha. If this thing could utilize shockwave I dont think I'd ever get a chance to play with it.(She loves POGO)
Rule #1 of G Tab: Never show your wife angry birds, lest you lose your G Tab.
mine went back
I loved the g tab with tnt 2.2......everything worked great on it (esp flash and angry birds), but I just couldn't take the screen anymore. So I returned it couple days ago.....
I'm catching my self missing it today but than i remember how crappy the screen is and look forward to another product.
The hardware on the g tab is great, but like what most of you are suggesting, it needs a better screen (which will probably increase price too)
Thank you roebeet and rest of the community for making such awesome ROMs.
The G tabs original OS is garbage.
Great.
rcgabriel said:
Rule #1 of G Tab: Never show your wife angry birds, lest you lose your G Tab.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
NOW you tell me.
Hi everyone,
Just got my TF, and I'm loving it. I think it's a fantastic device and I can't wait to order my keyboard soon. That being said, there are still some, "issues," (more like minor annoyances) that I'd like to get resolved, hopefully before next Monday when I have a 4 hour plane trip.
1) YouTube skipping.
I notice when watching YouTube in fullscreen HQ, it seems like the video is constantly skipping. Is there any fix for this?
2) Live wall paper DESTROYS performance.
Not sure if there is a fix for this, but I was running a wall paper (might have come with Beautiful Widgets, not sure if it's stock) that changed based on the current forecast, and the sun and the moon would move based on the time. I noticed I was getting extremely bad transitions and disabled the live wall paper, and sure enough they went away.
I'm just surprised that a wall paper could destroy performance like that. Is there some sort of performance measure I could take?
3) Need a folio case (Accessories thread seems rather unresponsive)
I really want a 'folio type case. Having to hold the tablet for 4 hours would really kill the experience for me, especially if I'm using it to watch a movie or something.
I've read some very bad things about the Asus one, and I don't want to drop $50 if I'm going to replace it in a few months when more accessories come out. I've thought about a desk stand, but that seems very inconvenient for travel with.
One way or another, I need a way to protect it in my bag while traveling. If I can't find a decent folio case, I'll buy a cheap sleeve, but then I need a way to prop it up. Any suggestions?
----------------
Other than that, everything is pretty issue free. I guess I should consider myself lucky based on some of the things people are reporting.
Youtube usually takes a little bit longer than typical to buffer but I have never had any skipping issues.
The live wallpaper you are using is most likely not optimized for tablets and it is also notorious for slowing down phones. I have used it in the past and while it is very nice it does indeed harm performance and battery life.
Try using one of the live wallpapers that came with the device.
The Beautiful Live Wallpaper has an option when you are setting it where you can reduce the FPS. This will make your transitions better, but it's not going to make a huge difference in the long run. It seems that the HC launcher, or HC itself, just has some real rough animation edges that are seen in the lancher and elsewhere.
With mine, the stock HC Launcher lags a fair bit on my default screen where I have a 4 information widgets (beautiful weather super clock, plume, gmail (HC) and the calendar schedule (HC)). Going to my next screen to the right, which only has icons, is less chunky than going to the widget default screen. Going to an empty screen from either of these is very smooth since there's nothing to draw really.
On my other tablet (Viewsonic G Tablet) I run Launcher Pro, with it's wonderful widgets. Similar setup too on the default screen with weather, twitter/facebook, etc. I tried to set that up on HC as well, but even with Launcher Pro it was laggy switching between screens. Something that didn't happen in GB on on the G Tablet. Since Launcher Pro felt wrong on the Transformer I switched back to the stock launcher until something better comes out.
From what I've read, though, HC 3.1 tackles the transitions issues and other things. Additionally, on ASUS' facebook page they say they are already working on the 3.1 update for the Transformer. Hope that comes out sooner than later
I have one question:
Why using wallpapers that slow down your overall tablett performance and not just use a nice picture?
mamaroro said:
I have one question:
Why using wallpapers that slow down your overall tablett performance and not just use a nice picture?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Beautiful Weather one is really nice because it shows the sky that changes based on the time of day and the weather conditions. At night you have a dark sky with a moon, in the day you have a light sky with the sun. It's not needed, just nice .
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Thanks for the info. I guess it's waiting for HC 3.1 then (which I don't have a problem with).
Any info on a good Folio case?
I also might need to return the tablet. I noticed last night part of the bezel sticking out on the bottom side, and I'm worried this is going to cause problems when I get the dock. I plan on calling Asus later today.
I'm having the exact same issues with youtube. I have waited for the entire video to buffer and it still glitches like crazy. It makes the video unwatchable. I also noticed this happens when I play any sort of flash video in fullscreen. (ie. nbc.com full episodes).
Is this an isolated problem or is everyone else just looking past it? It's driving me bonkers because one of the main reasons I bought this to be able to play videos when at friends/relatives houses. I'm 100% stock, non-rooted.
I've only noticed the Youtube/flash lag issues when it's high def video (1080p and sometimes on 720p). Otherwise, I don't see any visible lag. This was on Flash 10.2 and haven't checked on 10.3 yet.
Yeah, I get the lag anytime I choose "HQ" in the youtube app. I seem to get flash choppiness no matter what the stream is, as long as it's fullscreen.
try youtube through the browser, 480p should work fine in the browser.
as for your question regarding the folio case...
the reason the accessories thread is unresponsive (i've posted there myself) is because there isnt really much to report on the dedicated TF cases. there are some options that people are exploring (netbook sleeves, folio cases designed for other tablets) but thats because the ONLY case out right now is the one from Asus. from what ive read, the Asus one kinda sucks and is not worth the $40.
i have my TF for business use...going to meetings, viewing documents, etc...so i'm right there with you on the need for a folio case. there just isnt anything out right now. my best guess based on what ive read is that third parties are making cases for the TF right now and i would say this time next month, we should have at least a couple of options. this is not the iPad so third party support isnt just chomping at the bit to push out accessories to an "unproven tablet".
my advice to you would be to get something relatively inexpensive just to protect your tablet from accidental dropping or scratching until a true folio case comes out. and who knows when that will be, but my hope is 2-4 weeks from now.
hopefully they fix the youtube HQ fullscreen playback soon!
I'm thinking a cheap sleeve might have to just do it, and ill pick up a folding stand for my plane trip. Really don't want to do it this way, but it might be the best option for the cost.
Wasn't really sure where to put this, since there isn't a forum for this device but thought people here might be interested?
First impressions are incredibly favourable.
It feels absolutely incredible in the hand with how slim it is, and the build materials are stellar - a refreshing change from Samsung's usual gear (every now and again they show that they really can make extremely classy looking and feeling devices, only wish they did that more often!). The screen is amazing, but I only realised how good it is when I had it next to my Transformer Prime - I thought the Prime's screen was stellar (best on a tablet yet I thought) but the 7.7 makes it look thoroughly average.
It's HC 3.2 with TW, and runs pretty well with just the occasional tiny micro-hitch here and there (the Prime's Tegra 3 is the only device I've had so far that could drive HC well enough to call 'buttery'). I noted with interest that there is no lag typing in the browser with a software keyboard, must be something Samsung have done to it because even the Prime had attrocious lag in HC in browser typing...
Need to get some stupid proprietary connectors tomorrow and can then do usual connectivity test and video...
Questions?
where'd you get it? is it GSM? does it have voice calling feature enabled? is the SAMOLED+ as good as its hyped up to be. How much did it cost?
chrisrotolo said:
where'd you get it? is it GSM? does it have voice calling feature enabled? is the SAMOLED+ as good as its hyped up to be. How much did it cost?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Got it from Mobicity, mine isn't the 3G one, but it is available (and by the looks of it calling should be possible for those inclined!).
The SAMOLED+ is pretty stunning. Only a couple of days ago I was saying how the Transformer Prime has the best screen on a tablet but side-by-side the 7.7 blows it away (I think in Super-IPS mode the Prime will have a significant advantage for outdoors usability though).
Price was in the order of $750NZD from memory, as always with a device at release there is a premium to be paid.
very nice. yeah here's the link for 3g version described aas full voice calling ability..
http://www.mobicity.com.au/samsung-galaxy-tab-7-7-16gb-3g.html
I think Im all set with my 7.0+ until a nice quad core 7" with voice comes along with some beefed up specs.
chrisrotolo said:
very nice. yeah here's the link for 3g version described aas full voice calling ability..
http://www.mobicity.com.au/samsung-galaxy-tab-7-7-16gb-3g.html
I think Im all set with my 7.0+ until a nice quad core 7" with voice comes along with some beefed up specs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, if you're happy with that screen size I see no reason not to wait and pick up the ASUS one, amazing price point on that!
Yep.. the only thing they didn't do well is... price Almost twice as much as for the 7+ ?!? For a bumped screen and CPU clock? Come on Samsung, you can do better!
For that price I would expect it to be twice as fast and have at least HDMI out built it...
ryhoo2 said:
Yep.. the only thing they didn't do well is... price Almost twice as much as for the 7+ ?!? For a bumped screen and CPU clock? Come on Samsung, you can do better!
For that price I would expect it to be twice as fast and have at least HDMI out built it...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have we gotten a confirmation for pricing in the US yet? Pricing this above $479 is a mistake.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk
Kiwi's lose out on price; in Australia you can pick the wifi version up for about $550. I reckon I've seen it on the grey market for about $500.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
NZtechfreak said:
Wasn't really sure where to put this, since there isn't a forum for this device but thought people here might be interested?
First impressions are incredibly favourable.
It feels absolutely incredible in the hand with how slim it is, and the build materials are stellar - a refreshing change from Samsung's usual gear (every now and again they show that they really can make extremely classy looking and feeling devices, only wish they did that more often!). The screen is amazing, but I only realised how good it is when I had it next to my Transformer Prime - I thought the Prime's screen was stellar (best on a tablet yet I thought) but the 7.7 makes it look thoroughly average.
It's HC 3.2 with TW, and runs pretty well with just the occasional tiny micro-hitch here and there (the Prime's Tegra 3 is the only device I've had so far that could drive HC well enough to call 'buttery'). I noted with interest that there is no lag typing in the browser with a software keyboard, must be something Samsung have done to it because even the Prime had attrocious lag in HC in browser typing...
Need to get some stupid proprietary connectors tomorrow and can then do usual connectivity test and video...
Questions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also have the wifi version and its really amazing...screen is just wow..
Does your touchwiz version allows editing mini apps tray ..somehow some people with 3g version seems to have it but mine does not
Do you have the original tab plus? Could you do a size and weight comparison? I want to see how much thinner and lighter it is compare to the tab+
darkhunter21 said:
Do you have the original tab plus? Could you do a size and weight comparison? I want to see how much thinner and lighter it is compare to the tab+
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Weight :Tab+ is 345 gm , 7.7 is 340 gm.
Thickness : Tab+ 9.9 mm , 7.7 is 7.9 mm
Hi, I have the gsm 3g version, it does indeed have voice calls its kind of like a big phone really, I got mine from panamoz.com ordered on monday night and recieved at 1pm on the friday.
Sent from my GT-P6800 using xda premium
I got the 3G 7.7 a couple of days ago. I'm in the US and ordered it from negrielectronics.com for about US$650 plus shipping. They shipped it on Tuesday and I got it on Thursday - how convenient that we had a winter storm in Chicago and we got sent home from work, so I could be home to receive it :-D The model I have is the silver-backed one, and looks like it came from Hong Kong.
I took it to an AT&T store today to activate it on a month-to-month data plan. The staff were drooling over it! FYI for anyone else doing the same thing, they had to fake the IMEI in their system to get it to come up with the correct data plan, as their system did not recognise my Tab's IMEI, with it not being an AT&T device. They ended up using the IMEI of one of the HSDPA (*not* LTE) tablets they had in the store. Also, after it was all activated, I had to go into the APN settings and add a new APN titled "broadband" (no username/password) for data to actually work.
I love this Tab - the hardware is spectacular, and the screen is out of this world! My only dilemma is what to do about my Tab 7plus, which I've had for about a month. I'm still within return period for that, but there's something about the 7plus where, for all the tech whizzbangery of the 7.7, the 7plus just feels that little bit more personal.... It might just be that because the 7plus has the rougher back, it's a bit easier to hold one-handed. The 7.7 is a bit slippy.
About ready to order a 7.7 myself from negri...but wifi only. Just worried about U.S. Developed roms being compatible down the road when the US version launches. Does your IR blaster work?
Sent from my GT-P7510 using xda premium
Hello guys.
I also got a 7.7 3g a couple days ago and registered here to share some impressions and questions. Coming from a galaxy s plus and iPad, this is my first experience with honeycomb.
The hardware is great, as has been said many times. The tablet is gorgeous, a little heavier than it's svelte looks may suggest and feels solid, gets barely warm, a pleasure to hold.
The size is ideal for web browsing on the move, pages in landscape are generally easy to read without need of zooming and panning around. I also find amoled screens to strain eyes a little less than lcd thanks to the potentially darker colors.
Battery life is ok, not incredible. I got over 8 hours of random use with wifi and auto screen luminosity.
The software is a different story.
The preloaded Swype keyboard is bugged. On large documents, double tapping a word to select it causes the editor to scroll to the top and select a random block from the first lines. The frequency of this happening seems correlated with the dimension of the document - almost always on the 100Kb file I'm working with now, but you don't need to get nearly as large.
I verified the bug with three different editors, jota, 920, and the built in note app. It's less apparent on the latter as it only handles short notes, but still happens constantly on specific words.
It's especially annoying because the keyboard is otherwise excellent, imo more responsive to fast swipes and accurate in text prediction than the commercial SlideIT alternative, it even has cursor and edit keys accessible with a couple taps.
Other issues I imagine belong to honeycomb and well known here, but were a surprise to me, used to a fine gingerbread experience.
The interface suffers from significant hiccups. Apps can't write on the micro SD, thought as consolation Samsung's preloaded file manager allows to copy data to it.
Multitasking is unreliable for serious work as background apps get randomly closed and lose data. Registering to this forum I left Dolphin browser to open the verification email, went back to find all tabs gone. The same browser on a phone with half the ram rarely if ever had the issue.
App crashes have also been much more common, included one with the pre installed pen memo app, few with the settings manager, more with Dolphin.
I'll cut it before this becomes a rant on the OS. I'm interested in knowing if others can reproduce the keyboard problem, to make sure it's not my device to be defective.
Bottom line, ICS can't come soon enough and hopefully will address issues. This tablet needs and deserves better than the stuff it's running now.
Btw, I got it from Negri too, excellent service. There is no IR gun, it may be specific to other models or just have been removed from the final specs.
thank u for that in depth review!
Sent from my SCH-I800 using xda premium
fabiovolta said:
Hello guys.
The software is a different story.
The preloaded Swype keyboard is bugged. On large documents, double tapping a word to select it causes the editor to scroll to the top and select a random block from the first lines. The frequency of this happening seems correlated with the dimension of the document - almost always on the 100Kb file I'm working with now, but you don't need to get nearly as large.
I verified the bug with three different editors, jota, 920, and the built in note app. It's less apparent on the latter as it only handles short notes, but still happens constantly on specific words.
It's especially annoying because the keyboard is otherwise excellent, imo more responsive to fast swipes and accurate in text prediction than the commercial SlideIT alternative, it even has cursor and edit keys accessible with a couple taps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I find swipe-type keyboards rather useless on tablets because of the size of the device, and even though this one is smaller I still never want to use them here either.
Try Swiftkey Tablet X or Thumb Keyboard, much better for me (I would think the majority of Android tablet owners are using one of these two keyboards).
fabiovolta said:
App crashes have also been much more common, included one with the pre installed pen memo app, few with the settings manager, more with Dolphin.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dolphin seems to have issues at the moment, I'm seeing reports like that across multiple device forums, try Opera Mobile instead?
I've not had any problems with app crashes myself.
Anyone tried playing YouTube videos in a browser in Galaxy Tab 7.7? I've tried stock browser and Dolphin Browser, but neither seems to be able to play YouTube videos. (I was able to do so when I was using Galaxy S II without the YouTube app.) The latest version of Adobe Flash Player is installed. Any ideas?
ccampbell1 said:
I got the 3G 7.7 a couple of days ago. I'm in the US and ordered it from negrielectronics.com for about US$650 plus shipping. They shipped it on Tuesday and I got it on Thursday - how convenient that we had a winter storm in Chicago and we got sent home from work, so I could be home to receive it :-D The model I have is the silver-backed one, and looks like it came from Hong Kong.
I took it to an AT&T store today to activate it on a month-to-month data plan. The staff were drooling over it! FYI for anyone else doing the same thing, they had to fake the IMEI in their system to get it to come up with the correct data plan, as their system did not recognise my Tab's IMEI, with it not being an AT&T device. They ended up using the IMEI of one of the HSDPA (*not* LTE) tablets they had in the store. Also, after it was all activated, I had to go into the APN settings and add a new APN titled "broadband" (no username/password) for data to actually work.
I love this Tab - the hardware is spectacular, and the screen is out of this world! My only dilemma is what to do about my Tab 7plus, which I've had for about a month. I'm still within return period for that, but there's something about the 7plus where, for all the tech whizzbangery of the 7.7, the 7plus just feels that little bit more personal.... It might just be that because the 7plus has the rougher back, it's a bit easier to hold one-handed. The 7.7 is a bit slippy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
congrats. I would have never brought this into my local AT&T store, they would have tried to make sure it never gets used on their network, and would have threatened me to cancel my unlimited data plan (grandfathered). you're a brave man. they were very nice to help you.
I might actually want the 7.7, if it had a thin/slim bezel.
krystalho said:
Anyone tried playing YouTube videos in a browser in Galaxy Tab 7.7? I've tried stock browser and Dolphin Browser, but neither seems to be able to play YouTube videos. (I was able to do so when I was using Galaxy S II without the YouTube app.) The latest version of Adobe Flash Player is installed. Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the hongkong 6800 version and it plays hd youtube videos fine...
Sent from my GT-P6800 using XDA App
I'd be using it on T-Mobile US, which I know would leave me with EDGE, but I'd be getting it for the screen size and the accessories (the keyboard dock notably); I don't do much web-related (like streaming movies) so the web speeds would be fine.
My other choice is the upcoming Galaxy III for T-Mobile, and while it's a great phone, I'd love something with a bigger screen, even if the screen resolution is lower; most of the features of the GS3 don't appeal to me at all.
I've been using a tablet as my phone since Oct 2010 (Using Galaxy Tab 7 Plus now, and before I used the original Galaxy Tab...all with T-Mobile)
I just can't go back to a normal size phone at all. There are 3 main reasons:
1. Battery Life. No longer do I have to charge my phone every night, no longer will my phone die in a single day if I'm using Wifi, 4G, Bluetooth, Full brightness, etc. I've always hated that about smartphones, you have to charge it every night :\
2. Screen size. I love having the huge screen when viewing Texts. The entire left side are contacts in your text history, and the entire right side is the actual text message itself. Having so much real estate on the screen helps, especially when your typing. That big wide keyboard is great, hard to have typos using it. The screen size is also great when viewing contacts, having both sides of the screen serving a purpose is great.
3. Fits perfect in pocket. The #1 thing that people say when they see me with this phone is "How does that fit in your pocket?!", and when they see me easily slide it in my front pocket they are shocked it fits (I'm 5'4, wear skinny jeans, you'd think it wouldn't fit right?).
4. Bluetooth headset. A lot of people ask how do I put such a big thing to my ear... well, I don't. Most of the time I use a bluetooth headset... and when I don't, then yea I'll use it against my ear, no big deal. Just 5 years ago holding a phone the size of an iPhone looked ridiculous. I think It's a matter of time before 7" phones are standard.
Now I'll be honest and go over a few cons about using this as a phone:
1. EDGE. I also use T-Mobile, and EDGE is actually faster than I thought for normal browsing... but not having that 3G or 4G really sucks. Luckily I never have to worry about it when I'm home (Home Wifi), but yea when I'm out and about sometimes I can sure use high speed.
2. Size. Even though it fits in my pocket perfect, it does get a little annoying having to pull my phone out to read a text (But even if this were an iPhone I would get annoyed having to pull my phone out). Luckily, I found a solution to this... Sony SmartWatch.
Sony's SmartWatch works great with this phone, and man it's one of the best purchases I've made. I never have to get my phone out to read a text or see whose calling. Whether I'm in a pool/hot tub, or watching a movie, or in a meeting, or simply in another room, I don't ever have to whip out my phone or find it, i just glance at my wrist. That convenience is worth hundreds to me. It's waterproof (shower/wash dishes), it can find my phone (even when on silent), and it was real easy to setup.
3. Not ICS. Rumor has it it's planned to get ICS soon, but yea it sucks waiting for it. It's not a HUGE deal, like I said these are minor things, just keep them in mind.
4. Resolution. I wish the resolution was better :\ I won't bother going in detail why as it should be self explanatory.
5. Apps/Games/Web. Now I personally don't use any apps, or play games, and hardly browse the internet on this tablet (Use iPad for that), but I know to a lot of people not having ICS/4G can be a problem, to me it's not... but I just needed to mention that as a con.
Well those are the cons, but the pros (Battery) easily outweigh it, hence why I've been using a tablet as a phone since 2010. I'm actually in the process of selling this and getting the PadFone I'm just waiting on my guy in Tawain to ship it...
Feel free to ask me any question about the tablet! I was planning on writing a quick small review, sorry for the novel!
NineT9 said:
I've been using a tablet as my phone since Oct 2010 (Using Galaxy Tab 7 Plus now, and before I used the original Galaxy Tab...all with T-Mobile)
I just can't go back to a normal size phone at all. There are 3 main reasons:
1. Battery Life. No longer do I have to charge my phone every night, no longer will my phone die in a single day if I'm using Wifi, 4G, Bluetooth, Full brightness, etc. I've always hated that about smartphones, you have to charge it every night :\
2. Screen size. I love having the huge screen when viewing Texts. The entire left side are contacts in your text history, and the entire right side is the actual text message itself. Having so much real estate on the screen helps, especially when your typing. That big wide keyboard is great, hard to have typos using it. The screen size is also great when viewing contacts, having both sides of the screen serving a purpose is great.
3. Fits perfect in pocket. The #1 thing that people say when they see me with this phone is "How does that fit in your pocket?!", and when they see me easily slide it in my front pocket they are shocked it fits (I'm 5'4, wear skinny jeans, you'd think it wouldn't fit right?).
4. Bluetooth headset. A lot of people ask how do I put such a big thing to my ear... well, I don't. Most of the time I use a bluetooth headset... and when I don't, then yea I'll use it against my ear, no big deal. Just 5 years ago holding a phone the size of an iPhone looked ridiculous. I think It's a matter of time before 7" phones are standard.
Now I'll be honest and go over a few cons about using this as a phone:
1. EDGE. I also use T-Mobile, and EDGE is actually faster than I thought for normal browsing... but not having that 3G or 4G really sucks. Luckily I never have to worry about it when I'm home (Home Wifi), but yea when I'm out and about sometimes I can sure use high speed.
2. Size. Even though it fits in my pocket perfect, it does get a little annoying having to pull my phone out to read a text (But even if this were an iPhone I would get annoyed having to pull my phone out). Luckily, I found a solution to this... Sony SmartWatch.
Sony's SmartWatch works great with this phone, and man it's one of the best purchases I've made. I never have to get my phone out to read a text or see whose calling. Whether I'm in a pool/hot tub, or watching a movie, or in a meeting, or simply in another room, I don't ever have to whip out my phone or find it, i just glance at my wrist. That convenience is worth hundreds to me. It's waterproof (shower/wash dishes), it can find my phone (even when on silent), and it was real easy to setup.
3. Not ICS. Rumor has it it's planned to get ICS soon, but yea it sucks waiting for it. It's not a HUGE deal, like I said these are minor things, just keep them in mind.
4. Resolution. I wish the resolution was better :\ I won't bother going in detail why as it should be self explanatory.
5. Apps/Games/Web. Now I personally don't use any apps, or play games, and hardly browse the internet on this tablet (Use iPad for that), but I know to a lot of people not having ICS/4G can be a problem, to me it's not... but I just needed to mention that as a con.
Well those are the cons, but the pros (Battery) easily outweigh it, hence why I've been using a tablet as a phone since 2010. I'm actually in the process of selling this and getting the PadFone I'm just waiting on my guy in Tawain to ship it...
Feel free to ask me any question about the tablet! I was planning on writing a quick small review, sorry for the novel!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very detailed response... very nice. As a current user, I have been very pleased to have it as my secondary mobile phone, Secondary since it it is too bulky to carry all the time but the capabilities of the unit really had me very satisfied.
Ok, so i'm tempted to buy one of these as I have a bunch of vouchers which means i can buy it for £25 instead of £129.
I'm a little concerned about the lack of love of the original Hudl device in terms of custom roms and general hacking , and i kinda understand it since its a UK device. so i'm unsure to go for it because of this. Its an Intel Atom cpu so i would love it if it was able to be installed with windows 8.1/10 eventually.
Anyone else seen the device and have any thoughts on it?
http://www.tesco.com/direct/hudl2-8-wi-fi-tablet/454-7907.prd?pageLevel=&skuId=397-7926
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/tablets/391081/hands-on-tesco-hudl2-review
Looks like I've found the right place for my review
I tried posting this in a comment box on Engadget. Suffice to say, it did not fit! I thought there might be a modding forum for the hudl1 over here on xda but to my surprise there is not :-O slightly concerning. I don't understand why it being a British device would be an issue, we make great stuff!
Anyway here goes..
Had a good shot on the hudl2 today. Going in teaco today was like the opening scenes of the Lego movie. Hudl propaganda everywhere. Point of sale cardboards you expect. But I have to admit impressed with the kiosk they've set up. The branding is simple, and hey had all colours of hudl on display, it definitely lures you in. On top of tat, giving the big brother Lego-movir feel, all of the television displays are showing a hudl2 promo vids on loop. 'Were really pleased to announce...' Etc..
The demo units run in obviously a demo mode. Pristine, I think I might have been their first prodder. All the tabs were heleved in landscape view and the first Hong you notice therefore is how wide they look. If you've seen the nexus7, these seem like pretty much the same ratio. The demo mode has a display encouraging you to 'try it', which if you tap, takes you to the android home screen. Naturally it is maiden with blinkbox icons. The home screen to the left features tescos feed. Things like shopping offers, how to get started on blibkbox etc. You can hide then (they appear as cards), but they come back soon enough. The home screen one to the right of the main, is more blink box a centric with more direct links to movies and music etc.
You can choose to ditch blinkbox icons if you wish but long and short, you're not getting rid of these left and right home screens anytime soon. I had a good look through the options and settings, and nowhere did I see the option to remove ho.eacreens.
Neither was I able to enable developer option s, something to note.
Going into settings, apps, I attempted to close/stop any references to Tesco processes running to see if it was possible to 'de-teaco' the homeacreens. And sure, I was able to stop them. But returning to the home screen starts them again and back they appear, as if they never went away.
The homeacreen to.the left incurs the highest lag in all my experience using the tablet. As you scroll left, the background blurs, which is a nice aesthetic touch but I would hedge my bets that is what's causing the lag. As another person has reported, touching the app drawer brings up the app icons very promptly, with only a slight *very very slight* * delay. To the otaku, this will annoy them possibly, but to.most casual users who don't race around phones/tabs as they likely so on desktop PC's, this won't be a problem at all.
Similarly, launching apps was prompt, about th same as the initial 'pressing on app drawer' button.
It feels very much like a smartphone, with a. Bigger screen, which is what most ppl expect.
The screen. The screen is absolutely stand-out feature on this tab. The colours, to my taster are desaturated enough to look natural, I would estimate skin tones in videos would look very nice on this. Photos look absolutely lovely, and using the tab to tweak them with Google Photos was easy, fun and satisfying.
Play store..
Internet wasslow connection in this particular tescos but at least they're connected! A welcome change to a lot of stores/demos. Indeed, these tabs were 'box-fresh' I downloaded Flipboard, which flipped through lagfree, although I can't say 100% for sure about hr speed because the connection was so slow that images weren't displaying yet.
I downloaded flickr, a nice appfor viewing photos on nice screens and it looked wonderful with next to no.lag (aside the net connection ).
Feel in the hand. These things are naturally powered up and connected via mai s as well as a central stem from beneath the desk holding them up. So I wasn't able to feel how theysit in the hand vertically. But I was able to.hold it horizontally and that was indeed very comfy, the rubbery soft touch back is very nice and trippy too.
No accessories were available yet.
I can't comment on the sound, but the screen is just lovely. Again, to echo others, the viewing angles are not fantastic, but its respectably bright and crisp. No such 'cyan oven mode style' colour options in the settings though, if the look isn't to your preference.
This is my first time using an 8inch tablet, its a nice experience. However this like email in landscape could definitely so with a bit of a makeover (everything appears very large), like email for kids . (Gmail I'm talking about).
Goodgle Newsstand, this had had a recent update which makes it quite graphically intense, using the cards style material UI of upcoming Google Android L. Scrolling through the items incurred a bit of lag, I would put in on par with my galaxy S3 (running CyanogenMod 11l. As a news reading experience, this app has a lot of potential, but Aimo It would only be optimal under android L.
Browsing through the play store for music, movies and books requires a fair amount of close-up viewing it on a galaxy s3, not so here. The items on display are pleasant and text metainfo, like price, genre, year etc. Are nicely legible.
Browsing speed..
Now this is the only area where I was not particularly amazed with the hudl 2. I fired up theverge as its quite intense. The chrome.browser held most of the images in place, however a quick scroll from very top to very bottom of the site had images blinking out of view,, then re-appearing. Not a ram issue I don't think. I think (only suspect) this might be a limit of the atom CPU.
I did nothing more strenuous to he tablet, and apart from that, I would say it is very very serviceable. Especially for £129.
Were it not for this potential.nexus9 around the corner with rumoured android L, I would buy this immediately.
would it be possible to put the GEL launcher on this? and thanks for the in depth review^^^^^^^
nice hands-on. sort out the strange spelllings and wording and you could put that on a proper website.
i'll be getting mine tonight (cost me £25 on top of my clubcard vouchers which have been sitting doing nothing for years) so will give some feedback for what its worth. i'm totally wanting to run windows on it though. I can't get my head around why anyone would chose a (presumably more expensive) Intel x64 chipset over an ARM given that Android is optimised for ARM.
SkEvol said:
I tried posting this in a comment box on Engadget. Suffice to say, it did not fit! I thought there might be a modding forum for the hudl1 over here on xda but to my surprise there is not :-O slightly concerning. I don't understand why it being a British device would be an issue, we make great stuff!
Anyway here goes..
Had a good shot on the hudl2 today. Going in teaco today was like the opening scenes of the Lego movie. Hudl propaganda everywhere. Point of sale cardboards you expect. But I have to admit impressed with the kiosk they've set up. The branding is simple, and hey had all colours of hudl on display, it definitely lures you in. On top of tat, giving the big brother Lego-movir feel, all of the television displays are showing a hudl2 promo vids on loop. 'Were really pleased to announce...' Etc..
The demo units run in obviously a demo mode. Pristine, I think I might have been their first prodder. All the tabs were heleved in landscape view and the first Hong you notice therefore is how wide they look. If you've seen the nexus7, these seem like pretty much the same ratio. The demo mode has a display encouraging you to 'try it', which if you tap, takes you to the android home screen. Naturally it is maiden with blinkbox icons. The home screen to the left features tescos feed. Things like shopping offers, how to get started on blibkbox etc. You can hide then (they appear as cards), but they come back soon enough. The home screen one to the right of the main, is more blink box a centric with more direct links to movies and music etc.
You can choose to ditch blinkbox icons if you wish but long and short, you're not getting rid of these left and right home screens anytime soon. I had a good look through the options and settings, and nowhere did I see the option to remove ho.eacreens.
Neither was I able to enable developer option s, something to note.
Going into settings, apps, I attempted to close/stop any references to Tesco processes running to see if it was possible to 'de-teaco' the homeacreens. And sure, I was able to stop them. But returning to the home screen starts them again and back they appear, as if they never went away.
The homeacreen to.the left incurs the highest lag in all my experience using the tablet. As you scroll left, the background blurs, which is a nice aesthetic touch but I would hedge my bets that is what's causing the lag. As another person has reported, touching the app drawer brings up the app icons very promptly, with only a slight *very very slight* * delay. To the otaku, this will annoy them possibly, but to.most casual users who don't race around phones/tabs as they likely so on desktop PC's, this won't be a problem at all.
Similarly, launching apps was prompt, about th same as the initial 'pressing on app drawer' button.
It feels very much like a smartphone, with a. Bigger screen, which is what most ppl expect.
The screen. The screen is absolutely stand-out feature on this tab. The colours, to my taster are desaturated enough to look natural, I would estimate skin tones in videos would look very nice on this. Photos look absolutely lovely, and using the tab to tweak them with Google Photos was easy, fun and satisfying.
Play store..
Internet wasslow connection in this particular tescos but at least they're connected! A welcome change to a lot of stores/demos. Indeed, these tabs were 'box-fresh' I downloaded Flipboard, which flipped through lagfree, although I can't say 100% for sure about hr speed because the connection was so slow that images weren't displaying yet.
I downloaded flickr, a nice appfor viewing photos on nice screens and it looked wonderful with next to no.lag (aside the net connection ).
Feel in the hand. These things are naturally powered up and connected via mai s as well as a central stem from beneath the desk holding them up. So I wasn't able to feel how theysit in the hand vertically. But I was able to.hold it horizontally and that was indeed very comfy, the rubbery soft touch back is very nice and trippy too.
No accessories were available yet.
I can't comment on the sound, but the screen is just lovely. Again, to echo others, the viewing angles are not fantastic, but its respectably bright and crisp. No such 'cyan oven mode style' colour options in the settings though, if the look isn't to your preference.
This is my first time using an 8inch tablet, its a nice experience. However this like email in landscape could definitely so with a bit of a makeover (everything appears very large), like email for kids . (Gmail I'm talking about).
Goodgle Newsstand, this had had a recent update which makes it quite graphically intense, using the cards style material UI of upcoming Google Android L. Scrolling through the items incurred a bit of lag, I would put in on par with my galaxy S3 (running CyanogenMod 11l. As a news reading experience, this app has a lot of potential, but Aimo It would only be optimal under android L.
Browsing through the play store for music, movies and books requires a fair amount of close-up viewing it on a galaxy s3, not so here. The items on display are pleasant and text metainfo, like price, genre, year etc. Are nicely legible.
Browsing speed..
Now this is the only area where I was not particularly amazed with the hudl 2. I fired up theverge as its quite intense. The chrome.browser held most of the images in place, however a quick scroll from very top to very bottom of the site had images blinking out of view,, then re-appearing. Not a ram issue I don't think. I think (only suspect) this might be a limit of the atom CPU.
I did nothing more strenuous to he tablet, and apart from that, I would say it is very very serviceable. Especially for £129.
Were it not for this potential.nexus9 around the corner with rumoured android L, I would buy this immediately.
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Click to collapse
Good review - and the web pages thing does seem to be an issue. I thought I would add a couple of points based on 24 hours of ownership of this device....
The first thing I noticed was how laggy the Tesco launcher was - not helped by the boat load of Tesco crapola on left screen. The first thing I did was put Nova on there and it was like night and day - zero lag. I disabled most of the Tesco apps and hid them in the launcher as well which basically left me with, essentially, a stock Android tablet. It also left no visible sign of Tesco on the tablet because Nova can get rid of the search bar (Tesco had moved their Tesco button up here instead of having it on the Navigation bar on Hudl1) The only gripe about performance would be that there is some lag with some live wallpapers.
I stuck Asphalt 8 and Modern Combat 5 on there and there no problems. Both games play really, really well. I also tested the touch responsiveness - an issue on Hudl 1 - by playing CounterSpy and Alone and it seems to be a lot better on Hudl 2. I have not really had a chance to test the speakers yet as I have mainly used it with headphones. I've also not had any issues with app incompatibility caused by the Intel processor yet. Internet speed seems great so far- even large games downloaded quickly both on home and work WiFi.
My biggest gripe is the 9gb of free space - 11 out of 16gb free should be the minimum. First thing I will do when I root it will be to get rid of some of bloat with Titanium.
Overall though - very impressed. As already mentioned, the screen is just fantastic. Huge improvement on the first one and a really, really decent device. For the money its a no-brainer.
Thanks for continuing the discussion! What you've said all sounds very positive!
Have you managed to root it? I note that there sadly didn't seem to be much support for custom rom'ing the hudl1. But those changes you made with the launcher sound like they took care of any lag, this is great!
One thing you did mention.. I thought i would ask you, for clarity.. When you said..
gripweed said:
Good review - and the web pages thing does seem to be an issue.
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Click to collapse
--were you referring to your own experience with loading pages? Or were you just echoing the concern i had expressed in my review?
Also, to hear that games work well is also really great!
Took the plunge today used my staff discount didn't use any club card put the google launcher disabled everything other than child and my Tesco which I couldn't do. Tablet is really fast display and size and great feels better the nexus 7
SkEvol said:
Thanks for continuing the discussion! What you've said all sounds very positive!
Have you managed to root it? I note that there sadly didn't seem to be much support for custom rom'ing the hudl1. But those changes you made with the launcher sound like they took care of any lag, this is great!
One thing you did mention.. I thought i would ask you, for clarity.. When you said..
--were you referring to your own experience with loading pages? Or were you just echoing the concern i had expressed in my review?
Also, to hear that games work well is also really great!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was more echoing your concerns tbh - noticed it crop up in at least a couple of "hands on" reviews and was wondering if it was an issue. I haven't especially noticed but I will try a few more content heavy web page and see what happens. I should apologise for the lack of clarity on my original reply as I haven't rooted it yet- I rooted the last one and ran exposed and gravity box which did compensate slightly for the lack of custom roms. There was a bit of interest in Hudl modding on Modaco last time, which was where I found the rooting info.
I think Rooting may take a while as this is an Intel Atom Bay trail Z3735D cpu. The Onda V975i has the same CPU and has been rooted so it may be possible to adapt it to work although it is running an older version of android which may raise other problems. Also I would not try any rooting method until a recovery ROM and method are available.
My Hudl 2 on order.
---------- Post added at 11:23 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:37 AM ----------
Further From my previous post it appears that these Bay Trial tabs can have a Bios so It will be interesting to see how this tab matures. Windows Anyone!
vermillions said:
Further From my previous post it appears that these Bay Trial tabs can have a Bios so It will be interesting to see how this tab matures. Windows Anyone!
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Click to collapse
Pretty cool to think that would be possible.
Windows has a 1000 uses, what would you choose to do? (just curious)
Do you think that Kings might have solution to rooting?
SkEvol said:
Pretty cool to think that would be possible.
Windows has a 1000 uses, what would you choose to do? (just curious)
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Click to collapse
I am the worst person with devices, I like to get them to do more than they were originally intended to do and to tinker and learn as much as poss, then I just end up never using them. But if a Dev overcomes all the obstacles in Boot and Bios and is able to roll all the drivers into a windows rom, I couldn't help myself I would have to test it.
Hudl2 Thread
How do we lobby the XDA Devs to open a section for the Hudl2?
Do we need to raise money to buy one to send it to a dev?
I'd quite like a recovery loader (at the bare minimum) to be able to back up the Hudl2, before asking for some kind dev to port a new Rom to it.
What can we do to make any of the above options happen?
giac0m0 said:
How do we lobby the XDA Devs to open a section for the Hudl2?
Do we need to raise money to buy one to send it to a dev?
I'd quite like a recovery loader (at the bare minimum) to be able to back up the Hudl2, before asking for some kind dev to port a new Rom to it.
What can we do to make any of the above options happen?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know the answer to any of your questions but I'd be willing to contribute £5 to the cost of finding out how to root it, in whatever form that takes.
Just out of interest has anyone tried Root Genius? it is made by the same people that made Shuame. If not working I suspect root will probably come from installing IntelAndroidDrvSetup and then a flash from Fastboot if we can get into Fastboot. But it will need someone with the correct knowledge to make the flashable update with the right parameters. All only a guess though.
Hi. Does anyone have an idea of how someone who's not in England can purchase one?
I'm very interest, seems great value for the money.
Thanks.
vermillions said:
Just out of interest has anyone tried Root Genius? it is made by the same people that made Shuame. If not working I suspect root will probably come from installing IntelAndroidDrvSetup and then a flash from Fastboot if we can get into Fastboot. But it will need someone with the correct knowledge to make the flashable update with the right parameters. All only a guess though.
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Click to collapse
Someone over in MoDaCo had a similar thought and suggested this may work:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2681783
giac0m0 said:
Someone over in MoDaCo had a similar thought and suggested this may work:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2681783
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it might, my Hudl 2 is not yet delivered so I am unable to test at present. But I think it is worth a shot.
(kicking myself for ordering with delivery and not picking up from store.)
vermillions said:
If not working I suspect root will probably come from installing IntelAndroidDrvSetup and then a flash from Fastboot if we can get into Fastboot. But it will need someone with the correct knowledge to make the flashable update with the right parameters.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm impressed! I have no idea now you had the thought process of thinking of doing that! I take it you must have quite a lot of experience with routing. I only ropted my s3 because i needed to. Sometimes i wish i had the insight to be able to suggest something like that. I usually work off of what faq or how-to suggests. I'm quite interested in why this device would require a different method because of it's cpu. Interesting to me.
Has anyone had success playing encoded videos e.g. x264 codec and similar? I used to get decent results using MXplayer or VLC beta on my previous tablet (a cheap Chinese version that should be worse than the Hudl2), but now I suspect that poor x86 support from those players is letting it down. I've downloaded the x86 codec for MX and played with the various performance options, but results range from good to appalling depending on the video, with stuttering or full crashes. I've also tried some other players that claimed x86 support, but no dice.
Any advice gratefully received, as I'm very happy with my Hudl2 apart from this.
Sent from my Hudl 2 using XDA Free mobile app