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Before I ask, I know there have been many threads about this topic, but my question is a little more specific than the rest. I get to upgrade my phone sometime in the next few weeks and one of these will be my first android phone. As a young artist, I am mostly looking for a phone which will take quality photos for good reference and preferably one which has video auto focus. I'm also a heavy internet user (about 5 hours a day on iPod Touch) but coming from iOS, I long for flash player. I also like to game a lot so the dual core cpu performance has to be somewhat decent with good speeds (better than my 4th gen touch at least lol). Lastly I'm a big media person with music a videos so I'm looking for a quality screen, support for multiple media formats (specifically mkv), decent speakers, and if possible, support for in-line headphones with volume, FF and RR (optional to come in the box, but if there are alternative working ones, please post below as I haven't found a solution with android devices and working in-line headphones). I've played around with my cousins EVO a lot so I've grown a liking to HTC Sense but I would also like to try out stock android sometime. And after a lot of time reading reviews and comments, I've taken a liking to the Galaxy S II's screen but I'm not a fan of TouchWiz. As previously stated, coming from an iOS user, I'm hoping one of these phones can either match or have greater quality with the screen in terms of brightness and contrast (not so much with resolution but mostly with colors, hue, and saturation). I'm hoping this narrows down the margin between these 3 phones.
P.S. I'm also hoping for one of these to have great dev support since I love to customize and test new tweaks.
EDITED - Also as an additional post, can you explain the batter life of the 3 as best as you can (even considering not having much info about the sensation)
I would say the G2X after LG fixes the Bleeding screen, restarts, and battery life issue. Both the GS2 and Sensatoin both have skins over android to which I've never been a fan of. 1st GS2 Engaget did a review and called it the best smart phone on the planet (the week before g2x was lol) but its made of plastic and its really thin so if the unthinkable happens and you drop the phone changes are its going to get jacked up and touchwiz. 2. Sensation Ive never been a fan of sense its a power hungry beast that needs to be removed. Just look at the battery life of the thunderbolt its really bad.
I had the G2X for a week and I loved it, its solid like my Nexus One it feels like a phone. I dropped it twice once on my tile floor and there were no marks and once on my naked foot to which brought me great pain. (lol) The G2X will have CM7 the galaxy s phones don't have CM support so why do you think that GS2 will? I plan on getting anothe G2x I'm just waiting until the 2nd line of them.
It honestly sounds like the Galaxy S II is just right for you. I know you say you dont like touchwiz (believe me I hate it) but the TW 4.0 or whatever its called looks really nice. From what I have seen it looks better than sense ui. Anyways, there have been battles between the G2X and the Galaxy S II and hardware wise the GSII always has the upper hand with camera, performance, screen, colors, etc.. However there are many things to consider. Do we even know what US carrier (if any) will receive the GSII? Also coming from the vibrant I swore up and down I wouild never buy a samsung phone again. Their lack of software support was just unacceptable. Im not even talking upgrades, just basic bug fixes. Development for this phone NEVER gave us a fully functioning stock android or AOSP ROM. Sure CM7 made a lot of headway and may still come to the galaxy s with all the fixes but right now it still has bugs and some things just dont work.
To make a long story short, I got the G2X because I wanted a stock android experience with a lot of developer backing (specifically cyanogenmod) and the specs of the phone are pretty amazing. Now it sounds to me like media and camera are more important to you so you may feel more welcome by the Galaxy S II if you dont care about aftermarket roms and such.
get 2x
coming from a vibrant, i can say that screen on the g2x is actually better and it being a stock android updates come faster and custom roms will also. I can't wait for the cyanogen mod either. I had battery issues but after resetting my phone the battery works just fine. they all have similar processors but the g2x being stock will get you better performance. I am a photographer also and am creating a photo journal with the g2x and it does the job well. good luck
i say go for SGS2, it works quite good out of the box and it has a great screen and you will absolutely appreciate the larger screen. Though im not really a fan of touchwiz.
I have g2x and going to return it today for SGS2.
There is no doubt in my mind that the dev support will be there for the sgs2 but it will be greater on the g2x just b/c of all the vanillaness.
The weight of the galaxy line is extremely light but believe me when I say that it is extremely durable. My old cliq felt like a brick but the second time I dropped that it stopped working completely so weight and feel have nothing to do with durability.
My vibrant has pretty much been through the equivalent of back to back fights with Manny Pacquiao and Anderson Silva only to come out as the new peoples champ. If you can wait, I would say try to see what all 3 of them are like and whether or not they come to your carrier. Its what I'm gonna do b/c I would hate to be stuck in another 2 year contract and not have the phone that I'm gonna own for atleast half of that time.
I have the same question, but new phones will probably come out because my next upgrade is in September. I really hate big phones and it seems phones are getting bigger and bigger. I really like the nexus s design (A lot!) And I like stock android, so I think I might wait until the nexus s2 comes out. Hopefully it stays a bit close to the design of the nexus s.
Sense isn't that power hungry the reason why the thunderbolt sucks on battery life is because of the lte network. A custom sense rom usually has no data drops. Like the aosp roms do.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA Premium App
Killbynature said:
Sense isn't that power hungry the reason why the thunderbolt sucks on battery life is because of the lte network. A custom sense rom usually has no data drops. Like the aosp roms do.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA Premium App
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Each one of my friends who had a sense phone who switched to a custom rom w/o sense batter life increased alot.
jrharvey said:
It honestly sounds like the Galaxy S II is just right for you. I know you say you dont like touchwiz (believe me I hate it) but the TW 4.0 or whatever its called looks really nice. From what I have seen it looks better than sense ui. Anyways, there have been battles between the G2X and the Galaxy S II and hardware wise the GSII always has the upper hand with camera, performance, screen, colors, etc.. However there are many things to consider. Do we even know what US carrier (if any) will receive the GSII? Also coming from the vibrant I swore up and down I wouild never buy a samsung phone again. Their lack of software support was just unacceptable. Im not even talking upgrades, just basic bug fixes. Development for this phone NEVER gave us a fully functioning stock android or AOSP ROM. Sure CM7 made a lot of headway and may still come to the galaxy s with all the fixes but right now it still has bugs and some things just dont work.
To make a long story short, I got the G2X because I wanted a stock android experience with a lot of developer backing (specifically cyanogenmod) and the specs of the phone are pretty amazing. Now it sounds to me like media and camera are more important to you so you may feel more welcome by the Galaxy S II if you dont care about aftermarket roms and such.
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Thanks for your input. Also as a CFW PSP user and a Jailbroken iOS user, I like to have a combination of both dev support and media features, so I wouldn't want to leave that out. I'm surprised that only one person gave consideration to the sensation when I stated how it was the only UI I've ever used so far on android, and I read how it had an HRD camera with auto focus video so I thought most would assume that as the better choice, but my only problem with it is how its rumored to not have an unlocked bootloader. I think atm I will go with the g2x but I hope to hear about some alternatives to getting inline music controls to work.
g2xnerd said:
coming from a vibrant, i can say that screen on the g2x is actually better and it being a stock android updates come faster and custom roms will also. I can't wait for the cyanogen mod either. I had battery issues but after resetting my phone the battery works just fine. they all have similar processors but the g2x being stock will get you better performance. I am a photographer also and am creating a photo journal with the g2x and it does the job well. good luck
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Thank you very much! when I saw still photos on the G2X compared to the S II, I thought it looked inferior, but being able to make a photo journal out of it seems to counter that argument. BTW is it possible for the camera to get an update for auto focus video recording like the Galaxy S Vibrant did? For camera usage, that is the only thing pushing me back from the G2X as well as the support for multiple video formats (which I hear the Galaxy S II will have based on the Exynos processor). Hope to receive some additional feedback.
If you go bluetooth you can get inline music control. I personally have and like the plantronics backbeats and the sweatproof motorola S-10 HDs. The backbeats are more flexible and easier to wear, while the S-10s are must haves for working out and sports.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App
Infos3c said:
If you go bluetooth you can get inline music control. I personally have and like the plantronics backbeats and the sweatproof motorola S-10 HDs. The backbeats are more flexible and easier to wear, while the S-10s are must haves for working out and sports.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App
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i hear a lot of mixed things about bluetooth headphones. even though the sound quality is great and the music controls work, I cannot always depend on headphones which need charging. Having to charge one device already is enough so i am more suited for wired inline in ear headphones.
jree said:
There is no doubt in my mind that the dev support will be there for the sgs2 but it will be greater on the g2x just b/c of all the vanillaness.
The weight of the galaxy line is extremely light but believe me when I say that it is extremely durable. My old cliq felt like a brick but the second time I dropped that it stopped working completely so weight and feel have nothing to do with durability.
My vibrant has pretty much been through the equivalent of back to back fights with Manny Pacquiao and Anderson Silva only to come out as the new peoples champ. If you can wait, I would say try to see what all 3 of them are like and whether or not they come to your carrier. Its what I'm gonna do b/c I would hate to be stuck in another 2 year contract and not have the phone that I'm gonna own for atleast half of that time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well not voting for the SGS2 here but I don't think Vanilla has any bearings on Dev Support, directly. Granted, I prefer vanilla and thus may contribute to its popularity, which, indirectly, popularity = dev support.
The only thing that matters is that the bootloader is unlocked and it is easily rootable and flashable. I mean once you get a CM rom on there, they all work the same.
I think Vanilla roms are more open to other variants like MIUI and the likes because they typically share the same partition structure. I know the G2x has a different structure and I think it is safe to say the SGS2 does too. Good thing that we are able to format and change the partitions to work across multiple roms.
The SGS2 was recently rooted and I think they found the bootloader to be unlocked. So it should be able to be flashed pretty easily.
One big factor that more people don't think about is the screen size. I have small hands (vs huge sausages) and the 4" screen of the G2x pushes my comfort zone. I think 4.3" would be too much and I would be fumbling it while trying to do one handed operations.
Having bought a G2x from a N1... I can say I'm extremely happy. I've been reading the SGS2 forums trying to stir up some internal buyers remorse... but I can honestly say that I would still pick my G2x over the SGS2 again. To me Tegra>Orion justifies AMOLED>LCD. I think NVidia will really push some developers to create some great games and I don't want to be stuck on the sidelines wishing I could get in on the action. Unable to play some of the newer "HD" (Only for Tegra) games are really making some of the SGS2 owners unhappy.
Nothing like buying a new toy and finding that it doesn't work with the latest HD games.
DMan1993 said:
that is the only thing pushing me back from the G2X as well as the support for multiple video formats (which I hear the Galaxy S II will have based on the Exynos processor). Hope to receive some additional feedback.
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As far as multiple video formats, I don't think this has much to do with physical hardware as it does software. While I am most certainly not an expert, I have played a range of videos on my phones. Wouldn't all you need is a Video app that has the correct codecs and support for such file types?
I mean, really, not picking one device over another based on media format is just insane to me and defies all logic. I mean how easy is it to convert between formats, come on. I'd say that if you using a less common format or one that isn't widely available, you are only asking for trouble anyway. Most of the video I find online are either MP4 or avi and have no problem playing them on my device. If you are ripping it yourself, just save it in a format you can use.
This is a very good player, plays many formats
http://market.android.com/details?id=net.thefluxstudio.implayer
Player911:
Having bought a G2x from a N1... I can say I'm extremely happy. I've been reading the SGS2 forums trying to stir up some internal buyers remorse... but I can honestly say that I would still pick my G2x over the SGS2 again. To me Tegra>Orion justifies AMOLED>LCD. I think NVidia will really push some developers to create some great games and I don't want to be stuck on the sidelines wishing I could get in on the action. Unable to play some of the newer "HD" (Only for Tegra) games are really making some of the SGS2 owners unhappy.
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I'm quite surprised that the SGS2 folks have a buyers remorse, especially after reading your post. I was having remorse with the G2x since it just has 512MB ram and the GS2 kicks the G2x to the curb on every bullet point except Value for money/cost (I'm buying off contract). I'm also very surprised when you implicitly state that Orion cannot run Tegra games even though it's way faster than tegra.
ski_power said:
I'm quite surprised that the SGS2 folks have a buyers remorse, especially after reading your post. I was having remorse with the G2x since it just has 512MB ram and the GS2 kicks the G2x to the curb on every bullet point except Value for money/cost (I'm buying off contract). I'm also very surprised when you implicitly state that Orion cannot run Tegra games even though it's way faster than tegra.
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Dont just look at numbers (1ghz dual core vs 1.2 dual core) RAM numbers, etc.
It has been said the 1ghz Tegra 2 is a better processor overall, and you really dont need more than 512mb of RAM since Android closes apps on its own when memory gets low. You wont see much if any performance increase from merely more RAM.
Lets not forget Samsung's recent past with its Galaxy S line having broken GPS, wonky file systems that slowed down phones, and bootloaders locked.
I wouldnt just yet say the SGS2 is a better device because how it looks on paper.
>It has been said the 1ghz Tegra 2 is a better processor overall, and you really dont need more than 512mb of RAM since Android closes apps on its own when memory gets low. You wont see much if any performance increase from merely more RAM.
I'm not sure about that. Both use dual Cortex A9s. The difference in hardware between the two is the GPU. We all know Tegra 2 uses GeForce ULP but I'm not sure what the Exynos uses(SGX or Adreno).
I concede my point to your statement about the RAM, since I only recently learnt about memory management in Android (this is my first Android). I'm pretty sure Sammy must have fixed the GPS issues, since if they don't I'd lose all respect for them.
Oh OP, one thing you might want to consider is that the Galaxy S2 does not have an HDMI out port. They say it's got some USB-HDMI cable though.
Also, it depends on your hands. The G2x itself is a pretty big device in my opinion, and seeing that the SGS2 has a 4.3" screen it's going to be much bigger.
Definitely sgs2
Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk
player911 said:
Well not voting for the SGS2 here but I don't think Vanilla has any bearings on Dev Support, directly. Granted, I prefer vanilla and thus may contribute to its popularity, which, indirectly, popularity = dev support.
The only thing that matters is that the bootloader is unlocked and it is easily rootable and flashable. I mean once you get a CM rom on there, they all work the same.
I think Vanilla roms are more open to other variants like MIUI and the likes because they typically share the same partition structure. I know the G2x has a different structure and I think it is safe to say the SGS2 does too. Good thing that we are able to format and change the partitions to work across multiple roms.
The SGS2 was recently rooted and I think they found the bootloader to be unlocked. So it should be able to be flashed pretty easily.
One big factor that more people don't think about is the screen size. I have small hands (vs huge sausages) and the 4" screen of the G2x pushes my comfort zone. I think 4.3" would be too much and I would be fumbling it while trying to do one handed operations.
Having bought a G2x from a N1... I can say I'm extremely happy. I've been reading the SGS2 forums trying to stir up some internal buyers remorse... but I can honestly say that I would still pick my G2x over the SGS2 again. To me Tegra>Orion justifies AMOLED>LCD. I think NVidia will really push some developers to create some great games and I don't want to be stuck on the sidelines wishing I could get in on the action. Unable to play some of the newer "HD" (Only for Tegra) games are really making some of the SGS2 owners unhappy.
Nothing like buying a new toy and finding that it doesn't work with the latest HD games.
As far as multiple video formats, I don't think this has much to do with physical hardware as it does software. While I am most certainly not an expert, I have played a range of videos on my phones. Wouldn't all you need is a Video app that has the correct codecs and support for such file types?
I mean, really, not picking one device over another based on media format is just insane to me and defies all logic. I mean how easy is it to convert between formats, come on. I'd say that if you using a less common format or one that isn't widely available, you are only asking for trouble anyway. Most of the video I find online are either MP4 or avi and have no problem playing them on my device. If you are ripping it yourself, just save it in a format you can use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Coming from iOS, I am tired of having to convert all of my videos to mp4 format and having little knowledge of android from not having owned one just increases my curiosity on the matter since the SGSII specs list stated that the Exynos processor has more support for video formats than tegra 2. Being able to directly download and play any format is one thing I am looking for in one of these phones so that is why I asked the question. Some of the videos I download are dual audio and subbed mkv's and having to download multiple programs to get the subtitles and audio working on a mobile device is very time consuming so having support for multiple codecs would make things a whole lot easier.
I'm considering getting a new/first tablet. However, I'm not quite sure which one I want to get. I'm curious if anyone here has an android tablet or is getting considering one. If you do have one, what is it and how do you like it?
I'm looking at everything but currently the tablets I'm eyeing the most are:
- Transformer Prime: Sounds like a beast. I do worry it will be a bit expensive and I'm not sure when it will make its way to Canada. I'm also not sure I really even need that kind of power for what I want to do on a tablet.
- Motorola Xoom: Has similar specs to pretty much every other tablet on the market right now. It also will probably be the tablet with the most dev support for quite a while I imagine (until a "nexus" tablet comes out). +it's price point shouldn't be too bad at this point and it's scheduled for ICS update
- Xoom 2: Kind of like the design of this (even if the specs are only a small update to the Xoom). Problem is I have no idea if this will come to the states, let alone Canada anytime soon. Also seems kinda "blurified".
- Sony Tablet S: Available in Canada, but not sure how good of a price I can get on this (compared to the Xoom which has near-identical specs). I really like the design and am a big fan of Sony products in general.
Any tablets you guys eyeing or own?
Tablets are just as particular as phones. When you got your XT, I bet you thought it was the top of the heap. I did. Then I found out about all its little issues and problems, but also about the really good things it has. No way I could have known then. From what I can gather, tabs are the same thing. I have seen Galaxy tabs rocking it, but then in some people's signatures on XDA I see "Nook running CM7". In the states you can get a Nook for pretty cheep, easy to root and then put a stable CM7 on it a go with it.
Now RAM and memory are something I don't know anything about. Not even sure how much small RAM would be like our meager 256 on the XT. I actually would be interested in knowing that. With our current locked bootloader situation, I would stay away from the Xoom, even though I think there is a leak. I will never buy a Motorola again b/c of their user policies. I see the Bionic and actually laugh to myself b/c I already know it will be a locked bootloader (but the average person will think it is the best phone ever made. You know that most people don't even know what XDA, root or evena custom ROM is?).
Personally, my wife and I have talked about it and really don't understand the attraction to tabs. If you have a tab running CM7, with flash, email, skype,...it is extremely similar to just having a bigger screened phone. One caveat is that HP discontinued their global personal computer operations (now they are exclusive to technical management solutions- or some crap like that). But suspending their personal computer options does have one benefit for you and me. Their tabs dropped from $699us to $99/139us, but everyone with an online credit card picked one up a few months ago. Bestbuy just sent back all 250,000 they had in stock, so you might be able to still pick one up on the cheap (not android os though).
And finally, Rev is in one of my G+ circles and he posts a fair amount of tablet info, so you might want to PM him and find out his thoughts.
p.s. he changed his avatar from a priest to RevTV with an android. Sorry for the long reply but I have been looking at these for some time now.
Woodrube said:
With our current locked bootloader situation, I would stay away from the Xoom, even though I think there is a leak
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Click to collapse
Actually, although it pains me to say this, the Xoom is a Google developer device and can be easily unlocked by users (i.e. it's like the OG Droid). I think you're thinking of the leaked Atrix unlock. I would assume Xoom 2 is probably wearing a chastity belt until proven deflowered.
Woodrube said:
When you got your XT, I bet you thought it was the top of the heap. I did.
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Nope. I got mine quite a bit after it came out. I didn't really understand the RAM issues and other issues it had though... (was still pretty new to Android).
I would stay away from the Xoom, even though I think there is a leak.
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It has unlockable/relockable bootloader and most likely the biggest developer community of any tablet atm and for a while (it's like a nexus phone I'd say).
Personally, my wife and I have talked about it and really don't understand the attraction to tabs.
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I actually felt much the same way until recently. I do have uses for a tablet, though I've been thinking of the "it's a bigger screened phone" bit as well. There are certain things that I want to do that I can't do on the smaller screen of my phone (i.e. productivity stuff such as writing down lecture notes and working on essays, video chatting on a larger screen etc...). But some of the functionality on the tab is definitely duplicated by a phone. That's why I really love concepts such as the Padfone... (but that's not coming out for quite a while I believe...). I don't really love the idea of having both tablet and phone (superfluos in some ways), but I want something that combines the functionality of both...
Thanks
My brother has the Asus Transformer and its a beast!! He has had it since day one and everytime I go over there I got to get my sticky lil fingers all over it. He bought the keyboard dock to which makes it twice as good + the full HDMI mirroring makes it awesome. Its also unlockable. He's running one of the newest prime roms with the o/c and there's no waiting for anything. Theres a pretty big dev comunity for it. Plus it has the ips display, which is the same as ipad. If I were you tho I'd wait for the quad cores.... then by a dual core, they will be way cheaper then.(hopefully) :/ lol who needs more than 2 cores in a tablet anyway.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
I bought the Acer A500 when Walmart has them for $299 ($399 but you get a $100 gift card free), but my biased opinion says it is a bit on the big/bulky side. I felt that 10" is not very easy to handle given my small Asian hands. It is also not the lightest, and when I am reading in the bed my arm would get tired from just holding it up. Nonetheless even the Xoom or Galaxy Tab isn't that much lighter so I think maybe it's just me nick-picking.
Long story short I returned it but am very interested in the new 8.9" tab... That may be my sweet-spot on size. Same resolution screen, smaller/lighter to handle, but I will need to see how it's battery life fares.
W.
I read a great review on Android Police about the Galaxy tab 8.9 and they said battery life was awesome. They hated on the touch wiz ui tho. They said it made everyday tasks sluggish.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
easye420 said:
I read a great review on Android Police about the Galaxy tab 8.9 and they said battery life was awesome. They hated on the touch wiz ui tho. They said it made everyday tasks sluggish.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
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Well, that's good to hear! I was secretly hoping the smaller screen will mean less battery drain (since I believe the 8.9's battery rating was lower). Regarding the UI... I can always wait for a custom ROM to show up here at some point! I just started playing with MIUI for my XT720 and I love it wwaaaaay better than any of the other UI I've used before. Gotta love the development community on Android!!
W.
Hello i have an hannspree SN10T1 it s a 10,1 inch Tablet with an Dualcore Tegra2 Chip and the best think it cost only 169 Euro and its perfect.
Greeting
I am seriously considering getting a SGT 7 Plus. I was going to be patient and wait for the 7.7 but I fear here in the UK that it will release at a silly price. I'm thinking I should save some money and just get the 7+. I have a few concerns with buying the 7+ though. I keeping reading about the problems with the random reboots and also the poor WiFi strength. Am I right to be concerned? I have definitely narrowed my search down to a SGT, it's just a question of which one and if I have to keep waiting for the 7.7 then so be it.
Gunnzie said:
I am seriously considering getting a SGT 7 Plus. I was going to be patient and wait for the 7.7 but I fear here in the UK that it will release at a silly price. I'm thinking I should save some money and just get the 7+. I have a few concerns with buying the 7+ though. I keeping reading about the problems with the random reboots and also the poor WiFi strength. Am I right to be concerned? I have definitely narrowed my search down to a SGT, it's just a question of which one and if I have to keep waiting for the 7.7 then so be it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are right to have some concern. But also consider that the 7.7 could come with its own host of little bugs too. We just haven't heard about them because its not out yet. At least the 7+ is a known quantity at this point. And fixes are being found for some of the 7+'s known issues.
As far as the two items you mentioned, I can say from my sample of two 7+ tablets (my wife has one too) that my tablet experienced occasional random reboots, whereas my wife's tablet did not. That issue went away, along with the tablet not waking up when the screen would go into sleep mode (aka Sleep of Death or SOD) when I was able to force the wifi to sleep when the screen is off. I have not noticed any issues with wifi strength with either tablet.
Ultimately the decision comes down to you. Is having the slightly faster processor and slightly larger AMOLED screen worth the extra price? Or can the 7+ do everything you need it to do within your budget and do it now?
Good luck on whichever you decide!
Thanks. Just out of interest, your post suggests there are other issues with the 7+. What are they? My worry at the moment is that Samsung price their devices at a premium without actually necessarily being a premium product. On the other hand, they provide what I am looking for (small, light, SD slot, and great battery life).
I suppose my decision would be easier if I actually knew how much the 7.7 was going to sell for here in the UK. I don't suppose anyone has any ideas?
Realistically, I need to wait for the 7+ to drop in price a bit anyway. £349 seems a lot for a device with only a 1024x600 screen when higher res tablets are now around and more powerful tablets are just starting to arrive (e.g. Tegra3 etc).
i have regular sized hands (what a way to start my post! haha). that's why a 7 inch is the best for me. Hardware wise, the GTab 7+ gives me comfort and stability. I haven't encountered any problems so far. Except that I have a P6200 and no one's currently developing anything for it. But i bet that weeks from now, our dev section would be full of Roms and Tweaks.
ALSO ICS is coming to the GTab+. 'Nuff said.
I had the same dilemma as you. I would've waited for the 7.7. But many said that Samsung would be selling it at a premium price! And I think that an upgraded screen and processor is NOT worth it.
And besides. I have "regular" sized hands. Who knows how a .7 inch would affect my comfort.
diospada11 said:
i have regular sized hands (what a way to start my post! haha). that's why a 7 inch is the best for me. Hardware wise, the GTab 7+ gives me comfort and stability. I haven't encountered any problems so far. Except that I have a P6200 and no one's currently developing anything for it. But i bet that weeks from now, our dev section would be full of Roms and Tweaks.
ALSO ICS is coming to the GTab+. 'Nuff said.
I had the same dilemma as you. I would've waited for the 7.7. But many said that Samsung would be selling it at a premium price! And I think that an upgraded screen and processor is NOT worth it.
And besides. I have "regular" sized hands. Who knows how a .7 inch would affect my comfort.
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Thanks for that. I feel the opposite though many ways. I think the extra .7 inch might be a good thing for me. I actually prefer the screen size of the 10 inch tablets by far. If it wasn't for the fact that I also want to carry it around too then I'd buy a 10 inch for definite. I thought the 8.9 inch would be a good compromise but they are ridiculously expensive in the UK and they have no SD slot built in. A 7 inch fulfills my requirements and will fit in my bag a lot easier but I do think I'll miss the screen size of a 10 inch at times. It's all about compromises I guess and what suits you best. In an idea world, I would own 2 tablets. One for on the road and one for home use.
The only other issue I have experienced is that I could not write to the external sd card unless I used the stock file manager. That was resolved by editing a permissions file. Other than that my 7+ has performed beyond my expectations.
As with any high tech device there will be some issues to contend with. None of the issues I've experienced would make me think that the Samsung tablet was less than a premium device. Considering it is a relatively new device that's been out for less than two months, the number of issues do not seem to be higher than normal for a new product, in my opinion.
Also be sure to remember that devices that are not functioning properly can usually be returned or exchanged, as long as you shop from a reputable retailer that has an exchange or replacement policy. As always, caveat emptor.
Long story short, I hard bricked my Evo 3D because I flashed the boot image to the wrong partition by not properly editing the updater-script when trying to port Jellybean (very developer NOOB move even though I'm not one by a long shot). So I'm thinking about buying one on Amazon to tie me over until my upgrade next year, because right now, my parents' only option (until I get the money) is to let me use a Blackberry, its torture (-_-)... I've read up on this and I am thoroughly impressed with the specs given it was released in 2010, plus it has ICS Officially. So I just have a handful of questions!
1. How is the Developer scene here? Is it still very active?
2. How good are the 3G speeds on this (I'm not getting 4G)
3. How is battery life
4. Is the phone easily breakable (this determines if I buy a case or not upon my ordering)
5. Can I still have me an awesome gaming experience? I am the Asphalt 6 and Shadowgun type of guy, so gaming is a must.
6. How quickly can someone fill up that 512MB space? and has someone made script that moves the WHOLE app to an external SD or repartitioned the space to give 1GB space?
I'll be sure to add more questions should they come up...
Now I have read that this has no SD card slot, and this would have been a problem. But as of recently, I have become a cloud kid. My Music is on Google Play Music, I have a couple of Movies and TV Shows on my SD Card but I can put those on my box cloud storage, that means that I can use all 16 GB for Game caches and the few movies and shows I frequently watch.
I just want to know your opinion, and the pros and cons of the phone, alongside the questions I asked. Thanks in advance!
Developer scene is still pretty solid. Expect an additional boost in a few weeks when Jelly Bean arrives. 3G speeds and reception should be decent so long as you have a decent provider, it is more dependent on them than on the phone. Battery life is mediocre, though you can pull off 4 hours of screen time a day with a little bit of effort (and compromise). It is generally a pretty stubborn phone. It won't break straight off the bat, but being plastic it will tend to scratch easily from rough surfaces. The screen can take a fair bit of abuse so don't be scared about the lack of "gorilla glass" branding, plus it's curved which is both great to touch and means it's less prone to scratched glass. I've found a case to be good due to the phone being slippery, but have since decided to use it without one. If you intend to root the phone i'm sure the gaming experience will be a good one, and likely even more so with jellybean - though there are certain games that won't even install (some tegra and tablet based games i think, i don't game that much on the phone so don't take my word on this).
As for storage, you have 16GB in the phone classified as "sdcard". It is built in and non-replaceable, with no external sdcard slot. It is partitioned primarily into /system, /data and /sdcard. /system holds the android operating system and is plenty big enough even for development purposes. /data is approximately 1GB and holds the data for apps only, so you have 1GB worth of apps which you can keep installed on the phone. The /sdcard partition is around 15GB and formatted as FAT32, so you can throw all of your music, photos, videos and sd2ext (built in, not a seperate app) apps here, so any larger games would be thrown onto the sdcard if you choose so, generally giving plenty of room. The only drawback for me, personally, is the lack of room for music - but you seem to have yourself sorted there.
And as i said above, if you really want to get every benefit from this phone it should be unlocked and rooted. It loves being free. Otherwise it's just a Galaxy S.
Harbb said:
Developer scene is still pretty solid. Expect an additional boost in a few weeks when Jelly Bean arrives. 3G speeds and reception should be decent so long as you have a decent provider, it is more dependent on them than on the phone. Battery life is mediocre, though you can pull off 4 hours of screen time a day with a little bit of effort (and compromise). It is generally a pretty stubborn phone. It won't break straight off the bat, but being plastic it will tend to scratch easily from rough surfaces. The screen can take a fair bit of abuse so don't be scared about the lack of "gorilla glass" branding, plus it's curved which is both great to touch and means it's less prone to scratched glass. I've found a case to be good due to the phone being slippery, but have since decided to use it without one. If you intend to root the phone i'm sure the gaming experience will be a good one, and likely even more so with jellybean - though there are certain games that won't even install (some tegra and tablet based games i think, i don't game that much on the phone so don't take my word on this).
As for storage, you have 16GB in the phone classified as "sdcard". It is built in and non-replaceable, with no external sdcard slot. It is partitioned primarily into /system, /data and /sdcard. /system holds the android operating system and is plenty big enough even for development purposes. /data is approximately 1GB and holds the data for apps only, so you have 1GB worth of apps which you can keep installed on the phone. The /sdcard partition is around 15GB and formatted as FAT32, so you can throw all of your music, photos, videos and sd2ext (built in, not a seperate app) apps here, so any larger games would be thrown onto the sdcard if you choose so, generally giving plenty of room. The only drawback for me, personally, is the lack of room for music - but you seem to have yourself sorted there.
And as i said above, if you really want to get every benefit from this phone it should be unlocked and rooted. It loves being free. Otherwise it's just a Galaxy S.
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And my decision was solidified with the acquisition of jellybean. I can get a gnex experience for the most part without having to shell out so much money. I just need a gaming device (I'm going to buy chainfire for the coupe of tegra games I want) and an entertainment hub. I will buy a case asap, probably a ballistic case, an some other stuff, thank you so much
Sent from my Full Android on SMDKV210 using xda app-developers app
One more thing to point out though, if you end up getting the 4G version (the only CDMA version, which i think is what Sprint uses) it may take longer to get JB and I can't comment on CDMA networks 3G. It will be approximately on par with most other phones running on the same network, though.
ognimnella said:
I just want to know your opinion, and the pros and cons of the phone, alongside the questions I asked. Thanks in advance!
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The Nexus range is the first to get the Jelly Bean update, so it's certain that Google is paying extra attention to it.
As a friend of mine (also owning a Nexus S) pointed out, the development activity is one of the best out there.
In terms of performance, I was happy with it in 99% of time, you can't pretend the same performance as a quad core phone but overclocking the phone at a safe 1200mhz makes it significantly faster.
All in all, it is a very good phone for the price you pay.
Good luck and let us know if you decided getting the phone.
Sent from my Nexus S using xda app-developers app
Harbb said:
One more thing to point out though, if you end up getting the 4G version (the only CDMA version, which i think is what Sprint uses) it may take longer to get JB and I can't comment on CDMA networks 3G. It will be approximately on par with most other phones running on the same network, though.
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I am aware of Sprint and their inability to push updates properly, so it's expected. I will be rooted and running a slim ICS Rom anyway
, so I can just install JB after they get the update it in rooted Rom style.
whoisrikk said:
The Nexus range is the first to get the Jelly Bean update, so it's certain that Google is paying extra attention to it.
As a friend of mine (also owning a Nexus S) pointed out, the development activity is one of the best out there.
In terms of performance, I was happy with it in 99% of time, you can't pretend the same performance as a quad core phone but overclocking the phone at a safe 1200mhz makes it significantly faster.
All in all, it is a very good phone for the price you pay.
Good luck and let us know if you decided getting the phone.
Sent from my Nexus S using xda app-developers app
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I got a little excited yesterday and decided to do research on some other phones that could be possible contenders, but this phone takes home the crown. My parents said that because I broke the phone, I cover the expenses. So I did the math.
If I get a galaxy nexus now:
I have to buy out my contract ($100), and then buy the phone ($150) = $250
If I buy a galaxy S III now:
I have to buy out the contract (same) and buy the phone ($200) = $300
if I buy this phone:
But it from Amazon ($150) and transfer my number (free) = $150
The numbers say it all. I will get this phone . Plus, I want a nexus 7, so I need to save as much money as I can. I will wait until next year to get my upgrade to the gnex
Sent from my GTablet using xda app-developers app
some videos of its sloweness.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAy9pN-PyXk
http://youtu.be/443g1m2D9Us
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1Qofo_vybg
so slow its painful
Would a custom rom make this any better?
Had a look at those vids, looks to be about average for the stock ROM and is similar to the performance I was getting on stock.
Any of the custom ROMs will help with the sluggishness.
Gavin01 said:
some videos of its sloweness.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAy9pN-PyXk
http://youtu.be/443g1m2D9Us
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1Qofo_vybg
so slow its painful
Would a custom rom make this any better?
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Uncheck power saving mode, disable all animations at development tools menu
Sent from my SM-T211 using xda app-developers app
Flashed a custom rom and things are much better. 100%not worth its 270 price tag
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
Samsung puts only 1gb ram and fills it with all kinds of it's own services that use all the ram and bug down the system:
Solution:
-Replace Touchwiz with Go Launcher HD.
-Root device and freeze all Samsung stuff that boot up with the system which you don't need such Samsung hubs(games, news etc), Yahoo services etc. Titanium backup can be of help to freeze.
-uncheck cpu in power savings option.
-reduce or stop animations in developer options.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
---------- Post added at 08:00 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:58 AM ----------
Don't forget to freeze Touchwiz after having replaced it with Go launcher HD. This will prevent it from loading again in the background and hugging your memory. See how your device becomes fast
Sent from my GT-I9300 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Dont mind trying that.but im not sure how to freeze things from start up?
Sent from my GT-P5210 using Tapatalk
maybe u got defect tab 3 ,try antutu benchmark and see how much u get score?
I had tab 3 7.0 got so slow with only 8800 score, and its got RMA due to auto shut down motherboard,and they give me new tab3, now its score 12000-13000pts,more faster and smooth.
Root it. It is much faster with a custom ROM
Don't use the Facebook app. It's a bloated mess.
Don't use S-Voice. Worthless. Use Google Now. Much better voice search/assistant
Yup it sucks
I was going to start the same thread before I saw yours. The SGT3 is a horrible tablet, cheaply built, slow, antiquated resolution and overpriced. I bought one after my Asus Infinity 700T was stolen after a visit too a library. When I went into the store to buy a new tablet I asked the sales person what he would recommend, I had a budget of 300. He excitedly showed me the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 10.1, the demo unit unfortunately wan't able to start, an omen I should have realized. I was impressed by the size and weight, the cheap plastic feel was worrying but the latter two plus's were enough for me to pull the trigger. When I got it home, charged it, setup up all of the user credentials, the first thing I noticed was how cartoonishly big everything looked. I did however like the look of the keyboard, so I pushed on and installed all of my favorite apps, I started to notice a lot of lag when installing apps, okay maybe the Play Store just isn't optimized for the x86 CPU, I continued. When the tablet was finished installing, I rebooted, than the nightmare what is Tab 3 started. First I tried surfing with Chrome but when more than 6 tabs are opened, do to the lack of memory you will loose whatever you have typed in one tab after you switch to another. The system is very sluggish, typing with a Logitech Keyboard in QuickOffice, the screen can't keep up with my typing. I can spend all day going through all of my apps and describing to you how slow each one performed but you get the idea, SLOW. I wanted to comment on the screen, the resolution is ridiculously bad for a 300 dollar 2014 tablet, I am actually shocked as to how bad it is. It's bright enough but man, Samsung has gotten so cocky to think that they can shove this crap down our throats. Not to mention how easy it is to scratch, breath on it and it's scratched. I decided to try installing a custom ROM for giggles, I had already decided to return it, wow slim pickings in that arena. The two I found were also really bad, the tablet was a little faster, memory management improved a little, not sure why the developers thought that changing the look of the color scheme for the notifications tab was a good idea, the ROMs did nothing to improve the overall experience though, nothing.
I returned the Tab 3 after only two days of what I would call the worst experience I have ever had with a gadget and bought a Nexus 10. 100x the better machine, it even cost 30 dollars less and has built in HDML. Oh the HDMI, I forgot about the HDMI, Samsung charges 40 dollars for the HDMI cable, it however doesn't charge the Tab 3 when connected and because the battery is so bad you can maybe watch a movie and a half. It also doesn't output 1080P when your in the desktop, just 720P so everything is fuzzy. Stay away from this tablet people, it's bad, expensive and insulting to the consumer.
calden74 said:
Stay away from this tablet people, it's bad, expensive and insulting to the consumer.
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I'd have to heartily disagree with you on that. I've had mine for a few days now and it's everything I expected and then some. Even before I froze a ton of stuff it was lagfree for me. Yeah the resolution kinda blows but it's a tablet. If you want 1080p look at your monitor, 720 is more than fine for a mid-level tablet. As for the Nexus, well I'd have to say the Tab is better but my opinion is jaded because it has a SD Slot, that's a monumental dealbreaker for me when it comes to the Nexus. You talk about it being 2014 well in that case the Nexus should have an SD Slot, that's an archaic thing do by not including one. Not everyone wants to cloud everything. :good:
Regardless, this tablet is more than competent. There is a reason it has a huge community and such great ratings everywhere, it's probably one of the highest quality tablets for its price.
Se7enex said:
I'd have to heartily disagree with you on that. I've had mine for a few days now and it's everything I expected and then some. Even before I froze a ton of stuff it was lagfree for me. Yeah the resolution kinda blows but it's a tablet. If you want 1080p look at your monitor, 720 is more than fine for a mid-level tablet. As for the Nexus, well I'd have to say the Tab is better but my opinion is jaded because it has a SD Slot, that's a monumental dealbreaker for me when it comes to the Nexus. You talk about it being 2014 well in that case the Nexus should have an SD Slot, that's an archaic thing do by not including one. Not everyone wants to cloud everything. :good:
Regardless, this tablet is more than competent. There is a reason it has a huge community and such great ratings everywhere, it's probably one of the highest quality tablets for its price.
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There is some things about this tablet that really irks me but I guess I have high hopes for the KK update helping it out. I also agree with you on the SD slot, that is one main reason I did not buy a Nexus. I also must say that I love the IR blaster and the watchon app, its very convenient and I don't need to find my logitech harmony when I'm on my tablet to mess with the tv. I think I got a good tablet for the price I paid, if I had wanted better then I would of been paying $550+. But I am typing this on my laptop with the tab beside me and my Note 2 and a PS Vita,oh and the ipod touch. I think I have enough devices to connect to the internet and the tab fills its roll well.
Se7enex said:
I'd have to heartily disagree with you on that. I've had mine for a few days now and it's everything I expected and then some. Even before I froze a ton of stuff it was lagfree for me. Yeah the resolution kinda blows but it's a tablet. If you want 1080p look at your monitor, 720 is more than fine for a mid-level tablet. As for the Nexus, well I'd have to say the Tab is better but my opinion is jaded because it has a SD Slot, that's a monumental dealbreaker for me when it comes to the Nexus. You talk about it being 2014 well in that case the Nexus should have an SD Slot, that's an archaic thing do by not including one. Not everyone wants to cloud everything. :good:
Regardless, this tablet is more than competent. There is a reason it has a huge community and such great ratings everywhere, it's probably one of the highest quality tablets for its price.
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Click to collapse
I'm glad your happy with your purchase. The Samsung Tab 3 10.1 when compared with other tablets actually has one of the smallest followings at XDA. Just compare the previous versions forum with the new one, you have 2 custom ROMs versus 20 plus for the Tab 2. Every single review I have read says the same thing, laggy tablet, obsolete the second it came off of the assembly line. The SD card issue doesn't really bother me because I happen to like cloud storage but I understand your need for it. Can you tell me what you like about it, it's just so slow for me, my Motorola Xoom 1 that is 4 years old feels faster. In fact I get higher frame rates in almost every game that I play vs. the Tab 3. What about the problem of scratching, that doesn't bother you or only having 300mb of memory free for apps, the horrible battery life, 50 dollar HDMI cable that doesn't output 1080p desktop nor does it charge the unit while plugged in, oh my gosh the list goes on. I would have spent the extra 100 and gotten a Sony Xperia Z.
calden74 said:
Can you tell me what you like about it, it's just so slow for me, my Motorola Xoom 1 that is 4 years old feels faster. In fact I get higher frame rates in almost every game that I play vs. the Tab 3. What about the problem of scratching, that doesn't bother you or only having 300mb of memory free for apps, the horrible battery life, 50 dollar HDMI cable that doesn't output 1080p desktop nor does it charge the unit while plugged in, oh my gosh the list goes on. I would have spent the extra 100 and gotten a Sony Xperia Z.
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It's much slower than the Nook Tablet which has been given to my mom since I bought the Tab3 and frankly I've never wanted to go back. As far as speed is concerned if I can multi window a HD video and look at Facebook or the internet at the same time I'd consider the device high speed. Seriously, this guy has done very good for me so far and I'm a major techie(Should be evident by my existence on XDA). I don't really play 3D games on my Tab since i leave major gaming for my PC however FPSE(PS1 Emulator) runs like a champ on this tab. Scratching? All LCD screens have been known to be prone to scratching, if that concerns you so much you can get a case and a screen protector, on my old iPod I bought a infinicase and I took that thing EVERYWHERE, dropped it probably once or twice a day and it was never scratched, having a case that puts the screen at a lifted height from the ground guarantees safety unless it hits at an angle which in that case you're boned. If you're referring to key scratching or something then idk, I've never imagined putting my tablet near things that could ruin it. 300mb of free memory for apps? Taking a quick glance at my storage i have almost 10 gigs of free room on my system storage and plenty on my SD Card, after installing probably a dozen or so various applications. 50$ HDMI cable? I'm not surprised, those suckers ain't cheap. Honestly if you wanted to HDMI it to your TV I would've checked online for more information before making the purchase, the fact that it doesn't charge while being plugged into HDMI in no way surprises me, unless you wanted a charger+HDMI in one sorta thing. Once again I don't personally care about 1080p or 720, I can only see the difference on a monitor, on a TV it's serviceable at worst which is more than enough for a tablet hooked up to a TV.
felt like pitching in here to say that the OP didnt mention what size he got - if it was the 7" model, its specs are basically the same as the tab 2 7.0
my tab 3 8.0 was a lot faster than my tab 2 7.0, and a hella lot faster once it was tweaked/OC'd.
agreed with one users comment about the MHL HDMI being poor - the cable i have allows it to charge while it works, but due to the tablet being 16:10, i get black bars on my 16:9 HDTV. the built in movie app corrects this, but it doesnt make sense for it to not be 16:9 in the first place.
What are you running up there..top left corner...pls list out the apps running in the background
Sent from my SM-T211 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Mines a tab 10.1"
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
Se7enex said:
You talk about it being 2014 well in that case the Nexus should have an SD Slot, that's an archaic thing do by not including one. Not everyone wants to cloud everything. :good:
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Gotta totally agree with you there on not wanting to cloud everything, so the good old SD card is a must IMHO.
But horses for courses as they say.
---------- Post added at 04:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:48 PM ----------
Forgot to add that I recently purchased a Samsung Galaxy Tab3 and think it's great and a lot nicer to use than my aging ASUS TF101
gonna just sell mine i think and take a £50 loss. I cant stand how slow it is even with a custom rom.
It can't be thaaat slow (under normal circumstances). I mean there must be something defective or something going wrong in the background. I know that benchmarks are not the most ideal way to measure performance but having a Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 for comparison which performs like 8800 on Antutu and Tab 3 10.1 is in the margin of 20000-22000 it's hard to believe that the device is not capable to offer atleast equaly good performance as the Tab 2 7.0 which is rather good (not the best, but not even near to what your Youtube videos show let's say). I plan to buy it brand new for 210 Euros (~289$) and I HIGHLY DOUBT you can find another tablet for that price with the same screen size and not be from a random Chinese brand or a rebranded Chinese product. My advice would be, wait for KitKat update to come out or try CM11 and then redo a review and if you consider it to be still that bad return it or sell it. Also you don't describe on what usage your were doing with it. I plan to get it for my mother just for surfing and stream some Youtube videos and I doubt it's going to be that bad but feel free to prove me wrong.
im getting 13149 score
it gets to 87% then says test is terminated.