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Tablets

I think of all the tablets available today, the HP Touchpad is the one I would choose. I got to play with a few tablets recently. Among them were the iPad, Moto Xoom, HTC Flyer, Blackberry Playbook, Huawei Ideos and the HP Touchpad. The newest Sammys weren't available. Nor were the Acers.
First off, the BB Playbook was the absolute worst of them all. It took 3 people to accidentally figure out how to delete a picture. Whilst messing with it trying to navigate around the UI, I snapped a picture of myself and wanted it off the system. I looked and looked and looked and finally called one of the store associates to assist. After he played with it for a long time, he called another store associate. The second associate played with it for a very long time also and then accidentally figured it out. We all went through every menu we could find and the answer was a simple downward swipe from the top of the LCD frame.
This brought back memories of my experience with a BB phone. No friggin way would I buy a damn BB tablet.
The rest of the tablets were sweet. The HTC Flyer was super smooth and gorgeous. The Xoom is old news. And the iPad is tired. I was really surprised by the Huawei tablet. It's so inexpensive, yet it works really well. Nevertheless, I love WebOS and my play time with the HP tablets was great. It worked flawlessly and smoothly and has that excellent multitask system. Plus I love the style, size and shape.
When the Sammys come out, I'll give them a try also and see it they can best the HP.

I'm liking the xoom. A keyboard and a mouse and I can ditch the MacBook.

Following the rules
im not and idiot or a noob, im tyring to post legitimate feedback on an android rom i am currently using but i need 10 posts so here is one more, thanks for this stupid rule! 8
I have been using Droid ROMS, MODS and kernels since the G1.

OG Galaxy Tab
I have the OG Galaxy tab and it rocks honeycomb pretty well. By 2 year old loves netflix so I'm happy.

Oops
OG Galaxy as in the 7 inch version. Honeycomb is on thru a custom ROM.

When I was in the market for a tablet I took a look at the xoom, playbook, iconia, and the transformer. The xoom was off the list because it was out of my price range. The playbook, I could not find the back button do that was it. It came down to the iconia and transformer, and I chose the iconia because of the full sized usb port and flash on the back.
Sent from 234 Elm Street

MartyLK said:
This brought back memories of my experience with a BB phone. No friggin way would I buy a damn BB tablet.
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Click to collapse
also that in order to get e-mail on the thing you need to be linked up via bluetooth with another phone.
i went to check one out, was in a game when i did, looking all over for the exit button, took me and another employee 20 minutes just to figure it out, swipe up....yeah, lets not put softkeys on it like we do with our phone, nah, no menu, a FRIGGAN SWIPE MOTION!, i can't blame them for trying to be inovative, but the "physical buttons" for the playbook are so small that someone would need a stylus just to press the friggin' buttons.
it has flash, and 1080p playback....yet the camera on it sucks.
RIM, try harder next time.

I don't have a tablet. But I would like one!

Kiboe said:
also that in order to get e-mail on the thing you need to be linked up via bluetooth with another phone.
i went to check one out, was in a game when i did, looking all over for the exit button, took me and another employee 20 minutes just to figure it out, swipe up....yeah, lets not put softkeys on it like we do with our phone, nah, no menu, a FRIGGAN SWIPE MOTION!, i can't blame them for trying to be inovative, but the "physical buttons" for the playbook are so small that someone would need a stylus just to press the friggin' buttons.
it has flash, and 1080p playback....yet the camera on it sucks.
RIM, try harder next time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The store I was at had a couple Playbooks on display at different areas of the store and the first one I came to had a non-functional small round button on the top...the button about the size of a bb pellet. I didn't know it didn't function; that it was damaged, and figured it was some sort of LED indicator. On the second Paybook, which was fully functional, if I hadn't pressed that little round button by accident to turn on the device, I never would have figured out how to power it on because I attributed that round button as an indicator or something of that nature. I wouldn't have intentionally pressed it.
The Playbook is typical BB B.S. I had the same experience with my BB phone. I spent 90% of my time trying to find stuff on it than I did just using it. No wonder BB is in the crapper these days.

I went with a Transformer. I did some research too. I will say this that playing with a unit in the store and taking it home and using it for a week or two is a huge difference. I am sure you can make some basic decisions based on your likes and dislikes, To heavy dont like how it feels in your hand etc, but nothing takes the place of good ole fashioned "Use it". I wrote a pretty long article regarding my purchase and my decisions tree in the transformer forums, as there are a lot of "Can the Asus Transformer replace my netbook/laptop" threads on a lot of different forums and i wanted to put my thoughts out there as well. I will find the link and link it. But in short the basic answer is it depends. I know not the best answer and not the one you were looking for but its the truth.
Here is my post its long but might be worth a read if you are trying to decide
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=15679836#post15679836
I am very happy with the transformer and in my post i give the reasons i chose it.
The Rahl

we have the xoom here. not sure how we like it yet. can't get it to root. or rather can't find a walkthrough that doesn't assume you already have certain things installed on your computer. not their fault. it's the xooms for me needing to root to actually use all it's features.

i have the galaxy 10.1 its so dirty i love it. slim, light, and fast

Apple suxxx but by the way, I prefer the iPad 2 !

I prefer the 7 inch tablet, but there aren't any good ones. The best 10 inch is the sammy sung tab 10.1.
It down right makes all the other tabs look like s**t. Samsung did a GREAT job on the screen. I like the feel of the thrive but it's screen sucks. The ipad seemed heavy but I do like its keyboard. The touchpad and playbook are the worst. the iconia is pretty ugly. The xoom feels nice but has a bad screen in my opinion. Tab 10.1 is best then xoom or ipad.

Reply
I am using Apple i pad. Its features processing speed durability awesome.

Some tablets are truly great in the niche such as Xoom, Transformer and Ironia, but seems that it's still no one is good enough to beat the iPad. At least for me, I have to admit the using experience is really fantastic on iPad.

chikwarne said:
I am using Apple i pad. Its features processing speed durability awesome.
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skydeve said:
Some tablets are truly great in the niche such as Xoom, Transformer and Ironia, but seems that it's still no one is good enough to beat the iPad. At least for me, I have to admit the using experience is really fantastic on iPad.
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Click to collapse
Yeah, I agree. The iPad is a powerful and well engineered tablet. But it lacks the high res display I desire and this makes it tired for me. I'm spoiled by the Retina display of my iPhone 4. There just isn't a display as good as the Retina display. If Apple puts an equivalent display in the next iPad, that would solve the tired problem.

i am waiting samsung tab 10.1 or sony

I have the Samsung Galaxy 10.1 and it rocks, so fast and easy to use.

I bought my 8 yr. old daughter a Velocity Micro Cruz. I sent that same POS back 2 weeks later. She is only 8 so I'm not looking to spend mega bucks and I don't buy anything made by Apple. I am thinking of getting her the Gen 9 Archos 8in tablet when it arrives in a few months. The Cruz isn't a bad tablet for the price point but it simply has too little internal memory. It constantly froze on us. It is great looking hardware, nice looking screen and a little heavy. Also, not having the genuine Android Market or XDA-Dev support was a killer. I came to realize I have no love for Android in it's current state (2.3 and below as I haven't used or seen a Honeycomb tablet yet). As a long time Windows Mobile user Android still reminds me of an incomplete and immature version of Windows Mobile that is more popular but not more effective. I am disappointed in this realization, especially when 90% of the tablets out there worth their salt, hardware wise, are Android based.
To be fair, I actually played with my friend's IPad II also. When I say played with, I mean sat there and used it for 2-3 hours to see if it could impress me. The answer is no. It's a $600 POS. What's scary is the Velocity Mirco Cruz was $179 total and the $400 or so price difference really doesn't show when it comes to using the damn things. The Ipad was lighter, faster and didn't freeze (because it has enough damn internal memory), but like every other damn Apple product it is limited and constricted. I swear if the Cruz had more internal memory it would have been 200x more effective than that Apple pos. Transferring information was easier. Using it as a part of my current environment was easier (HD2, Windows 7 laptop, Windows Vista PC). When I used the Dolphin browser it worked excellent (as did Safari). Basically the only satisfying experience I had on the Ipad was the Youtube application and the only thing that made it better than what I get on my HD2 is the screen size. Beyond that it has nothing on my 2 year old phone. Apple smapple.
I don't expect the HP or BB tablets to last very long in this market so I'm hoping Microsoft comes out with a viable tablet OS (which is rumored) and it doesn't actually disappoint me the way everything else has. Knowing I won't be able to replace the Cruz for under $200 I upped the ante to $300 and it looks like Archos is going to slide in with the gen 9's. Hopefully I won't remain disappointed.

[Q] Worth Buying?

So at my local store there is a deal on this thing, buy now, pay 6months later.
Is it worth buying? I've looked at the reviews and they are all pretty good, I like the touchwize element and the look of the Samsung customised apps on it.
I recently bricked my Sony Tablet S, so looking for something a little different until it's fixed!
Any ideas please?

Well overall, this is a pretty solid tablet. Best in class IMO.
But, that being said, it still has its quirks.
Not to mention no ICS (and we all question whether we'll get it or not)
Also, if u decide to get it, don't expect any AOSP (CM, AOKP, MIUI) for some time. Samsung isn't cooperating with us by withholding some important bits of source that we need.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda premium

Thanks for the feedback, for me it's not about the ROM's, but the usage. Is it stable, fast, pretty lag free?
I can get it, use it under a 15day money back guarentee.

It's a great tablet. I've had an iPad, a Samsung Galaxy Tab (original 3G 7 inch) a Galaxy Tab 10.1 and now this, and this is the first one I have been completely happy with.
The hardware is similar to the SGS2, which means its smooth and fast, with sufficient battery life for all the travelling I do. The SGT10.1 had the rather poor Tegra2 chipset which I found quite disappointing, whereas the Xynos in the SGT7+ is fast and stable. The fact that it has a microSD slot is very important to me (The SGT10.1 lacked one and therefore if you got a 16GB one, you were stuck with about 13GB of storage).
At the moment it lacks ICS, but having been using ICS on my Galaxy Nexus for a couple of months, I can live with Honeycomb for now.
I'll be sticking with my SGT7+ for a while I think!

I'm happy with mine overall, but it does have a few issues that may be common to all firmware versions:
1. Bluetooth keyboard/mouse lag has been reported.
2. Analog audio output volume can be low/problematic (I always use a bt headset).
3. I've noticed network lag on every wifi AP I've connected to: 20-150ms fluctuating ping latency to LAN and Internet hosts. Other devices on my LAN, including my old Nook Color, get the expected sub-10ms pings to each other.
Sent from my GT-P6210 using Tapatalk 2

I enjoy this tablet.
I bought this for the 7" form factor. I think it works great. I use it for taking notes, or outlining ideas, along with lots of reading. Web, E-Book, work document review whatever... it works just fine. I also like it for a "second Screen" for podcasts while I'm browsing on my desktop PC.
Cons for me are it seems to warm up on the left side with heavy wifi use, and that is mildly annoying, but tolerable. Touch Wiz seemed to talk up a bunch of RAM and crash on me, I replaced it with Go Launcher HD and haven't had a problem since. I just wish I could ditch it completely.
As far as I can tell at this moment, there isn't a another 7" tablet with the same battery life, feature set, and price point. Ultimately that is why I picked one up.

So TouchWiz isn't good on it?
It was one of the reasons why I'd buy it...

SWFlyerUK said:
So TouchWiz isn't good on it?
It was one of the reasons why I'd buy it...
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Click to collapse
TouchWiz is fine on mine and on the other units I purchased for floor-use at the plant.
I have had nearly zero issues out of my 7+. Former iPad, Xoom, and Kindle Fire owner here, and the 7+ is easily the best tablet I have owned, TouchWiz included.

Very Good Product, but...
Flyer:
I have had my SGT 7 plus for about a month, and it is my favorite of our five tablets, which include a Nook Color, a Xoom and 2 Transformer 102s; all of which have ICS. It works very smoothly and has all the power I need. However I do not do intensive gaming.
The screen image is bright and clear, and aside of a few force closures, most likely caused by apps mis-behaving, I have had no problems with the stock Honeycomb OS.
Regarding the negative comments about TouchWiz, I feel it has some nice features, but I do not feel the hidden app tray on the bottom of the screen is as handy as it would be if the apps were selectable (if they are I have not figured how).
In response to the comment about TouchWiz consuming a lot of power, I personally have not found that to be the case. To me it just seems to be a feature that is somewhat unobtrusively there if you want to use it (although I would be the first to admit I probably am not familiar with all the features).
Regarding power use in general, compared to my other tablets, my SGT 7 plus is very good. In fact, if I just close the screen, it barely sips power. Of course I am sure that is, in part, because of the way I have it set up.
There are a few things that I wish were different; such as the lack of a stand alone USB connector, and the use of a proprietary charge/usb connector. But to me that is really nitpicking in the overall scheme of things.
The only serious concern I have is the impact the soon to come out SGT 2 7" will have on our getting ICS in a timely manner. There is no doubt in my mind the SGT 7 plus is a better tablet, and an excellent value when bought at the $299 or less sales price even with the Honeycomb OS.
However, it does not have ICS, and presently there is no concrete information as to when/if Samsung will make it available; and, in my opinion, ICS is a much better O.S, so availability of ICS for the SGT 7 plus is a very important consideration in deciding which tablet to buy.
In my opinion, holding prospective and recent customers in limbo in this manner, as Samsung is presently doing, is a terrible way for a company to do business. There is no doubt in my mind the SGT 7 plus is a better built tablet, with more features than the SGT 2 7", but if the SGT 7 plus does not receive the ICS it will be limited in utilization of the new software being developed, and therefore may be basically obsolete within a matter of a couple of months.
Personally, although I love mine, if considering purchasing today, I would wait another month or so to see how this scenario (ICS update) plays out.
Hope this is of help to you!
Cbill

For what its worth, Samsung HAS confirmed that we will get the update. Full stop. This was in an officially released press release, which can be found on Samsung Mobile's facebook wall.
Time frame, however, was never officially released except for the fact that the Note and the S2 would get the update first. This, to me, points to no ICS update until the Note gets its update.
Just my two cents on the ICS issue, because I keep seeing people acting like Samsung hasn't said any thing about our tablet, and they have.

Robyr:
Obviously you are not at a decision point of purchasing (or returning a recently purchased) SGT 7 plus.
O.K., lets say you are right when you opine Samsung will release ICS for the 7+. The next question is when?. Two week , two months, six months? Every week new 7" tabs, with ICS installed, and with new and improved features, are coming on the market. Given these circumstances, how long is an appropriate time to wait for a current operating system upgrade for your newly purchased (and only recently released to the market) Tablet.
I love my 7+, but I also want the smoothness, and increased versitility that ICS brings. I have it on my Transformer 102 wifi, and my Xoom wifi(contrary to what an earlier poster stated) and I even have it on my poor little ole Nook Color (CM9), and I do not feel those of us owning Tab 7+ 's, not tied to a carrier should have to wait any longer without some official indication of timing schedule from Samsung.
Let's not lose sight of the fact that the ICS operating system has been available for a considerable amount of time, and, I suspect, most, if not all of the 7 plus's that have been sold in this country were purchased in anticipation of upgrade to ICS in the" not-to-distant future" from their purchase date I know that certainly was the case with me. Instead of providing that upgrade in a timely manner, it appears Samsung chose to undercut their own customers by bringing to market a low cost, downgraded Tab 7, using ICS as a sales feature, while leaving their 7 plus customers out in the cold.
I have two days left to decide whether I will keep my 7 plus. It is not an easy decision. However, whichever way I decide, in the future I will always be very cautious about purchasing samsung phones or tablets.
Cbill

Decided to buy it, will be here tomorrow and can't wait!

All the other manufacturers are just as bad, if not worse than Samsung when it comes to upgrades of IS, and it has been a 'feature' of the phone market for as long a there have been phones capable of being upgraded.
The way I look at it is that the tablet still works exactly the same way now as it did when I bought it, irrespective of ICS's prevalence on other tablets. Sure it's nice to get a new OS, and I won't complain if ICS is released in a timely matter, but if honeycomb sucked that badly then it would have been a poor purchase in the first place.
But as for the OP, go enjoy your new tablet, and remember to feel sorry for the chumps with aching arms from holding their heavy iPads up all day =)
Sent from my GT-P6210 using xda premium

Thanks guy, arrived yesterday and what a fantastic device. Alot better than the Son Table S, although I paid £270 for mine and noticed there was no IR?

No IR
There must be some variation in the models. I bought mine in the US in Feb from Best Buy for about £250, and it came with IR, and a cool piece of IR software for controlling TVs, DVD players, etc.
However, it appears Samsung have not changed model numbers despite the hardware change.

Thanks for the response.
I'm on GT-P621 and was a little confused about root.
Can someone point me to the correct root solution thread please?
Not a noob, but a newby to this device!

SWFlyerUK said:
Can someone point me to the correct root solution thread please?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1367249

Your opinions on the tablet

Hello,
I've had the tablet for about a month now (8010). I really love it. But I am sure many of you will agree that there is alot of room for feasible improvement. This was how I felt about the galaxy note phone that I currently have as well. Accordingly, I feel that when the galaxy note 2 10.1 tablet comes out... it will have significant OS improvements that will make it much better.... Only for this reason am I considering returning the product just to be more patient for the second generation... your thoughts?

aycn602 said:
Hello,
I've had the tablet for about a month now (8010). I really love it. But I am sure many of you will agree that there is alot of room for feasible improvement. This was how I felt about the galaxy note phone that I currently have as well. Accordingly, I feel that when the galaxy note 2 10.1 tablet comes out... it will have significant OS improvements that will make it much better.... Only for this reason am I considering returning the product just to be more patient for the second generation... your thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The later generations are typically better, and there are typically later generations coming out all the time, so if you wait for the note 2 10.1, you will find some issues that will be improved on with the note 3 and so on, or some other device. That is how things work and progress, so it really depends on how much money you have if you are able to continue buying the latest and greatest every 6 months or so and want to take the time to get everything set up again. I figure I'll be fine with this one for a couple years and then upgrade a generation or so down the line or go to something else that becomes better. It is never ending as technology is constantly improving and methods for development are always improving and changing.
In order for companies to have money and staff for their proper research and development, people need to purchase their products on the market now and invest that way.

I am perfectly happy with my Note 10.1. I would suspect the Note 10.1 v2 won't be out until late next summer so you have to decide if you want to wait that long go for it.
As for improvements to this I would be curious what you think needs major improvement, so much so you would return this. I am actually quite impressed with the software on this. I have a Galaxy Nexus and Xoom both with Jellybean so I was a little hesitant getting a non Nexus device but I must say Samsung has done a pretty good job with this OS, even TouchWiz is pretty good. While we are promised Jellybean soon, and I am fairly confident we will get Key Lime Pie, I doubt we will see anything after that unless the dev community is able to make it happen. As of now I am good with this because the tablet is good enough not to need much more from the OS.
Speed and responsiveness thanks to the quad core and 2 Gb of RAM is impressive. Unlike the Tegra2 in my Xoom, I believe this hardware will hold up well for the next 2 years of app development. Even with Jellybean on the Xoom, the Note 10.1 with ICS is much smoother (thanks its internals).
All this to say I am very happy with this tablet.
Sent from my GT-N8013 using xda premium

aycn602 said:
Hello,
I've had the tablet for about a month now (8010). I really love it. But I am sure many of you will agree that there is alot of room for feasible improvement. This was how I felt about the galaxy note phone that I currently have as well. Accordingly, I feel that when the galaxy note 2 10.1 tablet comes out... it will have significant OS improvements that will make it much better.... Only for this reason am I considering returning the product just to be more patient for the second generation... your thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's kind of a bad comparison you're making. The Note 10.1 is the equivalent of the SGS3 and Note II both h/w and s/w wise. The OG Note I was equivalent to the SGS2 and OG G-Tab 10.1. Samsung sold only 700K OG G-Tab 10.1’s in the U.S. after spending $500K marketing them and distributing them via the U.S. carriers. That’s pretty pitiful considering it was deemed the most compelling Android tablet on the market and the best alternative to the iPad. All the Android tablet makers are also now making W8 tablets. Depending on their success with W8 you may see them greatly reduce or pull out of the Android tablet market completely.
This article talks about Android tablets in a post-W8 tablet world…
"I think [productivity-focused Android tablets] are going to fade away," says Rob Enderle, the principal analyst of the Enderle Group, summing up the group consensus. "I think we'll see Windows convertibles and hybrids pick up that category. The keyboard really goes with Office."
The analysts I contacted also agree that Windows tablets will quickly gobble up Android's market share in the premium-priced tablet segment. Dropping $500 or more on a 10.1-inch Android tablet requires a lot more deliberation than spending $200 on a 7-inch Google Nexus 7. For this reason, analysts believe, consumers will flock toward the more seamless (and less glitchy) Windows experience when going for a big-screen (and non-iPad) tablet.
But will Android tablets vanish entirely? Most of the experts I spoke with don't think so. Excluding Forrester's Rotman Epps, most analysts expect Android tablets to be around for the long haul, albeit in a niche role that focuses on low prices and media playback.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2012231/is-windows-8-an-existential-threat-to-android-tablets.html​

The only thing I think that the note misses:
A working and reliable office clone, with the ability to ink
A note taking program that records audio, as it takes not. Like livescribe does, or onenote does. I was quite suprised to find that this doesnt exist in android yet.
A keyboard accessory, that works like a clam. A tranformer type keyboard would be fabulous
Otherwise I think the Note 10.1 is fabulous

Yup. I agree with the others. You're trying to decide if you should own the best android tablet or nothing?. The Note 10.1 stands out in front of the other tablets. So it your looking for the best tablet, this is it. Don't wait.
If you really would like to upgrade when the next model comes out, I would keep the Note 10.1 until then.

I agree, this is by far the best tablet on the market.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app

What you did not mention is what is that you do not like in the note.
Samsung has given note hardware that is not required at present like 2gb of ram one of the reasons for doing so is to make it future proof upto a certain extent, I belive a life of a laptop is 3 years, cellphone and tablet may be around 2 years and with period I think note would be good enough.
Yes the screen resolution on PAPER looks like it needs improvement but that was I think to keep price down because of the Spen.
But overall I believe its a great tablet.
One thing I can challeng no other tablet can do or will do for a long time to come is write a mail using spen believe me my handwriting on a scale to 1-10 is 1 and still it recognises it and thats something awesome

Thanks for all your responses! My biggest worry / problem with this tablet is to build quality. Overall, for a 500+dollar tablet I feel like its overall aesthetics aren't as sleek nor seem as durable as it should be. [really didn't mind the plastic build on my note phone but I guess a tablet it does seem a little cheap. Secondly, I think the biggest improvement can and will be made in themulti-app functionality. I enjoy the experience of it right now but it is not truly a polished function of Samsung's feature. Included should be hOw S- memo functions. LastIy the biggest disappointments Come from Polaris. I use a bluetooth keyboard to really Use my tablet as a laptop replacement for small tasks such as organising class notes. But I often am frustrated with how Polaris functions. Though the merit of the tablet is its s-pen the inability to be productiveWith a keyboard on Polaris makes me wonder if I should seriously consider Windows...
Sent from my GT-N8010 using xda app-developers app

I think you have formed an opinion against the note if you think polaris is not good enough you can look at other office apps on market place spend few extra buck or dl it from sites
Looks are concerned well once in case they wont matter but I have the bluish grey like the one on SG3 and I love how the back looks but again I have case so its not visible. but then its onces taste. I feel looks wise tablet may not win awards but its not an ugly duckling either. its a look samsung has gone with for all its mobile devices so whether you like it or hate it you have to live with it

After owning the first Galaxy Tab, Asus Transformer and the Galaxy Tab 7.7 the 10.1 note is without a doubt the one i have enjoyed and used the most. The screen resolution is a slight let down after the 7.7 but everything else is best on the market at present so this is a keeper. Good for media and useful for business.
Sent from my GT-N8000 using Tapatalk 2

aycn602 said:
Hello,
I've had the tablet for about a month now (8010). I really love it. But I am sure many of you will agree that there is alot of room for feasible improvement. This was how I felt about the galaxy note phone that I currently have as well. Accordingly, I feel that when the galaxy note 2 10.1 tablet comes out... it will have significant OS improvements that will make it much better.... Only for this reason am I considering returning the product just to be more patient for the second generation... your thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think u should wait for the tablet that will launch in 2040... it would be perfect. Would have a full frame prismless dslr integrated, will be able to change physical shape, will have quantum computing cpu, 12800 ppi display, ffc (far field communication chip, allowing u to beam photos from distant planets without internet) and will be powered by a nuclear fusion cells that can outlast human life span on one single charge!
But in order to pass this time till next big thing comes... buy note 10.1. It brings a smile on my face everyday! Hopefully it will give u same joy!
Enjoy the journey!
Sent from my GT-N8013 using Tapatalk

smrsxn said:
I think u should wait for the tablet that will launch in 2040... it would be perfect. Would have a full frame prismless dslr integrated, will be able to change physical shape, will have quantum computing cpu, 12800 ppi display, ffc (far field communication chip, allowing u to beam photos from distant planets without internet) and will be powered by a nuclear fusion cells that can outlast human life span on one single charge!
But in order to pass this time till next big thing comes... buy note 10.1. It brings a smile on my face everyday! Hopefully it will give u same joy!
Enjoy the journey!
Sent from my GT-N8013 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is good stuff. Personally I love this thing and I use it to about 1/10th of its ability. It's fast, smooth, and there is so much to it that I'm just enjoying reading and researching this thing. The great thing about this, and android in general, is options. We have lots of options.
I am always amazed about complaints, particularly in the cell phone arena. People have completely forgotten its a damn phone. If you want a super computer, well go buy one. Same can be said for the tablet market. If you are working on some complicated excel sheet, and you get pissed because something gets corrupted or something, chances are, you should be probably using your computer for that excel sheet that is mission critical for your 8am meeting. Don't get mad cause some formula driven excel sheet got corrupted why you tried to edit or create it on your tablet
My last rant will be about one of my iSheep friends who I let play with it. He held it, turned vertically, then horizontally, then vertically again, repeat a few more times etc. He snapped a couple pictures, then handed it back to me after 45 seconds and said, "this thing is terrible...its clunky and awkward". I looked at him, shook my head, and did the best sheep imitation I could muster. That cult is more then I can handle.
Sent from my GT-N8013 using Tapatalk 2

Keyboard cases that aren't terrible?

So recently, I got sick of my Samsung Epic 4G despite it running the latest Android and being, generally, a great phone. I decided to go to the S4 when I saw bluetooth keyboards were available for it. I like the idea of slider keyboards as my Epic has a five row one that works flawlessly. I'm now asking for any keyboards that people have found that aren't god awful.
So I bought this:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009MJ0V5E/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
And it is honestly the worst product I have ever bought. Not only is it IDENTICAL to every slider case that exists on amazon (A lot of different brands, too), it has MANY problems.
-The buttons are hard to press down
-The space bar is the width of two letter keys across. TINY
-Delete key is intuitively placed BETWEEN KEYS.
-Delete key is also the size of one letter key.
-No spacing between keys
-Caps and FN keys are not toggle-able.
-Only a 4 row keyboard, so numbers are "FN" buttons
-This requires holding down the FN key to use a series of numbers
Overall, it was the biggest disappointment in my life. It's bad enough where I'm selling the S4 and going back to my Epic. If anyone finds a good BT keyboard and wants to stop me from making this decision, by all means. And there's a white version floating about that's exactly the same that prices anywhere from $30-90.

Go back to your epic. If you really need a slider keyboard THAT bad then this isn't the phone for you. Doubt you'll like any bluetooth keyboard.
Sent from Flip's Galaxy S4

elflip88 said:
Go back to your epic. If you really need a slider keyboard THAT bad then this isn't the phone for you. Doubt you'll like any bluetooth keyboard.
Sent from Flip's Galaxy S4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Been waiting on a post like this for a while. I'm in the same spot. Love my Epic, wish I had 3 extra processors.
I've been looking at this case recently:
http://www.hypercel.com/best-sellers/bluetooth-keyboards/bluetooth-keyboard-case-galaxy-s4-white
and am waiting on some feedback as I'd hate to go all in only to be let down.

elflip88 said:
Go back to your epic. If you really need a slider keyboard THAT bad then this isn't the phone for you. Doubt you'll like any bluetooth keyboard.
Sent from Flip's Galaxy S4
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Click to collapse
It's the problem that there's really only one bluetooth keyboard. If one is to look on Amazon, they all have an identical design, aside from the ones that really are full-sized keyboards.
The problem is that the iPhone crowd started a trend of "buttons are so barbaric". Every phone company jumped on board because adding a keyboard meant higher manufacturing cost. Back when the HTC Touch Pro was on the market, it was thee biggest phone. Now keyboard phones are released with last-years mid-range specs. To get latest specs, you have to axe the keyboard. I simply don't know why Samsung doesn't release their own BT add-on. It's possible, and with a real company behind it, it might actually be a good add-on. There wouldn't be so many clones on Amazon (and there are near a hundred different "companies" that released the same bluetooth keyboard on Amazon) if there weren't a significant amount of buyers.
dannyzen said:
Been waiting on a post like this for a while. I'm in the same spot. Love my Epic, wish I had 3 extra processors.
I've been looking at this case recently:
http://www.hypercel.com/best-sellers/bluetooth-keyboards/bluetooth-keyboard-case-galaxy-s4-white
and am waiting on some feedback as I'd hate to go all in only to be let down.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's the exact same keyboard only in white. The fact that it's $80 adds layers of insult to injury. Sorry man, wouldn't make the purchase.
I mean, this add-on makes the phone significantly thicker than my Epic, but I'm a guy. They put pockets on our jeans.

TPMJB said:
It's the problem that there's really only one bluetooth keyboard. If one is to look on Amazon, they all have an identical design, aside from the ones that really are full-sized keyboards.
The problem is that the iPhone crowd started a trend of "buttons are so barbaric". Every phone company jumped on board because adding a keyboard meant higher manufacturing cost. Back when the HTC Touch Pro was on the market, it was thee biggest phone. Now keyboard phones are released with last-years mid-range specs. To get latest specs, you have to axe the keyboard. I simply don't know why Samsung doesn't release their own BT add-on. It's possible, and with a real company behind it, it might actually be a good add-on. There wouldn't be so many clones on Amazon (and there are near a hundred different "companies" that released the same bluetooth keyboard on Amazon) if there weren't a significant amount of buyers.
It's the exact same keyboard only in white. The fact that it's $80 adds layers of insult to injury. Sorry man, wouldn't make the purchase.
I mean, this add-on makes the phone significantly thicker than my Epic, but I'm a guy. They put pockets on our jeans.
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Click to collapse
http://www.amazon.com/TOP®-Wireless-Removable-Bluetooth-Keyboard/dp/B00D03KVYE/ref=pd_sim_cps_4
http://www.amazon.com/Arbalest-Remo...&sr=1-16&keywords=wireless+keyboard+galaxy+s4
These look like the other option you have, but I don't see anything else. The delete key seems to be in a better position.
i prefer physical kb also. not sure the battery drain from having bt on all the time would be worth it.

Phatdawg said:
http://www.amazon.com/TOP®-Wireless-Removable-Bluetooth-Keyboard/dp/B00D03KVYE/ref=pd_sim_cps_4
http://www.amazon.com/Arbalest-Remo...&sr=1-16&keywords=wireless+keyboard+galaxy+s4
These look like the other option you have, but I don't see anything else. The delete key seems to be in a better position.
i prefer physical kb also. not sure the battery drain from having bt on all the time would be worth it.
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Click to collapse
*sigh*
I'm wondering if I could frankenstein something out of my spare Samsung Epic and my S4. Would likely require more know-how with the software than I currently have.

epic 4g is still a great phone, the most ergonomic i've ever used and the keyboard really comes in handy not only for typing but as a "holder" to view the screen & navigate
these days i use it as a remote/mouse when i hook my PC up to the tv and it works flawlessly

Any new QWERTY Android on the horizon?

Hi everyone, my Relay 4g, thanks to all devs, rocks. I'm even thinking about buying a new one and keeping it in its box - in my experience, phones with hinges and moving parts such as this one do not last long.
We are part, I'm afraid, of a very small niche in the market - no one wants QWERTY phones, or atthe very least no one seems to want to supply them. Has anyone seen any rumor on new/upcoming Android qweerty phones?
Thanks!!

It's sad but no. I've researched a huge amount of materials but I wasn't able to find newer phone on the market than Relay since 2012.
Sent from my SGH-T699 using Tapatalk

http://www.gsmarena.com/lg_optimus_f3q-5998.php
Sent from my Nexus 4 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

I saw it: nothing interesting except LTE, which is useless in my country, and display even weaker. But it's my IMHO nevertheless
Sent from my SGH-T699 using Tapatalk

demkantor said:
http://www.gsmarena.com/lg_optimus_f3q-5998.php
Sent from my Nexus 4 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
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Click to collapse
haha specs of that are less than relay in terms of processor, chipset, and camera...thats such a suckerpunch

http://techcrunch.com/2014/05/16/the-app-store-is-proof-were-in-idiocracy/
This is why there aren't QWERTY devices. People don't do anything with their pocket computers..

orange808 said:
http://techcrunch.com/2014/05/16/the-app-store-is-proof-were-in-idiocracy/
This is why there aren't QWERTY devices. People don't do anything with their pocket computers..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think part of the problem is that QWERTY for many people is one of those things that you think you can live without... until you try it for some time.
Then you go back to a normal smartphone and you notice how much you don't say because it's a nuisance to type with an on-screen keyboard. You actively avoid having a meaningful conversation or replying to complex e-mails until you get to a pc (yes or meet in person, but lots of far away friends).
*sigh*

rad30n said:
I think part of the problem is that QWERTY for many people is one of those things that you think you can live without... until you try it for some time.
Then you go back to a normal smartphone and you notice how much you don't say because it's a nuisance to type with an on-screen keyboard. You actively avoid having a meaningful conversation or replying to complex e-mails until you get to a pc (yes or meet in person, but lots of far away friends).
*sigh*
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Click to collapse
Absolutely! I can hardly explain the significance of hard keyboard to something but I cannot already live with usual phone myself
On-screen keyboard is a total s**t!
Therefore I've bought second Relay already)

rad30n said:
I think part of the problem is that QWERTY for many people is one of those things that you think you can live without... until you try it for some time.
Then you go back to a normal smartphone and you notice how much you don't say because it's a nuisance to type with an on-screen keyboard. You actively avoid having a meaningful conversation or replying to complex e-mails until you get to a pc (yes or meet in person, but lots of far away friends).
*sigh*
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you've hit the nail on the head. my first smartphone was the original samsung blackjack (windoze mobile 5, later flashed to a custom 6.1 rom i think), and it was a blackberry style phone. when i tired of that, i got a samsung continuum, which was touch-only. not only was the device massively defective (had to return it so many times, vzw let me get a different model phone), not having a keyboard sucked for actually doing anything. so i got a droid 2 - slider qwerty. that one had its flight license revoked after a high speed impact with a wall, and was replaced with my current droid4. the d4 is slowly dying and its battery can't be (easily) replaced, and i want away from big red, so after much research, i decided that the relay is the best-specced qwerty slider on the market right now - especially sad since the just-released f3q or whatever actually has WORSE specs than the relay. so i bought a relay yesterday - found a local tmo store that had some open item stock and bought one for only $125. now i have to learn how to root, flash, and all that all over again - sammy stuff is WAY different from moto.
because i can actually use my phone for damn near everything (including RDP into the dell poweredge in my garage), i haven't even turned on my desktop pc in all of 2014. granted, i have a work laptop, but i don't have admin rights on it so i can't use it to work on my new relay. might have to commandeer the wife's laptop for that.
when i'm forced to use someone else's touch-only device (including my wife's sgs3 and tab2 7"), i quickly get frustrated by the on-screen keyboard. haptic feedback is no replacement for tactile buttons. that's why touchscreen sucks in a car, and why i hope the Tesla Model E (or whatever they're going to call it now) doesn't have 100% touch controls like the model S and model X. some touch is fine and appropriate in a car, but for some things, having a real knob or button is more efficient and safer. but i digress. calling these phones a "pocket computer" is 100% accurate. maybe someone will come up with a way to make those tack-on bluetooth keyboards not suck so much (like maybe they can clone the droid4's keyboard - it's nicer than the relay's, IMHO) or make it even bigger and make use of the space provided by these phablets out there now. i wouldn't mind carrying around a galaxy note if it had a good slider qwerty on board, and let me shrink the fonts to make better use of that big screen. alas, i just don't see that happening.

Gibson99 said:
you've hit the nail on the head. my first smartphone was the original samsung blackjack (windoze mobile 5, later flashed to a custom 6.1 rom i think), and it was a blackberry style phone. when i tired of that, i got a samsung continuum, which was touch-only. not only was the device massively defective (had to return it so many times, vzw let me get a different model phone), not having a keyboard sucked for actually doing anything. so i got a droid 2 - slider qwerty. that one had its flight license revoked after a high speed impact with a wall, and was replaced with my current droid4. the d4 is slowly dying and its battery can't be (easily) replaced, and i want away from big red, so after much research, i decided that the relay is the best-specced qwerty slider on the market right now - especially sad since the just-released f3q or whatever actually has WORSE specs than the relay. so i bought a relay yesterday - found a local tmo store that had some open item stock and bought one for only $125. now i have to learn how to root, flash, and all that all over again - sammy stuff is WAY different from moto.
because i can actually use my phone for damn near everything (including RDP into the dell poweredge in my garage), i haven't even turned on my desktop pc in all of 2014. granted, i have a work laptop, but i don't have admin rights on it so i can't use it to work on my new relay. might have to commandeer the wife's laptop for that.
when i'm forced to use someone else's touch-only device (including my wife's sgs3 and tab2 7"), i quickly get frustrated by the on-screen keyboard. haptic feedback is no replacement for tactile buttons. that's why touchscreen sucks in a car, and why i hope the Tesla Model E (or whatever they're going to call it now) doesn't have 100% touch controls like the model S and model X. some touch is fine and appropriate in a car, but for some things, having a real knob or button is more efficient and safer. but i digress. calling these phones a "pocket computer" is 100% accurate. maybe someone will come up with a way to make those tack-on bluetooth keyboards not suck so much (like maybe they can clone the droid4's keyboard - it's nicer than the relay's, IMHO) or make it even bigger and make use of the space provided by these phablets out there now. i wouldn't mind carrying around a galaxy note if it had a good slider qwerty on board, and let me shrink the fonts to make better use of that big screen. alas, i just don't see that happening.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you ever need help setting it up or unlocking it and all that ill be glad to help and guide you to the right threads

What's really sad is that every manufacturer has such a huge lineup (including stupid curved versions of phones that are more expensive and worse than the original uncurved version --- looking at you Samsung) and yet nobody can squeeze out a qwerty with a modern chipset.
The Relay is indeed a keeper! Hope this great community can go on collaborating and updating it for the next few years

I think i will buy another relay to keep in storage! The f3q does not look great:
http://www.t-mobile.com/cell-phones/lg-optimus-f3q.html
And not a lot of dev in the horizon:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2650840&page=4

Easiest way to get aosp is piggyback off a popular device, like we did for s3. I spoke to the LG guys at CM. Nobody is interested in the f3 (non qwerty) or the f3q. I'm personally waiting for project ara

Nardholio said:
Easiest way to get aosp is piggyback off a popular device, like we did for s3. I spoke to the LG guys at CM. Nobody is interested in the f3 (non qwerty) or the f3q. I'm personally waiting for project ara
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The LG Feck really doesn't seem like a new device, so I'm not surprised.

F3Q? No... absolutly not an option to "upgrade".
http://geekaphone.com/compare/Samsung-Galaxy-S-Relay-4G-vs-LG-Optimus-F3Q
The parameters are worse than relay. But F3Q is the ONLY qwerty android released 2014. Sad. Very sad.

NO!
sorgo said:
F3Q? No... absolutly not an option to "upgrade".
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Click to collapse
Strongly agree. It's a piece of s**t

endangered species listed here
qwerty android phones:
http://www.meetgadget.com/gadget/#/gadget/category/Cell Phones/?f[3373][]=4764&f[7178][]=9439
gsm qwerty android phones:
http://www.meetgadget.com/gadget/#/...?f[3373][]=4764&f[7178][]=9439&f[3327][]=4772
side-sliders qwerty android phones:
http://www.meetgadget.com/gadget/#/...s/?f[3373][]=4764&f[3341]=4486&f[7178][]=9439
I am really considering buying another relay to have another one backup phone just for the day when the qwerty phones will be absolutely extinct in the future.

Guiyoforward said:
I think i will buy another relay to keep in storage! The f3q does not look great:
http://www.t-mobile.com/cell-phones/lg-optimus-f3q.html
And not a lot of dev in the horizon:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2650840&page=4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. And Relays seem to remain available through ebay. The prices vary: I've seen some as cheap as $170 and as expensive as $250, but at least they are consistently available from various vendors. And I'm talking brand new still in the package with the plastic. But this may not last forever, though, so yeah, getting two might be in order.

RodimusConvoy said:
Agreed. And Relays seem to remain available through ebay. The prices vary: I've seen some as cheap as $170 and as expensive as $250, but at least they are consistently available from various vendors. And I'm talking brand new still in the package with the plastic. But this may not last forever, though, so yeah, getting two might be in order.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, I bought mine (used device) in november for $125 (plus shipping and import charges, it was ~ €150). Now the lowest price for a device listed as NEW is $163. The only problems I had to replace the screen protector and now my display flex cable is starting to die. Maybe a good idea is to by one for spare parts too But I would recommend to buy a new one just to make sure that the keyboard mechanism isn't used too much.

I have the non-qwerty F3, and it would be seriously better with 8-16x the internal storage. It does have LTE (awesome if you're in an area where T-Mobile is serving it up), better RF performance (better dBm levels in 2G and 3G areas, at least), and amazing battery life, but the lack of internal storage is its Achilles heel. Naturally, they couldn't be bothered to upgrade that when they tacked on a keyboard, and there seems to be nothing on the horizon with regard to custom ROMs.
I dragged my Relay out of storage, popped my SIM into it (had to use an adapter since the F3 uses a Micro SIM), and fired it up again. Then, less than 24 hours after I take the CM plunge, CM development for the Relay grinds to a halt.
What a shame, since, other than a couple of rough edges (the AOSP calendar isn't as good as LG's calendar, and LG's calendar isn't as good as Samsung's, and also I can't sort contacts by last name) I like what I see with the M8 release.
What I am really starting to hate about the smartphone market is that every damn phone seems to have some sort of stupid $#!+ somewhere. Nexus 5? No removable battery, no external SD - the latest fashion! Recent Samsungs? Region locked, even if it's a "soft" lock and I'm unlikely to travel overseas anytime soon. Aren't they also locking the bootloaders on the S5 and Note 3? Don't even get me started on Apple's walled garden. Google seems to be steadily inching in that direction as well, as everything gets shoved into Google Play Services. The LG G3 looks promising (they brought back the external SD and the removable battery, yay!) but it's a flagship phone with a flagship price, and it's anybody's guess whether there will be any custom ROMs for it. Also, the buttons on the back make it useless with my windshield bracket.