Database Users

Xoom vs Gtab vs iPad impressions from three IT nerds

Summary: Honeycomb UI great but buggy
Xoom hardware and build quality feel excellent but the screen isn't what it should be (iPad is better)
Xoom vs iPad vs Gtab ... FIGHT! (The Gtab lost... big time)
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So I left work early with a couple of co-workers to scout out the Xoom. We are all work in technology so we have a pretty good idea of what we want, but we all have different perspectives.
I am the lead Internet Infrastructure Enterprise Engineer for Continental/United Airlines and I own the Viewsonic Gtab, running VEGAn 1.0.0 beta 5.1.1 and the original Droid 1 running Ultimate Droid 3.0.1 (Gingerbread).
Nick, the iPad/iPhone 4 owner with us is a lead Systems Enterprise Engineer who's focus is Enterprise Active Directory with oversight of the Systems Engineering approval process.
Cory was third member of our scouting party and is a Systems Project Engineer whose focus is on consolidation of physical server chassis into Virtual Servers. He currently owns a Droid X, switching to Android from the iPhone 3GS. He and I were looking to potentially purchase the Xoom.
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Our collective impressions:
Positives:
-The Honeycomb interface is more efficient than the iPads adaption of the iPhone UI.
-Xoom hardware felt very solid and reassuring to hold, much better feeling in the hands than a Gtab. It made my Gtab feel plastic-y and bulky.
-You could certainly tell there was a Tegra 2 behind the scenes at work.
-A few of the built in, tablet optimized apps, were refreshing to see on an Android device.
Negatives:
-Screen quality lacked something to be desired, specifically for an $800 device. While it was usable, the nearly year old iPad still had a superior display.
-There is still some work to be done on the software side. The built in browser did not do well at all with large images in websites. ESPN home page was very jumpy and really choked up when zooming in on images, Where as the iPad and my Gtab running Dolphin were relatively smooth.
-The Market is currently lacking many tablet optimized applications, as we all know too well.
-We couldn't determine the sound quality because of an apparent bug. Either the device as 100% volume and very distorted or the sound was off. Changing the volume up or down made no change until you had gone all the way down and the sound turned off.
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From an enterprise support perspective, Honeycomb still has a ways to go before we could deploy Android tablets as a supported enterprise class device. Much for the same reasons that we do not deploy iPads. I hope that they address enterprise class authentication with user control so we can look at deploying these as enterprise devices. A small side note, Continental has both iOS and Android applications for customers to use but we also have in house iPad applications for ticket agents to use in assisting customers. The application is supported on the enterprise but the iPads themselves are treated like a dumb terminal and are not an endpoint on our network.
From a user/consumer perspective, the device certainly has potential but I feel that the price tag combined with the lack of application support and general software polish make this a niche product for uber geeks at best.
Cory did not end up walking out of Best Buy with the Xoom after all. Instead he decided to keep waiting patiently for a tablet that is more refined with a higher quality screen at that price point or to see what software updates may bring in conjunction with a price drop.
I personally will be hanging on to my Gtab for the time being, patiently waiting for a Honeycomb ROM (I'll certainly be donating to the devs who bring it to us)! I would like to see what the Samsung Galaxy 10.1 and the LG tablet bring and/or a sub $500 Xoom option before making the switch.
Edit: Steve Jobs had already informed Nick that he will be purchasing an iPad2... and Nick does the bidding of Steve for he is an iSheep under his watch and care.

This screen quality thing is becoming quite irritating =\
I might wait for the GTab10.1 as well.. to see if that fixes this. Or see the Xoom for myself.

I think its pretty obvious at this point that neither the Xoom or Honeycomb were ready for primetime, but that it was rushed to market to sell a bunch before the iPad 2 was announced and launched.

The screen looks fine to me after turning off auto-brightness since it was too dark. I don't have an iPad to compare but I do not see a problem with it except for the 6 inches of smudge from my fingers. Man this thing is a fingerprint magnet. I hope Invisible Shield will help with that. It helped my phone at least. But the quality is good enough for me.

keitht said:
The screen looks fine to me after turning off auto-brightness since it was too dark. I don't have an iPad to compare but I do not see a problem with it except for the 6 inches of smudge from my fingers. Man this thing is a fingerprint magnet. I hope Invisible Shield will help with that. It helped my phone at least. But the quality is good enough for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree that by itself the screen looks ok. But for $800 we expected a little more. I really expected it to at least meet the iPad if not slightly outperform it.
Motorola has never been big on the screen specs, they have always been pretty content to stick to standard LCDs. The Samsung and LG may very well have better screen quality and could cost less.
I can hold out with my Viewsonic Gtab a while longer to see how this shakes out, especially it gets a Honeycomb ROM in the near future.

I would like to humbly point out that being a systems engineer doesn't necessarily qualify you as an expert of consumer level UI. I know many IT pros who would rather stare at a linux terminal than a beautifully designed interface.
I have a Xoom infront of me, and have used it for the better part of six hours, and would have to disagree with a few of your points. Playing with a device in a store with it tethered down and under horrible retail halogen lighting is not a good representation of any device.

keitht said:
The screen looks fine to me after turning off auto-brightness since it was too dark. I don't have an iPad to compare but I do not see a problem with it except for the 6 inches of smudge from my fingers. Man this thing is a fingerprint magnet. I hope Invisible Shield will help with that. It helped my phone at least. But the quality is good enough for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
x2. Two issues with the Xoom I demoed at Best Buy was that auto-brightness was turned on, and the lighting was terrible (enhanced glare).
I tested the thing for at least 10 minutes and at least several minutes was just the screen, since I'm a GTAB owner and have a hatred for the screen angles. I turned off auto-brightness, cranked up the brightness all the way, ignored the bad glare from the lights and looked at some wallpapers online. Then, I went over to the iPad and did the same, checking the angles. I could not see a noticeable difference.

Eclair~ said:
This screen quality thing is becoming quite irritating =\
I might wait for the GTab10.1 as well.. to see if that fixes this. Or see the Xoom for myself.
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Click to collapse
I wish the screen was better, but it works. The brightness is a bit on the low side when in well lite areas. It's maximum brights is about equal to ~40% on my Epic 4G. I'm probably over critical because I'm used to a SAMOLD display.

Screen brightness makes a world of difference on any screen. For a few days after I got my Droid, I kept thinking the screen didn't hold a candle to my year old iPod touch. Then I discovered the brightness setting and it was like having a new phone.
Also, I did a screen density hack that spread everything out, and that helped a ton, too. I'm sure after the devs get a crack at things, the XOOM will be a beast.

Paradox5582 said:
I would like to humbly point out that being a systems engineer doesn't necessarily qualify you as an expert of consumer level UI. I know many IT pros who would rather stare at a linux terminal than a beautifully designed interface.
I have a Xoom infront of me, and have used it for the better part of six hours, and would have to disagree with a few of your points. Playing with a device in a store with it tethered down and under horrible retail halogen lighting is not a good representation of any device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Point taken. I didn't mean to profess that any of us were consumer device experts. We are just avid technology geeks.
However, Nick and I are enterprise level architects and as such we have been evaluating many enterprise level products. I own the architectural guidance for infrastructure security, so I look at and devices with an eye to enterprise supportability, scalability and security and I have been evaluating devices such as the Cisco Cius, the HP Slate and the Avaya Flare with a view to enterprise deployment models.
I cannot comment on my thoughts of the Cius or Flare due to NDA. I can tell you that the Slate is in interesting device but it doesn't directly compete with true consumer tablets either. Windows tablets are really in a different category, more akin to an ultra mobile netbook.
As far as your UI vs terminal statement, we are a 100% Cisco shop and I spend my day happily staring at Cisco IOS (the real IOS) and ASA CLI. Our comments on the UI are merely our observations as end users and consumers ourselves.
The last point I will make is that screen quality is highly subjective and everyone tends to have their personal preference. For instance I am much less picky than Cory or Nick when it comes to screen quality but we all agreed that the iPad screen quality was better, in the lighting conditions we had.

arrtoodeetoo said:
Screen brightness makes a world of difference on any screen. For a few days after I got my Droid, I kept thinking the screen didn't hold a candle to my year old iPod touch. Then I discovered the brightness setting and it was like having a new phone.
Also, I did a screen density hack that spread everything out, and that helped a ton, too. I'm sure after the devs get a crack at things, the XOOM will be a beast.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very true, and I certainly hope that with some tweaking the screen quality can be improved. We did turn on and off auto brightness and adjust the brightness at different intervals to see the effect. With full brightness it looked nice, but it had a somewhat blue hue at full brightness.
Trust me I wanted very badly to be able to say that the Xoom had a better screen that the iPad, nothing would have made me happier but I just can't. They were comparable but as far as color, brightness and black/white contrast, the iPad had the Xoom beat. I still prefer 16:9 to 4:3 either way.

roebeet said:
x2. Two issues with the Xoom I demoed at Best Buy was that auto-brightness was turned on, and the lighting was terrible (enhanced glare).
I tested the thing for at least 10 minutes and at least several minutes was just the screen, since I'm a GTAB owner and have a hatred for the screen angles. I turned off auto-brightness, cranked up the brightness all the way, ignored the bad glare from the lights and looked at some wallpapers online. Then, I went over to the iPad and did the same, checking the angles. I could not see a noticeable difference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We had the iPad, Gtab and Xoom touching side by side and we played with all three for about 30 minutes. We pulled up probably a dozen websites and compared side by side, change brightnesses and angles to reduce glare or increase glare. Like I said it was close, but when the iPad is right beside it, I saw a difference in just about every way.
My poor Gtab just kept looking crappier and crappier as we evaluated all three. Build quality no longer feels good, feels like a chubby plastic tablet. Screen bothers me now. The only saving grace is that VEGAn1.0.0 Beta 5.1.1 is just about as optimized as Honeycomb. With the help of Dolphin I was able to best the Xoom in several subjective web browsing tests.
The other sad thing is I had more tablet optimized apps than the Xoom comes with stock with the Norton and Galaxy app ports plus the few tablet apps out on the market. The Xoom apps were much more polished but there were still relatively few of them.

Thank you OP. Thoughtful and helpful. I will pass purchasing this hardware mostly due to price-point. I can afford the expense but the speaker location, display clarity, and brightness do not justify price. The OS is an impressive beginning to what will hopefully mature into a robust platform for productivity and business applications. Let's see what Sammy brings. Moto/VZW/Google fumbled IMO. I disagree with their pricing to compete with the superior iPad; when a strategy to undercut Apple pricing would have put this more dynamic OS and this quality device in position to gather rapid marketshare that would include android loyalists, android adopters, and the low hanging fruit represented by the potentially millions willing to join the tablet band wagon for a reasonable cost to see if these gadgets do hopefully become more than a sophisticated electronic content readers.
...sent from NxS

Paradox5582 said:
I would like to humbly point out that being a systems engineer doesn't necessarily qualify you as an expert of consumer level UI. I know many IT pros who would rather stare at a linux terminal than a beautifully designed interface.
I have a Xoom infront of me, and have used it for the better part of six hours, and would have to disagree with a few of your points. Playing with a device in a store with it tethered down and under horrible retail halogen lighting is not a good representation of any device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree, screen quality is subjective unless you're doing a proper calibration of both (ie, set them to the same brightness levels) and running the same image tests on both.
Hopefully, Samsung will release a tab with a SAMOLED screen! I have an Evo and my friend the Galaxy S, we put the same wallpaper on both our phones and the SGS blows mine away.

Neo3D said:
I agree, screen quality is subjective unless you're doing a proper calibration of both (ie, set them to the same brightness levels) and running the same image tests on both.
Hopefully, Samsung will release a tab with a SAMOLED screen! I have an Evo and my friend the Galaxy S, we put the same wallpaper on both our phones and the SGS blows mine away.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Read the Anandtech review of the Xoom. They go in depth and discuss the screen with valid measurements and say that its slightly worse than the iPad's screen.

muyoso said:
Read the Anandtech review of the Xoom. They go in depth and discuss the screen with valid measurements and say that its slightly worse than the iPad's screen.
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Click to collapse
Yes, I agree I love Anandtech. They do some great, through reviews. Here's the much debated part about the screen:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4191/motorola-xoom-review-first-honeycomb-tablet-arrives/2

bmangold said:
Point taken. I didn't mean to profess that any of us were consumer device experts. We are just avid technology geeks.
However, Nick and I are enterprise level architects and as such we have been evaluating many enterprise level products. I own the architectural guidance for infrastructure security, so I look at and devices with an eye to enterprise supportability, scalability and security and I have been evaluating devices such as the Cisco Cius, the HP Slate and the Avaya Flare with a view to enterprise deployment models.
I cannot comment on my thoughts of the Cius or Flare due to NDA. I can tell you that the Slate is in interesting device but it doesn't directly compete with true consumer tablets either. Windows tablets are really in a different category, more akin to an ultra mobile netbook.
As far as your UI vs terminal statement, we are a 100% Cisco shop and I spend my day happily staring at Cisco IOS (the real IOS) and ASA CLI. Our comments on the UI are merely our observations as end users and consumers ourselves.
The last point I will make is that screen quality is highly subjective and everyone tends to have their personal preference. For instance I am much less picky than Cory or Nick when it comes to screen quality but we all agreed that the iPad screen quality was better, in the lighting conditions we had.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm glad you took the post the way I intended it. I realized that after I posted the friendly tone may not have been obvious.

bmangold said:
Here's the much debated part about the screen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, the good news is that in every case tested the Xoom's screen fared better than the one on my EVO 4G, and I really like my EVO's screen.

I turned off the auto-brightness and cranked the brightness all the way up last night. It made the screen look much better. On my N1, this drains the battery way too fast, on the Xoom it didn't seem to make a noticeable difference. It obviously makes a quantifiable difference in battery life, but the life is still amazing enough to not be annoying.

To the owners, Is Note 10.1 worth buying?

To the owners, Is Note 10.1 worth buying?
Coming from SONY TABLET S !!!
Really didnt enjoyed good android experience on any of the tablets, do would u rate Note 10.1?
Why m hesitant is:
1. Nexus 7 price point
2. Love for Sony, Xperia Tablet coming
3. M'soft Surface, if priced well hell yeahh...
sent from seXperia S

xperiax10.awesome said:
To the owners, Is Note 10.1 worth buying?
Coming from SONY TABLET S !!!
Really didnt enjoyed good android experience on any of the tablets, do would u rate Note 10.1?
sent from seXperia S
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since we bought it I would say we thought it was worth buying. I think the real question is do you think it is worth buying? That depends on what you plan to use it for.

Hell yes its worth buying to me. I would rate it a solid 8.75-9.0

I'm on a flight from Portland to Dallas writing this. I have the Note in portrait mode in multview connected to GoGo Wi-Fi. In the lower panel I have XDA open in a browser window and am watching a movie in the upper panel. No lag, no hiccups, pretty amazing.Try doing that on any other tablet. The guy sitting next to me (who's an ass) has an iPad and I can see him looking out of the corner of his eye in amazement. The more I use the Note the more impressed I am.

I am coming from TFP and it worth every penny.

Sony to Samsung
I was in the exact same boat as the OP. I had (still have) the Sony tablet and upgraded to the Samsung. Final verdict - Mixed bag.
The samsung is immediately and obviously faster than the Sony. The screen is of course slightly larger as is the tablet in general. The one thing you will be blown away by coming from the sony is the audio on the Note. The speakers are loud and placed directly on the front of the unit. I don't know if you are one of the people effected by the low audio problems with the Sony, but if you were you will be smiling from ear to ear.
As for all other aspects, the wifi signal strength is much improved, but the screen will be a mixed bag as well. While it is brighter, it will at first appear less crisp since it is essentially the same resolution of the Sony, but the Sony had those pixels squeezed into a smaller screen, so they were higher density. Does this cause any problems? Not in the least. The screen is still bright, crisp and easily viewed from a wide angle. I have read that Samsung "tweaked" the screen somehow so that it was not the same as every other screen out there in this resolution, and if so...it shows. Text is not as sharp as on the higher definition screens or the iPad, but it is sharper than it was on the Sony.
Web browsing is LEAGUES better than it was on the sony, and the apps that support the sPen are generally pretty decent. If you are using this for a multimedia device or games...look no further. The benchmarks for this tablet in those area are awesome. If you are a graphics artist or dabble in those things, the included photoshop is good, and I imagine will only get better with the first Samsung and Adobe updates.
Now the downsides...first, for the price, the screen really should have been better...but as I said, it's nowhere near being bad. The back of the unit is shiny plastic, so it's a fingerprint magnet...but it's upside is that since it's plastic, it has stronger wifi reception and gps. The pen that is included does NOT have the eraser you may have seen in some videos, but it does tuck away into the unit nicely and comes with several spare tips and a few varieties of them.
The biggest downside...and honestly for me it's 50/50. I started using my sony as a universal remote for every device in my home. The Samsung has such a remote, and in theory it should be FAR FAR better than the one on the sony....BUT...it only worked for the fist 30 minutes I set it up and never again. I searched online and only read more horror stories about that software (not the hardware...the note itself has no issues with its IR transmitter...only the included program). I updated the software and tried a thousand ways to fix this...but no joy. The built in software is supposed to not only control devices, but provide a visual guide of all the shows on TV, information about them, and learn your preferences much like a TIVO, but once it starts developing issues, they never seem to go away. But as with everything, YMMV, so take that with a grain of salt. I use ATT Uverse as my provider, so it may just be issues with them (although that would not seem to be the case online).
To sum it all up, I am happy with the purchase. At the moment, Amazon has a deal going on the 32GB version that is only $528 I believe, as opposed to the $549. The company providing it charges no taxes and only $8 shipping, so that's a HUGE savings. Would I purchase the unit again? Without hesitation. I picked mine up on the first day it was available, and only the 16gb version was available. I am planning on returning the 16gb and picking up the 32gb. So not only would I buy it again, but...I really am buying it again! LOL.
Hope that helped a little. If you have any questions, fire away

Totally
I had the tf300 and its not even close. The s pen is so useful and the software is much better than my last one. Highly recommended. I have not tried the tf700, but if outed like the tf300 this is the tab to beat.

As you already have a Sony tablet, I wouldn't buy the Note right now. Sony has their second attempt, Xperia Tablet, expected next month.
Wait and see how that plays out.

Hmmm, even the reviews are not very impressive considering the price tag..
sent from seXperia S

*Omnipresent* said:
Hell yes its worth buying to me. I would rate it a solid 8.75-9.0
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really like my Note. IMO, If you're buying it for some reason other than the active digitzer + stylus combo, you've probably bought it for the wrong reason. If you buy this tablet, you're buying it for productivity.
I took mine with me to class today, was able to write some very solid looking notes quickly and easily, while simultaneously recording audio. It has a few cons, like the cameras occasionally being terrible, and the back being made of what feels like a cheap plastic, but as far as I'm concerned the pros (digitizer + stylus, side-by-side app viewing, quad-core Exynos beast + 2GB RAM for multitasking) outweigh the cons by far.
Hell, the only reason I ever bought either the iPad or iPad2 was that I had this hope that I could somehow find a good, accurate stylus that would let me take notes in class and ditch my paper-and-pen notebook. With the Note 10.1, I've found that tablet. I already love it more than I ever loved my iPad(s).
Did I mention it's great for note taking?! :silly:

Many of us bought this for the pen. In this aspect it's peerless. Combined with this, it's also very good in most other ways.
People are complaining that it should have a higher resolution screen, I disagree. Reason: My eyesight isn't all that great, and to me the difference is minimal, and I would rather have the quad horsepower dedicated to the pen, and other functions rather than screen real estate.
In a year or so, the higher resolution tablets will be standard, but until then i'd rather have it this way.
Whatever. :laugh: The point is: this tablet is fairly perfect for what I wanted: A pen interface, in the iPad/Galaxy format.

xperiax10.awesome said:
Hmmm, even the reviews are not very impressive considering the price tag..
sent from seXperia S
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Click to collapse
I think it's really interesting how the "professional" reviews don't match up at all with the real world hands-on experiences of the people on the forums. The way I see it, I don't even bother with reading reviews anymore when you can get much more thorough and unbiased reviews from the good folks here on XDA.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk 2

NessLookAlike said:
I really like my Note. IMO, If you're buying it for some reason other than the active digitzer + stylus combo, you've probably bought it for the wrong reason. If you buy this tablet, you're buying it for productivity.
I took mine with me to class today, was able to write some very solid looking notes quickly and easily, while simultaneously recording audio. It has a few cons, like the cameras occasionally being terrible, and the back being made of what feels like a cheap plastic, but as far as I'm concerned the pros (digitizer + stylus, side-by-side app viewing, quad-core Exynos beast + 2GB RAM for multitasking) outweigh the cons by far.
Hell, the only reason I ever bought either the iPad or iPad2 was that I had this hope that I could somehow find a good, accurate stylus that would let me take notes in class and ditch my paper-and-pen notebook. With the Note 10.1, I've found that tablet. I already love it more than I ever loved my iPad(s).
Did I mention it's great for note taking?! :silly:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm considering the upgrade of my tab10.1 to the note to use it taking notes in my classes as well. How the palm rejection works when you touch the screen with the hand who is writing? And, maybe it is the response at the first question as well, can i disable all the touch input excepting the active digitalizer of the s-pen? It would be perfect to me in that case :cyclops:

aNard said:
I'm considering the upgrade of my tab10.1 to the note to use it taking notes in my classes as well. How the palm rejection works when you touch the screen with the hand who is writing? And, maybe it is the response at the first question as well, can i disable all the touch input excepting the active digitalizer of the s-pen? It would be perfect to me in that case :cyclops:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Palm rejection is perfect, at least in the S Memo app that comes stock with the Note. Until other market apps are updated to support the Note, S Memi will probably be the one or two apps you'll want to use to take notes.. but it really is perfect. The app itself has a few quirks, but I'm sure they'll be ironed out over time. This morning when I was taking notes, it felt weird to leave my hand resting on the screen, and I was concerned my palm would get lots of grease on the screen -- but nope, everything was fine! It takes maybe 5 minutes to get used to. And yes, you can disable all touch input except the digitizer. There's a button for it in the note-taking app.
It really is that good for taking notes.

Thank you, I think you've settled the final word over my tablet upgrade with that post and your reassurances
Inviato dal mio Galaxy Nexus con Tapatalk 2

I didn't buy this for the pen.. I bought it cause it has the most powerful processor you can get in a tablet.
And that should last me quite awhile.

What is striking me as wierd is the mixture of reviews for the Note 10.1.
Gizmodo absolutely ripped into it and recommended against purchasing it while others seem to love it.

i the verge and gizmodo married they would make a new website called
ibiased.com
period.

It really comes down to what you want it for. I feel pretty sure they went with a less dense screen to improve speed, especially with the pen.
Browsing on this is as fast as with my laptop on Ethernet.
Sent from my GT-N8013 using Tapatalk 2

habs101 said:
i the verge and gizmodo married they would make a new website called
ibiased.com
period.
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Click to collapse
Agreed, cant they put their apple fanboy status aside.
Walt Mossberg I felt gave the note a very fair review. Given that he is an apple fanboy my opinion of him is even greater because the review was very objective.

Should I get the note 12.2?

Ok so I just happened uppon a way to upgrade my note 2014 to the 12.2 basically for free. It will cost me about 35 dollars. Its something that only applies to me btw. Since I can so cheaply do you guys think it would be worth it? I use mine as my main computing solution. All my email, internet browsing etc. I also use it to run my personal training business and work with it as a notepad during training sessions. I think hancom will be great as well because Im currently working on articles explaining the benefits of weight training for parkour athletes. Im pretty tempted by the extra screen real estate and bigger area for taking more detailed notes. I love my root apps though and cant find if anyone in the uk has had any success rooting theirs yet.
Sent from my SCH-I605 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Duly.noted said:
Ok so I just happened uppon a way to upgrade my note 2014 to the 12.2 basically for free. It will cost me about 35 dollars. Its something that only applies to me btw. Since I can so cheaply do you guys think it would be worth it? I use mine as my main computing solution. All my email, internet browsing etc. I also use it to run my personal training business and work with it as a notepad during training sessions. I think hancom will be great as well because Im currently working on articles explaining the benefits of weight training for parkour athletes. Im pretty tempted by the extra screen real estate and bigger area for taking more detailed notes. I love my root apps though and cant find if anyone in the uk has had any success rooting theirs yet.
Sent from my SCH-I605 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They are just released today (in the US) it will take some time before root is achieved (if ever), so it's going be a risk that you have to take!

Duly.noted said:
Ok so I just happened uppon a way to upgrade my note 2014 to the 12.2 basically for free. It will cost me about 35 dollars. Its something that only applies to me btw. Since I can so cheaply do you guys think it would be worth it? I use mine as my main computing solution. All my email, internet browsing etc. I also use it to run my personal training business and work with it as a notepad during training sessions. I think hancom will be great as well because Im currently working on articles explaining the benefits of weight training for parkour athletes. Im pretty tempted by the extra screen real estate and bigger area for taking more detailed notes. I love my root apps though and cant find if anyone in the uk has had any success rooting theirs yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Truthfully, since you didn't mention consumption at all, I'd get neither. I'd probably get this...
Quite a few people here are putting a lot of faith in Hancom Office for Android based on their PC product line. For me, the jury's still out. It looks great in pics and video but the real test is how formatting it applies is picked up in "real" Office when viewed by others. Also printing and sharing are issues the other faux-office products have.
Tablets are used for consumption and productivity. Android is biased toward consumption and Windows toward productivity. For people that could care less about consumption or feel it's a lower priority Windows tablets would be a better choice. Hancom Office, even if it's good, isn't going to magically change the shortcomings Android has working in a Windows/networked business environment. Otherwise they wouldn't be partnering with Samsung to give it away for free and they'd be making a killing selling it on Play.
As for your particular situation, the 12 is heavy and bulky and you mentioned carrying it. That's a negative. As a primary device used for the things you listed the bigger screen is a definite benefit. After the N10.1-14 gets M-UX, assuming we don't/can't get Hancom Office, that's another decision point for you. No one here uses their tablets (or other PC devices they might have) the same way so you're going to get a slew of conflicting opinions.
Happy deciding.

For me nothing replaces my laptop and full size keyboard and mouse for real productivity work and my tablet is more of a note taking / carry with me device so I like the size of the 10.1
If I had to write documents and articles or work in Excel or PowerPoint on a table I'd be miserable. The tablet is fine for reviewing then and making minor changes, but not to do the bulk of the writing.

I was planning to buy the PRO 12.2 but I felt tired after holding the iPad 2 for a few minutes. I believe the iPad 2 is 601g. Now I am thinking whether I should just get the 10.1 2014 and hope that the software could be upgraded in the near future. Nice if I could get Remote Desktop PC and M-UX later. The main use for the tablet is pdf annotation, web browsing and video watching on the bus and in restaurants. Any opinion?
I probably will trade in my 15" MBP (2.1kg) for an upcoming MacBook Air 13" for more serious work.

BarryH_GEG said:
Truthfully, since you didn't mention consumption at all, I'd get neither. I'd probably get this...
Quite a few people here are putting a lot of faith in Hancom Office for Android based on their PC product line. For me, the jury's still out. It looks great in pics and video but the real test is how formatting it applies is picked up in "real" Office when viewed by others. Also printing and sharing are issues the other faux-office products have.
Tablets are used for consumption and productivity. Android is biased toward consumption and Windows toward productivity. For people that could care less about consumption or feel it's a lower priority Windows tablets would be a better choice. Hancom Office, even if it's good, isn't going to magically change the shortcomings Android has working in a Windows/networked business environment. Otherwise they wouldn't be partnering with Samsung to give it away for free and they'd be making a killing selling it on Play.
As for your particular situation, the 12 is heavy and bulky and you mentioned carrying it. That's a negative. As a primary device used for the things you listed the bigger screen is a definite benefit. After the N10.1-14 gets M-UX, assuming we don't/can't get Hancom Office, that's another decision point for you. No one here uses their tablets (or other PC devices they might have) the same way so you're going to get a slew of conflicting opinions.
Happy deciding.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hate windows 8 so much I may never purchase a windows product again. I cant stand it at all. And I guess I did leave out consumption I watch alot of netflix and other shows and do alot of browsing. My productivity is really for book keeping (tax purposes) having clients hand sign documents and some word docs. But those are pretty basic usually so I doubt there would be any format errors. I also play a few emulators from time to time.
Sent from my SCH-I605 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Duly.noted said:
I hate windows 8 so much I may never purchase a windows product again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm still on Windows 7 and have no immediate plans of moving.

BarryH_GEG said:
I'm still on Windows 7 and have no immediate plans of moving.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I Know. That is one major reason I wort get the Surface. I can get a better laptop at that price and a better
tablet too
Sent from my SM-P600 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Family photo.

My main knock against it is the lower dpi means that pentile is that much more apparent. I don't think I could ever go to the 12" because of that. I'm quite happy with only occasionally noticing the 10.1" pentile artifacts. I was kind of hoping Samsung would think oh wait the pentile is going to show up too much here and switch to a non-pentile screen. But nope.

I was really wanting the 12.2, but since it would be heavy to hold for long periods of time I decided to skip it. Even the 10.1 sometimes can be a bit heavy if you hold it up for long periods of time. Unless you are going to use it on a table I would say no.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

Oh 12.2 is laptop size screen !!!

Stocklone said:
My main knock against it is the lower dpi means that pentile is that much more apparent. I don't think I could ever go to the 12" because of that. I'm quite happy with only occasionally noticing the 10.1" pentile artifacts. I was kind of hoping Samsung would think oh wait the pentile is going to show up too much here and switch to a non-pentile screen. But nope.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree. The 12.2 Pro should have gotten an even further resolution bump. Pentile has pissed me off since the early Galaxy S series phones. Yet that is all I use, hoping the Samsung realizes that pentile needs to get scrapped.

Stocklone said:
My main knock against it is the lower dpi means that pentile is that much more apparent. I don't think I could ever go to the 12" because of that. I'm quite happy with only occasionally noticing the 10.1" pentile artifacts. I was kind of hoping Samsung would think oh wait the pentile is going to show up too much here and switch to a non-pentile screen. But nope.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
cjranucci said:
I agree. The 12.2 Pro should have gotten an even further resolution bump. Pentile has pissed me off since the early Galaxy S series phones. Yet that is all I use, hoping the Samsung realizes that pentile needs to get scrapped.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's a loooong discussion in the below thread discussing visual acuity, PPI, and PenTile. For all that's Holy, if you want to discuss either Note's display in detail continue the discussion there.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2615750&page=6
The N10.1-14 actually has more RGB pixels-per-inch than the iPad Air so whatever the two of you are seeing it's not being caused by a PPI deficit. As for the N12, yes, its pixel reduction is putting it perilously close to the point that people with 20/20 vision could detect it's a non-standard display when held 10-12" away.
From that thread...
From a sub-pixel perspective, the extra white pixel is reducing the overall count of RGB sub-pixels. With 25% of the overall sub-pixels being white, that’s the amount red, green, and blue have been collectively reduced. Distributing that over the three their overall count is reduced by 8% each; meaning rather than 299 per inch of each there are 275. That’s still at the count needed to achieve an arcminute sub tense of “1” for people with 20/20 vision at a viewing distance of 10-12” away. And 10-12" away is for smartphones with smaller displays. Tablets are typically held further away. And here’s the fun part, that number is still higher than the 264 PPI of the new iPad Air. So people saying they can see jaggies on the N10.1-14 when compared to the iPad Air can’t possibly be because the the former actually has more RGB pixels per inch than the latter in spite of the addition of the additional white pixels.​

Samsung deleted my review

I posted a review at Samsung.ca for the Tab Pro 8.4.
And of course Samsung deleted it...
The irony was, I gave it 4/5 stars and praised its features. I guess I shouldn't have mentioned any of the minor issues with it.
When manufacturer's provide a space for the public to post a review and then delete those they don't like (and mine was pretty positive), what exactly is the point?

RobilarOCN said:
I posted a review at Samsung.ca for the Tab Pro 8.4.
And of course Samsung deleted it...
The irony was, I gave it 4/5 stars and praised its features. I guess I shouldn't have mentioned any of the minor issues with it.
When manufacturer's provide a space for the public to post a review and then delete those they don't like (and mine was pretty positive), what exactly is the point?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They only want super positive?
Why did you knock a star btw?
This is the first Sammy that I would rate 5 stars to.

Goes to show how dishonest Samsung can be. The reviews are not real and are rigged. To me Amazon has the best review system. You have to own and bought the product from their website and they don't filter the negative feedback except profanity.

scrosler said:
They only want super positive?
Why did you knock a star btw?
This is the first Sammy that I would rate 5 stars to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I only decked it a point for a couple of reasons.
Price. To me it's not overpriced but realistically it should be a $300 - $350 range tablet. With the N7 sitting at $250, the LG G Pad sitting at $250 and the Mini Retina sitting at $400, it should have been somewhere in the middle. Don't get me wrong, I have the Mini Retina and much prefer the Samsung but for those who know nothing about tablets (my mother for example), it is very hard to sell against the Mini retina at the same price point. I showed it to my mother and she was asking why it was the same price as the Mini (which I bought her, sigh) was so much nicer...
Also I mentioned battery life compared to the Mini (that's what probably got the review deleted). Battery life is pretty good for an Android tablet (Better for sure than my G Pad) but compared to the Apple tablets, it's about 5 hours short. That's a big delta.
I also mentioned that the black version was not available in Canada. Why would they launch both colors in the US but only give Canada the god awful ugly white version? I hate white tablets and I'm stuck with one.
I also suggested that for the price point, the Tab Pro should have mini HDMI out. There are plenty of much cheaper tablets (like the Dell) that have this feature. This is being touted as a "Pro" device. Why do I have to hunt around for an MHL HDMI adapter (I've already bought and returned 2 that do not work) so that I can connect this device to a display? It would be great for powerpoint decks at clients (which I currently do with a Surface Pro). For $400, this feature should be a no brainer.
Despite the above, they are all minor concerns as I emphasized that it was the best Android tablet I have owned.
I guess I provided too much accurate info...

I think it's pretty obvious why they deleted your review, you mentioned your a Canadian
Sent from my Nexus 10 using XDA Premium HD app in Toronto

I think I'd probably go with a 3.5 for as it comes out of the box, pre loaded with lots of uninstallable crap, iffy/average build quality and poor battery life.
Once the bloat is removed, its a different beast, but then you have no warranty, so 3.5 stars is fair I reckon.
If they did a google play version, on the other hand, it'd be a 4.5 :good:

RobilarOCN said:
Despite the above, they are all minor concerns as I emphasized that it was the best Android tablet I have owned.
I guess I provided too much accurate info...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fair enough! I agree with your statements!

Monkey Chops said:
I think I'd probably go with a 3.5 for as it comes out of the box, pre loaded with lots of uninstallable crap, iffy/average build quality and poor battery life.
Once the bloat is removed, its a different beast, but then you have no warranty, so 3.5 stars is fair I reckon.
If they did a google play version, on the other hand, it'd be a 4.5 :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A google play version, black 32GB, would be an instant buy for me (despite already having one).
It's a fantastic tablet, just a few minor things keep it from being perfect.
I also own a Mini Retina 128GB and the battery between the two isn't even close. That is one area that would make a big difference.

If I wrote a review it'd probably never going to be published on Samsung's website so I will do a review here.
I got the 12.2" and used it out for a week now, I would give it a 2.5. The only thing I like about it is the large screen and the clarity of the display. Other then that I too think it's overpriced compared to hundreds of other Android devices out there.
It's heavy and holding it with 2 hands for 30 min my wrist starts to feel uncomfortable. The bloatware is annoying and some of them you can't even be disabled. Of course I could do the root it and delete method it but that would void my warranty. That's a risk I'm not going to take cause I'm not sure if I'm keeping this. There should be a law like in Korea that a user should have the option to remove bloatware easily as they wish.
For a 9500 mAH battery, it sucked bad. Samsung claim you can watch 8 hours of continues movies but the most I've gotten is 3.5 hours. The sound and speaker is horrid because half the video I played has cracking and popping noises in the background. Also some 1080p videos I tested jitters and motion lags at times. For clarification, these videos I tested have no problem playing on my 6 years old MacBook at all. Magazine UI looks cool back in January when they demoed it but once you get to it, it feels incomplete and it is an awful experience. Couldn't remove it either.
Also I got the Black version and it came with an odd white usb cable and charger. Little missed details like that could annoy owners.
The next tablet I'm going to try is the Sony Xperia Z2. In the mean time, this isn't a winner for me so I'm probably going to return it soon. I really tried hard to like this tablet and was anxious when Samsung announce it but it is big let down for me.

NixxonExxo said:
If I wrote a review it'd probably never going to be published on Samsung's website so I will do a review here.
I got the 12.2" and used it out for a week now, I would give it a 2.5. The only thing I like about it is the large screen and the clarity of the display. Other then that I too think it's overpriced compared to hundreds of other Android devices out there.
It's heavy and holding it with 2 hands for 30 min my wrist starts to feel uncomfortable. The bloatware is annoying and some of them you can't even be disabled. Of course I could do the root it and delete method it but that would void my warranty. That's a risk I'm not going to take cause I'm not sure if I'm keeping this. There should be a law like in Korea that a user should have the option to remove bloatware easily as they wish.
For a 9500 mAH battery, it sucked bad. Samsung claim you can watch 8 hours of continues movies but the most I've gotten is 3.5 hours. The sound and speaker is horrid because half the video I played has cracking and popping noises in the background. Also some 1080p videos I tested jitters and motion lags at times. For clarification, these videos I tested have no problem playing on my 6 years old MacBook at all. Magazine UI looks cool back in January when they demoed it but once you get to it, it feels incomplete and it is an awful experience. Couldn't remove it either.
Also I got the Black version and it came with an odd white usb cable and charger. Little missed details like that could annoy owners.
The next tablet I'm going to try is the Sony Xperia Z2. In the mean time, this isn't a winner for me so I'm probably going to return it soon. I really tried hard to like this tablet and was anxious when Samsung announce it but it is big let down for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You raise some good points.However, you can't really complain about the size and weight. It is thinner and lighter than anything else in its size class. If it's too heavy, you should have bought a smaller tablet. I mean, how can you complain about the weight when you chose that size? The 10.1 Pro weighs almost 300 grams less.
I am surprised at your battery results. The 8.4 is good for about 7 hours of video (I've tested it several times on flights). I expected the bigger versions to be better given the higher rated battery.

RobilarOCN said:
You raise some good points.However, you can't really complain about the size and weight. It is thinner and lighter than anything else in its size class. If it's too heavy, you should have bought a smaller tablet. I mean, how can you complain about the weight when you chose that size? The 10.1 Pro weighs almost 300 grams less.
I am surprised at your battery results. The 8.4 is good for about 7 hours of video (I've tested it several times on flights). I expected the bigger versions to be better given the higher rated battery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not complaining about size, it's perfect and I enjoy the large screen estate. I'm complaining about the weight. It feels super light when you carry it around but supporting it long term with your wrists are two different things. Maybe I will wait for the 2nd or 3rd generation to see if Samsung improves the weight and hopefully to be under 1 pound is ideal.
My battery result is what it is. I have it on auto brightness and it's not even that bright at all. The videos I played are standard avi, 720p and 1080p.

RobilarOCN said:
You raise some good points.However, you can't really complain about the size and weight. It is thinner and lighter than anything else in its size class. If it's too heavy, you should have bought a smaller tablet. I mean, how can you complain about the weight when you chose that size? The 10.1 Pro weighs almost 300 grams less.
I am surprised at your battery results. The 8.4 is good for about 7 hours of video (I've tested it several times on flights). I expected the bigger versions to be better given the higher rated battery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The bigger screen easily offsets the bigger battery compares to 8.4, because (in normal cases) the screen is always the biggest consumer of battery, the size of the screen is huge on 12.2, so I'm not surprised by the poor battery life it has.

RobilarOCN said:
You raise some good points.However, you can't really complain about the size and weight. It is thinner and lighter than anything else in its size class. If it's too heavy, you should have bought a smaller tablet. I mean, how can you complain about the weight when you chose that size? The 10.1 Pro weighs almost 300 grams less.
I am surprised at your battery results. The 8.4 is good for about 7 hours of video (I've tested it several times on flights). I expected the bigger versions to be better given the higher rated battery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree 100% with everything nixxon said about the 12.2, I got it a few days ago and will be returning it soon.
The screen is gorgeous but it sucks battery like crazy even on low brightness, also the weight becomes uncomfortable quickly when you rest it on your chest (ie reading in bed).
The weight issue is tricky because I have laptops which are heavier but still comfortable to use in bed, what makes the 12.2 so uncomfortable is that all its weight gets exerted on a small area of your body vs a laptop where it's more spread out.
CPU bound tasks seem very quick but graphics intensive tasks feel sluggish compared to my note 10.1, I'm sure that could be improved with an optimized kernel/rom.
Still on the fence over whether to trade for a note pro 10.1 or wait for something else

sefstrat said:
Still on the fence over whether to trade for a note pro 10.1 or wait for something else
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh boy, when it comes to Samsung software, waiting is the most traitorous thing ever. They have a very poor track record of OS and in house apps update ever. Take for example, the Note 10.1 2014 edition has been out since October, has the exact same identical internal spec as the Note pro 12.2 and it hasn't gotten the latest KitKat upgrade yet. They could have easily and inexpensively take the Note Pro 12.2 software and tweak it to work on the Note 10.1 but they still haven't done so.
Samsung doesn't take care of their customers after. They just want to make a quick buck on the hardware moving forward. They don't look back on supporting older devices because it's not profitable.

Haw dare you impede on Samsung's marketing scheme! Shame on you. Aren't you aware their devices are immaculate and faultless in every way?
Those looking at 10 inch you might want to wait for the SM T800.

The Note 10.1 2014 Replacements are in: The New Chromebooks (Plus and Pro) by Samsung

In CES 2017, Samsung introduced two new Chromebooks that appear to be direct replacements of their Android Note series: The Chromebook Plus (ARM) and Pro (Intel). Both of these run not only Chrome but Android as well and incorporate a pen. In fact, they are the first Chromebooks to run Android directly
http://www.theverge.com/ces/2017/1/4/14167978/samsung-chromebook-plus-pro-google-stylus-ces-2017
The Chromebook Plus will be available in February; it is pricey at $449, but at this price it would be cheaper than the Note 10.1. It is fully convertible as well. If performance is adequate, I think that this line may herald the end of the Note tablet series.

bu they dont have button on the S pen , and not as pressure senstive as the note series , so its just a pen not a an actual S spen

anirudhks said:
bu they dont have button on the S pen , and not as pressure senstive as the note series , so its just a pen not a an actual S spen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also being more than twice as heavy makes them not very ideal for keeping notes and/or reading for extended times.
It's mostly a laptop with tablet features, like most 2in1s , not a tablet that you could easily take anywhere (like you would an A5 sized book, etc)
For better or worse Samsung gave up on tablets with pens, ours is the last one, and whatever else you may buy it would be considerably worse in key aspects of usability
IPad pro 9.7 is the closest to come in usability, but it still has minor problems, like no character recognition, no pen holder, no use of the pen as a pointer. It's also better in other things, like the much more accurate pen recognition, so it is a wash.

Although the IPad Pro 9.7 is OK, there are also detachable Windows 10 tablets that incorporate pen functionality very well (better than the iPad). The Asus Transformer series is about 10''. Not very powerful, but usable.

Stevethegreat said:
Also being more than twice as heavy makes them not very ideal for keeping notes and/or reading for extended times.
For better or worse Samsung gave up on tablets with pens, ours is the last one, and whatever else you may buy it would be considerably worse in key aspects of usability
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If a product line is not too successful, then, of course, it will be discontinued. We cannot fault Samsung for showing good commercial sense. As things are, this tablet is still highly usable; I have added a new battery, and it is doing great. The problem is that it is stuck at Android 5. If Samsung updates it to Android 6 (at least), it will give be great but I do not think that this would happen.

aretzios said:
If a product line is not too successful, then, of course, it will be discontinued. We cannot fault Samsung for showing good commercial sense. As things are, this tablet is still highly usable; I have added a new battery, and it is doing great. The problem is that it is stuck at Android 5. If Samsung updates it to Android 6 (at least), it will give be great but I do not think that this would happen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a point for creating niche products though. Of course you price them accordingly (i.e. incredibly expensive by comparison). There are companies actually making money merely by addressing niches. Of course (obviously) Samsung is not and couldn't be one of them.

aretzios said:
If a product line is not too successful, then, of course, it will be discontinued. We cannot fault Samsung for showing good commercial sense. As things are, this tablet is still highly usable; I have added a new battery, and it is doing great. The problem is that it is stuck at Android 5. If Samsung updates it to Android 6 (at least), it will give be great but I do not think that this would happen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you think the tablet is usable with Samsung's lollipop wait until you install zakooz's lineage OS(https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-note-10-2014/orig-development/p600-cyanogenmod-14-0-unofficial-builds-t3457898).
There's no comparison. Very smooth, responsive and excellent efficiency.
Splitscreen works like a charm(that is if you don't enable the navbar/expansive dekstop), video stream zoom bug has a manual fix, and the base speaker volume can be manually increased.
There is however a mike volume issue, but that'll be fixed soon.

No, no note 10.1 they have awful batteries. I've owned two of those, and even replaced the battery on the second. I'm talking bad, dieing at 40 percent.
If you want older, get the note pro 12.2. The battery is fantastic. 3 days of use off Wi-Fi, 1.5 days of heavy use on Wi-Fi.
I've had the note 10.1,, note pro 12.2 and just got muy chromebook plus yesterday. It's the best out of all of them.

Maybe the Galaxy Tab S3 is the true Note 10.1 2014 replacement?
http://www.phonearena.com/news/Samsung-Galaxy-Tab-S3-specs-and-new-pictures-leak-out_id91374
--EDIT--
Yeah, it's not called a note, but the specs are better than the Note 2014 (battery is worse, but new processor is probably more efficient), it includes the pen with a button (this source says the pen is built in, though other sources have said it's an additional accessory... - not sure how sensitive it is though)
Screen is 3:4, though that means it's closer to A4 or letter papers' aspect ratio and it has a bigger area (more total number of pixels as well).
It is less sharp, though, with 23% less pixels on a 12% larger screen

Pnevma said:
Maybe the Galaxy Tab S3 is the true Note 10.1 2014 replacement?
http://www.phonearena.com/news/Samsung-Galaxy-Tab-S3-specs-and-new-pictures-leak-out_id91374
--EDIT--
Yeah, it's not called a note, but the specs are better than the Note 2014 (battery is worse, but new processor is probably more efficient), it includes the pen with a button (this source says the pen is built in, though other sources have said it's an additional accessory... - not sure how sensitive it is though)
Screen is 3:4, though that means it's closer to A4 or letter papers' aspect ratio and it has a bigger area (more total number of pixels as well).
It is less sharp, though, with 23% less pixels on a 12% larger screen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So basically not a replacement. This is the year 2017. If a new tab doesn't have better specs than one from 2014, then it's not really a replacement. My 10.1 2014 edition is still running nice but I bought a Lenovo Tab 3 Pro recently. It actually has specs more like a tablet from the year 2017, 4 GB ram, 64 GB storage, 10000+mAh battery, etc.

Gasaraki- said:
So basically not a replacement. This is the year 2017. If a new tab doesn't have better specs than one from 2014, then it's not really a replacement. My 10.1 2014 edition is still running nice but I bought a Lenovo Tab 3 Pro recently. It actually has specs more like a tablet from the year 2017, 4 GB ram, 64 GB storage, 10000+mAh battery, etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Reviews have been very positive, especially regarding the screen. The tablet is fast and the S-Pen improved. Overall, it is certainly a replacement for the Note 10.1 (2014) although if one has a very well working Note 10.1 2014, there is little reason to purchase this one. The thicker pen is certainly a welcome addition.

ADRz said:
Reviews have been very positive, especially regarding the screen. The tablet is fast and the S-Pen improved. Overall, it is certainly a replacement for the Note 10.1 (2014) although if one has a very well working Note 10.1 2014, there is little reason to purchase this one. The thicker pen is certainly a welcome addition.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Reviews do not directly compare and contrast it to Note 10.1 - 2014. They compare it to other 2in1s ... in which case it's a device that stands quite well to competition, but I have to repeat my previous concern that this is not a device comparable to ours.
For better or worse "work tablets" went the way of the dodo, ours is probably the last. They have been mostly replaced by 2in1s that are a different class of product mostly because of the vastly lower mobility, a bit of how a tablet is different than a phone.
Adding 500 grams to a product centered around mobility pretty much determines vastly different use cases. For example you cannot use it in place of a notebook to keep quick notes, or a book to read (a staple use of tablets) . So while I'm sure the new chromebooks are a great product for many people I don't think it makes much sense to compare it to ours.
A bit of how an ipad mini is a great product too, but not many will buy it in place of the iphone Plus. Size matters, weight matters even more...
For better or worse our tablet is the last of its kind and we have to live with it. Fortunately the community makes sure to keep it alive , all the while it's easily repairable. Both of which can ensure a 5+ years longevity. It would be a sad day for me when I'll have to leave it back, but until then I don't think there is any other game in town.

Stevethegreat said:
Reviews do not directly compare and contrast it to Note 10.1 - 2014. They compare it to other 2in1s ... in which case it's a device that stands quite well to competition, but I have to repeat my previous concern that this is not a device comparable to ours.
For better or worse "work tablets" went the way of the dodo, ours is probably the last. They have been mostly replaced by 2in1s that are a different class of product mostly because of the vastly lower mobility, a bit of how a tablet is different than a phone.
Adding 500 grams to a product centered around mobility pretty much determines vastly different use cases. For example you cannot use it in place of a notebook to keep quick notes, or a book to read (a staple use of tablets) . So while I'm sure the new chromebooks are a great product for many people I don't think it makes much sense to compare it to ours.
A bit of how an ipad mini is a great product too, but not many will buy it in place of the iphone Plus. Size matters, weight matters even more...
For better or worse our tablet is the last of its kind and we have to live with it. Fortunately the community makes sure to keep it alive , all the while it's easily repairable. Both of which can ensure a 5+ years longevity. It would be a sad day for me when I'll have to leave it back, but until then I don't think there is any other game in town.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with most of your comments. The biggest impediment with the Note 10.1 2014 is the fact that it only supports Android 5 and an older version of the S-Note and S-Pen software. Otherwise, it is a very competitive product. I have replaced the battery and the tablet is working extremely well. Yes, it would probably stretch to 2019, hopefully.
On the other hand, for persons who do not have such a product currently, the Tab S3 may be an appropriate solution. Is it really a 2 in 1 product? I cannot tell. In fact, if I were to purchase it, I would not get the keyboard cover. I have the Logitech Universal Keyboad Folio which can provide the same level of "transformation" to any such product.

ADRz said:
I agree with most of your comments. The biggest impediment with the Note 10.1 2014 is the fact that it only supports Android 5 and an older version of the S-Note and S-Pen software. Otherwise, it is a very competitive product. I have replaced the battery and the tablet is working extremely well. Yes, it would probably stretch to 2019, hopefully.
On the other hand, for persons who do not have such a product currently, the Tab S3 may be an appropriate solution. Is it really a 2 in 1 product? I cannot tell. In fact, if I were to purchase it, I would not get the keyboard cover. I have the Logitech Universal Keyboad Folio which can provide the same level of "transformation" to any such product.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think that Lollipop aged too well. Installing the newest AOSP based roms though can get you a brand new experience. They solve most of the issue that the original experience has (low user ram, extremely slow charging, general performance issues) without taking away any of the pen experience (if you root).
Tab S3's pen support is mostly an afterthought, and it suffers from the aspect ratio. All websites, media and apps are wide screen these days, so in practice you get a far smaller screen (at this point). Still I guess it's closest we can get to our Note 10.1 2014 ...

Stevethegreat said:
I don't think that Lollipop aged too well. Installing the newest AOSP based roms though can get you a brand new experience. They solve most of the issue that the original experience has (low user ram, extremely slow charging, general performance issues) without taking away any of the pen experience (if you root).
Tab S3's pen support is mostly an afterthought, and it suffers from the aspect ratio. All websites, media and apps are wide screen these days, so in practice you get a far smaller screen (at this point). Still I guess it's closest we can get to our Note 10.1 2014 ...
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I am not much for installing Android systems not approved by the manufacturer. The likelihood of bricking the tablet is high. It works fine as it is. If I can get another year's work out of it, I would be happy. Yes, I prefer the aspect ratio of this tablet much better than the 3:2 aspect ratio, but the truth is that everything now is moving to the 3:2 aspect, even laptops. The reason that I am OK with the 16:9 aspect in this tablet is because it is optimal for being a "notebook". Otherwise, for all other functions, and for laptops, I much prefer the 3:2 aspect. I am not sure that I agree with you about the wide-screen of websites. Most of these really adjust well to screen sizes. And most of the web is really more vertical than horizontal. This is why the original 4:3 aspect ratio of laptops was so much more preferable. Documents are mostly long, not wide.
In fact, I am glad that the industry is abandoning the 16:9 aspect ratio. We are not watching movies in most of our devices. So, good riddance, really.

ADRz said:
I am not much for installing Android systems not approved by the manufacturer. The likelihood of bricking the tablet is high. It works fine as it is. If I can get another year's work out of it, I would be happy. Yes, I prefer the aspect ratio of this tablet much better than the 3:2 aspect ratio, but the truth is that everything now is moving to the 3:2 aspect, even laptops. The reason that I am OK with the 16:9 aspect in this tablet is because it is optimal for being a "notebook". Otherwise, for all other functions, and for laptops, I much prefer the 3:2 aspect. I am not sure that I agree with you about the wide-screen of websites. Most of these really adjust well to screen sizes. And most of the web is really more vertical than horizontal. This is why the original 4:3 aspect ratio of laptops was so much more preferable. Documents are mostly long, not wide.
In fact, I am glad that the industry is abandoning the 16:9 aspect ratio. We are not watching movies in most of our devices. So, good riddance, really.
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I agree that 3:2 is a great compromise ratio and I welcome that the industry is increasingly moving towards it. It's the closest to our tablet's 16:10, but a bit better for portrait mode. IMO those two are the best for documents too (documents are 1.41:1, but most PDF apps auto crop them to 1.5:1 or 1.6:1).
Unfortunately Tab S3 decided to use 4:3, which is very bad for media (one of the most popular uses for tablets, probably the main one for those that prefer it over owning a phone). It renders the websites wrong and it's not that good for games either (they are built for wide-screen like 3:2, 16:10 and 16:9).
BTW installing an AOSP ROM is very easy (follow the handful of steps) and as dangerous as installing an app. It's one of the basic reasons to own an android, else an iPad is a better choice (clearly often). I understand the fear on a new device (you lose warranty), but on those old ones it's probably the only way to keep them alive. Nougat on this tablet basically breathes it a new life...

ADRz said:
I am not much for installing Android systems not approved by the manufacturer. The likelihood of bricking the tablet is high.
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Couldn't be more wrong. Funny how people still believe this.