Related
Any one else finding that most of the reviews of the Tab seem to be written by people who just don't get it?
I'm the first in line to call a spade a spade (that would be "shovel a shovel" for our American cousins) but I truly believe the Tab is a fantastic device and I cannot see where most of these reviewers are coming from.
I'm sure that some would say that us Tab buyers are trying to justify our purchase, but I'm honestly finding that the Tab has exceeded my expectations which were already quite high.
I've been in the market for a device that could sit between my laptop(s) and smartphone for casual media consumption and web browsing, and since buying my Tab last Friday, my Macbook has sat on my coffee table untouched and my HTC Desire has only really seen use as a phone.
I was seriously considering an Advent Vega, Toshiba Folio 100, or Archos 101 as they were all around half the price of the Tab, but after my experience with the Toshiba AC100 Android smartbook I decided that I really wanted the full Google experience (Market, Gmail etc) because it was just so much easier than faffing around with APKs etc.
In less than a week, beyond sitting at my desk, the Tab has become my primary device for Internet and media consumption, and I honestly did not expect that to occur.
Whilst the poor reviews don't affect me directly, I'm concerned that many people would be put off this fantastic device without giving it a fair crack of the ship which I can assure anyone who is sitting on the fence, the Tab most surely deserves!
Regards,
Dave
I tend to agree Dave.
The Tab is one of the best, if not THE best, android device i have used to date (and i have used many).
but its not for everyone and it does have some issues that needs to be addressed (such as the laggy browser).
It does seems like Samsung were able to overcome the issues the SGS had with the SGT and all the power to them.
I do think the reviewers just don't get it.
Some if the reviews i have read are just full of lies and totally biased (see BGR's review).
I really like the stock browser, but it is too laggy compared to others. Samsung should definitely have worked harder on that.
I'm also not convinced by swype on a device of this size but I could be convinced, if I could have swype automatically in portrait and something else in landscape.
Regards,
Dave
I don't think the reviews I've read have been overly negative but I've only read a handful:
Oddly, I found the review on Engadget to be one of the better ones, even if they only scored it 7/10.
They seemed genuinely enthusiastic about the Tab, which flies in the face somewhat of their general pro-Apple bias. I guess it just proves that some of the Engadget writers are genuinely enthusiastic about tech and not just stuff made in Cupertino.
GSMArena, normally a beacon of decent reviews, seemed to get a bit too hung up on trying to compare it to the iPad whilst avoiding declaring one better than the other. That and criticising the price a lot.
They also mentioned issues like the screen having ghosting issues, which I just couldn't reproduce when I used the Tab.
There was a 'review' on the BBC site by one of their tech bloggers which was beyond pitiful.
It just compared web-browsing and playing videos but was so lacking in any genuine insight or intelligence that I would advise not wasting your time on it.
Then the review on BGR, that one really did annoy me.
The reviewer criticised the pixel density of the Tab compared to smartphones and criticised the screen as too small compared to the iPad whilst conveniently ignoring the iPad's poorer pixel density.
If I was being generous, I'd say the review just didn't 'get' the Tab but it smacked much more of pro-Apple bias IMO.
So, one good review, one in-depth but indecisive review, one non-review and one advert for the iPad...
However, reading a lot of the comments left on various sites in response to their reviews, I would say there is a definite lack of 'getting' out there.
A lot of people just don't seem to see the appeal or usefulness of the Tab, which is fair enough everyone's entitled to their opinion but like you Dave, I'm not convinced they've actually given the Tab a fair go before reaching that decision.
Read WIRED review
http://m.wired.com/reviews/2010/11/galaxy_tab/
Sent from my GT-P1000 using Tapatalk
antz88c said:
Read WIRED review
http://m.wired.com/reviews/2010/11/galaxy_tab/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For those of us not on a mobile device: http://www.wired.com/reviews/2010/11/galaxy_tab/
well, comparing the tab with full fledge tablet will be useless
as i see it, tab is a phone that have tablet capabilities, considering they're still using FroYo which was a phone OS primarily
but when google OS for Tablet is ready in the market, and the tab get it, Ipad will get some rivalry from galaxy tab for sure, as Ipad cant be used as a phone, at all
Justin^Tan said:
well, comparing the tab with full fledge tablet will be useless
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would say that comparison to any other Android tablets or the iPad is far from useless as they're all running similarly-capable OSs.
True, comparison to something running, say, Win7 would be a bit of a waste of time but I fail to see why comparing a 7" Android tablet to a 10" Android tablet would be useless.
Justin^Tan said:
as i see it, tab is a phone that have tablet capabilities
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And what, if you don't mind me asking, are 'tablet capabilities'?
My vibrant feels so small now.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Step666 said:
I would say that comparison to any other Android tablets or the iPad is far from useless as they're all running similarly-capable OSs.
True, comparison to something running, say, Win7 would be a bit of a waste of time but I fail to see why comparing a 7" Android tablet to a 10" Android tablet would be useless.
And what, if you don't mind me asking, are 'tablet capabilities'?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well let me put my fair understanding on both devices.
IPAD ADV
---------
- Bigger Screen: More Space for applications, pleasant for the eye
- Brighter Screen
- Longer Battery Life
- Applications tailored just for IPAD
IPAD DISV
----------
- Heavy.. use on one hand for a long time is just not comfortable.
- Can't Make Call without Jail Breaking / Additional Support
- Bulky, It would mean that you have to carry a bag with you all the time.
- Most of the stuffs don't work in IPAD. e.q. Flash
This is critical for some reason and at least for now, most websites run flash: Videos or Games and it's extremely cumbersome to get the contents to be played on the IPAD. Tethering not working right out of the box (if i remember correctly)
- No support for widgets. why is this important? well, because it's a feature that enable us to glance through information easily or access certain function easily. Plus, it's beautiful and pleasing. Imagine, you want to check your Data Usage, all you have to do is open your screen and you know straight how many have you used instead of opening the program and do a check button again. >.<!!
SGT ADV
--------
- Connectivity: you can make call, browsing using wifi or 3G.
- Light in size and pocket-able on most jeans or clothing.
- All in One? compared to IPAD, you will need an extra pair of device as a phone but with tab, you have it all.
- Device capable for honey comb & ginger bread.
- As android is open source, it's open to development and customization. This would mean that if samsung doesn't make SGT good enough for people, a team or someone can make that customization to provide more battery life, better interface etc.
SGT DISADV
------------
- Built on TFT technology.. which the screen is slightly distorted on certain angle.
- Compared to IPAD, the battery life sucks. However,
you get widgets, connectivity and multi tasking done right and still it's enough to be used as a daily phone / tablet.
- Not many application tailored for SGTab yet and my feeling about this is the future is a bit unknown .. With so many screen resolutions out. 7inch 8.9inch 10 inch.. it's just making it hard for developer to tailor the application but all in all, the android tablet coming to the market is definite so it's possible that the tailored applications will be growing steadily.
My Summary:
--------------
While ipad offers better battery life, applications, screen and performance. It does have certain disadvantages such as lack of flash support, customization, calls and it's bulky. And for some who wish to have portability and entertainment on the GO, Tab is definitely superior than IPAD in many ways. However, taking apps into consideration, the Apps in IPAD is amazing simply because they are tailored. Android is still evolving. We will see more applications tailored for Android tablet size become available in the near future. Having said that i would say all in all, the pro and cons between these two devices is 50:50 and at the end of the day, it's up to your preference whether you want a device with good apps support but lack portability or you want one with all in and portable.
foxmeister said:
I'm the first in line to call a spare a spare (that would be "shovel a shovel" for our American cousins)...
Regards,
Dave
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe that should be "call a spade a spade" - for the non-Americans...
-Daniel
Why is everyone comparing to an IPAD...this isnt an IPAD! Forget the reviews....I can show you 100 reviews that say it's a fantastic device....ask the users....
dweidman said:
I believe that should be "call a spade a spade" - for the non-Americans...
-Daniel
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Curse predictive keyboards!
Dave
Sorry for my bad english.
Then my point of view :
The SGT is not the better yes i agree with that.
But for me the point of view is different for everybody. Why ? Because i buy my 'item' because all off my requested features are in my 'item'.
If you havn't yet, look up the review that carrypad has done.
shollywood said:
Why is everyone comparing to an IPAD...this isnt an IPAD! Forget the reviews....I can show you 100 reviews that say it's a fantastic device....ask the users....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
exactly. and also this flash nonsense always. yes we can do flash. but this is not the killer argument here.
this is a handy tablet with a nice os. thats it. and it can be used as a phone too.
it has a great speaker, which makes conference calls very nice.
widgets with that screen size rocks. gamings is brilliant on the device.
there is no need for comparison to some other device. this one is great.
Most of the reviews I've seen have been positive if not amazing, the Giz article is not an outstanding review or the best piece of journalism I've seen!
My iPad is a lounge device, my SGT is my RoadWarrior device. I wouldn't compare them as they fill 2 very different roles for me.
foxmeister said:
I'm also not convinced by swype on a device of this size but I could be convinced, if I could have swype automatically in portrait and something else in landscape.
Regards,
Dave
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello have you try to use keyboardmanager on the market
Sent from my GT-P1000 using XDA App
I still have my Tf700T.
I am curious for those that already have this tablet, how is the performace straight out of the box (stock)?
My buddy has the tab 2, and it seems to flutter when moving screen to screen.
Is this any better?
Besides the screen resolution, can anyone compare the performance of the note to the Infinity?
You can find a few reviews on Youtube which clearly demonstrates the performance out of the box:
Unboxing and preview - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elFOFD1UNzQ
Demonstrations - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUxFN5kwS9E and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brfs6bjZ5h4
Edit: I can't see any stuttering or microlag at all so I believe the performance out of the box is excellent!
lardo5150 said:
I still have my Tf700T.
I am curious for those that already have this tablet, how is the performace straight out of the box (stock)?
My buddy has the tab 2, and it seems to flutter when moving screen to screen.
Is this any better?
Besides the screen resolution, can anyone compare the performance of the note to the Infinity?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't compare it to the TF700 but compared to the OG 10.1 it's night and day. It never stutters and transitions are incredibly smooth. The browser's also very impressive. Don't forget that the TF700 suffers from the typical Asus quality issues, doesn't have 5GHz Wi-Fi, and has horrible I/O bottlenecks. Those bottleneck are why the N7 gets such ****ty AnTuTu scores. It would be great if the Note had a HD display but it's a trade off against S-Pen and overall performance.
Here's a full test and some benchmarks:
http://uk.hardware.info/reviews/300...iew-high-end-tablet-but-lacking-in-resolution
By far better than the asus, multitasking brings many new creative ideas to ics, its more useable now, ready to replace your laptop on the go !
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
kloodee said:
ready to replace your laptop on the go !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In addition to the two-years of 50GB Dropbox storage, Polaris is multi-view enabled and now saves/accesses files you store in Dropbox. I hope Samsung comes out with a BT keyboard like the OG 10.1 had.
Do you think that the multi-screen thing is the power of this GNote 10"1 ?
We can see some apps already in the market (browser with Overskreen, video players...) for others tablets.
Do we need these benchmarks when the screen is not HD ? Can we compare these with HD Tablets ?
Do you think that it is an expensive tablet ?
S-Pen is a gadget ? I am a student, I already tested GNote and we can't do anything with the S-Pen, keyboards are much better for students. Maybe for those who like drawing, a little ?
The pen is a better choice for any student who studies a technical field. Equation, diagrams, annotations are all important for good notes. Even for non students, meeting notes are impossible to take with any decent accuracy on a keyboard. The conversations often jump around too much and there are a lot of visual representations used (again probably not true for all occupations, but anything that requires technical knowledge).
The smart shape stuff also looks awesome for drawing diagrams for presentations. We are a visual people, and the pen is the best instrument for drawing anything.
Infact I'll go one step further. No scientist I know thinks at the keyboard. Everyone thinks with a pen/paper or on a white board. When you are brainstorming its almost impossible to think about typing but sketching out ideas with a pen feels natural.
StiiLe said:
Do you think that the multi-screen thing is the power of this GNote 10"1 ?
We can see some apps already in the market (browser with Overskreen, video players...) for others tablets.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Teg3 might be able to run some of the split screen apps but good luck with 1GB of RAM. The Note has 2GB of RAM for a reason.
Do we need these benchmarks when the screen is not HD ? Can we compare these with HD Tablets ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Benchmarks are meaningless. They do help calculate an individual devices performance. Do you have a problem with apps opening too quickly, transitions being too smooth, or tons of apps running well at the same time? If you don't care about those things any gen-one Teg2 device will meet your needs. The comparison to an HD tablet is that it's not an HD tablet. The other stuff was more important to me than HD. Most here will agree or they wouldn't have bought a Note. Asus and Acer aren't the kings of quality either which after following the Prime has pretty much sworn me off of Asus.
Do you think that it is an expensive tablet ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes.
S-Pen is a gadget ? I am a student, I already tested GNote and we can't do anything with the S-Pen, keyboards are much better for students. Maybe for those who like drawing, a little ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use it for handwritten notes quite well. It also converts handwriting in to text. There's a big difference between taking notes on a phablet and a real tablet. Also the G-Note's only dual-core with 1GB of RAM so it's slow in comparison.
@redviper666
"The pen is a better choice for any student who studies a technical field. Equation, diagrams, annotations are all important for good notes."
I am a student-engineer, scientist field, and we were talking about this tablet with colleagues. We won't use a tablet for equation, diagrams or annotations. Definitely not, you are wrong. We tried to imagine, but a paper and a pen is much better for this. S-Pen won't help us, but it would slow down our note taking.
If we need to write a report, or an article, we won't use it either. On one hand, we use to work with a big resolution, then we can visualize all the document, make some modification easily. On the other hand, we are more effective with a keyboard. For example we use to be on computer with Word, and there already are very good stuffs for equations, diagrams... It's easy and "neat". We would use S-Pen for rough copy maybe, but again we were talking about take a stylo, and a paper.
I see S-Pen like this : "It is useless, then it is essential". I exaggerate. But a keyboard is very much better, we can't write something with S-Pen. Even with a stylo+paper, we are faster with a keyboard. A mouse and a keyboard are irreplaceable.
"Even for non students, meeting notes are impossible to take with any decent accuracy on a keyboard."
Then, until now, we couldn't do it ? Keyboard is the best way. I can prove you, Pen is really not easy compared with keyboard. When I am in a conference, I will write with a physical keyboard (ASUS TF700) or a capacitive keyboard (GNote 10.1), tell me if you see professionnals using S-Pen. Impossible.
"The smart shape stuff also looks awesome for drawing diagrams for presentations. We are a visual people, and the pen is the best instrument for drawing anything."
Presentations are not drawing. Again, we always have one hand on the mouse, the other on the keyboard. Then, with Powerpoint, we can easily put a diagram with the mouse (we know exactly how to do of course, if not you are not a good worker), and write in with the keyboard. Drawing a circle to put a diagram won't help us... I can bet 1000$ that we won't see it in companies, in conference, in key-note...
Maybe you want to have fun doing a rough copy (again) with a GNote, but we don't need to buy a GNote 10.1 to make a rough copy.
"Infact I'll go one step further. No scientist I know thinks at the keyboard. Everyone thinks with a pen/paper or on a white board. When you are brainstorming its almost impossible to think about typing but sketching out ideas with a pen feels natural. "
Mathematicians would use paper and stylo of course. A big part of engineer would use keyboard to write reports, or a brainstorming. Again, and again, and again, we really don't need a graphic (tablet) or a GNote to use a paper with a pencil, for rough copy. It's much easier and faster with our actual paper. Generaly, we use keyboard anyway.
@BarryH_GEG
"Teg3 might be able to run some of the split screen apps but good luck with 1GB of RAM. The Note has 2GB of RAM for a reason."
Actualy, 2 GB of RAM is too much !
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I can easily use split screen with Overskreen or video player with 1 GB !
"The other stuff was more important to me than HD. Most here will agree or they wouldn't have bought a Note. Asus and Acer aren't the kings of quality either which after following the Prime has pretty much sworn me off of Asus. "
Okay, I don't want fanaticism for Samsung, or a devotion for our personal choice to convince ourselves. But I am going to put some arguments against yours, without thinking about Samsung or ASUS/Acer, just features.
Now, do you really think S-Pen is more important than HD / Full HD ? Having fun 2 days with your pen on S-Note (capacitive keyboard is a huge thing when you want to write something). Polaris Office is better with HD / Full HD, and split screen would be very very good on GNote with Full HD ! I can't see what do you think about when you say "other stuff" ?
Tablets are very good for multimedia, and sometimes to write reports with a physical keyboard, or even capacitive. Both using useful with Full HD. What do you think about ?
Do you think that it's easier to write a report (or an article) with S-Pen ?
S-Pen is only for small drawings with "Draw Something" apps ; and if you want to draw precisely, you need 300 dpi (3500 x 2600), or at least 200 dpi (2400 x 1600). That's a gadget, really not necessary.
"I use it for handwritten notes quite well. It also converts handwriting in to text."
Try a physical keyboard.
We are much faster with a keyboard, particularly if you need to converts it in to text. I don't need to be precise if I need to draw a small drawing on my "rough paper" with a standard capacitive screen.
Personally, I suggest that we should create our company. Then we create our tablet with :
- PLS technology (GNote screen with his S-Pen), it could be useful if I listen to you
- Full HD technology on this
- ASUS Keyboard on this
- iPad anti-reflection technology
This would be the perfect tablet !
StiiLe said:
I can bet 1000$ that we won't see it in companies, in conference, in key-note...
Maybe you want to have fun doing a rough copy (again) with a GNote, but we don't need to buy a GNote 10.1 to make a rough copy.
Mathematicians would use paper and stylo of course. A big part of engineer would use keyboard to write reports, or a brainstorming. Again, and again, and again, we really don't need a graphic (tablet) or a GNote to use a paper with a pencil, for rough copy. It's much easier and faster with our actual paper. Generaly, we use keyboard anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure what kind of engineer you are, but the amount of scratch paper that is sitting on my work desk is immense. I have killed many poor trees sketching free body diagrams, making rough calculations, and writing short-hand notes for all of the projects I do (structural engineering). Making reports for submittal is merely a small part of what is done and typically when i'm working on a project my computer screen is on sleep mode because I have no use for it.
I would much rather use the S-Pen and have my notes easily accessible if a client or co-worker were to ask me a question.
I think we need to get a Notecore Kernel http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1749863 for the Tab as well!
I run it on my normal note and it made it much faster and responsive and also battery lasts longer.
cocoajumpo said:
I'm not sure what kind of engineer you are, but the amount of scratch paper that is sitting on my work desk is immense. I have killed many poor trees sketching free body diagrams, making rough calculations, and writing short-hand notes for all of the projects I do (structural engineering). Making reports for submittal is merely a small part of what is done and typically when i'm working on a project my computer screen is on sleep mode because I have no use for it.
I would much rather use the S-Pen and have my notes easily accessible if a client or co-worker were to ask me a question.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right, I had read his post. Curious.
I have been pulling my hair out about this. I have quite a few things (calculations) that take up about twenty pages. Now, it takes me half of my time organizing the mess. I have maps just to guide me thought this! This can be rather stressful :laugh: . Tablets are generally really uncomfortable, and pen a paper is not. But the pulp is just messy, and I've got to try to get out from under this. IYKWIM.
Of course you can get really good at Mathmatica or Mathcad, and that I do also (not the 'really good' part), but it's even more uncmfortable.
Oh I know, you think "Twenty pages of calculation" He must be a genius. Answer: No, a genius would do it in one page, or in his head. I'm an idiot
Anyway, this new variety is pretty cool. Me thinks.
StiiLe said:
Comments
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am a student-engineer, scientist field, and we were talking about this tablet with colleagues… …I see S-Pen like this : "It is useless, then it is essential". I exaggerate. But a keyboard is very much better, we can't write something with S-Pen. Even with a stylo+paper, we are faster with a keyboard. A mouse and a keyboard are irreplaceable. Even for non students, meeting notes are impossible to take with any decent accuracy on a keyboard. Then, until now, we couldn't do it ? Keyboard is the best way. I can prove you, Pen is really not easy compared with keyboard. When I am in a conference, I will write with a physical keyboard (ASUS TF700) or a capacitive keyboard (GNote 10.1), tell me if you see professionnals using S-Pen. Impossible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You really shouldn't impose your personal opinion or that of a small group of people you associate with on others. For the majority of meetings I'm in it would be considered rude and inappropriate to be hammering away at a keyboard when you should be focusing on the body language of the people in the meeting and the person speaking at the time. For those situations, the Note is perfect. Maybe your attitude will change when you’re no longer a student and in business (vs. technical) meetings.
Actualy, 2 GB of RAM is too much !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't follow Android devices much, do you? The Adreno GPU in the new S4 chip reserves 350MB of RAM for itself. With only 1GB of RAM available multitasking is abysmal. Why do you think the U.S. SGS3 with the S4 chip has 2GB of RAM? Samsung doesn't give away RAM (and profit) without reason.
Okay, I don't want fanaticism for Samsung, or a devotion for our personal choice to convince ourselves. But I am going to put some arguments against yours, without thinking about Samsung or ASUS/Acer, just features.
Now, do you really think S-Pen is more important than HD / Full HD ? Having fun 2 days with your pen on S-Note (capacitive keyboard is a huge thing when you want to write something). Polaris Office is better with HD / Full HD, and split screen would be very very good on GNote with Full HD ! I can't see what do you think about when you say "other stuff" ?
Tablets are very good for multimedia, and sometimes to write reports with a physical keyboard, or even capacitive. Both using useful with Full HD. What do you think about ?
Do you think that it's easier to write a report (or an article) with S-Pen ?
S-Pen is only for small drawings with "Draw Something" apps ; and if you want to draw precisely, you need 300 dpi (3500 x 2600), or at least 200 dpi (2400 x 1600). That's a gadget, really not necessary.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a non-sensical rant. I have a HTC One X so I'm no Samsung fanboy. The performance and features of the Note are better than any Android tablet on the market (for now). Asus has a poor reputation for quality as you can see on the front page of any of their devices in this forum. Including the new N7. They don't offer 5GHz Wi-Fi, have I/O issues because of the cheap NAND they use, and have problems using BT and Wi-Fi streaming concurrently because they use AzureWave vs. Broadcom radios to save money. If you think HD is more important than those things, nifty. Not everyone does.
Try a physical keyboard. We are much faster with a keyboard, particularly if you need to converts it in to text. I don't need to be precise if I need to draw a small drawing on my "rough paper" with a standard capacitive screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not everyone cares about a keyboard. Especially those that use their tablets primarily for consumption. The faux-MS Office products on Android are crap and the incompatibility with most corporate products make them inappropriate as laptop replacements. If keyboards were so important Asus' market share would be higher and everyone would be imitating them. It's not and they aren't.
I feel offended. I'll try to answer a little bit.
@cocoajumpa and @BarryH_GEG
"You really shouldn't impose your personal opinion or that of a small group of people you associate with on others. For the majority of meetings I'm in it would be considered rude and inappropriate to be hammering away at a keyboard when you should be focusing on the body language of the people in the meeting and the person speaking at the time. For those situations, the Note is perfect. Maybe your attitude will change when you’re no longer a student and in business (vs. technical) meetings."
I was student, and now my job is working on some projects, we often call it "sales engineer", and I have to defend a project with his pro & cons, and of course his prices. Then, very often, I have to send e-mail, or write reports after a meeting. Most of the time, my job isn't technical anymore. I better need a Full HD (for an overall view of the document) + Keyboard.
My colleagues (and me) are still using real computers during the meetings, and we are all taking notes on the keyboard while someone is talking, I can take photos to prove it to you, Barry. Maybe that you will be impressed, but during the meeting, some of them are directly putting down their report and we receive it just after it ends... I can't believe that they can talk and write a professional report at the same time, but they use to do it.
I have never seen someone with a paper+pencil in business meeting ! Or even with a tablet and capacitive pencil, or now GNote10"1. The standard is and will be keyboard, isn't it ?
I read something about Office on Android, that Microsoft is working on it for the end of 2012, or Q1 2013. Can you confirm it ?
"You don't follow Android devices much, do you? The Adreno GPU in the new S4 chip reserves 350MB of RAM for itself. With only 1GB of RAM available multitasking is abysmal. Why do you think the U.S. SGS3 with the S4 chip has 2GB of RAM? Samsung doesn't give away RAM (and profit) without reason."
Are you telling me that 1 Gb of RAM is not enough at all ? TF700 is bad for example if you would use Overskreen or something like that on it ?
We must have 2 Gb for multitasking on Android ?
"This is a non-sensical rant. I have a HTC One X so I'm no Samsung fanboy. The performance and features of the Note are better than any Android tablet on the market (for now). Asus has a poor reputation for quality as you can see on the front page of any of their devices in this forum. Including the new N7. They don't offer 5GHz Wi-Fi, have I/O issues because of the cheap NAND they use, and have problems using BT and Wi-Fi streaming concurrently because they use AzureWave vs. Broadcom radios to save money. If you think HD is more important than those things, nifty. Not everyone does."
I'm not Samsung fanboy either, but I really like their GNote 2. As a phone, S-Pen could be cool for taking notes, for a non-professional (at all) using.
I would like you to put down your real thoughts : ASUS are making very bad products ? Everything goes wrong ?
About performance, Note is the best and others are far away behind ? Aren't they approximately the same, out of the box ?
If keyboards were so important Asus' market share would be higher and everyone would be imitating them. It's not and they aren't.
We can't compare ASUS marketing service, and Samsung marketing service... I think ASUS can be proud of them when we see their sales. Do you think that keyboards will disappear ? Don't you think that we will see more and more keyboards ?
About my opinion, I like this PLS technology, and as I said I would like to buy GNote 2 then. But on a tablet, I would prefer Full HD, for multimedia and even for profesionnal using. At this moment, the issues you are talking about have not unsettled me at all. But when I read you, I would be totaly insane to buy a TF700 instead of GNote10"1.
If I think HD is more important than those thing, nifty... What do you mean... am I blind ? Am I totally wrong ?
Barry, +1.
StiiLe said:
By the way, I'm not aggressive at all, I'm just trying to see the using of this S-Pen which makes the GNote10"1 amazing for you.
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Here's the difference between my comments and yours. I'm not an engineer and have no idea how practical the S-Pen is in an engineering environment. If the Note were meant exclusively for engineers Samsung wouldn't be offering it as a mass market device and would instead sell it through Samsung Business directly to the engineering field. Perhaps the small percentage of others here who are in engineering can have the debate you're looking for. The launch event tomorrow that's costing Samsung several hundred thousand dollars isn't for a product dedicated to engineering. Something to think about in your critique.
I bought the Note for its performance over everything else. I had a Teg2 OG G-Tab and it was painfully slow and Nvidia not including NEON in the GPU made it horrible for video playback. These are the things that made me buy the Note:
1) CPU/GPU/RAM
2) Multi-view
3) Annotation
4) Taking notes in meetings
5) Exceptional web browsing
6) Samsung's audio and video codec support
7) Useful features like Awake Stay, Pop Up Play, AllShare Cast, and Buddy Photo
8) Rock solid build quality
P.S. - I followed the Prime from its launch. After that, I'd never even consider an Asus tablet regardless of features or cost/benefit.
im a electrical engineering student with a focus in power and electronics, and in all my class there is a lot of schematics, graphs, and math. a regular tablet with a stylus is not the same as a pen with a active digitizer. you can add a keyboard to a tablet but you can add an active digitizer to a laptop. ive tried using my laptop in class and its difficult. in my field theres not that much words to type, just name of the equation and little side notes here and there. using the number pad on a laptop to do equations is slow and difficult. using a mouse or trackpad to do graphs and insert text box here and there is the same. my professors also hand out alot of printed or post online pdf notes, so having the ability to edit and add notes on the pdf on a tablet would be more ideal. yes i can do that on the printed version but by week 3 my backpack is filled with paper.
your technical field must involve more typing but mine doesn't. i have reports to do too, but those reports are usually due in few days; in which i can go home and use my pc for excel and word or even use my bluetooth keyboard with polaris. the note really just apply more to people with the need to write/draw on a tablet. i guess that need would have to be enough to overlook the FHD of the Asus infinity or ipad3. if i didnt need to write so much i would go for the infinity. i do a lot of reading too and i would like to get back into gaming, which is all perfect for the FHD, but it is just not on top of my list. keep in mind, android at the moment has not adapted to FHD yet. 500-600$ (hofully for a wifi version of the note) is a lot, but even though thats a lot of money i know i will upgrade in a year or two for a new tablet and by that time im sure there will be a FHD with active digitizer tablet; and hopefully a majority of android and apps will be FHD by then also.
i am still going to wait a few weeks to buy the note, just to see if any problems come up. if theres a select few that may weigh the note and the infinity the same to me, then i will get the infinity instead. worst case i can get a Adonit Jot stylus for it. the infinity just has a better longevity and better support. where as the note is ideal for my situation at the moment.
BarryH_GEG said:
Here's the difference between my comments and yours. I'm not an engineer and have no idea how practical the S-Pen is in an engineering environment. If the Note were meant exclusively for engineers Samsung wouldn't be offering it as a mass market device and would instead sell it through Samsung Business directly to the engineering field. Perhaps the small percentage of others here who are in engineering can have the debate you're looking for. The launch event tomorrow that's costing Samsung several hundred thousand dollars isn't for a product dedicated to engineering. Something to think about in your critique.
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Click to collapse
Yep, I understand. I wasn't talking about engineering at the beginning, but multimedia part.
I read someone or even you talking about S-Pen to take notes, that's why I talked about my personal opinion : I take note with keyboard. But as denniegst said, it depends on our using. For the professional part, I think most of us would need keyboard, which is easier and faster, but you think S-Pen is better.
On the GNote 5", S-Note doesn't recognize everything, particularly when we have to write something fast. Is it improved ?
BarryH_GEG said:
I bought the Note for its performance over everything else. I had a Teg2 OG G-Tab and it was painfully slow and Nvidia not including NEON in the GPU made it horrible for video playback. These are the things that made me buy the Note:
1) CPU/GPU/RAM
2) Multi-view
3) Annotation
4) Taking notes in meetings
5) Exceptional web browsing
6) Samsung's audio and video codec support
7) Useful features like Awake Stay, Pop Up Play, AllShare Cast, and Buddy Photo
8) Rock solid build quality
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Teg3 has been improved and it includes NEON now. We can watch 1080p videos even with the "Power Saving" mode, only the "companion processor" is on.
1) I understand, but other tablets are not so far right ?
2) I can understand it too, even if there are apps for it too (overskreen ...). That would be a great thing for TF700.
3) and 4) I disagree, but that's personal using. So I can understand (difficult but ok )
5) For me the web browsing is much comfortable with HD or Full HD. But maybe Samsung made a very good browser, I didn't see this part.
6) I don't see the difference, I can read everything.
7) These applications are not needed for me, or I can download similar on the markets.
8) This GNote10"1 is built with the same plastic as GNote 5" ?
StiiLe said:
That would be a great thing for TF700.
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Click to collapse
Are you here to discuss the Note or to reinforce your purchase of an Infinity? Other than the 1080P display, the Infinity is inferior in every way to the Note. The exception being the hard keyboard option if that's a deciding factor. That and perhaps gaming and not based on performance but the games that are designed and available specifically for Tegra. No matter how big an Asus fan anyone is you can't look at the forums on XDA and not draw the conclusion that some of their choices for materials and how they're assembled aren't questionable. My year-old OG G-Tab was dropped more times than I can count including tumbling down a flight of stairs. It looked as good as new up until the end. I'd love a 1080P display, unfortunately it wasn't available to me in a package I found desirable or worth premium pricing.
Are you ignoring the benchmarks on the first page? The Note trounces the Infinity and every other Teg3 tablet available by a wide margin. And it feels in everyday use exactly how the benchmarks reflect it. Until you use it you'll have no idea how much better it is at just about everything. I'll post some video of some more taxing stuff like watching HD video in a browser when I have time.
StiiLe said:
I am a student-engineer, scientist field, and we were talking about this tablet with colleagues. We won't use a tablet for equation, diagrams or annotations. Definitely not, you are wrong. We tried to imagine, but a paper and a pen is much better for this. S-Pen won't help us, but it would slow down our note taking.
If we need to write a report, or an article, we won't use it either. On one hand, we use to work with a big resolution, then we can visualize all the document, make some modification easily. On the other hand, we are more effective with a keyboard. For example we use to be on computer with Word, and there already are very good stuffs for equations, diagrams... It's easy and "neat". We would use S-Pen for rough copy maybe, but again we were talking about take a stylo, and a paper.
I see S-Pen like this : "It is useless, then it is essential". I exaggerate. But a keyboard is very much better, we can't write something with S-Pen. Even with a stylo+paper, we are faster with a keyboard. A mouse and a keyboard are irreplaceable.
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I have no idea what kind of scientist you are but I write papers in Tex, and I think on a paper/pen. Switching to a digital tablet is invaluable for me.
I give a lot of presentations and they have a crap load of complex data flow diagrams. Not once have I felt comfortable making that stuff in power point. I use Visio for these diagrams and I import them into powerpoint. If I could make them on a digital tablet I'd personally be ecstatic.
Don't take it the wrong way, but if you think a big part of being an engineer is writing reports, you aren't a worthwhile engineer. Sometimes we have to write papers, sometimes we have to write reports but the big part of being an engineer or a scientist is thinking. And like I said, when I am brainstorming I can't do it with a keyboard.
Now clearly you are a lot smarter than I could ever be. Clearly. Good for you imo. But I am personally looking forward to the note 10.1 with baited breath.
Hi everyone, I've had a problem over the last year or two, habitually testing out tablets and returning them. My wife has gotten concerned that my tablet buying would beome obsessive, but I really was just looking for the right tool for me. I have finally chosen the Note 10.1 as my preferred choice thought some forum posters might want to hear my thoughts on a variety of tablets and why I chose the Note.
My use case - I'm sort of a techie, I go to a lot of meetings, I have a wicked awesome x100e thinkpad netbook that I absolutely love and that I use for casual and work, and I have a media center computer at home for watching xvids on my TV. But I've wanted a tablet for meetings and other times when pulling a laptop out would not be acceptable. I also really wanted a wacom pen for electronic notes, I seem to believe that might help keep me more organized. One last thing I wouldn't mind from a tablet is learning games to play with my daughter.
I used to have a thinkpad windows xp convertible, which was nice, but heavy and the battery died. So last year when the thinkpad android tablet came out, I jumped on it. But it didn't live up to the hype, too big, too slow, android wasnt really ready and frankly the ntrig pen on it was horrible, the battery on the pen died twice in the month I had it. Returned.
I bought a blackberry playbook, was sleek, ahead of the times, fast. But too small, not enough apps, and no wacom pen. Returned.
I bought a ipad 2, was pretty impressed with it actually. Really great selection of apps, jailbroke it and was quite excited about it, but it really wasn't suitable for notes no matter what I tried. Why doesn't this thing have a microsd port? And the Apple ecosystem is hugely frustrating. And as a techie, I can't really walk around holding an iPad, just way to emberassing I wouldn't be able to look myself in the mirror. In the end this was a great purchase as a learning tool for my daughter with lots of learning games we play with at night, but it wasn't really suitable for what I needed.
I was really eager when the note 10.1 came out, preordered it and got it in september. Fast, perfect size, speakers are awesome, and the microsd port was really appreciated! But it didn't have USB, android can be pretty quirky and Windows 8 was coming out. I had some problems with polaris office and thought to myself I have to give windows 8 a try before I commit.
So I bought the Microsoft Surface RT. This was an impulse buy, mostly cause I couldnt see it in the store and I had to know what it was like. Frankly its awesome, sleek, quick, the keyboard is amazing. But... not a lot of apps, no wacom pen, pretty much its a netbook with office, and I already have a wicked lenovo netbook, so it went back because what I really wanted was the Samsung Ativ Smart PC!
The samsung Ativ Smart Pc with windows 8 was pretty impressive. This atom cpu flies, I mean flies for office use. It was quicker at reading pdfs then any other tablet I tried including the Note 10.1. It had a wacom pen that worked well. It had a USB port and a mini-hdmi! It has windows 8, which is by far the best windows I tried. Things are so much simpler, sleeker and logical in it. The OS is a joy to use, and the best part it runs ALL of my intel x86 programs so I can load it up with virtually anything. But its still windows, so be prepared for Norton, daily updates and the usual Windows annoyances that I have come to love, this wasn't really a negative for me, but I could see how it would be for my wife. The main problems with this tablet:
1. It couldn't connect to my work wifi. Some windows 8 bug that aggravated me, I'm sure they'll fix it... eventually.
2. Its 11.6 inches, its huge and more to the point it's widescreen. The widescreen aspect ratio is too wide, hard to read a pdf, its a joke to hold this thing in portrait mode.
The Ativ Smart PC is an awesome low power windows ultrabook/tablet, but not a good tablet for occasional use when a netbook won't suffice, too big, too wide. (PS I live in canada, and in canada the ATIV Smart PC does not come with a smart pen, so I returned it, bought the american version....... and returned that).
So I rebought the Note 10.1 on a cyber sale for 449, saved myself 50 bucks from my original purchase and you know what, I'm loving it. I think Windows 8 has a bright future, but not right now. And android is getting better every day
The only cons to the Note I know of for me are:
I am missing audio recording while writing notes, snote and lecture notes can do this but they won't play and fast forward the notes like OneNote or Livescribe do, oh well.
I'd also give props to the niche area apps available on the ipad that has tons of learning games for my daughter that no other platform can rival.
Sucks that it takes so long for samsung to update, Android is finally going to have multiuser ability, and I doubt the Note 10.1 will ever see it. Oh well, wasn't really all that necessary anyways.
The note can do virtually everything I need it to do. Since I last used the Note I have come to see Polaris office is actually pretty good, and I am impressed with Astro file managers improvements. I love how dropbox works with my note, and I have a microsd 32gb card ready to hold all my work files from dropbox on it. I love being able to pull up a doc during a meeting and append, highlight and make notes, thanks polaris office for that. Right now I'm connected to an adobe connect meeting for my work through my tablet, and I'm loving it, switch windows to skype my wife on my tablet, and I marvel at how powerful this small tool is. I just bought a case for the note, I'm keeping it this time, I better or my wife is going to kill me lol.
Edit - Oh yeah, I just have to add this cause other review sites mention it. The whole "thing feels like cheap plasitc" is a bunch of bs in my view. The note is slim, light, and awesome. The screen is also bright and crystal clear.
It's hard to ignore all the hype and praise the other tablets are receiving, huh.
I mainly use my Note for drawing and having an Intuos at home, I already know Wacom is the bee's knees. But I came pretty close to buying an iPad w/ an Adonit Jot anyway just b/c everyone kept telling me and I kept reading the iPad's the greatest. But after trying the Note w/ Wacom and the palm rejection... there was no way I could pick anything else
" And as techie, I can't really walk around holdin an iPad, just way to emberassing I wouldn't be able to look myself in the mirror."
Thank you. The the two don't equate. :laugh:
Also made the same mistake with the TPT, but didn't bother with other tabs until the GNote was released. After the horror show that was the ThinkPad, and the poor reviews on the Note, I was afraid of it. Glad I got over it. It's been perfect since day one.
My wife has a IPAD and she wants my Note 10. No way, Jose I said. You can do so much more on the Note 10 than a IPAD. IPAD is great for reading, better than the Note 10 but that's it, Note 10 exceeds everywhere else.
toenail_flicker said:
" And as techie, I can't really walk around holdin an iPad, just way to emberassing I wouldn't be able to look myself in the mirror."
Thank you. The the two don't equate. :laugh:
Also made the same mistake with the TPT, but didn't bother with other tabs until the GNote was released. After the horror show that was the ThinkPad, and the poor reviews on the Note, I was afraid of it. Glad I got over it. It's been perfect since day one.
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Click to collapse
As someone that certainly prefers the Note 10.1 over the ipad, i still really dont understand this statement. Some of the "techinest" people i know use ipads and its their preferred tablet of choice. Im guessing the usual will get thrown out the lack of flexibility and closed ecosystem, but ive seen some very impressive things performed on an ipad, especially when jailbroken.
I have them all and thought the Note would be impossible to beat but the Ativ may beat them all. If you are looking for note taking you can't beat OneNote and an spen
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GaresTaylan said:
As someone that certainly prefers the Note 10.1 over the ipad, i still really dont understand this statement. Some of the "techinest" people i know use ipads and its their preferred tablet of choice. Im guessing the usual will get thrown out the lack of flexibility and closed ecosystem, but ive seen some very impressive things performed on an ipad, especially when jailbroken.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like what
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GaresTaylan said:
As someone that certainly prefers the Note 10.1 over the ipad, i still really dont understand this statement. Some of the "techinest" people i know use ipads and its their preferred tablet of choice. Im guessing the usual will get thrown out the lack of flexibility and closed ecosystem, but ive seen some very impressive things performed on an ipad, especially when jailbroken.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed, if you could customize the ipad a bit it would be unbeatable. But no wacom pen, no microsdcard (which is embarrassing really), and just the hunk-a-junk file system and primitive ways of putting files on the thing annoy me to no end. Even jailbroken, I put a couple seasons of big bang theory on there, had to get vlc player from cydia (not in the app store). And had to install them through vlc so they weren't accessible to other programs. Little things just frustrate me about the device, and I dont get that in note 10.1. The multi window thing is pretty cool too. Not to mention philosophically I believe in Gnu/Open source, and while google isn't a saint there, they are much better then apple. I love my sleek lil note
Edit - one thing that annoys me in general about android is the file system as well. Why am I putting everything in /mnt/sdcard? And I know of no way to organize this thing. I tried making /mnt/sdcard/home and have all my personal files/directories in there, but some programs wont configure where they save so you inevitably had to go into that mess of /mnt/sdcard. Not to mention you can't keep that directory clean cause every app wants to put a directory there. I guess I just have to use the "favorites" tool in astro and just mark directories I like as favorites.
As for techies and ipads.... maybe its an age thing? Im 35 maybe that is a factor? I'm not really sure... but to give you some background I have a masters in comp sci, I work with tech, I know a lot of techies and not one has an ipad they would publicly admit too. Only people I know who have ipads are people who never really had computers or didnt know they could do cool stuff like "teleconference" or "photoshop" or "take pictures and share them" or "edit videos in premiere" or "play online games" and now that apple made this stuff popular with products like "facetime" and the "instagram app" and "draw something" they are obsessed with running around telling people like me (who don't find it all that impressive) and it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I just had a conversation with someone today about how cool her iphone was cause it could send voice messages with the app called voxie! I found it hilarious that she was unable to easily send sms voice messages on her phone and needed an app for it to make it useable. Oh well, I just think their way of popularizing and "owning/stealing" things "techies" like me have been doing for a long time leaves a bad taste in some of our mouths. Might be different with different groups tho.
Don't get me wrong, they occasionally make great products, the Ipod was a work of art, and compared to the other mp3 players I had at the time it was light years ahead. The first ipod belongs in a museum, and my creative jukebox deserves to be run over by my car, if I can find it lol. It's just I don't really respect the brand, it makes me think "locked down", "over priced" and "less functional" so I will avoid it if possible
inmnbob said:
I have them all and thought the Note would be impossible to beat but the Ativ may beat them all. If you are looking for note taking you can't beat OneNote and an spen
Sent from my GT-N8013 using XDA Premium HD app
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I spent two weeks with a canadian ativ, and another two weeks with an american ativ. I can say that lil atom is much faster then you might think. And the OS is a dream on tablets once you get used to it. Still... its a new-ish OS, and its got kinks. In a year or two, I think windows 8 tablets will be awesome, right now Android has so much available and working out of the box. Not to mention size wise the ativ is more of a computer, forget bringing it to bed or bringing it to meetings while holding a coffee. Its just too big. I like reading pdfs in portrait, so I can see a whole page, the widescreen ativ is unusable in portrait.... unless all my pdfs go widescreen in the near future, that aspect ratio is done. Incidentally if you use apps like bing/news, the tiling layout is awesome cause it's formatted for that screen. Unfortunately my dungeon magazine is in portrait and its much more readable on the note 10.1
GaresTaylan said:
As someone that certainly prefers the Note 10.1 over the ipad, i still really dont understand this statement. Some of the "techinest" people i know use ipads and its their preferred tablet of choice. Im guessing the usual will get thrown out the lack of flexibility and closed ecosystem, but ive seen some very impressive things performed on an ipad, especially when jailbroken.
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Click to collapse
Sorry, but as a long-time techie, before there were laptops and pads, my statement and sentiment about the OP's post stands. As to the techies you know- there's no accounting for some people's taste. JMO
Don't trust the people who tell you that an adonit jot pro with a capacitive screen is anywhere near the wacom stylus on this.. I used the jot pro (meh, waste of money because of the issues regarding the conductivity between the ball and the plate) with the asus transformer. Even at its best, it cannot be compared to the Note.
I agree with you absolutely. Coming from a Galaxy Tab 7.7 with a Jot Pro was an exercise of frustration. The Jot was over rated. For true note taking experience on tablet form factor, nothing beats the S-Pen.
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I have always owned an ipad since the first generation. They are excellent devices and I consider myself a "techie". I am never ashamed of carrying it or my Note 10.1 because my self-esteem has this weird quirk where I just dont give damn what other people think of me because I own it. I certainly wouldn't judge someone because they owned an apple product. The whole premise is ridiculous and immature.
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 2
Kopi-O said:
I agree with you absolutely. Coming from a Galaxy Tab 7.7 with a Jot Pro was an exercise of frustration. The Jot was over rated. For true note taking experience on tablet form factor, nothing beats the S-Pen.
Sent from my GT-N8000 using XDA Premium HD app
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I tried about every stylus available with my TF101 in just about every app available. Ended up using LiveScribe instead. Happy stopped using both when I got my Note 10.1, the S-Pen and lecture notes. It simply cannot be beat and after years of trying to be paperless for meetings I have finally done it with the Note. Oh, and I love using my AllShare cast dongle with presentations. I can look at my notes, display full presentation and do markups with my S-Pen. Pretty slick. I'm sure you can do that with iPad somehow but I wouldn't consider another tablet without a wacom.
Wow, I didn't think there was anyone as "crazy" as me lol. I actually do have OCD and it takes me forever to make a decision. I've also tried and returned many phones and tablets. More so for phones. I'm never satisfied with the one I have. I just got the Note 10.1 today tho and I'm loving it! Just put on JB.
I agree with the second poster also. It is hard to ignore the hype and praise for these different tablets. You never truly know which one is going to be the best until you've tried them out. It was between the Note 10.1 or the iPad 4. I've had iPads before but for some reason I thought this one would be different. I decided on the Note 10.1 and the whole time I was waiting for it to arrive I kept thinking that maybe I should have taken the iPad but now that I have the Note I have to say I'm glad I stuck with my decision.
I'm still on part where I try the ativ before getting the 10.1, but I'm currently abroad until after christmas, so I can't try/buy yet since I haven't seen an ativ smart pc here. I've tried the note 10.1 and it feels a bit strange to me. The stylus and the screen don't have that feeling that I can draw on it like on my tablet pc. So I'll found out after christmas. I'm at a stage in my life where I don't know if I am going to replace my tablet pc with an ativ smart pc or replace my xperia play with a 3g 10.1. I may end up getting both though.
The first time I ever saw an iPad in person, I began to lust for one. Then, I bought my son an iPod Touch and we grew to despise iOS. So when I upgraded my old "feature phone" to a smart phone, I went Android. I loved it and never looked back. My first phone was a Samsung Captivate. When we switched from AT&T to Verizon, I got the Galaxy S3 (which I still have, but I'm suffering from S4 envy now!).
My first tablet was the original Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. I loved that tablet. After a couple years, I decided it was time for an upgrade and went with the Asus Transformer Infinity, mainly for the hardware keyboard (with extended battery, full size USB port, SD card reader, etc). What a piece of $#!+ that thing is! The keyboard will not stay attached to the tablet when folded shut. Physically, it feels flimsy and cheap. The battery life - even with the "extended" battery - was worse than my old Galaxy Tab. The thing was incredibly sluggish, slow, and crashed a lot. I tried several custom ROMs and that made things a *tad* better, but not really. Using it was an exercise in frustration.
So, I just picked up the new Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition. I LOVE this tablet! Very high quality build. It feels good and solid in my hands. The thing is FAST and performance (based on my user experience) is amazing! The S-Pen is fantastic and I love using it! (I just wish it worked on my S3!). I feel comfortable and at ease with a tablet again. No frustration at all anymore! This is everything a tablet should be! Even if I never install a custom ROM on it, I think I would still be extremely happy with it!
My only desire now is for Samsung to hurry up and release the Book Cover case for it.
HeathicusF said:
The first time I ever saw an iPad in person, I began to lust for one. Then, I bought my son an iPod Touch and we grew to despise iOS. So when I upgraded my old "feature phone" to a smart phone, I went Android. I loved it and never looked back. My first phone was a Samsung Captivate. When we switched from AT&T to Verizon, I got the Galaxy S3 (which I still have, but I'm suffering from S4 envy now!).
My first tablet was the original Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. I loved that tablet. After a couple years, I decided it was time for an upgrade and went with the Asus Transformer Infinity, mainly for the hardware keyboard (with extended battery, full size USB port, SD card reader, etc). What a piece of $#!+ that thing is! The keyboard will not stay attached to the tablet when folded shut. Physically, it feels flimsy and cheap. The battery life - even with the "extended" battery - was worse than my old Galaxy Tab. The thing was incredibly sluggish, slow, and crashed a lot. I tried several custom ROMs and that made things a *tad* better, but not really. Using it was an exercise in frustration.
So, I just picked up the new Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition. I LOVE this tablet! Very high quality build. It feels good and solid in my hands. The thing is FAST and performance (based on my user experience) is amazing! The S-Pen is fantastic and I love using it! (I just wish it worked on my S3!). I feel comfortable and at ease with a tablet again. No frustration at all anymore! This is everything a tablet should be! Even if I never install a custom ROM on it, I think I would still be extremely happy with it!
My only desire now is for Samsung to hurry up and release the Book Cover case for it.
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Congrats. This is my first tablet I have ever owned, although a few people in my family own one. Because I started school again, most of my books are in PDF form and I started taking notes with the Note 2014. Taking notes has been really good, very easy to erase things and move equations around to other pages.
I'm very happy with this device and I'm finding new ways to integrate it into my life as the days go by.
The display is key, but the hardware needs to support it to avoid a laggy experience. This is why the Asus 700 and Nook HD+ suffer and is why I got the iPad 4.
The 2014 seems to be the first Android tablet to cover all bases without some significant caveat. Catch is the price. The pen function adds expense and I get why folks that need the function love it. I will not use it, so will wait for a price drop. Would have waited for the A701, but have read enough and seen enough issues with the Shield and Toshiba tablets to stay away.
The 2014 covers all the bases and has a key thing (sd slot) that I need.
rushless said:
The display is key, but the hardware needs to support it to avoid a laggy experience. This is why the Asus 700 and Nook HD+ suffer and is why I got the iPad 4.
The 2014 seems to be the first Android tablet to cover all bases without some significant caveat. Catch is the price. The pen function adds expense and I get why folks that need the function love it. I will not use it, so will wait for a price drop. Would have waited for the A701, but have read enough and seen enough issues with the Shield and Toshiba tablets to stay away.
The 2014 covers all the bases and has a key thing (sd slot) that I need.
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When you do use the pen though, the price becomes worth it. The level of software they had to program into using the pen makes it worth it if you definitely need it.
But if you don't use it, then I guess you'll have to wait for the Galaxy Tab 4.
SlimJ87D said:
Congrats. This is my first tablet I have ever owned, although a few people in my family own one. Because I started school again, most of my books are in PDF form and I started taking notes with the Note 2014. Taking notes has been really good, very easy to erase things and move equations around to other pages.
I'm very happy with this device and I'm finding new ways to integrate it into my life as the days go by.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you use to annotate on books? I'd think s note would take forever to navigate through a large pdf.
ChrisNee1988 said:
What do you use to annotate on books? I'd think s note would take forever to navigate through a large pdf.
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Click to collapse
I have a large number of pdf books including numerous Adobe DRM protected books. I highly recommend Mantano reader from the play store. I have tge oremium version but there is bith avlight and standard version.
The premium version adds so much functionality it is insane. All highlights, nites and bookmarks you have made are visible together on an index page fir each b9ok so you can easily find everyvnote you have made on a book or every highlight.
Sent from my Galaxy S4 via tapatalk.
wingdo said:
All highlights, nites and bookmarks you have made are visible together on an index page fir each b9ok so you can easily find everyvnote you have made on a book or every highlight.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's an awesome feature! I'm waiting for my Note and plan to use LectureNotes in class. While thinking about my workflow with it I thought that this 'indexing highliter' would be a really awesome feature. Does anybody know if LectureNotes has this functionality as well?
I'm not a mobile device guru or anything, but I have used a pretty decent variety of devices. My last two laptops were "convertibles" (the monitor flips around and folds over the keyboard to become a tablet). Currently a Dell XT3, previously a Fujitsu Lifebook. I delved into the "UMPC" world. I had a Samsung Q1 for a while and also thoroughly tested the Black Diamond Switchback, OQO Model 2, and others for my previous job.
The S-Pen is not a mere stylus like what came with all the other devices I've used. One of my favorite features is the ability to toggle it so the touch screen does not recognize my hand. I can finally rest my hand on the display while using the pen without weird things happening. It's a small thing, but really big for me.
ChrisNee1988 said:
What do you use to annotate on books? I'd think s note would take forever to navigate through a large pdf.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use ezPDF and take a snapshot of whatever I need in my notes. Then I paste it in and do stuff there. If anyone else has a better of of doing things, please let me know.
@The_Maverick: There is no `indexing highlighter´ in LectureNotes, I am sorry.
acadoid said:
@The_Maverick: There is no `indexing highlighter´ in LectureNotes, I am sorry.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for letting me know. It's probably no big deal, I haven't figured out my workflow yet anyway. But could you imagine implementing this somewhere down the road?
The scenario that I have in mind is the following: Whenever there is a definition in my lecture slides (currently in paper form), I highlight the name of what's being defined with a specific marker color. That way I can easily skim through my notes when I'm looking for a certain definition. Switching to the Note/LectureNotes, I thought it'd be really cool if all my highlighted definitions would show up on one central page as bookmarks/links, making it even easier to find what I'm looking for.
Anyway, I should probably not be making feature requests before ever really having used the app.
Thanks for being such a responsive developer!
@The_Maverick: LectureNotes allows to attach keywords to notebook pages and creates a table of contents and an index from that (either for individual notebooks, for all notebooks in a folder, and for all notebooks on the notebooks board). This is the second part of the suggested functionality, the first part where highlighted material becomes a keyword is missing, you need to type the keyword manually.
acadoid said:
@The_Maverick: LectureNotes allows to attach keywords to notebook pages and creates a table of contents and an index from that (either for individual notebooks, for all notebooks in a folder, and for all notebooks on the notebooks board). This is the second part of the suggested functionality, the first part where highlighted material becomes a keyword is missing, you need to type the keyword manually.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool. Thanks for the help. I'm definitely looking forward to using LectureNotes. It's the biggest incentive for me to get the Note.
I mainly bought this for the great screen, multitasking, and the SD Card slot...but I must say that I have been surprisingly happy with the S-pen and all the functionality it brings! I wish I would have had this while in college.
I also wish the S-pen would work with my S3. The Note phones are all too big for me, so we'll see what the S5 will bring. I highly doubt it, but it'd be awesome if the S5 could use the S-pen too (even if it didn't come with one).
I used to think the Notes were too big, but after using one for awhile it seems rather normal. I think because they slimmed down the 3 a bit it's not bad.
Sent from my SM-N900T using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Just wondering why everyone does not just use S Note which is built in to the device for all your note taking needs
Dedline said:
Just wondering why everyone does not just use S Note which is built in to the device for all your note taking needs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LectureNotes is much more customizable. It's quite possibly the most perfect note taking app that exists anywhere, including Windows, Android, or iOS.
The ONLY thing I wish it had is the ability to add an expandable sticky note to either notes or PDF's I'm annotating.
@han solo
and maybe it would be great if the Lecture Notes UI would move somewhere near the Android HOLO conventions... been using Lecture Notes for a long time now and I still keep forgetting where which menu item is hiding.
Otherwise, good app.
@Ulukaii1983: I try to keep functionality organized in a meaningful way, but I am always open for specific suggestions (in fact, I have moved several menu items following user suggestions).
@acadoid:
Hey many thanks for your reply! Glad that you still find the time to read the opinions about your app.
If you don't mind, I would post some UI recommendations in your other thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1870639&page=167
... but I please give me a little bit time to make some valuable recommendations.
I'm looking for a new tablet and the yoga book still looks like a good unit.
I can't see any sign of a new version coming out (new colours have been announced but same internals).
My question is - is this still a worthy piece of kit in September 2017 ? Ideally I was looking at the windows unit but the "screen off notetaking" in the android version looks useful and I'm android/Google in most other aspects of my life.
I won't be a heavy user - mostly web browsing etc. Certainly no PC gaming expectations.
Opinions appreciated
wilbur-force said:
I'm looking for a new tablet and the yoga book still looks like a good unit.
I can't see any sign of a new version coming out (new colours have been announced but same internals).
My question is - is this still a worthy piece of kit in September 2017 ? Ideally I was looking at the windows unit but the "screen off notetaking" in the android version looks useful and I'm android/Google in most other aspects of my life.
I won't be a heavy user - mostly web browsing etc. Certainly no PC gaming expectations.
Opinions appreciated
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In your use-case, it seems like it will still be a great device, depending on the price.
I'm still using mine as an office device for some light tasks like Word and Powerpoint presentations (I'm using an Android version, by the way ), emails and spreadsheet reports in a pinch. I work out in the field, and I have come to rely on it a bit more than my laptop as it's easier to carry around and the battery lasts longer..
boofman said:
In your use-case, it seems like it will still be a great device, depending on the price.
I'm still using mine as an office device for some light tasks like Word and Powerpoint presentations (I'm using an Android version, by the way ), emails and spreadsheet reports in a pinch. I work out in the field, and I have come to rely on it a bit more than my laptop as it's easier to carry around and the battery lasts longer..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks,
The windows version can be found for £450, the Android version for £350
I was really looking for a windows unit but the price makes the android version look very appealing......
wilbur-force said:
Thanks,
The windows version can be found for £450, the Android version for £350
I was really looking for a windows unit but the price makes the android version look very appealing......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most of the time, if it's productivity you're after, Windows wins. In this case, however, the Android version seems like a better choice as it has a lot more App support for native touchscreen functionality, and the environment, as it is still a tablet IMO, an Android version is a lot better than a Windows one.
Add to that the price point, and you've got a winner!
Be aware, though, that there isn't much of an Android development path coming from the community. Also, Lenovo seems to have neglected the development of this device internally, so it seems we won't get updates anymore. If those things are going to factors, then stay away from this device. lol
boofman said:
Also, Lenovo seems to have neglected the development of this device internally, so it seems we won't get updates anymore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where does this info come from? Are they not on track for the October release on Nougat as listed in the upgrade matrix?
Lenovo Upgrade Matrix
Mechey said:
Where does this info come from? Are they not on track for the October release on Nougat as listed in the upgrade matrix?
Lenovo Upgrade Matrix
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I could be wrong, but..
I haven't got OTA updates even for security, but it could be just an isolated case.
But in the case of the OP, since he's just getting his tablet, the support he'll be getting will not be as long as the support we've had who bought earlier than him.
boofman said:
I haven't got OTA updates even for security
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am hopeful that they haven't been bothering to release security updates because they have been hard at work on Nougat! Who knows...
@wilbur-force , I would recommend waiting a month and seeing if the Nougat update comes out.
Even without the update, I think this is a pretty great tablet if you plan on using the note taking capabilities. I use mine every day for note taking in lectures and working on assignments while on campus. It is a feather compared to my laptop and I find that I can leave my laptop at home 90% of the time. However, it could definitely benefit from some of the enhancements of Nougat; namely better split screen capabilities.
If you mostly just plan on surfing the web (ie, extensive keyboard use and minimal stylus use) I would recommend getting something with an actual keyboard. While the Halo keyboard is certainly better than an on screen keyboard, it is an order of magnitude less effective than a physical keyboard. I actually purchased a small bluetooth keyboard, both so that I wouldn't have to use the Halo, but also so that I can seamlessly go from taking notes with the stylus (great for equations and figures) to typing.
When paired with a bluetooth keyboard, this tablet is a perfect for anyone who plans to get a lot of use out of a stylus. However, I wouldn't want to compose more than a few short sentences with the Halo keyboard.
wilbur-force said:
Thanks,
The windows version can be found for £450, the Android version for £350
I was really looking for a windows unit but the price makes the android version look very appealing......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just returned my Windows version as a fully patched Win 10 with the latest Lenovo supplied drivers breaks keyboard functionality as well as sleep when you close the lid. Horrid...I may get the Android version though if I can root/jailbreak it.
DigiAngel69 said:
I just returned my Windows version as a fully patched Win 10 with the latest Lenovo supplied drivers breaks keyboard functionality as well as sleep when you close the lid. Horrid...I may get the Android version though if I can root/jailbreak it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All of my devices are rooted or jailbroken..except for my YB Android, as it works perfectly fine without it.
DigiAngel69 said:
I just returned my Windows version as a fully patched Win 10 with the latest Lenovo supplied drivers breaks keyboard functionality as well as sleep when you close the lid. Horrid...I may get the Android version though if I can root/jailbreak it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well you apparently made something wrong as mine works more than perfectly...
I would never buy an Android Tablet in this price range as it is more than common through all Manufacturers they stop developing/support after a while... The Yoga Book has a too specific Hardware to expect any Custom Roms... Windows wins here clearly through permanent updates...
And the possibilities on Windows are simply endless ampler... You can even use BlueStacks with decent speed to use that very specific Android App...
jamespmi said:
Well you apparently made something wrong as mine works more than perfectly...
I would never buy an Android Tablet in this price range as it is more than common through all Manufacturers they stop developing/support after a while... The Yoga Book has a too specific Hardware to expect any Custom Roms... Windows wins here clearly through permanent updates...
And the possibilities on Windows are simply endless ampler... You can even use BlueStacks with decent speed to use that very specific Android App...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It depends on the use case. I still consider it a tablet more than anything, and an Android tablet is better than a Windows one in terms of tab-specific apps (functionality, ease of use / ux and the graphics are scaled correctly)
I bought and Android yogabook 6 weeks ago and am very happy with it. I have just installed the OTA Nougat update. I had issues that required me to reformat my SD card otherwise it got stuck in a boot loop, but all is OK now
I just bought the Android version on sale a week ago. I must say that I'm very impressed because of it's versatility and portability. I think the must have apps for this tablet are from myscript. They are the myscript stylus input method and the myscript nebo preview (which must be sideloaded via an apk).
What makes myscript stylus better than, say, google handwriting input is that Stylus allows you to use the digitizer. With google's version, you can only use the screen and the digitizer does not respond to input. What's the benefit of this app? Well, if you are in pen mode in the Artrage app doing a drawing, and you switch to any other app which requires the keyboard, you don't have to put the pen down and start typing. It will stay in pen mode and instead of the popup keyboard, it will popup a text line for you to write in. It will recognize handwriting, printing, and gestures. So basically, if you're comfortable with writing on a pen more than typing on the keyboard, or you don't want to switch modes when you switch apps, then this app is a must. I usually have the yogabook in 30/70 splitscreen laptop mode. One side a messaging app, the other side a notetaking app. I can switch between the two and do all my inputs with the pen on the exact same surface (the digitizer).
Myscript nebo is a great notetaking app simply because it allows you to convert your handwriting into text as if you typed it using a keyboard. It also converts your hand drawn flowcharts into Visio like flowcharts with connectors that stick. Hand drawn math equations also get converted and calculated (depending on complexity).
These two apps alone make the yogabook much more useful for me since I like using the pen vs the keyboard.
Just got the yoga book yesterday, mainly because it's just pretty unique and the 'writing notes on the keyboard' thing just pulled on me. Had tablets in the past, and now also a hp x360 (so with touchscreen) but writing on the display always had it's quirks. This solution by yoga just works pretty great, loving it so far.
It's also still very sleek and has a nice design, so no regrets so far. But I think that if you want 'just a tablet' or somethin with a keyboard, you might want to look further as this is really pointed towards the note taking and writing imo.
Hi all, I am also considering getting a Yoga Book even though we are in 2018 already. Lenovo doesn't appear to be coming out with a follow-up device, and I can see some pretty interesting prices for it.
I have a question about the stylus use though, and I have not seen or tried an actual device yet, so I will ask here. I assume you can takes notes with the stylus either on the "slab" where the keyboard is, but also directly on the screen, as in a notepad, if you swivel the slab to make it a true tablet mode. Is that correct?
To take notes with the stylus I would assume that it feels more natural to write directly on the screen and see the "ink" drawn directly where the stylus is.
I currently use a Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 edition). It's 4 years old but I still absolutely love it, and I use it extensively to take notes, and it has replaced my paper notebook completely. It is however showing signs of age and the screen is starting to have defective spots where the stylus doesn't work. So, I need to replace it, and the Yoga Book looks like an interesting step up, even considering its age. Would it be a god choice?
I think the My Galaxy Note still has a better screen and split windows support than the Yoga Book, but at the prices I have seen the Yoga Book, it might be a good deal. I am not overly concerned about Android level upgrades, as my Galaxy Note is still at Android 5.1.1 and it works great.
Thanks!
Electrocutus said:
Hi all, I am also considering getting a Yoga Book even though we are in 2018 already. Lenovo doesn't appear to be coming out with a follow-up device, and I can see some pretty interesting prices for it.
I have a question about the stylus use though, and I have not seen or tried an actual device yet, so I will ask here. I assume you can takes notes with the stylus either on the "slab" where the keyboard is, but also directly on the screen, as in a notepad, if you swivel the slab to make it a true tablet mode. Is that correct?
To take notes with the stylus I would assume that it feels more natural to write directly on the screen and see the "ink" drawn directly where the stylus is.
I currently use a Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 edition). It's 4 years old but I still absolutely love it, and I use it extensively to take notes, and it has replaced my paper notebook completely. It is however showing signs of age and the screen is starting to have defective spots where the stylus doesn't work. So, I need to replace it, and the Yoga Book looks like an interesting step up, even considering its age. Would it be a god choice?
I think the My Galaxy Note still has a better screen and split windows support than the Yoga Book, but at the prices I have seen the Yoga Book, it might be a good deal. I am not overly concerned about Android level upgrades, as my Galaxy Note is still at Android 5.1.1 and it works great.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can technically write on the screen but the tracking and lag are awful. I'd only use the pen on the screen for underlining and even then you would probably still be better off using the wacom pad
I've just got one myself and I think it's great tool for students, highly portable, easy to take notes on.
I'm not sure whenever it's worth the risk of updating to nougat, but even on Android 6 I like it's functionality.
There is some delicate lag with pen when using in OneNote though.
Electrocutus said:
Hi all, I am also considering getting a Yoga Book even though we are in 2018 already. Lenovo doesn't appear to be coming out with a follow-up device, and I can see some pretty interesting prices for it.
I have a question about the stylus use though, and I have not seen or tried an actual device yet, so I will ask here. I assume you can takes notes with the stylus either on the "slab" where the keyboard is, but also directly on the screen, as in a notepad, if you swivel the slab to make it a true tablet mode. Is that correct?
To take notes with the stylus I would assume that it feels more natural to write directly on the screen and see the "ink" drawn directly where the stylus is.
I currently use a Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 edition). It's 4 years old but I still absolutely love it, and I use it extensively to take notes, and it has replaced my paper notebook completely. It is however showing signs of age and the screen is starting to have defective spots where the stylus doesn't work. So, I need to replace it, and the Yoga Book looks like an interesting step up, even considering its age. Would it be a god choice?
I think the My Galaxy Note still has a better screen and split windows support than the Yoga Book, but at the prices I have seen the Yoga Book, it might be a good deal. I am not overly concerned about Android level upgrades, as my Galaxy Note is still at Android 5.1.1 and it works great.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My note had some internal malfunction, like force-closing apps and i was unable to fix it. I got the YB last week and it kinda feels like the SMP-601 was a more powerful tablet, the art rage app seems a bit laggy compared with the drawing app in the note 2014, i may be wrong and require more testing also the pen that comes with it is not what i would call suitable for the screen as the note 2014 was(that pen was awesome) and on top of that you do not have a native app to take notes in content that is on the screen, like when you are reading a text and wanna save a little paragraph for latter like the air commander app. The battery life seems worse too, the note 2014 could be left alone in a table for about a week and still have some juice left on the battery. There's a new Samsung tab S3 seems a worthy replacement (Even with Samsung awful software updates), but it is jesus christ expensive and thus it kinda can't compete with YB price range and cost benefit.
Thanks for sharing your experience. I kind of get the same feeling and I'm not sure the Yoga Book is a suitable replacement. Even though my Note 2014 is 4 years old, it is still my workhorse.
I like the Tab S3 but I am upset that they didn't keep the S pen small and in a slot in the unit, just so they could make it thinner.
I have to be able to use it as a true notebook replacement and take notes on screen. I use OneNote extensively because I can also sync and work with them on my desktop later.
Electrocutus said:
Thanks for sharing your experience. I kind of get the same feeling and I'm not sure the Yoga Book is a suitable replacement. Even though my Note 2014 is 4 years old, it is still my workhorse.
I like the Tab S3 but I am upset that they didn't keep the S pen small and in a slot in the unit, just so they could make it thinner.
I have to be able to use it as a true notebook replacement and take notes on screen. I use OneNote extensively because I can also sync and work with them on my desktop later.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can kinda use it like a Hybrid Between Tablet and a Netbook. I'm having my first experience using it in classes this week and it kinda works well. I rooted and removed all bloat, by doing that you can get an very lightweight 7.1 android experience which comes with an Microsoft office suite apps including the OneNote app. Typing in the halokeyboard is not bad as some people say it is. I think battery life might be manageable if you can put some GovTuner or something in it. Installing windows 10 is also an option. But if you have the money i would take a look on some reviews on the S3 or even an Ipad Pro. As the android tablet market shares apps with the smartphone market we are on a state that we are kinda lacking optimizations for tablets, i mean it makes the android tablets look exactly like a smartphone with a bigger screen, while on the IOS side we have apps that are really suited for tablet use.:fingers-crossed: