[Q] What should I know? - Galaxy Tab 10.1 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Ok I have been waiting to buy a Tablet, dont want to get back into the fruit and nut area again. But I was planning on buying a Xoom as I am not sure Samsung will support this device any better than they did my original Galaxy phone. Xoom still doesnt have a working SD card bay from what I can glean from the internet (doesnt seem to be reported as an issue by most reviews) and its all just finger pointing over that issue w/no resolution clearly in sight. What current issues if any should I be aware of looking at (cant believe I am even considering it) buying a Tab 10.1. I also looked at the Transformer but it seems to have issues with flash. I cant believe so many seemingly important issues on those 2 arent covered more.

A Google I/O, multiple manufacturers (including Samsung) talked about maintaining devices with updates for 18 months after release, assuming the hardware would support those updates. I don't think you will have to worry about the Tab staying up-to-date. There is the question looming of whether or not Touchwiz will be an optional addition, and if you choose not to apply it will you be able to receive future updates. That is still unclear. But hardware-wise, the Tab is on par with everything else out there. The only question you have to ask yourself is do you favor form or function? If you don't need SD or HDMI support (on board without accessories) then get the Tab. If those things are necessities, go with something else. The Tab is the lightest and thinnest on the market, which makes it very covetable by those looking for something portable. The Xoom and Transformer are both considerably thicker and heavier.
Personally, I don't need SD support, and would much rather have something lightweight and thin.

SD support is important to me so that leaves me worried about the Xoom. I have lots of media I keep on my phone, kids videos for them, audiobooks, movies for when I am stuck in airplanes, e-books. I also was just told that the Tab doesnt support USB properly is that correct? I mean WTF?? Is that true?? Also will I be able to use Netflix on this thing? How does it handle streaming media?

The US-version of the Xoom is a GED (Google Experience Device), which means it gets HC updates first. It also means that if HC doesn't have SD support, then the Xoom won't, either. 3.2 is reportedly rolling out this month for it.
Xoom custom ROM already has SD support a while ago. Non-US versions (being rolled out) will also have SD support along with 3.1 update.
There are pluses and minuses to every Tegra 2 tablet out here. Xoom has pure Android, GT has TouchWiz. Xoom has ports, GT is lighter. Xoom is cheaper, GT has better screen, etc etc.
The main minus for all of them is that Honeycomb itself isn't quite ready and still has rough edges. And there aren't many tab-specific apps (no NetFlix yet).

There isn't a working Netflix app for any Honeycomb tablet at the moment... I would have to think that will change soon thought. As far as USB connectivity, I'm not sure what you mean? There is a USB adapter that is currently backordered, but as soon as that is available you will be able to hook up flash drives, external hard drives, etc.

Samsung doesn't have ports but there is an adapter you can buy for $20 (or maybe less if you search around) that will let you add USB functionality and/or an SD slot.
It streams just fine from what I can tell, but I am not a big streamer. I'm more of a business guy on the move who wants something that boots up quickly, is light and thin and can last a long time for web surfing, emailing and some light gaming as well.
I had a Xoom, and I now have a Galaxy Tab, and the Tab is a better machine. It's lighter and has a much crisper display, but truth be told, Honeycomb isn't ready for prime time yet. It's manageable, not like it's falling apart or anything, but it's got its quirks and crashes.
If you want something now and ports are important to you, and you don't want to spend extra for the adapters, then the Transformer, or even the just about-to-be-released Toshiba Thrive (which also has a replaceable battery) may be better for you. Both are MUCH thicker and heavier, though.
Good luck.

I really looked at the Transformer but the Flash issues to me seems like a hardware issue. I have 2 Asus laptops and have no qualms with any of there products I have bought. I didnt know about the Toshiba thanks for the tip but how can it offer USB and SD card capability if its on Android 3.1, isnt it something in Android thats not supporting these now from what I understand?

You can turn on the hotspot function of your smartphone and stream/copy stuff from there. They all have SD-Cards If you are close to a WLAN hotspot you have access to, you can usa your router or a NAS system to stream from home over the internet.
Also small USB HDDs will work with an adapter. For example the Samsung S1 mini (size of a credit card) or maybe the S2 portable. Usually external drives need an y-cable and 2 USB slots because of the power consumption, but those models run from 1 USB.
But still, it would be easier if it had an sd slot.

jpinks said:
I really looked at the Transformer but the Flash issues to me seems like a hardware issue. I have 2 Asus laptops and have no qualms with any of there products I have bought. I didnt know about the Toshiba thanks for the tip but how can it offer USB and SD card capability if its on Android 3.1, isnt it something in Android thats not supporting these now from what I understand?
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I think it's just a hardware compatibility issue with the Xoom, to be honest with you. The other tablets work just fine. Don't know what kind of stuff Motorola left out in order to release the Xoom early but apparently it's not an easy fix.

Related

Viewpad 10e

I've been lucky enough to snag a Viewpad 10e from Argos in the UK... Struggling to find any forums specifically for this pad though.
In a nutshell, its a great piece of hardware for £200 slightly let down by stuttery software. Very iPad like but with Android gingerbread.
Anyone else out there have any experience with this tab yet? Anyone know of any plans for it to get it's own forum/development community?
Cheers.
steviesteve78 said:
I've been lucky enough to snag a Viewpad 10e from Argos in the UK... Struggling to find any forums specifically for this pad though.
In a nutshell, its a great piece of hardware for £200 slightly let down by stuttery software. Very iPad like but with Android gingerbread.
Anyone else out there have any experience with this tab yet? Anyone know of any plans for it to get it's own forum/development community?
Cheers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is it a tegra 2 device? If so we all here would at least love a full working gingerbread rom.
No - sorry - its Cortex A8
Processor 1Ghz Cortex A8 Processor
OS Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)
LCD Monitor 9.7” IPS LCD 1024 x 768 ; XGA
Brightness 400 cd/m2 Brightness
Memory DDR3 512 MB
Internal Memory 4GB
Band Wifi only
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth BlueTooth 3.0 and 2.1 + EDR compatibility
External Memory Micro SD card slot
I/O Interface Micro USB/ Mini-HDMI/ 3.5mm headset audio jack
Audio Stereo speakers/ microphone
Sensors G-sensor
Cameras Front: CMOS 1.3MP
Battery Li-Polymer 5400mAh
Charger 12V/ 2Amp
USB Micro USB
Dimensions 241.6 x 188.6 x 9.1 mm
Weight 620 grams
Accessories Power adaptor (with plugs), Quick Start Guide, 1Mobile Market QSG, Compliance information, Micro USB cable
Dude, return the tablet right now. Boycott viewsonic!
Its been over 24hrs with new toy now. Will be posting a review soon. I honestly like the look and feel so much that I'm selling my Galaxy Tab 10. I'll have some money left over as well cause the Viewpad is so cheaply priced. All that extra processor power is not needed for me, I basically use the tab for web browsing, a few notes, check the weather and the kids play angry birds! This pad is definitely suited to the job.
goodintentions said:
Dude, return the tablet right now. Boycott viewsonic!
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Click to collapse
Ditto. For that price, you are better to go with a much wider support device like the Kindle Fire or Nook Color. Don't expect your new toy to get any substantial update to improve it beyond what it is now. The gTablet community has already been bitten by Viewsonic false promises. Your device will most likely had the same fate.
PS: a no name brand tablet from China can do all you want at an even lower price. Did you choose Viewsonic for the peace of mind of a name brand? Viewsonic don't make their own tablet. They outsource the manufacturing, the software and the support. All they really interest in is take your money.
Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk
Honestly, I was really impressed by the response I had recently from their support dept. I really like the device and I have been through a few to say the least. Seems like it could be quite hackable and I may just use it to learn some new programming skills myself! (If I can drum up some support). In my experience, every forum/thread has loads of people frustrated by lack of support from the manufacturers/resllers but for me, the point of these forums is finding help... Ill keep my fingers crossed that the OEM is discovered soon and after that finding some hacks should get easier.
Third warning about Viewsonic, their products suffer longevity shortfalls. I am now the 3rd person telling you they have the consumer integrity of a wombat. Don't hold your breath waiting for anyone to pick it up and think it will be differently. So many people got burned via the g tablet and it's abhorrent lack of updates from the manufacturer (which when it comes to things like drivers etc for future OS upgrades becomes a critical part of the equation) not many people who have been around the android block are going to make another purchase from Viewsonic so you could very well be alone for the foreseeable future in this purchase. I don't even like having a Viewsonic monitor on my desk at work anymore. Again, take what you are hearing at face value, Viewsonic + android = meh. I enjoyed my g tablet when i purchased it and it does almost all that I need but I hoped for more and have gotten less. Keep it if you like, but 6 months from now when you are looking at another tablet you are going to be hard pressed to find anyone to buy your Viewsonic. The poor reputation flags are there already.
Keep in mind, Viewsonic is the same company that came to XDA saying they wanted feedback and input from this community about the g tablet. That was spring of this year and not a single thing has changed. They did that one firmware update in April and since then it has been nothing but pushed changes that then get pulled back.
Keep it if you are happy with it, I just wouldn't expect anything in terms of a large community ever coming of one of their devices.
It's been almost a year since they promised they'd release an update. Every time I've asked them about update, the only reply I've gotten is "we're working on it." I dare you to find any report of a different response than that.
Viewsonic needs to go back to producing nothing but display monitors and projectors. This company is not ready yet to play with the big boys in the computing market.
US vs UK - not exactly the same...
The G-Tablet was a US only product?!
The Viewpad 10e is only in the UK so far..... 9.7" IPS panel for £199, 9mm thick looks good value to me if your needs are not too demanding
Cant get my 10e to play videos from iplayer, any idea as to why not?
I decided to try one...
Works on live streaming for me from the app but not the others, think it could be to do with the Flash player version, read recently about other tablet users having issues with bandwidth / setting local storage to 0...
Which app did you use, couldn't find one in the 1mobile app store that came on the device
rustyfishhook said:
Which app did you use, couldn't find one in the 1mobile app store that came on the device
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BBC iPlayer 1.04 apk from the web. It still is only working for me with live TV, Flash version 10.3, Flash 11.0 wasn't working...
Will play around with the different versions in the office today
Ok so I now have the Viewpad 10e working with BBC iPlayer.
I used BBC iPlayer 1.0.4 & Flash 10.3.185.25
I put these into a zip file on 4shared, not sure if I am allowed to share the link or not..
Hello
I'm very keen on the Viewpad 10e myself. Has anyone tried out the multimedia side of it? it would be great t be able to play 1080p movies, etc. By the sounds of the 3D stuff that comes with it, it should be a decent GPU in it, would be nice to know how it does.
Custom ROM
Does anyone know how to install a custom ROM on the device?
Hi all
I'm thinking of getting one of these too. But I'm a bit concerened about the 'dated' SC A8 CPU and the dated OS?
Some of the things I will want to do on this is video calling using Skype (yes, I know there are other alternatives, but it has to be Skype) and playing DivX/Xvid movies and some .MKV movies. Could anyone tell me if it will be good enough? I am quite impressed by the dimensions and the screen, but if the specs can't keep up then I'm thinking of a cheap and chunky Tegra 2 tablet like the POV which is actually £10 cheaper and I'll put a custom ViewComb 3.2 ROM on it...
Any suggestions/opinions?
Does anyone know how to root the device?
Just got one for my daughter.
First impressions : well-made bit of kit with a great IPS screen. worth it for the hardware, I would say.
Moon reader pro is great on it, as is perfect viewer for comics and pdf's.
Can't get the video calling working for some reason. Anyone had any joy with this ?
Have tried Tango and Fring. In both cases, the FFC doesn't seem to switch on. You can see the the other person on it, but they can't see you.
Also, with Tango, the mic is switched off, and can't be switched back on.
Some sort of firmware shenanigans going on here. Had a quick chat with Viewsonic customer support just now, who will email me back.
Bit concerned by the negative comments on this thread !
Wanted the archos 101 as HMV were doing it for £129 , but just missed the boat, and then this came to my attention in Argos. Hope I haven't landed a dud !
Well, so far, have managed to get all her bits on it. Their version of market is a bit limited, but there is enough to get you started. Go launcher was a must, after having it on my Galaxy S2 phone, and it seems to cope ok. Formatted some of her films as mp4's and the shipped 'vortex player' handles them well.
Video calling would have been icing on the cake really.
Oh yeah, and whatsapp functionality, but there are ways around that I am looking into now.
Overall so far - promising.
Root and custom rom's would really maximise this thing's potential.
Oh yeah, and won't talk to my macbook pro over bluetooth- first device ever to do that.

sd card for transfer only....

Wow, now I remember why I dont buy sony products. Whoever decided to make the sd card slot usless should get a tab up side the head.
Sd card: useless compared to non crippled slots
Micro usb? really? thats the best you could cram into a tablet this size... fail
No hdmi? major fail
The charger is the worst piece of crap I have ever seen
Bravo sony, you wanted to create a tablet that you had to cut by 100$ and a tablet that is crippled and missing its leggs.
Even some 7inch tabs have hdmi, full size usb and a charger that doesnt sound like metal teeth being snapped.
As for power and gpu, my samsung galaxy NOTE gt-N7000 runs circles around this failure.
If you love it, good for you, I require more.
Rant over
First of all, of course you galaxy note runs circles around it. It's clocked at 1.4ghz vs the sony s's 1ghz. Not really sure what your basis for the claims of the GPU performance are.. they should be fairly similar though, so if the Galaxy Note does indeed outperform it then your right that it's pretty crappy of Sony.
I agree with you for most of the other parts though. Can't really justify the need for downsizing the USB port when it's such a large case up there. Hell they could have fit two there! HDMI would have been great, but there are plenty that don't have it on the market, at least this one offers DLNA. I don't have a problem with the charger.. seems to me that it would be much, much more durable than the micro USB's android phones ahve been strapping.
Plus some people pay hundreds for a universal remote, and this has one with great form and function. Like anything it has it's pro's and cons.
The two things that stung me about it that got me after purchase is the SDcard storage thingo, and lack of support from gameloft :\.
But hey, could be worse and just not have an SD card slot like some do. Now that is a fail.
DreadPirateDan said:
First of all, of course you galaxy note runs circles around it. It's clocked at 1.4ghz vs the sony s's 1ghz. Not really sure what your basis for the claims of the GPU performance are.. they should be fairly similar though, so if the Galaxy Note does indeed outperform it then your right that it's pretty crappy of Sony.
I agree with you for most of the other parts though. Can't really justify the need for downsizing the USB port when it's such a large case up there. Hell they could have fit two there! HDMI would have been great, but there are plenty that don't have it on the market, at least this one offers DLNA. I don't have a problem with the charger.. seems to me that it would be much, much more durable than the micro USB's android phones ahve been strapping.
Plus some people pay hundreds for a universal remote, and this has one with great form and function. Like anything it has it's pro's and cons.
The two things that stung me about it that got me after purchase is the SDcard storage thingo, and lack of support from gameloft :\.
But hey, could be worse and just not have an SD card slot like some do. Now that is a fail.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The gpu plays as big a roll as the cpu in terms of render. I had a 154$ tablet that used an all winner cortex9 with a mali-400 gpu and it destroys the sony tablet. Of course at 154$ it had a ****ty 7inch screen. After my iphone 4 and 4s, i cant go back to hiddeous pixel screens. I found the perfect middle ground in my Samsung Note. It has the muscle to back up its amazing screen.
BTW, that cheap tablet with the amazing cpu/gpu had hdmi, usb and a micro sdhc slot. Its the now gone Ainol Novo 7 Advanced (not the the basic model).
I must say, the sony tablet screen look terrible compared to my Note but if i hold it far enough away, the pixels dont jump out at me as much.
Mind you its apples to oranges because the Note's display is an ips super amoled with an almost retina ppi.
I called sony today to pass on my thoughts. They sound ignorant. Their sales reflect that. Maybe if they drop it another 100$ people will stop returning it when the insert their sd card and haul the charger out of the box with a tractor.
The card works fine with any 3rd party app quickpic mx player etc thanks for playing technical genius
Who uses stock apps anyway
Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk
wintermute000 said:
The card works fine with any 3rd party app quickpic mx player etc thanks for playing technical genius
Who uses stock apps anyway
Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bitterness ages a face ;-)
Oh, and try to download a movie on your sony tablet directly to you sd card.... oh right, crippled
Regarding the "crippled" SD Card slot, as far as I can tell its only crippled with Sony apps. If you use any standard Android app the SD card slot is fully usable and accessible. I've got a 32 gig sd card in there and have no problem playing videos/music/open files directly off it. No speed issues or anything. I never transfer anything...
pfcwintergreen said:
Regarding the "crippled" SD Card slot, as far as I can tell its only crippled with Sony apps. If you use any standard Android app the SD card slot is fully usable and accessible. I've got a 32 gig sd card in there and have no problem playing videos/music/open files directly off it. No speed issues or anything. I never transfer anything...
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Click to collapse
Nowhere did I refer to playback. Try to download natively to your sd card with your tablet. Crippled. Playback is useless if you cant get the media on the card in the first place. Maybe run out and buy a real tablet to do the muscle work and use the sony for the pansy playback?
Did Sony kill your parents? Good Lord, let it go. You don't like the Tablet S, but a lot of us do. Who cares? Don't buy it! I like PS3 controller compatibility and universal remote features. They build different tablets for a reason, just like how they make different phones, different TVs, furniture, cars, ice cream flavors, etc...
You can use dolphin browser ( and many other browser ) to download file into sd card directly.
unclespoon said:
Did Sony kill your parents? Good Lord, let it go. You don't like the Tablet S, but a lot of us do. Who cares? Don't buy it! I like PS3 controller compatibility and universal remote features. They build different tablets for a reason, just like how they make different phones, different TVs, furniture, cars, ice cream flavors, etc...
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Yeah, because you've never bought something ad ranted. I always love the holier than thou type.
roticagas said:
You can use dolphin browser ( and many other browser ) to download file into sd card directly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes thank you. Too bad dolphin crashes on my sony tab and it only downloads certain things. I download movies and stuff on my samsung note with torrent apps. Sony s will only download to its own memory. But thanks
BeamMeUpStreaky said:
Yes thank you. Too bad dolphin crashes on my sony tab and it only downloads certain things. I download movies and stuff on my samsung note with torrent apps. Sony s will only download to its own memory. But thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sell your sony and use your samsung if is better than a workstation.
Sony s runs android, so " Sony s will only download to its own memory " is a meaningless phrase.
david8 said:
Sell your sony and use your samsung if is better than a workstation.
Sony s runs android, so " Sony s will only download to its own memory " is a meaningless phrase.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anything I say will be meaningless to you for the simple fact that you are limited to your own opinion. I however dont get frustrated when other people are not acting as my clone.
"Sony s runs android"?? do you think my more capable Note runs windows 7??Obviously they both use android.
On most tablets and my Note, "I" decide where my downloads go ie to the units memory or to the memory card I have installed. Sony s makes that choice for you. Its not my opinion, its a fact. Kinda runs in the face of what android lovers seem to hold so dear... "freedom".
I may sell my crippled tablet for a capable one, or just give it to my 5 year old nephew to play with.
I will pick up a galaxy tab, as far as I can see, looks better.
Dont hate on people, life is too short ;-)
lifes too short to go moaning on a forum about a problem thats arguable negligible to most usage scenarios, then writing snarky 'witticisms'.
your really need more hobbies if you're resorting to torrenting on tablets and complaining about not being able to do so on one model.... (who the heck does that?!!).
BeamMeUpStreaky said:
Anything I say will be meaningless to you for the simple fact that you are limited to your own opinion. I however dont get frustrated when other people are not acting as my clone.
"Sony s runs android"?? do you think my more capable Note runs windows 7??Obviously they both use android.
On most tablets and my Note, "I" decide where my downloads go ie to the units memory or to the memory card I have installed. Sony s makes that choice for you. Its not my opinion, its a fact. Kinda runs in the face of what android lovers seem to hold so dear... "freedom".
I may sell my crippled tablet for a capable one, or just give it to my 5 year old nephew to play with.
I will pick up a galaxy tab, as far as I can see, looks better.
Dont hate on people, life is too short ;-)
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Click to collapse
you are crazy boy.
He's only making points that have been made time and time again by most of you, just he's not willing to just accept it and be happy with the tab. No real reason for everyone to start flaming
It's very true that sony has imposed too much of there own influence. Not only that, but made it so there is currently no possible way to root it and make the changes we want done.
roticagas said:
You can use dolphin browser ( and many other browser ) to download file into sd card directly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly, I would write the same.
I Don't understand this kind of posts, what helps? We need to improve the usability of this tablet until the root is not available...
DreadPirateDan said:
He's only making points that have been made time and time again by most of you, just he's not willing to just accept it and be happy with the tab. No real reason for everyone to start flaming
It's very true that sony has imposed too much of there own influence. Not only that, but made it so there is currently no possible way to root it and make the changes we want done.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for being helpful. I knew i wasnt the only person to ever complain here about the sd problem. I wasnt harping on it, simply replying to people who took the time to talk with me about it.
I too look forward to a root and i hope that the sd problem is software not hardeware and that sony might wake up to at least match 150$ tablets in that regard.
Im not a fan of honeycomb so ics would be nice. Cheers
rimsilva said:
Exactly, I would write the same.
I Don't understand this kind of posts, what helps? We need to improve the usability of this tablet until the root is not available...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My 3rd party apps that download video or music content are restricted to the 16GB internal. There is zero way to make anything go to the sd card because the tablet treats the sd card as if it wasnt even there. The only thing the tablet can do is transfer files to and from the sd card.. Period.
As for dolphin, what would you download with that?
On a side note.. you can download with atorrent and specify the the destination can't you? The only problem I had with it was wifi going into sleep mode.. so I was pretty dissapoinnted to wake up and find it only downloaded 1.2%. lol.
Basically I knew what I was buying hardware wise when I bought it - aside from the creaks I discovered later. Then was massively let down software wise due to the restrictions.
I feel asthough if we got it rooted, we could just rename sdcard1 to sdcar2, and vice versa. Hopefully such a switcharoo would work and then it would continue on as it has, but with much more memory there .
It's going to be a real shame if Sony's take on ICS leaves us in the same boat, can't be rooted, can't be downgraded, and then someone discovers a root for HC

[Q] Anyone regret buying the Nook Tablet?

I have been using the NT for about a month and a half, and honestly I think I should have gotten something better.
It does have its problems such as the wifi connection drops a lot and I have to restart the tablet. This is not the fault of the devs, but of B&N. I don't understand why we should have to hack and find workarounds just to get the full use of the NT.
Does anyone else feel that they should have gotten a different tablet? Perhaps an actual tablet?
I am considering selling the NT. I don't think I would have had the amount of issues with an actual tablet and one that is not so locked down.
Although I'm really satisfied with the capabilities of even just a regular root, the only time I've regretted buying an NT was when I heard Asus was coming out with a new 7 inch tablet later this year. That makes me want to sell this thing instantly, haha.
To be honest with you i bought my NT as a stop gap between selling my iPad2 and waiting for the iPad3.. with the intent to sell this once i picked up the new iPad..
and for the first week or two i did regret buying it but then.. Considering what i use it for
1.Watch movies (netflix, hulu, and divx on the SD card),
2 Browse the internet and 3. Actually read a book or two.. it's actually perfect for all that.
Used the SD card method to root (Thanks Albert) and then side loaded all the apps that i needed. Never had Wifi or reboot issues, the screen is actually brighter and clearer than the iPad 2 i had and the battery life is above average for a 7 inch
I will be holding on to this for a while.. and i think once they perfect the other rom's and get the bluetooth working it's actually a keeper.. especially if ICS gets ported.
But as always you have to ask yourself does it do what i need?.. the only reason to get a different tablet would be if you needed GPS, Camera's, bigger screen, 3G, a different app store, video out etc....
if none of that is the reason.. then whatever tablet you buy will fill you with the same... should i have really bought this feeling..
I am comparing the NT with the $199 refurbished 16Gb HTC Flyer. I find that I miss CM7 on the Flyer... and the Flyer somehow seems harder to hold. I guess I got used to both CM7 and the bezel on the Nook Color and now the Nook Tablet. I haven't decided which I will keep yet, but I am leaning towards keeping the NT.
Heck no ... I've had 250.00 dollars worth of hacking fun with mine I have a feeling there is a lot more coming. Just wish I knew how to code to help out
Basically it boils down to what you want to do with it. Technically, you bought an e-reader. If you wanted more, you should have bought more. Myself personally, I came to XDA before I made up my mind between various tablets. I settled on the NT because I could see there was a bright future for it. The hardware bugs will be worked out eventually. Blame B&N for the hold-ups thus far. Give it a while. If you sell now, in 6 months, you will regret buying something else and will be looking to get another NT.
Understandably, there are limitations to this device. It's half the price of an iPad. You don't get any of the fancy things like GPS, 3G/LTE, camera, etc. But it is a great tablet for the money.
I bought this because my cheap e-reader broke. It was mainly to read with. That said, since I bought it 2 months ago, I haven't read more than a page of a book!
I've had tons of fun putting Android on, customizing it, and getting it how I like it. I'll be 10 times happier when a fully functional port of ICS is released for it. Netflix and videos look amazing on its screen, indisputably better than the supposedly identical screen on the Kindle Fire (just read ANY review).
I've never had an issue with the WIFI dropping or restarting. There are a few issues that the great devs and contributors here have helped me to conquer.
There are still a couple things I'd like to see get done to this device though, other than the glorious port of ICS. I'd love to be able to use ALL of the 16 GB of data on board. That was one top reason I chose it over the Fire, but I'm confident the great people here will solve that in time. Another is that, despite there not being onboard GPS, I'd still like location-based tools to work, like they do on any other WIFI device like my phone.
Other than that, I'm really happy with what I bought. I may not use it for what I initially intended, but hey, who has time to read when you're busy installing your favourite apps, customizing widgets, and making your home page perfect?
And on the issue of buyer's regret, when it comes to tablets and smartphones, there will ALWAYS be something better within 3-6 months!
You can use your 16Gb, just repartition it, it is very easy.
My only regret so far is that I got the 8gb NT. It is actually my father-in-law's device, but I told him I would configure it to have better access to the Android market. I had read several posts about rooting and installing Go launcher (or equivalent) and was excited to do this. For the time being at least, it doesn't look like this is an option, and the 512k RAM looks to be an issue. I may try to convince him to return it and get the 16GB version. Since it's not mine, I guess I need to let him see if he is happy with it, but I'm chomping at the bit to put some of the great work from this forum to good use on his system!
Maybe I will have to just get my own. I have been talking about getting some kind of tablet with my wife, and will likely get something in the next couple months. Since I am used to a smartphone, it's hard not being able to install any app that I am familiar with, and I will likely go for something with more features.
As others have said, it's all about what you actually need/expect. And there will always be times when you second-guess what you do purchase... Buyer's remorse is just part of being human, IMO!
arclite00 said:
I have been using the NT for about a month and a half, and honestly I think I should have gotten something better.
It does have its problems such as the wifi connection drops a lot and I have to restart the tablet. This is not the fault of the devs, but of B&N. I don't understand why we should have to hack and find workarounds just to get the full use of the NT.
Does anyone else feel that they should have gotten a different tablet? Perhaps an actual tablet?
I am considering selling the NT. I don't think I would have had the amount of issues with an actual tablet and one that is not so locked down.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I was able to get my Nook Tablet much more easily than a Kindle Fire because my University has a deal with Barnes & Noble; my school bookstore is basically a small B&N store full of textbooks. If I had the choice, I would have chosen the Kindle Fire, but I still like my Nook Tablet, especially now that CM7 is running on it.
I don't regret it, but let me say - I never liked my device hacks to be easy! Sounds masochistic, yes, but I've always enjoyed installing custom firmware on stuff that, until some hackers got a hold of it, was never able to run anything other than what the manufacturers intended. I'm talking about Wii, PSP, PDAs, etc.
If you think development for the Nook Tab is rough, think about how slow and brutal it was getting the PSP to run custom software. I suffered at least one electrocution modding the thing's battery because I didn't have much experience with moving pins on a chipset. It was worth it to get homebrew stuff running on there though.
My point is, while the Kindle Fire owners do have it a lot easier than us, I enjoy witnessing the development process first-hand; it's oddly satisfying. I understand some people around these forums are only here because they wanted a cheap CyanogenMod 7 Tablet and want to see the Nook Tablet become that - but I'll be lurking around here long after the Nook Tablet devs reach their goals because I'm fascinated by hacking and modifying devices.
cyberma007 said:
You can use your 16Gb, just repartition it, it is very easy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just realized that after my post. Haven't checked the posts here lately. It seems a little complicated for a noob like me. Plus, don't I have to install CM7 also to do it?
No you don't need to run CM7 to repartition, I am noob as well, it is very easy, it just looks hard.
Just follow this post
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=22157605&postcount=25
Partition 10 is where you would put you own data
Partition 11 is where all apps go, when you install them.
on mine i did half half because a lot of games are pretty big and need space, but you can change it to you own need.
just do the commands in bold black, the rest that you see is what your nook outputs.
Update after using the HTC Flyer for a bit more. I think I will sell my 2 Nook Tablets and keep the HTC Flyers. At $199 they just offer so much more.... GPS, front and back cameras, working bluetooth, working skype, dual speakers that are loud, HDMI out via MHL (adapter on the way). The built-in 16gb is partitioned so there is 8+ GB for media stuff. And for my almost 7 year old, he loves that Talking Tomcat and Talking Ben work, and Galaxy on Fire 2 runs fast on the Flyer as well since there is a native adreno version. It is only single core but runs at 1.5ghz and has 1gb ram so it feels as fast at the NT if not faster in some cases. The Adreno 205 gpu is not rated quite as good as the Powervr SGX540 but seems to be well supported for gaming. Not to say that there are not some annoyances with the Flyer. I can't seem to turn off the lock screen. There is no CM7 though there are custom roms for both Gingerbread and Honeycomb for the Flyer (need to root and unlock the device first). And I need to find better cases for them. Anyway I think the refurbished HTC Flyer is a keeper at $199 from buy.com And of course I can read on them with Moon+ Reader Pro, Kindle App, Nook App, etc.
re
So far no regrets. Just installed cm7 and happy.
Plus I only paid $175 for my 16gb tablet on Craigslist.
Hopefully cm9 makes it's way to the tablet.
My only regrets are the possibility of what the Asus tablet might offer and that the NT can be had for $175 now. Those aren't really fair reasons though since there will always be price drops and always be new options if you wait. I wanted it for Christmas and it's been everything I expected. I'm rooted at 1.4.0, zero WiFi issues and it's never rebooted (I did have a frozen screen once). I plan on staying on this platform until the fine developers on this forum give me the option of ICS for my NT!
I have no regrets at all. It let me do everything I really cared about right out of the box for a price I didn't mind paying. Any additional functionality after ebooks, videos, music and some light web browsing is just so much gravy as far as I'm concerned.
I love it, but primarily because I bought into the B&N ecosystem years ago (I have about 400 books and magazine subscriptions). It's much more pleasant to read on the NT than it is on my iPad, due to weight and size. Movies are great, except for the below-average speaker. I don't surf the Internet on my NT; if I have to do it mobile, I prefer to leave that to my phone since I can do it one-handed. My only qualms:
1. There needs to be an Economist magazine app, built for the Nook. You can't install the one from Android Market, even after rooting.
2. The speaker, as mentioned above.
3. The little hook in the bottom corner is kinda annoying. Yes, I know it makes the design unique, but it gets in the way. It also makes accessing the MicroSD card a pain.
4. At $250, GPS would've been nice. Not that I expect to carry it around for turn-by-turn, but I'd like to access the map and Yelp for places to eat while in my hotel room.
I don't regret getting the NT16 at all. But then again my uses for the device are:
1. Reading. I read a LOT.
2. Playing games
3. Surfing the internet
4. Study device (read pdfs/powerpoints/word docs for school)
I also have music and movies stored on the device for the day when I need to entertain myself outside reading/games and off a wifi network. It's small and light enough to carry at all times in my purse or backpack and zippy enough to do what I need it to do.
Once CM9 is released I'll have to debate a lot on whether or not I want to keep my simple root with the BN eReader or upgrade to ICS for full tablet capabilities (like all those excellent note taking apps compatible with Honeycomb/ICS)
No regrets at all.
Initially when it appeared that B&N was going to hound us endlessly trying to disable root and return everyone's NT to 'jail', I was a bit resentful. I still don't recommend the NT to others because I don't trust them.
But I should have known the dimbulbs in B&N management are no match for the talented devs here. I've got no worries that my device can be ruined with an underhanded update- and I haven't done much of anything to secure it since I first rooted it back in December or so. (Still running rooted 1.4.0 with no problems). The fact that it can now run CM7 (which I haven't tried yet) is just icing on the cake. I'm guessing I'll love it even more once I get around to trying that.
The tablet does everything I need it to and more, and was a good deal for the price.
Next tablet I own probably won't be a locked device, but as for the NT itself, no regrets. That's 100% thanks to the devs here.

Would I buy a Tablet S again.....

....I think the answer to that is a resounding NO, I was willing to be patience and wait for upgrades etc to fix probs but having just upgraded to ICS Im very disappointed.
No fixes for various bugs (for me primarily wifi connection), and now I find my gps is not working for some reason, the device nearly went out of the car window yesterday when i was stuck on the A13 with no gps, but then I thought about littering .
Together with the car charging problems (had To buy an Inverter, more money), no hdmi socket no perifials, Car bracket etc, battery life, its not adding up to a good deal.
I originally bought a Ipad on the recomodations of a salesman and assurances that flash would work with it (yea right), so that went back in favour of the 'S', but what next, do I leave it at home and cut my losses (wad of dough).
Its seems that despite advances in technology we are always being used as guinepigs for devices that eventually end up on the scrap heap and never seem to last until the device is broken beyond repair but are dumped by the manufactorer in favour of another useless device, witness my Ipaq stopped supporting Windows, My Dell Streak mini 5 cant even get spares for them anymore, I could go on.
And we seem to accept it without protest almost as if its expected that we lay out loads of dosh for a inferior product, imaging the outcry if we bought cars (or other products) on the same basis, 'oh bear with us, sir, you will be able to drive from A to B as soon as we have sorted out the engin bugs'.
anyway sorry about the rant, Im still simmering from the A13 incident,
Well..
there is a reason why the most tablets still not 100% work like they should be,
Because the tablets like they are now are just still too new,
Better tabs are coming and more abillities are coming too, and then our
problems maby be fixed, Except then there are other problems because there are new things to do with a tablet and ofcourse a higher change to get problems.
I'm sorry to learn that you're upset with your tablet, maybe a tablet is not for you?
Would I buy the s again? Yes. I replaced a Windows Vista Laptop which finally died with my tablet S.
I took a long hard think about what I actually used my laptop for before purchase. Mainly sofa surfing, emails Facebook etc.More importantly it was to have this ability on the move. The small amount of application work could be relegated to my old desktop. I help run another website which has some flash parts so I that meant could not get an i-pad, besides I hate i-tunes.
With the S I'm now able to control my hifi with one device, manage DNLA media on my server, check up on emails and social networking and sofa surf all from one little lightweight and highly portable device. Chuck in free SatNav with Navfree also.
Most android devices could do all this to a certain extent however the IR and playstation integration made the Sony the only choice for me. I also find the screen a higher quality and the shape nicer to use.
Minor bugbears:
Direct communication with SD card socket - ICS fixes this
Lack of Sky go / MS Silverlight - will probably happen in the end
Missing MS Excel - some partial success with apps but would really like a proper MS version.
Would like it to be a bit nippier
Nice said!
Now thats what you call a nice short review. +1
To be honest, it seems like most of those problems could have been avoided with just a little research before you bought. Obviously, different tablets suit different people and if you wanted HDMI-out, lots of weird peripherals and a car bracket, you should've bought a Toshiba Thrive or a Samsung Galaxy Tab.
The Sony's features and advertised purpose are well-known and it is obviously meant to be a media device, and it excels at that. I'm not sure why your battery is not good, but mine far outlasts my iPad's. As for peripherals, as far as I'm concerned, if it'
s got mini-USB which can be turned into full-size USB with a short cable, thats all the peripherals I'm ever going to need.
I respect your opinion and your choice and for the record I don't have any WiFi problems and haven't upgraded to ICS (waiting for official) so I can't comment on that.
However, it seems as if many of your criticisms (including those of other disappointed Tablet S owners) could've been solved by a tiny bit of Internet research and some forethought about your buying choices.
In short, it seems harsh to blame the tool, if you're using the wrong tool for the job that you wanted
Sorry for the rant, but I love mine and am often mystified by these disappointed stories.
I have to agree with the above! I love mine because I did a lot of research before I bought it and realised the sony was the one for me. Does the iPad have hdmi out? I don't know I don't buy into all the apple crap. But if it doesn't then why bring it up. Like said earlier, if that's what you were after there's plenty of devices on the market that could have fulfilled your needs.
Sent from my HTC Desire Z using Tapatalk 2.0
-GPS problem is more of an Android problem, the SGS Tab and most phones have crappy GPS as well.
-The wifi issue is hardly a bother, come on. The tablet S literally takes a second to reconnect when you open up the display. It's really quick. How much do you really NEED wifi when the screen is off? Would it be great? Yes, but is it a dealbreaker? hardly not.
-I have no idea what you are talking about about peripherals. The tablet has a full sized SD card slot. I cant think of any other tablet which does. The MicroUSB does the job for connecting as well.
-Battery life has been good for me, even better than the iPad 2.
People can whine and complain all they want, but at the end of the day it is your fault for not researching more about a tablet that would suit your needs. You can't whine about the tablet not having an HDMI slot if you had a choice to choose one that did. Sony never lied and never stated that there was an HDMI slot. Battery life has never been a problem for most people, even the reviewers say the battery life is great. I agree, though, that the charger is retarded.
That said, it seems that those who complain about the Tablet S are expecting too much from the tablet. Sony have been very upfront about what it can and cannot do, and reviews have put this in the top 5 tablets for a reason. It's easy to criticize what something doesn't have, but people forget the good things about a device (SD card slot, great screen, universal remote, playstation etc.)
I am very happy for my table S and would definitely bye it again.
I have actually thought of buing a second as this one is so heavily in use.
I hated mine for the first couple months. Never had any probs with the hardware (nor any wifi/battery issues). For me it was just a crappy slow as firmware. I said on here once that it would all be fixable with root access.
Fast forward to present with me strappin' a rooted ICS loaded Sony Tab and you're looking at one happy camper . I've even adjusted to the fact I stuffed the screen a little when it slid off my car bonnet.
Does everything I want it too and the only time I turn on a laptop anymore is use the all in one tool on it .
Yes. Yes I would.
henly said:
....I think the answer to that is a resounding NO
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Umm, well. Yes I would, and yes I did.
I have several tablets, a couple of Sony Tablet S's (16 & 32gb) a Samsung Galaxy 10.1, an ASUS TF101, and a couple of Kindle Fires (rooted and totally recreated as fine little tablets in their own right.) I've also had two iPads in the past, a v1, then v2 (those both went to the niece & nephew for Xmas, total kiddie ware going no-where.)
So, guess which one goes with me in the car and on the plane? Easy, the 32gb Sony. I throw the poor thing around like a paperback book, and it definitely takes a licking. Never complains a bit and still looks new. (Think airport check-ins, X-ray bins, getting banged around on plane tray tables & overhead compartments, etc.) Battery life is xlnt, the display is bright, saturated & Sony sharp, reading Kindle books is hand-natural specific, and... I can load my 64gb SDXC card with just about anything and everything.
Other than the Kindle Fires, (Kinder Panzers?) all of the other tablets I have either had (or have now,) are FRAGILE.
OK: The universal remote. I use the Sony S for everything in the house, especially the WD Lives... this thing is a godsend compared to the little piece of crap they give you for a remote! That Sony Tablet S remote feature sets up easy and remembers forever.
Also, I use either my HTC Desire or Desire HD to connect to the Internet, apply the wifi hotspot, then connect the Sony S to that. Skype calls for free. Wait, somebody say free? Internet and hands free International calls. Easy.
I could go on here, but there's plenty more.
Again, yes I would buy it again, and yes, I already did.
henly said:
....I think the answer to that is a resounding NO, I was willing to be patience and wait for upgrades etc to fix probs but having just upgraded to ICS Im very disappointed.
No fixes for various bugs (for me primarily wifi connection), and now I find my gps is not working for some reason, the device nearly went out of the car window yesterday when i was stuck on the A13 with no gps, but then I thought about littering .
Together with the car charging problems (had To buy an Inverter, more money), no hdmi socket no perifials, Car bracket etc, battery life, its not adding up to a good deal.
I originally bought a Ipad on the recomodations of a salesman and assurances that flash would work with it (yea right), so that went back in favour of the 'S', but what next, do I leave it at home and cut my losses (wad of dough).
Its seems that despite advances in technology we are always being used as guinepigs for devices that eventually end up on the scrap heap and never seem to last until the device is broken beyond repair but are dumped by the manufactorer in favour of another useless device, witness my Ipaq stopped supporting Windows, My Dell Streak mini 5 cant even get spares for them anymore, I could go on.
And we seem to accept it without protest almost as if its expected that we lay out loads of dosh for a inferior product, imaging the outcry if we bought cars (or other products) on the same basis, 'oh bear with us, sir, you will be able to drive from A to B as soon as we have sorted out the engin bugs'.
anyway sorry about the rant, Im still simmering from the A13 incident,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have to agree with you. I mean, I like my tablet s, but I think I'm pretty tired of crappy problems/errors. I have an xperia x10i, and also there, other problems. This mainly happen because we have many different models and hw to be adapted to the operative system (this doesn't happen for ipad, just because they have a few hw models and just one corporate workin on sw). Sony produces beautiful machines and great hardware, but they always lack on software, don't know why.

How Bad are these Bugs? Should I steer Clear?

Hey guys,
I own a sensation with stock JB and LOVE android and google's interface to death. I need a laptop for school to take notes and the transformer fits the bill. I keep reading about the wifi bug and am wondering how bad it is? Is it just some devices or all, will I have trouble connecting to networks like a busy library or somewhere weak/loaded with users. I dont really care about GPS, I have my phone with a data plan for that. I was thinking of the tf300 but am worried about breaking the glass and I get the feeling it is fragile as it is not gorilla glass. The infinity is a little out of price range although I am considering trying to buy a used prime from futureshop with extended warranty(owned by bestbuy) and return it and hope for the prime
I dont know about custom roms but Get the Prime only if you're satisfied with casual gaming or browsing, using the prime for school work is just like placing yourself at the edge of a cliff, you'll never know when it'll crash, screen glitch or have a random reboot. File transfers rate using a thumbdrive is dirt slow. The best advice is to wait for the jellybean release and to examine the results and make a decision from there
I love my prime its my 6th but I've finally got a good one. If u get one check the screen very carefully...
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using xda premium
People who use a custom rom with some tweaks are very happy with it. I use stock and wait for JB. If that does not fix things - I will just install a custom ROM.
Rooted user with ATPTweak and Browser2RAM here. I am very satisfied with my device, using it for college classes and it didn't fail me once. It is great to take notes in SuperNote. Combine that with a camera that is actually good enough to "screenshot" the board from afar and you've got yourself the perfect educational device.
I don't have any of the issues described by other users, except for the occasional ANR when updating apps and using the tablet at the same time.
Very Happy
I bought a second hand one from Craigslist that came with the keyboard. I could not be more satisfied. I know the GPS does not work but I have never needed it. It may reset itself or have an ANR a few times a week, but I game, surf, watch videos all on stock with no problems. I constantly put new ROM's on my phones, so I am sure it could do it on the Prime, but I have never had the need. As to the wireless, it is a little weaker to pick up than say my HTC Sensation, but not so much that it is a problem. My daughter has the Nexus 7 with JB and I think the Prime will only get better with JB.
DeKubus said:
Rooted user with ATPTweak and Browser2RAM here. I am very satisfied with my device, using it for college classes and it didn't fail me once. It is great to take notes in SuperNote. Combine that with a camera that is actually good enough to "screenshot" the board from afar and you've got yourself the perfect educational device.
I don't have any of the issues described by other users, except for the occasional ANR when updating apps and using the tablet at the same time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exact same situation here. I'm not sure that I would still buy it at the same full price today, seeing how close in specs the Nexus 7 is, but it's still a really nice device.
Put reddit.com/r/aaw on the screen and it's also a chick magnet.
waltthizzney said:
Hey guys,
I own a sensation with stock JB and LOVE android and google's interface to death. I need a laptop for school to take notes and the transformer fits the bill. I keep reading about the wifi bug and am wondering how bad it is? Is it just some devices or all, will I have trouble connecting to networks like a busy library or somewhere weak/loaded with users. I dont really care about GPS, I have my phone with a data plan for that. I was thinking of the tf300 but am worried about breaking the glass and I get the feeling it is fragile as it is not gorilla glass. The infinity is a little out of price range although I am considering trying to buy a used prime from futureshop with extended warranty(owned by bestbuy) and return it and hope for the prime
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As for your original question there is no WiFi bug. On many primes there is a physical manufacturing issue where they did not get proper contact between the antennas that are on the glass side of the device and the ground points with the backplate. Is causes the signals to attenuate at fairly short distance from the router. Don't buy it if they don't let you test it against another tablet unless you plan on opening it up and fixing the issue.
As for what everybody else says, yes stock software is buggy and annoyingly unstable. Jelly bean seems to fix most of what ails the prime. Again I wouldn't buy one unless you plan on voiding the warranty and unlocking for a custom ROM.
Your last sentence bothers me about getting the prime cheap and trying to exchange for what I assume you meant to say was an infinity. Why not just switch the price tags in the store or even easier, steal one?
Its the keyboard
waltthizzney said:
Hey guys,
I own a sensation with stock JB and LOVE android and google's interface to death. I need a laptop for school to take notes and the transformer fits the bill. ....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One thing I didn't see anyone mention is the keyboard dock and how its (to my knowledge) unique among Android tablets. The keyboard dock has a usb port that works with everything I've thrown at it including flash drives, track balls, external hard drives, mice, usb card readers, and a usb wired Ethernet adapter. I can also use multiple usb devices at the same time using a small usb hub. About the only issue I've had is if I try to use the wired Ethernet and the external hard drive at the same time. Both work individually and also when used together with a mouse, but I'm guessing they draw too much juice to use at the same time - but that's hardly a limitation. As far as usefulness for school work/note taking etc, I would think the dock and its capabilities offers a huge advantage
As far as buggy software, many or most of the complaints I see seem to revolve around the built in browser - which I have basically never used anyway. I use Chrome and Dolphin and don't have any problems.
My WiFi also works more than adequately. I don't get as good a speed as I do with my Dell laptop but I get better WiFi speed than I do with my Droid 3 phone. So it falls in the midrange of my devices. At work, my office is on the other side of the building from the wifi router with an elevator shaft and a bank of metal file cabinets between me and the router. No device gets a very good signal at my desk. But even in that worst case environment, my prime gets a good enough signal to get my email and do light web surfing - which is as good as any device can do in that location. Its not a problem at home at all. It's not a speed demon by any means but I'm not trying to download huge files with it either (as some have said they do). Since I have a variety of devices available including a desktop and a laptop, I'm not sure why I would choose to do things like that using a tablet anyway. For a big download I'd probably do it on my desktop while I do other things with the tablet. Also, I'm guessing you probably don't need to be doing bit torrents and take notes in a class both at the same time?
Which brings up the question of weather its going to be your only device? If you have a regular computer (either laptop or desktop) I would not worry. IMO there are some tasks that tablets are just not well suited to and I don't see how a student could get away with any tablet as their only computer anyway.
All that said, here are a couple of points:
1. buying it specifically for the purpose of returning it is reprehensible. Don't do it. This sort of behavior is part of the reason electronics are as expensive as they are for everyone else.
2. Given that the Transformer Infinity is out and offers all the same advantages as the Prime, the only reason to go with a prime now is if the price is really, really good. I would say that to be reasonable, a used prime would definitely have to cost less than a new TF300 - since the new TF300 would have a full warranty. Unfortunately Amazon has $324 as the cheapest used prime while I would say no more than about $250 would be a good price for a used one (not including keyboard)
3. You could consider a TF300 which once again offers the keyboard dock with all its advantages for around $300 not including the keyboard.
ratman6161 said:
One thing I didn't see anyone mention is the keyboard dock and how its (to my knowledge) unique among Android tablets. The keyboard dock has a usb port that works with everything I've thrown at it including flash drives, track balls, external hard drives, mice, usb card readers, and a usb wired Ethernet adapter. I can also use multiple usb devices at the same time using a small usb hub. About the only issue I've had is if I try to use the wired Ethernet and the external hard drive at the same time. Both work individually and also when used together with a mouse, but I'm guessing they draw too much juice to use at the same time - but that's hardly a limitation. As far as usefulness for school work/note taking etc, I would think the dock and its capabilities offers a huge advantage
As far as buggy software, many or most of the complaints I see seem to revolve around the built in browser - which I have basically never used anyway. I use Chrome and Dolphin and don't have any problems.
My WiFi also works more than adequately. I don't get as good a speed as I do with my Dell laptop but I get better WiFi speed than I do with my Droid 3 phone. So it falls in the midrange of my devices. At work, my office is on the other side of the building from the wifi router with an elevator shaft and a bank of metal file cabinets between me and the router. No device gets a very good signal at my desk. But even in that worst case environment, my prime gets a good enough signal to get my email and do light web surfing - which is as good as any device can do in that location. Its not a problem at home at all. It's not a speed demon by any means but I'm not trying to download huge files with it either (as some have said they do). Since I have a variety of devices available including a desktop and a laptop, I'm not sure why I would choose to do things like that using a tablet anyway. For a big download I'd probably do it on my desktop while I do other things with the tablet. Also, I'm guessing you probably don't need to be doing bit torrents and take notes in a class both at the same time?
Which brings up the question of weather its going to be your only device? If you have a regular computer (either laptop or desktop) I would not worry. IMO there are some tasks that tablets are just not well suited to and I don't see how a student could get away with any tablet as their only computer anyway.
All that said, here are a couple of points:
1. buying it specifically for the purpose of returning it is reprehensible. Don't do it. This sort of behavior is part of the reason electronics are as expensive as they are for everyone else.
2. Given that the Transformer Infinity is out and offers all the same advantages as the Prime, the only reason to go with a prime now is if the price is really, really good. I would say that to be reasonable, a used prime would definitely have to cost less than a new TF300 - since the new TF300 would have a full warranty. Unfortunately Amazon has $324 as the cheapest used prime while I would say no more than about $250 would be a good price for a used one (not including keyboard)
3. You could consider a TF300 which once again offers the keyboard dock with all its advantages for around $300 not including the keyboard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks guys..... Why I am buying it is because I want something to take notes on at school in class and when reading chapters in books. I use to have a macbook pro that got destroyed taking it to school on my bike everyday, now I own a Levano Y580... (beast of a laptop btw for a great price) but do not want to lug it around and want to just keep it at home. my last two questions are with note taking apps like the one mentioned, Can you save these notes as DOCS then open them on your windows pc in word? also can you use google docs offline like you can on windows on your prime?
also what are the common issues I should inspect in regards to hardware issues?
waltthizzney said:
thanks guys..... Why I am buying it is because I want something to take notes on at school in class and when reading chapters in books. I use to have a macbook pro that got destroyed taking it to school on my bike everyday, now I own a Levano Y580... (beast of a laptop btw for a great price) but do not want to lug it around and want to just keep it at home. my last two questions are with note taking apps like the one mentioned, Can you save these notes as DOCS then open them on your windows pc in word? also can you use google docs offline like you can on windows on your prime?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, that's getting to more a matter of what software you want to use and how you want to take your notes. Handwriting recognition does not work for me...not on the prime and not on anything else I've tried. Even things that work for others don't work for me. My handwriting is so terrible that it just doesn't work. So I can't speak to that. And I absolutely despise on-screen keyboards as well for anything other than web surfing etc. So the keyboard dock is the biggest reason I chose the prime in the first place...though what works for you is for you to decide.
As to typing notes (which I assume is OK with you since you said you used to do this on a laptop) there are a number of options. You mentioned knowing Android well so I will leave it to you to pick apps that do the job for you. As far as what is on the machine as it comes out of the box, there is Super Note which I don't particularly like. There is also Polaris Office which handles Microsoft Office documents quite well in my opinion). Any 10 inch screen is not going to be that great (once again for me) to do detailed editing, but matched with the keyboard dock it works great for typing notes to be saved as Word docs and transferred to the PC later. However I mostly use Polaris office for reading documents others have sent me.
What I actually use for notes most of the time is Ever Note so that my notes get auto synced to my desktop PC. These can be easily copied and pasted to Word Documents if I wanted to though I rarely actually do that.
As far as Google Docs, I don't really use them but I don't think you can get at them off line (i.e. with no internet connection)
As far as carrying it around every day, well, the tablet can get broken too. So if your Mac Book got "destroyed" then I'm not sure a tablet will fare much better...a lot of it is made of glass after all. But if you are set on a tablet, I don't think the Prime is any more fragile than any other.
---------- Post added at 03:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:49 PM ----------
waltthizzney said:
also what are the common issues I should inspect in regards to hardware issues?
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That's a question that will typically generate a flame war on this forum between the people who have had problems and those who have not. I'm one of the ones who hasn't had any problems getting it to do the things I want it to do.
But I'll leave it to you to browse the forums and decide for yourself.
ratman6161 said:
Well, that's getting to more a matter of what software you want to use and how you want to take your notes. Handwriting recognition does not work for me...not on the prime and not on anything else I've tried. Even things that work for others don't work for me. My handwriting is so terrible that it just doesn't work. So I can't speak to that. And I absolutely despise on-screen keyboards as well for anything other than web surfing etc. So the keyboard dock is the biggest reason I chose the prime in the first place...though what works for you is for you to decide.
As to typing notes (which I assume is OK with you since you said you used to do this on a laptop) there are a number of options. You mentioned knowing Android well so I will leave it to you to pick apps that do the job for you. As far as what is on the machine as it comes out of the box, there is Super Note which I don't particularly like. There is also Polaris Office which handles Microsoft Office documents quite well in my opinion). Any 10 inch screen is not going to be that great (once again for me) to do detailed editing, but matched with the keyboard dock it works great for typing notes to be saved as Word docs and transferred to the PC later. However I mostly use Polaris office for reading documents others have sent me.
What I actually use for notes most of the time is Ever Note so that my notes get auto synced to my desktop PC. These can be easily copied and pasted to Word Documents if I wanted to though I rarely actually do that.
As far as Google Docs, I don't really use them but I don't think you can get at them off line (i.e. with no internet connection)
As far as carrying it around every day, well, the tablet can get broken too. So if your Mac Book got "destroyed" then I'm not sure a tablet will fare much better...a lot of it is made of glass after all. But if you are set on a tablet, I don't think the Prime is any more fragile than any other.
---------- Post added at 03:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:49 PM ----------
That's a question that will typically generate a flame war on this forum between the people who have had problems and those who have not. I'm one of the ones who hasn't had any problems getting it to do the things I want it to do.
But I'll leave it to you to browse the forums and decide for yourself.
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Click to collapse
thanks for the reply...... Trying to decide between the tf201 which has a nicer screen vs the tf300 which has most bugs fixed and will not get as scratched!
I just got a new Prime on ebay for $300. Did I pay too much considering some of the problems I've been reading about?
kosenn said:
I just got a new Prime on ebay for $300. Did I pay too much considering some of the problems I've been reading about?
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just think you got it $200 cheaper than most of us and if you dont care about warranty all can be fixed or worked around other than (as far as i know) bt/wifi dropout http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1443868&highlight=dropout.
I just got my Prime 201. I tried to upgrade from 3.2.1 and it shows no updates available. The build number is HTk75.us_epad-8.8.3.33-20111223.
kosenn said:
I just got my Prime 201. I tried to upgrade from 3.2.1 and it shows no updates available. The build number is HTk75.us_epad-8.8.3.33-20111223.
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so go to asus and download one if its available. they have instructions there too. This is of course not in the least bit applicable to the thread you have posted in. (OMG listen to me, I have become my father)

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