....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.
Related
I can't decide which device.... I like Archos(have a few of their products now) but the G Tab seems more capable of running newer versions of Android. Do you all see the G Tablet becoming the tablet to beat when updated with an official release? I like all the mod/hacking I have seen on the forum, I just think I may be better suited for a device with better "official' support from the manufacturer. Talk me out of Archos... I WANT to love the G tablet...
WAD.
If you're already on this forum, i suggest you get the g tablet. Since when does support from manufacturers did any good?
Archos is notorious for getting product to market quick and dumping support for product real quick
/end decision
I can only go on my own subjective opinion. Back in October, I was on the Archos 101 pre-order list - feels like it was a year ago, now. I only tried the GTab because I was sick of the 101's delays.
But now, if I was given the choice between the two, I would choose the GTab without hesitation. It has a chipset which is vastly superior, an open firmware and a great community. The Archos does have some pluses, or course - better HDMI port and an excellent media player come to mind. But the hardware it's on is already out-of-date. Even the Galaxy Tab 2 is going to have a Tegra 2 in it.
Read up on forum.archosfans.com, too -- a lot of grumbling on the Froyo update. and you can't even back out.
Alpha06 said:
Archos is notorious for getting product to market quick and dumping support for product real quick
/end decision
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
heh, i was notified this morn that the archos 70 is back in stock and had it in my cart before i remembered how archos has issed me off before.
plus, the gtab has better hardware for a bit more money. i'm getting another gtab after the holidays, when the staples/sears stuff is figured out. hopefully get a good deal.
WantADroid said:
I can't decide which device.... I like Archos(have a few of their products now) but the G Tab seems more capable of running newer versions of Android. Do you all see the G Tablet becoming the tablet to beat when updated with an official release? I like all the mod/hacking I have seen on the forum, I just think I may be better suited for a device with better "official' support from the manufacturer. Talk me out of Archos... I WANT to love the G tablet...
WAD.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From what I gather based on posts by other people who have owned both, the Archos is MUCH better at media playback, while it's 256MB leads to problems... oh, and the Archos has a bit better screen, although I've not been bothered by the viewing angle except when specifically checking it as when in use I'm always looking directly at the gTab... gTab also has better overall performance. Archos is lighter than gTab.
My own personal drawback is the 10" size and weight... so I'm mulling a Nook Color ATM or maybe elocity a7 or wait and see what the next few months bring in the way of 7" tablets. NC seems best immediate option as B&N will probably support it for a year or so I'd imagine...
With the new Gtablet update, even non-modded, the Gtablet seems a better buy now (if you side-load Flash, of course).
1. Archos 101 = capped at 800mhz (that is crazy- not even smaller form factor phones do this). Out of box and after update, the 101 can not even bust 1,000 with Quadrant and rooting to remove the cpu cap result in 1,200.
2. Despite fanboy spin, the 256mb ram is a problem for Flash and general operation with 2.2. Not so bad with 2.1, but app managment is more dynamic with 2.2 and more apps tend to float in memory, rather than sit in a wait-state using a register stack.
3. The wifi signal is weaker on the 101
4. No adhoc connections and wifi tether other than hotspots does not work
5. Only 300mb of app space (over six times less than the G)
6. Sound quality of the 3630 is weak due to low volume and even worse, poor gain management (Archos adheres to the Euro sound cap law). Still, the speaker output is louder than the Gtablet- ironic.
7. If you like games like the Quake series, PSX or other more demanding apps, the 101 is a lot slower and not smooth like the Gtablet.
8. Larger CBR and PDF files that play super smooth and lag free on the G, either do not work or are laggy messes on the 101.
9. As mentioned above, Flash is problematic on the 101, due to the 256mb ram. Try more demanding sites like Dailymotion and the higher res Flash content. Smooth on the G and not on the 101.
10. To get decenty performance, you need to root the device and mod. Why even bother with the 101 then? Europe has the Advent Vega, Asia has the zPad and NA has the Gtablet. ALL better options, IMO and now the Elocity 7 is out and kicks the snot out of the Archos 70.
Seems the 101 was outdated upon release and to add salt to the wound, they capped the cpu that was already designed to be dynamic and clock to usage- wild.
BTW, I do not agree that video is MUCH better, but is better, none the less. The 101 handles higher def video better, due to more mature support for the 3630, but 1080p does not work well on the 3630 either. Hidef seems pointless anyway on a portable device, due to space and battery drain. Not to mention the display is not 1080p. I think people latching on to the video mantra of the 101 are putting far too much stock in the actual difference it makes.
All of my vids play fine on the Gtablet, but I do not care for 1080p and 720p MP4 tends to be space and battery drainers too. Still wish those would work on the Gtablet.
I own neither right now but am sort of in the same boat as the poster.
Here's what sort of changed my mind...
I purchased and received my Archos 101 and it was dead on arrival brand new from Amazon. I know crap happens but it really got to me since I'd felt like a kid on Christmas day when it came. Imagine getting something you're EAGER for an anticipating and then not having it work? We can't really blame Archos for this entirely though since it happens with every product.
Anyway, what actually got to me was calling Archos....the CS guy wasn't much help and tried to convince me to send it in for repair vs. Amazon return. But who wants to send in their brand new device with the possibility of getting back someone else's used device? Right? He couldn't guarantee that I'd get back my brand new and repaired unit plus I had to pay shipping. In essence, my price for the 101 would have been almost 370 in the end, so I just told him no thanks and sent it back to Amazon.
I ordered the Archos in the first place because while I can see myself rooting and modding, to me it's an unnecessary hassle vs. just getting something that's supposed to work. In other words, I had your outlook. Excited about the modding potential, but better suited to official support, so really I just prefer getting the updates in OTAs than rooting and modding.
The Archos 101/70 seem to 'just work'. And I'd been planning on slapping the official/unofficial? Google Market on there for good measure so I was prepared to get my hands dirty somehow anyway as I wasn't sure if this meant I needed to root or not. Archos has also, recently seemed to show that they're at least trying to get updates out the door while Viewsonic's site didn't at the time have any updates posted for the G tablet and it seemed like it was just some hardware put out and then forgotten.
However, when I was 'forced' to check out the G tablet more thoroughly it would seem it's not 1/2 as bad as I'd seen or read about (youtube, blogs, etc.) where users called TnT horrible and writers referred to it as garbage and unusable etc. I say 'forced' because I couldn't RMA the 101 for exchange as Amazon was out of stock, I had to RMA for refund. Then on impulse, I decided to get the G Tablet...because I'm plain through with waiting.
I'd known it had more raw power than the 101 but upon further reading here on xda and watching newer youtube videos it seems TnT isn't that bad if you factory reset first and start 'fresh'. Not to mention the fact that the mod community has embraced the G tablet as something 'good'. Viewsonic is also pretty 'vocal' for the most part on Twitter, and that has to count for something in terms of getting our voices heard by the company. Archos is there too but their posts are mostly about where to buy the tablet or that they're available at so and so.
My point being, I don't think it would hurt to at least try the G Tab first. Had I known then what I know now (and I should have, as I am somewhat of a tech head) I would have just gone with the G Tab and in some ways, I'm happy the 101 came DoA or maybe I'd have happily settled for a single core, 720p playing Android tablet vs. something with more power and thus potential...a dual core with 1080p playing capability and the ability to do everything faster.
Also, modding isn't horrible. It's a scary thing to think you have to do something that may brick your device to get it to an even workable state...but this isn't the case.
Even if you've never done it before once you're thorough and read/understand/execute in detail, you'll never brick. Most experienced modders can root and slap a new ROM on their devices in 20m or less (depending on the ROM size, etc) but don't watch that....if it takes you even an hour, as long as you do it right the first time (in terms of getting a recovery mod in there), you're going to be fine from then on. You'll have the added bonus of messing around with a variation of ROMs and may realize something's there that you like even more than the stock. You also have the backing of XDA devs which is a great, great thing.
My 2c.
I currently own both the GTab (running TnTLite 2.3) and an Archos 101 (finally) with the latest firmware update. Both have their good and bad sides and if you've been hanging around here, you should have a pretty good idea of what those are.
The GTab:
Pros: Fast processor, easy to hack, not easy to brick, good XDA support
Cons: Not great viewing angle, questionable (stock) UI, questionable support (from ViewSonic)
The Archos 101:
Pros: Better viewing angle, decent support (from my experience, so far,) very good multimedia support and streaming, much lighter than the GTab, built-in kickstand, HDMI out
Cons: Very locked down (but can still sideload,) slower CPU (even at 1Gz,) HDMI not reliable (at least for me)
I like them both, for different uses. I like to hack around and get to know the OS and the GTab (and my DROID) are great for that. For daily use, I use the 101 since it is lighter to carry around and has the built-in kickstand.
my $.02
I have to agree with most. I also had interest in the archos but was part of the waiting game and the misleading info from the company itself.
My draw to the archos was it being a lightweight device. HDMI ready to use and the media player that seems to be the attractive feature in comparison.
But I must say being part of this site gave me insight and "again" bumped into the gtab. At first glance the device SW is horrid to say the least. Why would they butcher it, is beyond my reasoning (perhaps a sweet deal played out w/tapntap) and the #1 problem for users trying it out of box as is. They should seriously post in the box or pamphlet to register at xda. lol.
Once you fiddle with the device(using a custom build like TnTlite/VEGAn you wont regard making your decison. Archos is limited as meantion herein and your halt for the possiblities that lay ahead.
So Yes you can say the archos is lighter, has the hdmi port... a kickstand.
I agree the Gtab is heavier in comparison, and for some the viewing angles are bad, but in the end, The Gtab is here now with an awesome HW and will be here tomorrow.
Thanks!!
Wow, thanks to all who have responded.... I am leaning heavily towards the G Tab, sounds like it would be a fun device to mod. I want a good media player in my device, that is the biggest reason I am considering Archos. I own an old 504 80gb and I have used it almost everyday. I want to take the next step up to touch screen and Android, but I want the device to have some what of a future. Seems to me Archos puts devices out that are already one generation old when they hit the market. Must be their business model to buy new every 1-2 years. I would like to have my device for minimum of 2-3 years before I upgrade.
Thanks
My brief thoughts on the matter, as posted on Archos fans forum.
"I have a GTab as well as a 101. And there is NO comparison: My GTab blows the 101 away on speed, responsiveness, and smoothness. Its just uglier & heavier! Lol! My 11 year old daughter has lay claim on my GTab. She's lucky I love her (and am afraid of my wife)! Lol! . . . Admittedly, a lot of tweaks have gone into the device as it clearly was bad straight out of the box. All I know is with a custom ROM, mine flies."
http://forum.archosfans.com/viewtopic.php?f=74&t=43968
Just got a G-tab from local Sears last night.
Took me couple of hours to get it going with the latest TNT Lite and market fix. (still new to all of this.)
First I wanted to get 101, but it was sold out everywhere.
G-Tab was horrible with stock UI. After loading TNT, it is much better, but it has ways to go. I like the responsiveness. Still have to get used to the interface. And run some video tests. (I would like to use it in the car as an entertainment system for my kids.) HDMI via dock may be a deal killer to me.
I don't like the screen and ergonomics of the device. I will probably play around with a device, for a couple of weeks and then return it to Sears. Still want to see what will happen at CES. Perhaps Adam, will fit me better.
I first buy the archos 101 for my birthday on november and its not so good. Example no custom roms, speed capped at 800mhz, one of the speakers stop working ,its feel very plastic cheap! I just returned to amazon and get the g-tablet its a diferent kind of animal! Tegra 2, 512mb ram, lots of custom roms.
Its your choice! But im super happy with g-tablet never looked back since i buyit!
Neoprimal;99 [QUOTE said:
Also, modding isn't horrible. It's a scary thing to think you have to do something that may brick your device to get it to an even workable state...but this isn't the case.
Even if you've never done it before once you're thorough and read/understand/execute in detail, you'll never brick. Most experienced modders can root and slap a new ROM on their devices in 20m or less (depending on the ROM size, etc) but don't watch that....if it takes you even an hour, as long as you do it right the first time (in terms of getting a recovery mod in there), you're going to be fine from then on. You'll have the added bonus of messing around with a variation of ROMs and may realize something's there that you like even more than the stock. You also have the backing of XDA devs which is a great, great thing.
My 2c.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I THINK its even more brick proof than people realize. I took mine from an infinite boot loop state with a partitioned (completely deleted) sd card and no back ups all the way back to stock in about five minutes (clockworkmod was the ONLY thing working) after spending about 25 minutes reading about NVFLASH and finding the correct usb to gtab driver for my pc operating system (mine was winxp pro but there was support for vista, win 7 64 and linux).
Thanks again Roebeet for pointing me in the right direction.
Pretty muck "brick proof-tacular" if you are willing to ask for help/read through threads/research.
I am fortunate enough to have both devices and did a comprehensive review with video for anyone who is still interested: http://www.blendblog.net/Default.aspx?tabid=36&EntryID=64.
They both have strengths and weaknesses as I point out in my review.
Sean
Allenfx said:
I THINK its even more brick proof than people realize. I took mine from an infinite boot loop state with a partitioned (completely deleted) sd card and no back ups all the way back to stock in about five minutes (clockworkmod was the ONLY thing working) after spending about 25 minutes reading about NVFLASH and finding the correct usb to gtab driver for my pc operating system (mine was winxp pro but there was support for vista, win 7 64 and linux).
Thanks again Roebeet for pointing me in the right direction.
Pretty muck "brick proof-tacular" if you are willing to ask for help/read through threads/research.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This has been my experience too... bought my G-Tab (after spending hours pouring over reviews etc.) fiddled around with ROM's, managed to get it stuck in an infinite boot loop (Clockwork does NOT like NVflash!) Took about a hour reading up on NVFlash (THANKS Roebeet!!!) and got it back running again. Then did it again several more times, just to be sure. So that's cool and all..
One problem tho'... the screen.
I've seen lot's of talk about how great/awful the viewing angles are for the G-Tab. With mine, when looked at perpendicular/directly on, it looks great! But tilt is just a bit away from you (as if to place it on a table) and it gets immediately blurry and weird-looking colors (like a cheap LCD laptop screen)
HOWEVER, turn it over (so's the dock port is on the top) and do the same tilt and it looks normal (a bit washed out, but normal color and no LCD blur) all the way flat on the table... IS THE SCREEN INSTALLED UPSIDE DOWN??? Could this be why some people have such opposite experiences? I looked on YouTube at some viewing angle reviews and their G-Tabs looked like mine does when it's upside-down!? I took it back to Sears and got another one, took it home and same thing! So I took it back, too and got money back and am now trying to figure out weather or not to try the Archos... still hooked on the G-Tab though, it was so nice, except for having to keep it pointed exactly at 90-degree viewing angle. Any thoughts? And another big Thanks to Roebeet, just loved TNTlite!
mattrahman said:
This has been my experience too... bought my G-Tab (after spending hours pouring over reviews etc.) fiddled around with ROM's, managed to get it stuck in an infinite boot loop (Clockwork does NOT like NVflash!) Took about a hour reading up on NVFlash (THANKS Roebeet!!!) and got it back running again. Then did it again several more times, just to be sure. So that's cool and all..
One problem tho'... the screen.
I've seen lot's of talk about how great/awful the viewing angles are for the G-Tab. With mine, when looked at perpendicular/directly on, it looks great! But tilt is just a bit away from you (as if to place it on a table) and it gets immediately blurry and weird-looking colors (like a cheap LCD laptop screen)
HOWEVER, turn it over (so's the dock port is on the top) and do the same tilt and it looks normal (a bit washed out, but normal color and no LCD blur) all the way flat on the table... IS THE SCREEN INSTALLED UPSIDE DOWN??? Could this be why some people have such opposite experiences? I looked on YouTube at some viewing angle reviews and their G-Tabs looked like mine does when it's upside-down!? I took it back to Sears and got another one, took it home and same thing! So I took it back, too and got money back and am now trying to figure out weather or not to try the Archos... still hooked on the G-Tab though, it was so nice, except for having to keep it pointed exactly at 90-degree viewing angle. Any thoughts? And another big Thanks to Roebeet, just loved TNTlite!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ummmm.... this is not meant to be rude at all but I have to speak my mind.
For 300 bucks you need to get over it and enjoy the awesomeness you get out of ten inches that I paid to get 4 inches from my GSM (fml)
The Screen is a 300$ screen... be happy you got one before it sold out.
Not rude at all... in fact I had the same thought process... HOWEVER it was $400 ($369 listed on line, but $399 in the store, $440 with taxes [they said I'd have to return the one I bought in the store, order another online and pick it up at the merch. pick-up to get the online price] ) so it was a bit more than $300.If it were, I'd be much more inclined to just suck it up and enjoy the zippy-fast and get a stand that would hold it at the right angle... I'm looking at a "lightly used" one online that comes with a stand and chip for under $400 that I may get. I've even considered a ~$200 Chinese knock-off with a resistive screen, but I think I'd hate it, no Multi-Touch, slow response, etc. I guess it's just a balance of how much $$ with what features.
Originally, I ordered a Xoom from Verizon, but $800 plus $20/month seemed too too much! So I cancelled the order - for $35 "restocking fee" ugh, I hate phone companies - I still want a Xoom tho'.
I'm just wondering if anybody else has notice the "upside-down screen" thing, or am I nuts?
Update: Just found G-Tab for $299 on eBay/Tigerdirect with free shipping, 10 left...
gtab viewing angles
Yeah, On gtab noticed the screen has better viewing angles from top and left side than bottom and right. I dont know if that means they are building it installed upside down but they should move the factory to the southern hemisphere if they are ;-) or something.
Lousy viewing in the sun, regardless of angle.
Also wish the return key wasn't so badly placed, hold it in the right hand only and bound to hit the return key...
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.
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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.
I am 12 days into my 14 day return window for my Sony Tablet S. I am dissapointed with the build quality of the Sony (kind of shocking for a Sony product) so I went to best buy today just to look around and saw the prime for the first time. I was blown away by how well constructed it felt and the ui seemed blazing fast. Screen looked great.
However, I have read about a lot of discontent with the device re wifi, gps, general availability, etc. It doesnt seem like a "no brainer". Some flaws are to be expected, but is this device plagued?
It is more than I want to spend, but I would also like to get into a device that I could grow into and I could convince myelf that spending $500 on a quad core device is a lot better investment than $400 on a dual core.
What do you all think? Would you jump again?
I would buy the Prime again.
Note that GPS will never be good enough for navigation use, which is why Asus removed it from the features list. So if you really wanted to use your WiFi tablet for navigation you might not like the Prime.
Other than GPS I have had no issues at all with my Prime. It works great and has replaced my laptop as my go-to device for browsing the web or playing games.
I've found that no manufacturer is immune from releasing crap from time to time. Even Apple made the Powermac G4 Cube, the Pippin, and the iPhone-4 antenna (you're holding it wrong). Sony made TERRIBLE hard disk drives back in the early 90s.
On my Prime, I'd buy it again with no reservation. IMHO, it's substantially more feature-rich than Apple's alternative. I can't figure out why the Apple faithful look down on having an SD card slot (or TWO, if you get the dock), and a USB. They say they prefer the smooth lines. I say they've had too much Kool-Aid.
Flash is on the decline, but it's STILL ominpresent. I sort of like actually HAVING flash compatability. The Apple fans say that they don't need Flash since it's dead... It'd be more accurate to say, "they don't HAVE Flash because of resource/security issues, it's on the decline, and it's the will of Landrew (too obscure?), but it's still all over the place."
I'm sure the screen on the new iPad will beat the snot out of the TP, but I would NOT make the tradeoff. For me, it's not worth it. For some, I understand that it is... I still look forward to real-world testing between
I guess it depends on the situation. As a tablet, it rocks and I love it. But now, my current gadget list is this:
Main Windows 7 PC (file/media server)
Dell Windows 7 Laptop with Dedicated Graphics (do most work on this, including gaming when I have time)
XBOX 360 (Mainly for media streaming and netflix)
Android Smartphone (Samsung Skyrocket)
ASUS Transformer Prime
Windows Phone 7 (work issued)
I feel totally over "gadgeted" and I am so looking for more of a united ecosystem. No, not so much like Apple (which is not as united as they like you to believe) but I get most of my work done on my laptop but I enjoy my tablet. Perhaps Windows 8 tablet with keyboard may be in my future. Just want to cut down on the number of gadgets I have.
id buy it again in a heartbeat. best tablet out in the market right now. even once new Ipad releases, it'll still be best in market, IMO. too many things the prime can do that the new Ipad doesn't. right out the box. I'd say buy a prime. very fast n no lag. plus we have great developer support so far.
I would buy it again, and in fact I am buying it again. My wife is dumping her ipad 1 since Apple F#^%$d it up with the ios 5 update and won't patch to fix it so I'm getting her one as well.
Oh and just an fyi:
It's a 5 core device not 4 core.
There is a "ninja" core as well that doesn't get a lot of press but from what I read is mostly i/o tasks to ensure no lag to screen / key inputs etc...
I know, the number of cores doesn't really matter if the software isn't written to support all of them anyway but it's still fun to pick on anything SONY and say mine is better.. stick that in your 40 page PS3 EULA, rootkit CDs... etc... lol
hint hint.. dump the SONY and get a TFP.
I think if there was other tegra 3 alternative out there right now I think some of the yes will be no lol.
I'd buy again anytime. One of the best purchases i made in the last years.
robber said:
I am 12 days into my 14 day return window for my Sony Tablet S. I am dissapointed with the build quality of the Sony (kind of shocking for a Sony product) so I went to best buy today just to look around and saw the prime for the first time. I was blown away by how well constructed it felt and the ui seemed blazing fast. Screen looked great.
However, I have read about a lot of discontent with the device re wifi, gps, general availability, etc. It doesnt seem like a "no brainer". Some flaws are to be expected, but is this device plagued?
It is more than I want to spend, but I would also like to get into a device that I could grow into and I could convince myelf that spending $500 on a quad core device is a lot better investment than $400 on a dual core.
What do you all think? Would you jump again?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go buy ipad, u hv same problem. And yes, i would buy the prime again.
Ask me 2 weeks ago I'd have said yes. Now I'd just tell you I'd wait for the Pad Infinity if I lose or have to return my Prime for any reason.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
This thing has been great for me. VERY versatile. Extremely happy with it.
wifesabitch said:
This thing has been great for me. VERY versatile. Extremely happy with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. Love your username!
I would buy it again for sure. Great tablet and ics...just screams "buy me"
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727
ROM: Nexusmod4
I would buy it again as well. Has also replaced the need I had for a fully fledged laptop on the go. Between the weight, keyboard dock and battery life it is just perfect for my use case as a masters cs student, again on the go only, I still need a full computer of course but have multiple desktops for that.
Everything works fine for me on the tablet, tested gps once to see if it worked and it did at least standing still, haven't needed it since in three months almost now but won't count on it either as its proven flaky. Everything else is perfect even my wifi has connected everywhere I have needed it to so far.
I like mine. It does what I want to do very quickly and smoothly.
Bye.
Flash is on the decline, but it's STILL ominpresent. I sort of like actually HAVING flash compatability. The Apple fans say that they don't need Flash since it's dead... It'd be more accurate to say, "they don't HAVE Flash because of resource/security issues, it's on the decline, and it's the will of Landrew (too obscure?), but it's still all over the place."
STTOS
WhateverGetsTheJobDone said:
STTOS
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice! (Wasn't that tough, really.)
Since it doesn't have any real droid competition there's going to be mostly yes's. The power, screen, and battery life rocks but the wifi is meh, GPS sucks, and bluetooth has issues. I'm a little pissed at asus for pushing a product on us that was known to have problems. My wife is the main user of it and is happy but I did what I could to fix the short-falls. I'd never jump on another asus product until it was out for a while.
Sent from my DROID2 GLOBAL using Tapatalk
Absolutely love mine, I would for sure buy it again, I like it better than my original tf101
Yes I would buy again. My Prime with Dock was mainly purchased for my Wife to use at Nursing Conferences which requires WiFi for Webpage access and the ability to have USB access for File Transfer. The Prime has worked GREAT for this with No Problems at all, my GPS does even work some. I can get GPS lock Outside(no inside GPS at all) in about 15-20 seconds and I can drive in Car and get "some" GPS. GPS no big deal to me though since I have a Garmin for Travel.
So TFP was supposed to be the best Android tablet when it came out (now it's TFP 700). It was not a terrible product by any means but it did fall short of expectations.
It's broken GPS, sketchy wifi, horrible web browser (if not rooted) and low read/write speeds making everything slower compared to the cheapest android tablet out there. But besides all that it works and works pretty well.
Now that I've experienced the best of Android, I can't spend any money on it again for a similar experience.
I think I'll try MS Surface when it comes out. If nothing else at least the web browsing won't be as terrible as on TFP.
I think I take Google Nexus 7 and if Google provide 10 Inc Tablet I take it. Asus good company, but they support very poor. If Flagship like Prime doesn't work properly (but I very like this Tab, I use Prime every day, and Tablet very good) I think Asus not interesting to support they devices, they only interesting to sell. If they provide very good firmware with all new features, like Android 4,1 ,like kernel 3,1+ and other, and this firmware work grate and long battary live, I change my mind and take next Tablet from Asus and tell my Friend that this good deal and if they have Tablet they need Asus
If I could get my money back for my prime, I'd probably get the Nexus 7. Or just upgrade my phone
When I bought the prime a month ago (c4) I was aware of a lot of it shortcommings.
For me the prime works fine within its limitations. So my clear statement. I will stick with my prime at least
till next summer.
Then I will look may be a sufface pro or an ultrabook with touchscreen or even if Win 8 fails for me a new Win 7 ultrabook.
And I hear a lot of people think same.
The real looser are the current untrabook and notebook producer. Same like me a lot of ppl simple wait.
So again I stuck with the prime and I stuck with my 4 years old Dell notebook.
Absolutely not. The prime took form over function to a degree where it proved to be near useless on my trip- the reason I bought it. ASUS will not get another dime from me.
I have given up on Asus. I was hoping HTC would make the Nexus tablet. I have had great success with HTC Phones. This TFP was junk. From random reboots, sleep of death, horrible gps, and don't get me started on the WiFi! I like Samsung but their GPS is just as bad. I will pass on the Nexus 7.
I already pre-ordered the Nexus 7. Here is to hoping that with the support of Google, that Asus and Nvidia can get this one right!!
Why could we need a new tablet ?
I mean, here we all have a Tegra3 based - Super IPS panel - Aluminium ...
Alright, the GPS isn't so good (however not too bad) and ICS is a bit rough but I don't think that today there is any other tablet able to overcome ou TFP : TF700 simply has a 1080p panel and the nexus 7 has Jellybean (which will come soon at our TFP and probably fix somes issues).
I don't believe that there is any competitor for us, who just bought a 600 €/$ tablet 6 month ago ....
Thanks to one broken mainboard and the still remaining problems with screen flickering and the bootloader unlocker I am pretty sure, that ASUS will never ever get money from me again
A tablet for that much money and the screen is flickering and I cant unlock it? Due to this + bad WIFI and unusable GPS (which I would have accepted) this tablet is the worst investment in hardware I did in the past few years...
I just wanted a great gadget, now I cant even play with it, due to the locked bootloader that is not unlockable for me and many others
Asus is crap. I will never buy one of their products ever again, and will be sure to spread this opinion to all friends and family who ask me for tech advice.
Love my Prime, but will not be buying another ASUS product either.
Jonphinguyen7 said:
Love my Prime, but will not be buying another ASUS product either.
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Click to collapse
I am with you on that one.
LOL...a lot of people bought their Primes as a POSSIBLE replacement to a laptop.
My Alienware M18 has replaced my Prime, and I think I will go with a M11 Alienware to replace my Prime.
BUT, even a 4k laptop is not without its problems. AMD has yet to provide a proper driver for dual 7970m GPU's......:crying:
So you know what Asus is probably on par with other manufactures, always caught up in the hardware/specs race and not fully ready to release a product.
Sent from my Alienware M18
Edit:
You know what, yeah i still do love my Prime, I know its flakey, but its great to sit on the couch and struggle trying to browse the internet. Plus its great on the crapper.
Crazy how things work though, my GS3 is now more powerful than my Prime...Geez it's only been 6 months
I run a business from my TFP. It's my baby. I think asus has been very accommodating. I can think of no other company that rolls out this manyupdates.
Regarding the problems, I think people exaggerate. Let's look at each one.
Browser issue. I've never really had any problem with my browser. But if I did, I have dozens of alternatives on the play store.
Dodgy wifi. There are 3 primes within my arms' reach. There's a c3, c4, and c5. I'm sorry, but I haven't seen any problem with the wifi.
Screen flickering. Again, I haven't seen any of that.
GPS. Ok, so only 1 out of the 3 primes I mentioned have working gps. But so what? Honestly, how many people use their prime as a gps device to navigate around? I'm the only person I've ever heard of to use a tablet as a gps navigation device. Also, don't you have a smart phone with a gps? Why not bluetooth it to your prime to navigate if you need to do it that bad?
I'm not saying I don't believe people are having these issues. I just don't believe these issues are that widespread. In my business, I can tell you that people seem to have 2 universal characteristics when it comes to their tech stuff. (1) People almost always blame someone/something else rather than themselves, and (2) people tend to exaggerate the problem.
For example, there was a guy that needed to send his tablet to me to fix. He swore up and down that it just stopped turning on and that it was asus's design flaw. When I received it in the mail, it was VERY VERY obvious to me that he had dropped it and the power button was depressed and out of alignment with the inner button. There was also another guy who crammed TWO micro-sd cards into the micro sdcard slot and ruined both his cards and the slot. He also swore up and down to me that it was asus's design flaw. Then there was the water damage case that, again, the owner swore up and down his prime was never anywhere near water. There was also a guy who totally screwed up his own PC but was too embarrassed to tell me about it. After I drilled him a bit, he finally admitted that he had one of those viruses that told him it was harmless and that all he needed to do was remove certain files from his system folder to get rid of it. The idiot actually went through and deleted his systems files.
The exaggerating cases are just as bad. Look, when you call someone up for tech support or help, you need to be precise. That's how we help you! I've had people give me end-of-the-world scenarios with their computers only to turn out that they accidentally physically switched off their wifi switch.
I am not an asus apologist. I think asus has a lot of improvements to make. That said, if you think another tablet manufacturer can do a better job, please by all means switch. After having owned a multitude of tablet devices and years of testing out various boards from many manufacturers, I'm sticking with asus's tablets. I will try to get myself an infinity when it's available.
It's my experience that online reviews don't paint a real picture of things. People tend to stay quiet when everything is fine and only write a review when they found something wrong. This phenomenon gives the false impression that most of whatever it is are defective.
Then there are the ones who want to screw over a business just because they can. I sent out an item via ups some time ago. It was suppose to arrive on the 19th via tracking but ups had a delay and it was delivered on the 21st. The customer wrote me an email blasting me for ups's delay. Very nasty email, actually. He even hinted that if I gave him a partial refund he wouldn't give me a negative review. Annoyed, I replied thanking him for assuming I had complete control over how ups operates. Well, you guessed it, I got that negative review. In the review, he said he received the item very very very very late and that I was rude and packaged the item very poorly (even though I wrapped it in two layers of bubble wraps). There's that exaggeration with reviews again.
So, yeah, guys, go ahead and switch to a different company if that makes you feel better. Just my 2 cents.
already pre-ordered a nexus 7. I might see what win 8 tablets talking about. but after nexus 7, ill be satisfied until tegra4 tablets release.
p.s. I LOVE THE PRIME!
I have an ASUS TF700t and keyboard on pre-order, and will be selling my good working Prime with its keyboard on eBay as soon as the new one comes in. That's what I did with my original Transformer and my current Prime. I expect that at the end of the year there will be some real Windows 8 tablets, such as the Microsoft Surface RT. I expect to "upgrade" to one of those in a similar manner. Great fun!
Bye.
It will be a Samsung tablet that's for sure, not only do Samsung's Exynos SoCs consistently perform as on of the best SoCs on the market but Samsung's latest Android devices have been nothing but stellar.
The Prime was my first experience of Asus and it's definitely going to be last, in my opinion; Asus have absolutely shocking quality testing. Whilst people can post that they don't have any problems; for every one who doesn't have an issue, 100's do. The fact that Asus did not comprehend the impact of a full metal design on the WiFi and GPS performance speaks volumes about their pre-release testing.
I'm not an unreasonable person, I actually didn't care much for GPS on a tablet and hence why I've not been vocal about it, so I'm not complaining for the sake of it. However, since .21, I've always had pathetic browser performance, screen glitching where the status bar jumps up and down and sleep of deaths whilst docked. .28 comes along and fixes none of those issues but throws screen tearing on the left side of the screen into the mix, you can imagine how much that would annoy a consumer.
I'm happy to use applications off the market to make the experience better, for example I use thumb keyboard because Asus' stock keyboard is nothing but an embarrassment. I mean, why release a 10.1" tablet with a soft keyboard that doesn't have the option to split the keyboard in landscape orientation? You can't reach the keys in the middle of the screen, it's basic ergonomics and something I learnt in school when I was 16 and that's why it's embarrassing. Yet there's certain applications where I'm not willing to compromise as the loss of features are too great.
For example, the stock browser supports flash and direct syncing with my Google account. Nothing else does this as Chrome doesn't support flash. Another great example of how disorganised and unprofessional Asus are, is the whole GPS dongle shipping process. Not only are Asus incompetent to mess up GPS in the first place, they're stupid enough to mess up their attempt to resolve the issue.
For me it comes down to a simple question, am I happy with the £500 I spent on the Prime? The answer is no, as I could have bought a tablet that's £200 cheaper with a Tegra3 chip in that doesn't have the issues the Prime does. Would you put up with a TV unit that had screen tear down the side, with absolutely no acknowledgement from the manufacturer as to when it's going to get fixed?
Will certainly buy the nexus 7 as soon as it will be available around here. Don't know if i'll go for the infinity 700, since i lovethe prime except for its weak wifi speed on long range. I think i'll prefer to see what the windows8 tablets will be worth before going for a replacement for the prime of there ever will be one.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda app-developers app
No way with ASUS, they are not getting another dime. And for that matter unless it surpasses the iPad in terms of smoothness and UI performance, I ain't getting another Android tablet, they are just not mature enough (phones are a different story, I will stick with Android phones).
Keeping my Transformer Prime TF201, adding a Nexus 7. If you NEVER buy stuff from any maker you get a bad device with in the end you will have nothing to buy.
I mean for a tablet you have who Asus and Samsung as top players, anyone else?
goodintentions said:
So, yeah, guys, go ahead and switch to a different company if that makes you feel better. Just my 2 cents.
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You can bet I will. I own several Moto products, an HTC and a Samsung. The 201 I wanted seeing how good the form factor was and hearing about quad-core power. After what I've been through with mine, the issues with the tablet and the company and trying to get a hold of someone competent enough to get a GPS dongle shipped to me, I'll never spend money on anything Asus again. I haven't had any of these issues with the other companies products, but this is just my personal experience with the devices I have purchased.
While I'm not saying there aren't people satisfied with their 201's you obviously are, for me I definitely didn't get what I spent $500+ on. I would probably have a more positive view of the company had I waited for the N7 and saved myself 400 or so plus the hardware and software problems over my 201 and dock but at least I learned the lesson I'll never spend that much again on an Asus tab.
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.
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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
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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. ....
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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.
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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?
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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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Click to collapse
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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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)