Develop Bugs

[Q] In the market for a new tablet: A100 or HTC Flyer?

Hello there Long time lurker here, usually I don't bother posting unless I can't find the answer anywhere else (and this happens to be that kind of situation), so I'm here asking for help deciding.
Anyway, I'm in the market for a new tablet (strongly prefer a 7 incher, the portability of it is a huge selling point for me). I've had for a few months a COBY 7 inch tablet, and while the form factor is really great, I want something newer, shinier, and better And so I'm stuck choosing between the HTC Flyer and the Acer Iconia A100 (The Viewpad 7x looks nice, but too expensive and the Thrive 7" comes too late for me, I want to order on Black Friday), so if you guys could fill in with your thoughts on the following subjects (would like to hear from owners of both camps), it'd be great to help me decide!
Display quality: Which one has the better picture quality/more responsive? Do I need a screen protector (i.e. no Gorilla Glass)?
Performance: Which performs better in your experience? I'm having the worst time choosing between a faster single core and a slightly slower dual core.
Battery Life: From what I read, the A100 is pretty mediocre here (under 5 hours). But I'd like to hear your thoughts anyway.
Mod-ability: I read that the Flyer has an HC ROM out, but is it rather difficult to install? I'm by no means an extremely advanced user on Android, but I know my way around tech, like to experiment, and with sufficiently detailed instructions I can get by fine.
Although the difference in price is about $20-30 atm, I would also need to get an MHL adapter for the flyer, so for all intents and purposes you can consider the prices to be the same. Which should I choose?

http://www.tabletvstablet.com/2011/06/29/acer-iconia-tab-a100-vs-htc-flyer-evo-view-4g/
That article states the Acer's RAM as 512 MB, while we all know it's 1 GB. And the weight is not 470g, more like 410g, 0.92 lbs.
Lisa Gade ( http://www.mobiletechreview.com/tablets/HTC-Flyer.htm) suggested that the single-core CPU will hinder the Flyer's performance if it is ever upgraded to Honeycomb and beyond, which she doubts. Lisa also said the Flyer won't play 1080p video at all.
It doesn't look like the Flyer has any flash with its rear camera - not sure of that.
The Flyer does have 16GB of internal card storage, compared to the A100's 8GB.
I added a matte screen protector that reduces reflections and fingerprints, as well as preventing scratches.
The one factor that drags the A100 down is the battery life. With only 3060 mAh, 5 hours with WiFi on is typical.
I too would be hard -pressed to choose between Acer and HTC at nearly equal prices. I would want to be sure that the Flyer will be upgradeable to Android 3 and 4, though.
HTH.

So wait.... the A100 actually has 1GB of RAM? (on the Acer website the description says 1GB, but the Detailed Specs say 512MB, so I assumed the lower value as correct), if so, that's excellent news.
Would the battery life be more or at least around 6 hours without WiFi on? I don't tend to use the tablet to check the internet/email that often. (mostly to consume content in the form of books, audio books, comic books, or movies)
Can you recommend any good quality screen protectors? I wouldn't want to risk scratching the screen.
And do you think the Acer would be officially upgradeable to ICS? (Given the current track record of cellphone androids getting even Froyo and Gingerbread in the past year out, I really haven't been expecting much out of future official updates.)
That bit about the 1GB RAM on the A100 really has me steering towards it now.

I am in the same boat. I wanted a flyer but best buy was out of stock so I got the a100. So far I love the speed. I am a little disappointed with the battery life. It lasts me throughout the day, but I have to remember to charge it every night. With my ipad2 it would last me 2-3 days before charging. I tend to forget to charge every night so its nice to have the longer battery. The flyer is estimated at 9hrs. The flyer is not tegra 2 so there are some cool games you will not get with the flyer that you will get with the a100. I've seen honeycomb on a flyer and it seemed to run fine. The other minus on the a100 is the screen. It is very bright and clear, but to me the viewing angles are terrible. It is not ips and the flyer is so the viewing angle will be better with the flyer. It is a little distracting to me, I have a habbit of tilting the screen slightly when using it and the screen will darken or brighten when doing so. In portrait mode it is worse to me. One last thing is the home button that I keep pressing with my hand causing me to exit applications which is annoying when it happens. Other than those things the a100 is really nice. The build quality is good although not as nice as the flyer. The HDMI port is a nice feature, the sound is great, and it really is fast. They both have their good and bad points, but to me they are pretty much at a tie. If you are not comfortable 'hacking' your flyer to get honeycomb on it I would get the a100. I find honeycomb more enjoyable to use.
Sent from my A100 using Tapatalk

I'm not adverse to flashing a new ROM, but the releases so far seem a WIP rather than a leaked finished product.
I would just like to hear some opinions on what quality screen protectors you would recommend and, perhaps, instructions on how to avoid air pockets when applying them?

http://www.amazon.com/GreatShield-Anti-Glare-Screen-Protector-Iconia/dp/B005OB3QTM?tag=5336612452-20
Just keep away from dust, lint and hair. Don't wear a wool sweater, for example. The GreatShields can be peeled back a bit during installation so if you spot some dust you can remove it.

if you want long life battery, and nice screen, Flyer is better
if you want HoneyComb 3.2, microHDMI, A100 is better
Remember, Flyer cant flash HoneyComb ritenow, dont know for 4.0 and i though the GPU in Tegra2 is better than Quancóm1.5ghx

Alright, I bit the bullet and went to buy it today [Iconia A100]. It's charging now, but as soon as I get some time to fiddle it, I'll give my impressions for anyone in the same spot as I am.

I was in the market for a new tablet to replace my rooted Nook Color (currently on eBay). My usage scenarios are pretty simple: Google Reader, Kindle app, browser, status updating, Flash video support, and fast/responsive 7" screen.
There are 8 Best Buy locations in my area, and only 1 with the HTC Flyer in stock. I went to check it out, but couldn't convince myself to spend $300 on a single-core tablet with the holiday season just around the corner. The sales guy remarking the product is 'discontinued' and the ambiguous fate of Honeycomb/ICS for the Flyer also held me back.
So I wandered the store and found the Acer Iconia A100. Only $30 more, smaller, with a Tegra2 dual-core proc and Honeycomb already on board. The choice was easy.
I've had the A100 for 24 hours, set it up with everything I need, and am now digging into the only 2 problems I've discovered:
1. Page margins in the newest Kindle for Android app are HUGE. All features/functions of the app work fine (downloading, syncing, buying, etc). But actually reading a book in portrait mode leaves 3/4" of margin on either side of the text. The Kindle app under CM7 on my Nook Color was terrific. This, not so much. Currently trying older versions of the Kindle app to see if they display differently.
2. Swype reports it is incompatible with the A100 screen-size. Haven't identified possible solutions yet, but might try older versions.
These issues are big ones for me. YMMV.
Happy to answer questions.
digittante

digittante said:
I was in the market for a new tablet to replace my rooted Nook Color (currently on eBay). My usage scenarios are pretty simple: Google Reader, Kindle app, browser, status updating, Flash video support, and fast/responsive 7" screen.
There are 8 Best Buy locations in my area, and only 1 with the HTC Flyer in stock. I went to check it out, but couldn't convince myself to spend $300 on a single-core tablet with the holiday season just around the corner. The sales guy remarking the product is 'discontinued' and the ambiguous fate of Honeycomb/ICS for the Flyer also held me back.
So I wandered the store and found the Acer Iconia A100. Only $30 more, smaller, with a Tegra2 dual-core proc and Honeycomb already on board. The choice was easy.
I've had the A100 for 24 hours, set it up with everything I need, and am now digging into the only 2 problems I've discovered:
1. Page margins in the newest Kindle for Android app are HUGE. All features/functions of the app work fine (downloading, syncing, buying, etc). But actually reading a book in portrait mode leaves 3/4" of margin on either side of the text. The Kindle app under CM7 on my Nook Color was terrific. This, not so much. Currently trying older versions of the Kindle app to see if they display differently.
2. Swype reports it is incompatible with the A100 screen-size. Haven't identified possible solutions yet, but might try older versions.
These issues are big ones for me. YMMV.
Happy to answer questions.
digittante
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I remember correctly, there was something special with installing Swipe on the Nook Color. I do not remember what it was but I would look it up and duplicate the process from there. I am using the SwiftKey tablet version and it is wonderful on the A100. I wish I could install it on my (now my daughter's) Nook as well. I found on the 7 inch display I do not miss swiping.

SOLVED!
Version 2.0.5.103970165 of the Amazon Kindle for Android app works just fine, and displays with normal (small) margins. Now I can read books on the A100 using the full screen width.
Now on to solve the Swype problem...
---------- Post added at 11:58 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:57 AM ----------
@Painter My daughter has her own Nook color (rooted)! Makes a great first computer for kids!

digittante said:
SOLVED!
Version 2.0.5.103970165 of the Amazon Kindle for Android app works just fine, and displays with normal (small) margins. Now I can read books on the A100 using the full screen width.
Now on to solve the Swype problem...
---------- Post added at 11:58 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:57 AM ----------
@Painter My daughter has her own Nook color (rooted)! Makes a great first computer for kids!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great, thanks. That was annoying me about the margin issue, but I was just dealing with it.
Also, the best keyboard I have used on any 7inch tablet is Thumb Keyboard 4. It is amazing and very customizable. On other keyboards, using the keyboard in landscape is very uncomfortable. This keyboard has everything in thumb's reach and has several different layout options. imo, better than Swype.

[email protected] said:
Great, thanks. That was annoying me about the margin issue, but I was just dealing with it.
Also, the best keyboard I have used on any 7inch tablet is Thumb Keyboard 4. It is amazing and very customizable. On other keyboards, using the keyboard in landscape is very uncomfortable. This keyboard has everything in thumb's reach and has several different layout options. imo, better than Swype.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are right about the keyboard. Amazon had it as a free app a few weeks ago and I grabbed it but never used it. It is very nice, thanks for the tip.

what can you do with a tablet that you can't do with a phone?

The opening question.
Also the Galaxy s3 is great in that it is easily unlockable, rootable, has great support and battery life. What's the modern tablet equivalent of it? What should I look at in a good tablet coming from the xda community?

I own a nexus 7 tablet, although it is an awesome device, I find it a little small and not worth having since I have my s3. The nexus 10 is a better option in my opinion.
The nexus 10 will have a better internet experience because of the bigger screen, and generally all apps will be nicer on it (if they support tablets).
So, at the end of the day, before you purchase a tablet, make sure you need it, and make sure you get a proper size!
Sent from my SGH-I747

As above poster said, bigger size is better. I have touchpad and I use it a lot for Netflix and videos. Playing few games is also better on a bigger screen. I like gmail app on tablet more then on the phone.....
7inch tablet is kinda waste of money if you have 4.8" phone...

You can more easily murder someone (in self-defense) with a tablet...
And... Hmmm.... yeah.

viny2cool said:
As above poster said, bigger size is better. I have touchpad and I use it a lot for Netflix and videos. Playing few games is also better on a bigger screen. I like gmail app on tablet more then on the phone.....
7inch tablet is kinda waste of money if you have 4.8" phone...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For gaming I think the Nexus 7 is a perfect fit. I have a 4.8", 7", and 10.1" tab and playing a game like a FPS is far easier on the 7" imo. The only games I found to play better on a 10" is Fifa or Madden.
Videos are better on a 10.1, easier viewing and though web browsing has more real estate on 10, I found that I'm ok on all 3 screens.

My wife has the Nexus 7 and loves it. She reads a lot on it though, sort of an ereader substitute. And now with Google's Play Magazine... she barely talks to me, which can be a good thing
I have a Note 10.1, and for my purposes its great, be it movies, games, productivity (that's a big one for me). I do lots of design review for construction, so I'm constantly marking up pdf's with my Note.
And my S3 is just plane fun. Custom roms, tweaks, etc. So it depends on what you think you would need.
Sent from my SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

yeah i thought about readibility too...that would be my main thing but to be honest i played with my cousins ipad today and I wasn't too impressed with the video quality.
also fps? seriously....pc anyone? how good can android games get? I haven't seen a memorable or creative video game after the GTurismo and MGS series

I have an iPad so that I can stay verse in both worlds of technology. I enjoy having the newest latest and greatest tweaks for each device. I use my iPad at school for notes and all that stuff. I've been debating on getting an Asus Tf300t because if the neat keyboard with touchpad attachment though, very nice. And the 32 gig nexus 7 is a contender as well. I do love using my s3 much more than my iPad though. It feels sluggish in comparison, but it does look nice aesthetically.
Tl;Dr
iPad for notes, Netflix, crunchyroll and sometimes music. Can do power points and such but I'd rather use my laptop.
S3 for my powerhouse device. Does everything I need it to. Music, talk, text, movies occasionally because of more space.

I have the Transformer Prime, which completely destroys pretty much any tablet in productivity (excluding other Transformer models).
Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda premium

I have a nexus 7 is a great tablet for 200$. I find it a little faster than my gs3, especially if I over clock it to 1.5 ghz.
Whenever I use my gs3 right after looking at my tablet, colors look ridiculously saturated on the super amoled vs the lcd
Sent from my Nexus 7

i have a SG3 and a SGT10.1...
i have a SG3 and a SGT10.1 and only can say i only use my tab from my job, i´m sunglasses deller and i show the products on it.
In my oppinion, if you have a GOOD mobile phone PLEASE don´t buy a TAB because you will lost your money
PD: Sorry for my bad english! :cyclops:

I returned my tablet cause just didn't need it or use it enough. My phone does it all. Sure the screen is a little small but that's why I'm thinking of getting the note 2. Played with it and looks really good. Phone and tablet all in one. Can't beat that.
Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda premium

Generally speaking I use my Nexus 7 from web browsing, games to watching videos. Watching videos is better on 7 inch screen than lets say 4.2 or 4.8 inch etc. My N7 is more of an extension to my SGSIII.
I am not sure how it will fair with my GNote 2 (that I will be getting in a month).

I too stream a lot of movies/videos from my computer thats and more comfortable kindle are my only impetus
Sent from my SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

[Q] Need your input before buying!

First of all I would like to begin by stating I am an Android hardcore fan and by no means an Apple fanboy.
With that out of the way I need your help.
I want to buy an android tablet. I was very excited and pre-ordered the new Nexus 9 (currently own the Nexus 7). However after reading the first reviews that came out that talked about the device having serious screen light bleed and overheating I quickly changed my mind and cancelled my order.
So the next thing I did was try to find another good android tablet. I really like the hardware Samsung offers but I really HATE touchwiz. I like my Android stock as google intended. Yet at least in my opinion there is no other good offerings for 10" android tablets out there apart from the Galaxy Tab S (ok I really liked Sony Xperia Z2 tablet but its almost impossible to find).
Never had anything made by Samsung before (tried to stay in the Nexus line of things) because I wanted to stay away from touchwiz and all the bloatware other companies inflict uppon android.
So I went down to a brick and mortar store to see the Galaxy Tab S up close and see if I liked it.
The hardware, build quality and screen are perfect! So here comes the bad part.
I put it to the lag test. I restarted the device, cleared the memory from running apps, removed all widgets and shortcuts from the desktop and loaded up Chrome. Opened two tabs. One for the Verge and one for Phonearena. Waited for the sites to load and when finished tried to quickly scroll through. The thing choked! I mean it lagged and could not keep up with the scrolling. Parts of the website had to be loaded again while I was staring at a blank screen waiting for the tablet to catch up to my scrolling. I do this with my Nexus 7 and the thing keeps up like a champ! I would expect that a device with the specs of the Tab S would fly.
I tried a nearby ipad air (not even 2nd gen) and scrolling was smooth as butter with no lag at all. I also then realised that there was about 10 apps running in the background on the ipad as I had forgot to clear the memory.
Don't know if this is just a chrome problem but I'm really nervous about the lag on this device. And yes I am very picky when it comes to such things. Even the slightest hickup will drive me crazy!
I don't want to buy an ipad cause as I said I want an android device.
What would you do if you were me?
Would you take your chances with the Nexus 9, wait for another tablet to come to market or even go for an ipad?
I am also considering using different roms on the Tab S but its kind of a big risk as it costs a lot of money and I am not sure how good other roms will work on this device.
Anyway sorry for the long post and I am waiting for any answer you give me. Thank you.

Chrome is very laggy for some android devices. It has gotten worst after each update. Yet I dont use chrome and the stock browser works well. This has an amazing screen though.! I get 8 hours battery life while watching youtube. If you would like to root.. You can remove the lag from the bloatware. And the lag is also from touchwiz launcher. I use nova launcher and its much better. As of now we do have a unoffical CM11 custom rom. And as of now android L should be coming within a couple of months or maybe early 2015. So.. The lag maybe removed in android L but it may take a while for it to come to the tab s. The tab s is really light but the edges hurt my hand when holding it landscape. It is also great at watching youtube videos and the video fills up the whole screen vs the ipad doesnt. The screen is also bright at night even on 1/4 brightness. But as of roms, we have a few right now and are still being developed on. The thing is if you drop this tablet and the screen breaks.... You will have the pay for the whole screen, not just the glass. This tablet has knox too. So if you trip knox installing a rom then you have no warrenty. If your worried about price, try looking into some other samsung tablets! There are so many to chose from for your needs. Hope this helps!

First thing you want to do is get rid of chrome get firefox it's flawless on this tablet, next thing would be get a different launcher to replace touchwiz. I absolutely love nova prime but there are many to choose from so just do some research. Once you have done this your tablet will be way better then the ipad imo. If you want to root be warned in advance that there is this virtual circuit breaker called knox and once it trips you have voided your warranty something I wished I knew beforehand.

I was in a similar situation, I had a nexus 7 but used an LG g pad 8.3 and decided I would prefer the extra screen size as I do a lot of media watching. I was hoping for the nexus 9 but was put off by the 4:3 and its overall weight etc. so I opted, slightly reluctantly for the tab s 8.4.
I also hate touchwiz and instantly swapped out the launcher to nova, alas I don't like google now launcher on tablets as it messed up the bbc weather widget... The system does also lag at times and I did also notice it on chrome on some sites, it would just not do anything until it was all loaded up. I used the beta which seemed a little better and just put up with it. Its weird though as it flies through things like app installs but chokes on things like pressing the home button. Now personally I dont care, its just a stutter but its there.
So sadly there is not a perfect solution at the moment, the nexus 9 seems to have its issues which I hope quickly clear up. The tab s is probably the best bet, but its also got its issues. I do hear they are bringing out a version with a better snapdragon chip which might help.
it does have an amazing screen though, which makes me forgive most of its issues! not the no led notification though, I wont forgive them that omission My 8.4 came with a £50 play voucher (well will when it arrives) and that made the decisions easier for me, the relative cost came down into the worth a punt bracket. While im glad I did, its a shame there is little out there for the larger screens for those who want a top notch product with zero flaws.

I was on the nexus 9 fence for quite awhile. I even order and cancelled THREE times!
The Samsung Tab S is or was $404.00 on Amazon so I pushed the button and I'm more than happy with Me decision.
The screen is beautiful, Lollipop will be coming a little after the first of the year,and the build of the device (i bought the white one) is very nice.
The Tab S 10.5 is the best device for the money at this time.

Sound a lot like me OP. I was so set on getting the Nexus 9, pre-ordered one on Amazon, but couldnt wait for delivery so I went to Best Buy and bought one there to play with while I waited for the Amazon order to be delivered. The one I bought from Best Buy had all the issues that some people had been talking about. Overheating was the first thing I noticed right from the start, then after I read the reviews about the back cover being easily pressed in and making a creaking sound, I noticed mine does the same thing, and the cherry on top was right after I bought it for the full $399 plus tax, HTC went and did their "fire sale" and slashed the price to $199 for a limited time/limited quantity and that confirmed my decision to return it and cancel my Amazon order, which I ended up doing reluctantly. Android 5.0 was pretty amazing though and the tablet, at least for me, was the perfect size for portability/comfort for media consumption/web browsing. (Although the 4:3 aspect ratio wasnt the best for netflix/movies both on the tablet and when mirroring the tablet to my tv via chromecast since when mirrored to my tv i would have two black bars on both sides of the screen
I had a nexus 7 before i bought the nexus 9, but it was just too small for web browsing. Screen was amazing on it and build quality was great. I bought an ipad air (first gen with A7 processor), and while the build quality is better than any other tablet in the market and it was an overall very fluid, smooth and lag free experience, iOS isnt for me. Too limited, not enough customizability and since i have an android phone I'd rather stick with an android tablet for better continuity and syncing between my devices. Played with the ipad air for a few days and returned it.
After returning the ipad I decided to pick up the samsung tab s 8.4 . While the screen is great, samsungs bloatware ruins the tablet IMO. Just like you, even the slightest stutter or lag drives me crazy . Chrome definitely was slow and scrolling was choppy. I had it rooted with CF-Auto root, and even after disabling/erasing samsung bloatware and changing the launcher to nova launcher, it still wasnt as fluid and smooth as I want so i returned it. The Tab S is feature packed, but still feels slow and laggy compared to the ipad air i tested for a couple days. With 3gb of ram and the pretty decent processing power, I expected ipad like performance but it definitely fell short.
Now I'm looking at picking up the ipad air 2 but first reading through the forums to see if there are ways to sync my android phone to the ipad.
Why cant we just have a tablet with:
8-9" screen with a 16:9 or similar aspect ratio, 1080p or higher resolution
SD card expandable
Vanilla/Stock Android 5.0 L
Front Facing Speakers
Front/rear facing cameras (not THAT important)
Good build quality
2-3gb ram
Good/fast processor
Sounds like I'm describing the Nvidia Shield from those specs (except for android 5.0), but even the Shield has had some negative reviews dealing with both wireless connectivity issues and build quality defects (cracking trim around the tablet due to heat)
Is that so hard? lol..sorry for the rant

princecharming88 said:
Sound a lot like me OP. I was so set on getting the Nexus 9, pre-ordered one on Amazon, but couldnt wait for delivery so I went to Best Buy and bought one there to play with while I waited for the Amazon order to be delivered. The one I bought from Best Buy had all the issues that some people had been talking about. Overheating was the first thing I noticed right from the start, then after I read the reviews about the back cover being easily pressed in and making a creaking sound, I noticed mine does the same thing, and the cherry on top was right after I bought it for the full $399 plus tax, HTC went and did their "fire sale" and slashed the price to $199 for a limited time/limited quantity and that confirmed my decision to return it and cancel my Amazon order, which I ended up doing reluctantly. Android 5.0 was pretty amazing though and the tablet, at least for me, was the perfect size for portability/comfort for media consumption/web browsing. (Although the 4:3 aspect ratio wasnt the best for netflix/movies both on the tablet and when mirroring the tablet to my tv via chromecast since when mirrored to my tv i would have two black bars on both sides of the screen
I had a nexus 7 before i bought the nexus 9, but it was just too small for web browsing. Screen was amazing on it and build quality was great. I bought an ipad air (first gen with A7 processor), and while the build quality is better than any other tablet in the market and it was an overall very fluid, smooth and lag free experience, iOS isnt for me. Too limited, not enough customizability and since i have an android phone I'd rather stick with an android tablet for better continuity and syncing between my devices. Played with the ipad air for a few days and returned it.
After returning the ipad I decided to pick up the samsung tab s 8.4 . While the screen is great, samsungs bloatware ruins the tablet IMO. Just like you, even the slightest stutter or lag drives me crazy . Chrome definitely was slow and scrolling was choppy. I had it rooted with CF-Auto root, and even after disabling/erasing samsung bloatware and changing the launcher to nova launcher, it still wasnt as fluid and smooth as I want so i returned it. The Tab S is feature packed, but still feels slow and laggy compared to the ipad air i tested for a couple days. With 3gb of ram and the pretty decent processing power, I expected ipad like performance but it definitely fell short.
Now I'm looking at picking up the ipad air 2 but first reading through the forums to see if there are ways to sync my android phone to the ipad.
Why cant we just have a tablet with:
8-9" screen with a 16:9 or similar aspect ratio, 1080p or higher resolution
SD card expandable
Vanilla/Stock Android 5.0 L
Front Facing Speakers
Front/rear facing cameras (not THAT important)
Good build quality
2-3gb ram
Good/fast processor
Sounds like I'm describing the Nvidia Shield from those specs (except for android 5.0), but even the Shield has had some negative reviews dealing with both wireless connectivity issues and build quality defects (cracking trim around the tablet due to heat)
Is that so hard? lol..sorry for the rant
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree too. Like the tab s has a great screen but it kills the battery more as you watch videos. I have no lag because I used greenify to hibernate my apps after i exit them. For me only chrome lags because as of each update it gets worse. Firefox works without any lag. We now have cm11 which doesnt lag too.

DUHAsianSKILLZ said:
I agree too. Like the tab s has a great screen but it kills the battery more as you watch videos. I have no lag because I used greenify to hibernate my apps after i exit them. For me only chrome lags because as of each update it gets worse. Firefox works without any lag. We now have cm11 which doesnt lag too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Forgot to mention I also tried greenify on the tab s and also removed a bunch of other apps after i had it rooted and still got a bit of lagging. Again, I'm the type that if there is lag/stutters it just ruins the tablet consumption experience for me. I'm mostly using the tablet when I'm on the couch after a day of work/school and dont want to wait for apps to load up forever, sounds pompous of me but if I'm paying $400 + for a device i think its a fair expectation everything will work smoothly out of the box without having to do anything else to it/

I use tapatalk and news+ (rss) heavily and scrolling is jerky. I switched to nova launcher, I've rooted (voided my warranty) and debloated and greenified, the lag is still there.
I have an old iPad 3. Spec wise the S leaves it in the dust. And yet whenever I pick it up I'm amazed at how smooth it is, considering it's running an OS two generations newer than it is. The rss app which looks a lot like news+ (or news+ looks a lot like it) just scrolls through tons of images like it's nothing.
If it weren't for the screen I'd ditch this thing in a second. Basically the S is like a girl who is so hot you put up with all her craziness.

What tablet on the market has the next best screen? for me the quality of the screen is the draw. I was amazed when I saw one on display at Costco a few months ago. Part of the problem is I'm going out of town next week and really wanted a newer tablet to take on the road so I can leave my heavy laptop at home. I have an original Nexus 7 but it's pretty slow.

I hear that in South korea they remade the tab s a bit with less lag. But the new tab s is only in south korea. Like the model is different but has a bit better specs to handle the lag.

barth2 said:
If it weren't for the screen I'd ditch this thing in a second. Basically the S is like a girl who is so hot you put up with all her craziness.
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Click to collapse
Perfect analogy to describe the tab S LOL. The screen is pretty amazing, but I'd rather have the girl who is cute, sane and gives great head

princecharming88 said:
Perfect analogy to describe the tab S LOL. The screen is pretty amazing, but I'd rather have the girl who is cute, sane and gives great head
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Click to collapse
Lol! Well my girl (Tab s) has a great screen, good battery life, isnt crazy or laggy, has a nice looking butt(back cover), is rooted sadly because i made it happen, and runs really fast. She is really smart and is someone o can talk too. Idk about your girl(tab s) but mine is da bomb. Lol

wth is going on here anyway I also remember someone telling me the tab s was crap because of its benchmarks. which I remembered after watching a couple of hours of films on my flight on such a quality screen.
Yes it has some lag, big deal. Yes it would be better if it wasn't there but compared to the alternatives, there is nothing out there which ticks all the boxes and doesnt appear to be any on the horizon. Its a shame the price doesnt come down or they gloablly do the £50/$75 google play voucher as that makes it decent value for the specs. Its not just the screen, its the size and weight. Its the same damn weight as the nexus 7 and not much bigger at all, but packs in the 8.4 screen and QHD. all easy to hold in the one hand for long periods.
the nexus 9 is 425g compared to 300g of the 7 and tab s. thats almost 50% heavier and for me whos uses the tab for hours a day, thats a big deal. plus (im amazed to say this) I think lolipop is a step backwards. Its about looks and not function, which is the kinda thing I avoided apple for. 4.4.4 would be ideal for me, does the job perfectly without stupid design icons and white all over the place. anyway, thats my rant over

I love my tab s. The screen is where its at!

I really don't understand this obssession people have with smooth scrolling. One of the fist things I do with my desktop browsers is disable smooth scrolling. Whenever I let someone play with my N5 to check it out, the first thing they do is scroll through the 5 pages on my app drawer, and then proceed to say "yeah, it's pretty fast" before handing it back to me. Not once do they open Youtube or a game or some random app to see how the phone really performs.
Having said that, the Tab S LTE (10.5) performs like a champ. The S-AMOLED is absolutely gorgeous, build quality is top notch. Yes, it has a plastic back, but that makes it thin and light. I'm not complaining.
The only downside I can see is the dead custom ROM scene for the Exynos chip. That makes me effectively stuck with stock ROM + Nova Launcher for the life of the device.
I'm so satisfied with my purchase that I'm seriously considering buying a second one (8.4) to take with me on the road.

From what I read in another thread it sounds like Samsung is going entirely to Exynos, which means all of us with Samsung tablets will be SOL for ROM development. They'd rather us an in house chip than pay the extra cost for an outside chip. I love the build and screen, but don't really have any particular allegiance to Samsung.

I'm still waiting to hear more news about the Dell Venue 8 from the 7000 series. It is supposed to be released this month, but I haven't seen any recent information on it.

Thanks for the heads up on that dell tablet. I was really close to buying a tab s. That dell looks sweet though and it has the same screen. I wish we had a release date and price.

I don't get it. Everyone complains about Chrome in favor of Firefox. But I, on my Tab S 10.5, see Chrome being much smoother than Firefox, in terms of loading and scrolling the page. Chrome is flawlessly smooth in most pages (except some very heavy ones), Firefox however lags - even heavily - on pretty much most pages.

Emulatoring like a Boss | "Now you're playing with real Pow... Buttons!" #Turnand

Emulatoring like a Boss | "Now you're playing with real Pow... Buttons!" #Turnand
Super Mario Vs Ash - the struggle was real.
Let me take the elephant out of the Room. We (@Turnand) have designed a Smart, Smartphone Case that can turn your Phone, into a Game Boy. With that outta the way:
So, if you’re reading this post, you probably have used an emulator before. Amiright? Well, emulating any handheld console on a Computer, works like a charm; albeit with one exception. These systems are not that demanding-“advanced”, to begin with, but the feeling a large monitor speaks when we are talking 160x144 awesome pixelated Pokémon art, is just wrong. Your 20ish inch FHD monitor has no power here. Your phone on the other hand; well that’s a whole other story. A story, with much more ups and downs, and options to explore, dare I say. Let’s jump in:
As a child I’d swear by my Game Boy, but in my teens, it got lost. It got lost, by a kid 2 blocks away from my place. Luckily, at around that time I got my first smartphone. A Samsung Omnia!
An amazing phone at the time- it was 2008 or so. It could emulate Pokémon, Super Mario, and even Final Fantasy ([email protected]) IX! Yep, a PS1 game! Ok, its specs would be laughable by today’s standards, but still. It was an amazing Pokémon-machine! But, anything out of the turn-based RPG genre and maybe puzzle games, was totally unplayable. Why? Well blame that resistive, smallish touchscreen.
Now fast-forward almost a decade. It’s 2016, and my daily driver is a LG G Flex 2. A 4G, octa-core, 5.5 inch, fHD monstrosity. So, why am I still complaining? Well, cause my original problem still persists! Smartphones and tablets were made with throwing birds to pigs in mind. None will ever consider them a real alternative to a console, until they get proper controls.
Ten-year-old me, beat Super Mario World Advance 2, on the GBA with no problems at all. To this day though, I’ve never even reached world 3 using an emulator, on any phone I’ve ever owned. A PC got’s proper controls, but simply doesn’t feel right to me. On the other hand, yeah, I have paired a Bluetooth controller to my Android phone before, but I love to see you balancing your 5inch phone, or even tablet, on your laps while holding a gamepad, on your daily commute. Everything game-boy-ish is called a hand-held, instead of a lap-top, for a reason!
That’s the need Turnand’s cases try to solve. That’s how the original idea spurred into our minds. This was a real life pain for us, and we believe that we are not alone in this. Gamers, and retro enthusiasts unite! Let’s take things in our hands for once. Literally grab yours now. We can’t change the past, but we can game comfier in the future – lol. We’ll be on Kickstarter on 29 June, 2016!
So this is Turnand’s take on the matter: The smartphone case we’ve created can transform your smartphone into a Game Boy; and trust us, oh it feels good. But no, we are not suggesting that you compromise your smartphone’s usability. In the end of the day, that social-media- feeder / cat-photos- viewer you call my phone, still has to and should always be ready to receive calls and texts.
Side Note:
We are a Start-Up taking its first baby stepps. So our website is still under development, but you can take a look, and we'd love to have you join us on Social Media! So our Facebook is awaitng, so does our Twitter, and some we also got some jazz going on Instagram !
Let me guess something, before wrapping this up!
And, if my guess is correct, then you will read the next paragraph! ‘Ere it goes: You also used up all the batteries from the TV remote, and the wall clock to feed your Game Boy!
Amiright?!
With that out of the way, allow me to clarify that our case / controller thingy, won’t need no batteries, charging, not even Bluetooth, Wi-Fi; no nothing! It’s just works, take my word for it. Or don’t, you can ask for a Beta Prototype, here!

Downgrading To Tab S4

Since going back to school in Jan, I've been using a Samsung Notebook Pro 9 that I bought specifically for school but since building my monster desktop at home I've come to realize that now my notebook is overkill. Whilst I'm at school, I only need it to do some web browsing, writing papers on Word, some Power Point projects and really little else. So when I get home, it just sits inside my backpack until I get back to class the next day. Whatever school-related work I have to do when I'm home I continue on my desktop.
Because of this, I feel bad that the notebook sits untouched most of the time. I really can't justify keeping it if I'm not fully exploiting its capabilities. So this is why I'm considering getting the Tab S4 (w/keyboard) to use for school and also around the house because it's easier to handle compared to a notebook.
I wanted to ask if y'all think this is a sensible move. If I get this Tab S4, I'll be selling my the Notebook Pro 9.

I would get a tab S3. The keyboard is cheaper and you can find great deals on them.
The S4 excels at video with it's taller screen, but I find it a little awkward as a working tablet.
If you will use it for watching video also, the larger screen is much better, and the S4 is only an inch wider than the S3.
Sent from my SM-T830 using Tapatalk

My opinion is the S4 because of Dex. It's working great for multitasking when trying to actually get work done. Depending on what your doing and if you need windows programs would be the next thing( remote desktop may be an option). Also it would be hard to top the Notebook 9 as far as sheer performance the S4's Snapdragon 835 would not match the Core I7. But you may not need all that unless video rendering or other intensive task. Just my two cents.