Are Tablets a Waste of Money? - Galaxy Tab S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hey guys I work for Bell here in Canada and have an opportunity to get a Samsung Galaxy tab s 10.5 for $50 upfront and 22.50 a month thereafter for two years on a term with the company.
I am unsure if I will use it, I have a HTC One m7 and love it, I have custom Roms constantly running on it and have on all my android devices.
I would love to watch movies and shows on the beautiful screen this tab is known for but also have chromecast so I have similar functionality at home already.
I am a university student and have an aging laptop which I do not like to carry around. Do you think a table could be good for school?
Also, 8 or 10.5 size? The 8.5 would be 10 upfront and the same monthly price thereafter.
Thank you for your time xda!!

Well I use mine for school also. It lasts 8 hours screen on time, but should last you the whole day if you use it for mixed usage(taking notes and other stuff). Its very thin and light to carry around. But this tablet is very fragile and can break when dropped. I have the 10.5. Its good if you want a screen as big as the laptop. But the 8.4 should do. There is slight lag on the homescreen but can be fixed but installing a different launcher.

Don't think tablets are a waste of money, but it depends on what you want to do with it. I actually have a few and just picked up the 10.5. My intent on the 10.5 was to use for work. It has worked out well as I picked up the matching keyboard with it. I am able to VPN into work and use it when remote, thus no need to fire up my laptop. I also have a Virtual Desktop environment at work, so with the 10.5 I can also connect to that once I am VPN'd in. Works great. Also works well for just browsing internet and note taking offline as well. To me well worth it.
However, the price you are mentioning seems to be a big high. Basically you are paying $590 for the 10.5. I would think you should be able to get it much cheaper than that if you pick it up directly. Check your local retailers for sales, particularly with the holiday season on us now.

Joshua3109 said:
Hey guys I work for Bell here in Canada and have an opportunity to get a Samsung Galaxy tab s 10.5 for $50 upfront and 22.50 a month thereafter for two years on a term with the company.
I am unsure if I will use it, I have a HTC One m7 and love it, I have custom Roms constantly running on it and have on all my android devices.
I would love to watch movies and shows on the beautiful screen this tab is known for but also have chromecast so I have similar functionality at home already.
I am a university student and have an aging laptop which I do not like to carry around. Do you think a table could be good for school?
Also, 8 or 10.5 size? The 8.5 would be 10 upfront and the same monthly price thereafter.
Thank you for your time xda!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well as for a waist of money it depends. If you like to lay in bed at night and do some reading watch a show play a game or two, then this is the most comfortable way to do it. Also If you want to be able to look stuff up on the fly while watching TV or hanging out with the family, this is also a great tool. Breaking out a laptop or going to the computer every time you want to do this isn't always the best idea. If you don't feel you will use it for things like this or traveling then might not be a good idea.
I know its easy to say I'll just use my phone. However sometimes its just not nice to use a smaller screen to get things done.
As for worth buying the way your are considering it...
The 10.5" would cost you a total of $590 this way when you can easily find it on amazon or Google shop for $435 - $450. I know not much savings but if you can afford it I would go that route.
The 8.5" would cost a total of $550. That's only $40 less for a much smaller screen. If you want something between a phone and a full size tab then this is a good option. Again online they are much cheaper. I didn't do much research on this as I was only interested in the 10.5.
If the only way you could afford this is to finance it and are going to take the leap go with the 10.5 more bang for you buck in the end.
Just my humble opinion. I'm sure more people will have more incite for you good luck. Love my 10.5 BTW.
DrClaw

Thanks for all the help guys, I picked up a 10.5 t805 lte.
Great purchase, I'm picking up the Samsung keyboard to go with it soon!

Joshua3109 said:
Thanks for all the help guys, I picked up a 10.5 t805 lte.
Great purchase, I'm picking up the Samsung keyboard to go with it soon!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great choice! Did you get the bronze or the white one? People think I buy expensive electronics because the bronze looks like gold to them lol. Luckly, it already has apps that can be used for typing and writing reports. Hancom office is the name i think.

The bronze, and oh man it looks incredible with the keyboard

Related

Kinda Dinc question, kinda tablet...

What I'm curious to know is, has anyone found a good 10" tablet that has ask the features of the Dinc minus the phone?
Google pulls up a bunch and people leave reviews but none of those I'd trust as much as I would as much as I'd trust from xda testers. Need for work cause the web app is a pain on this small screen as the keyboard takes up most of the screen. cheap would be nice but understand good cost more. Also need all sensors with camera as I also use dishpointer pro almost daily.
Yep, large Dinc without phone... Recommend something to the confused...
Thanks
Sent from my HTC Incredible using XDA app.
Just wait, better tables are coming within the next 2 months (Moto Xoom, LG G-Slate, Samaung Tab 2 possibly). They will all have upgraded processors, some have 3D cameras, higher resolution, and best of all, Honeycomb (Android 3.0)
Kewl, will hold off a bit.
Thanks.
Sent from my HTC Incredible using XDA app.
BenHolliday said:
What I'm curious to know is, has anyone found a good 10" tablet that has ask the features of the Dinc minus the phone?
Google pulls up a bunch and people leave reviews but none of those I'd trust as much as I would as much as I'd trust from xda testers. Need for work cause the web app is a pain on this small screen as the keyboard takes up most of the screen. cheap would be nice but understand good cost more. Also need all sensors with camera as I also use dishpointer pro almost daily.
Yep, large Dinc without phone... Recommend something to the confused...
Thanks
Sent from my HTC Incredible using XDA app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah i'm holding of on this too, there are so many tablets that are coming out soon (soon as in until summer) so it will worth the wait. Not to mention that prices will also go down, paying $600-700 for a tablet right now is not really a good value to me at least.
unreal2k said:
Yeah i'm holding of on this too, there are so many tablets that are coming out soon (soon as in until summer) so it will worth the wait. Not to mention that prices will also go down, paying $600-700 for a tablet right now is not really a good value to me at least.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Shoot, seeing some for under 200 on net now.
BenHolliday said:
Shoot, seeing some for under 200 on net now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bear in mind "you get what you pay for." Remember that our phones cost like $600 without a contract; the tablets that will be worth the money are going to be upwards of $500. The Galaxy Tab is $500 right now subsidized by Verizon.
Jes7er said:
Bear in mind "you get what you pay for." Remember that our phones cost like $600 without a contract; the tablets that will be worth the money are going to be upwards of $500. The Galaxy Tab is $500 right now subsidized by Verizon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, seeing that the tablets with wireless 3g are up there in price. Wanting one without the 3g so that I don't have to extend or pay an additional fee to add it to our cell plan. Using Wireless Tether would be just fine...
If this was a 10" I'd love to have it:
http://www.amazon.com/Archos-500-In...OC/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1296695107&sr=8-15
Would be awesome... Really camera would be optional as I can use phone for Dishpointer Pro..
BenHolliday said:
Yeah, seeing that the tablets with wireless 3g are up there in price. Wanting one without the 3g so that I don't have to extend or pay an additional fee to add it to our cell plan. Using Wireless Tether would be just fine...
If this was a 10" I'd love to have it:
http://www.amazon.com/Archos-500-In...OC/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1296695107&sr=8-15
Would be awesome... Really camera would be optional as I can use phone for Dishpointer Pro..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be honest those Archos tablets aren't that bad at all. Quite good for what you pay for them. A guy I worked with a couple years back had one, really nice.
Dude, like you I have been waiting for an amazing tablet to along with my Incredible. I was totally sold on the XOOM (and still am) but $699 is too steep for me. I know that people will be saying that it is better than the $499 iPad because of more features and whatnot, but if Moto wants to make a name for itself in the tablet world and take the crown from Apple, it should release it for $499-$599 with the features it has. That way it will sell like hotcakes!
Anyway, since the XOOM is too expensive, I just learned about the Viewsonic gTablet last week and have fallen in love with it! 10.1" screen, Tegra 2, 512MB ram, 16GB internal memory, microSD, WiFi N, 1.3MP front camera and USB 2.0 for input!!! the price for this baby is only $379. I have been spending hours reading all the threads in the forums and people LOVE it. The actual software it comes with sucks, but there are very good stable roms out there for it, even a stock android 2.2 The hardware on the tablet are amazing! The devs on here are amazing and I am sure someone will be able to get a fully functional Gingerbread rom on that in due time.
If price for the XOOM is an issue then go for the gTablet. Very similar specs with the exception of 3G/4G data radio. Which most people do not want, including me.

[Q] A few noob questions.

Oh hello. I'm absolutely new to the forums because I decided to register so I can ask some questions about the Iconia A100 because I need them answered because I want to get the tablet soon.
Soo, here we go. About the screen size and resolution; I never had any Android device so it might sound stupid but... if you try to run an application or a game or whatever that's been made for lower resolution than the tablet's, will it run in a smaller "window" or something, or just won't run at all? The same goes with applications made for 1.x or 2.x version of Android - will they launch on A100's Honeycomb?
I also worry about the battery a bit - not about the battery's life because that seems just fine for me, but what happens if the battery breaks? You can't really replace it at home without breaking the warranty (I suppose you cannot open it) so will they replace it at some authorized-service-or-something? Or do you need to get the whole tablet replaced? I'm probably over-worrying this a bit because none of my phone batteries ever broke but still... Hehe.
Oh and I also wanted to ask about Gorilla Glass... Is it featured on the A100? On their website it says it is, I just want to get it verified by someone who owns it.
That's probably all for now, thanks very much for any replies.
Paturata said:
Oh hello. I'm absolutely new to the forums because I decided to register so I can ask some questions about the Iconia A100 because I need them answered because I want to get the tablet soon.
Soo, here we go. About the screen size and resolution; I never had any Android device so it might sound stupid but... if you try to run an application or a game or whatever that's been made for lower resolution than the tablet's, will it run in a smaller "window" or something, or just won't run at all? The same goes with applications made for 1.x or 2.x version of Android - will they launch on A100's Honeycomb?
I also worry about the battery a bit - not about the battery's life because that seems just fine for me, but what happens if the battery breaks? You can't really replace it at home without breaking the warranty (I suppose you cannot open it) so will they replace it at some authorized-service-or-something? Or do you need to get the whole tablet replaced? I'm probably over-worrying this a bit because none of my phone batteries ever broke but still... Hehe.
Oh and I also wanted to ask about Gorilla Glass... Is it featured on the A100? On their website it says it is, I just want to get it verified by someone who owns it.
That's probably all for now, thanks very much for any replies.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I kept the A100 for a while before returning it but I'll share what I know about what you ask.
I'm not a gamer per se. Angry Birds is about all I've found interest for. But if an app is designed for lower resolutions often you will see FCs or other odd behaviour. Try to select compatible games for HC 3.2 and you should be fine. If a favorite game is FC'ing on you...drop a note to the developer. Oftentimes you can get great insights that way.
The battery is non-replaceable meaning if it ever pooped out on you, your only recourse would be RMA.
Yes, Gorilla Glass is a feature. But, know this. Gorilla Glass is "scratch-resistant" and not "scratch-proof". Huge difference. If you keep it, cover it would be my suggestion.
The A00 is a nice little tab. Well built but not real flexible. If you can swing a bit more $$ there are much better options out there.
HTH
Thank you skeeterpro. I've a few more questions though - what exactly is "FC"? I'd say it's Friend Code, but that doesn't really fit well...
I also want to ask what better options would you recommend, and why exactly did you return the tablet? I'm sorry for lots of stupid questions, but the tablet seems just fine to me and I don't wanna pay ~200$ more for a 10" Samsung tablet.
FC is short for Force Close. If an app quits responding, it is Android's way of killing it. Most times it will give you the option to Force Close an unresponsive app or wait for it to respond. Other times, it just closes it on its own.
Sent from my HTC Inspire 4G using Tapatalk
Paturata said:
Thank you skeeterpro. I've a few more questions though - what exactly is "FC"? I'd say it's Friend Code, but that doesn't really fit well...
I also want to ask what better options would you recommend, and why exactly did you return the tablet? I'm sorry for lots of stupid questions, but the tablet seems just fine to me and I don't wanna pay ~200$ more for a 10" Samsung tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem! Ask away. Two things. Questions are what this forum is for and two, we were ALL new at one time!
FC - Force Close. Android-speak for crashed! (Yours seems more positive though!)
Be happy to share what I think on recommendations but the bottom line is what YOU like and does what YOU want and, last but not least, what YOU can afford. If a tablet you have seems fine to you...keep it. Everyone has different needs/wants and therefore goals. List your priorities in a tab then jump on it.
My opinions on available 7" tabs I've tried:
A100: nice overall tablet. Good build just "feels" good in hand. Slippery back though. Screen viewing angles are really not good (looking at screen from the sides). Straight on the screen is acceptable. Battery life is weak. Depending on use it's highly doubtful one would get a full day on a single charge. Not many accessories available. There are rumors Acer may be getting out of making tablets. Not good as support would wither out. And that would mean no OS upgrades. Small dev support. (Not many on Xda own the darned thing). Buying something that is EOL (End Of Life) can be good but seldom is. There is the ability to root the A100 but no verifiable Recovery yet. And rooting voids one's warranty so a fail-safe Recovery is VITAL. The measly 8GB internal storage is mitigated by the uSD (micro SD) availability.
Amazon Kindle: Not a real tablet computer really. An e-reader that runs android which is fine but not really the same "animal" as a full on android tablet. Same with Nook Tablet. Nice units for reading/movies though. But locked into Amazon/Barnes and Noble content.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus: best 7" tablet available today bar none. Downsides are price. It's spend-y at $399 but you get what you pay for. Accessories are few but in the pipeline I am told. Best/fastest processor on the 7" tab out there. Screen isn't IPS but viewing angles and much better than the A100. Charger port can covert to a USB host. Both root and recovery are available but recovery is still being tested AFAIK.
Samsung has a 8.9 screen tab out if the 10.1" screen is too large for you. It has some drawbacks and the biggest IMHO is no uSD. There is a 7.7" tab from Samsung coming that is said to be freakin' amazing but no word on when or if it will be released in the US.
*whew* Hope the about helps at all.
Raise your hand if you have questions? lol
Thanks very much for both replies!
skeeterpro said:
There are rumors Acer may be getting out of making tablets. Not good as support would wither out. And that would mean no OS upgrades. Small dev support. (Not many on Xda own the darned thing).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That would be bad. However, I read there will be ICS update for the A100 in 2012 so I don't know.
skeeterpro said:
Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus: best 7" tablet available today bar none. Downsides are price. It's spend-y at $399 but you get what you pay for.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
$399? It's impossible to buy it here (Czech republic) for that price. Even A100 costs $340 here, Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus wasn't even released here yet and it will cost $700 at launch. Yes, 700 bucks.
You kinda scared me with the Acer-will-stop-producing-tablets thing (I know it's a rumour, but I'm paranoid as hell ). I'd love to invest into a Samsung tablet and be sure there will be lots of official support for it, but it's way too over-priced here (and that goes with everything in Europe).
Acer is not getting out of the tablet game. They have already announced the A200. The A100 and A500 will get Android 4.0 the latest version of Android in Janurary.
IHaveCrayons said:
Acer is not getting out of the tablet game. They have already announced the A200. The A100 and A500 will get Android 4.0 the latest version of Android in Janurary.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good to know! Of course, articles posted by the various websites should always be read with a grain of salt!
---------- Post added at 08:20 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:11 AM ----------
Paturata said:
Thanks very much for both replies!
That would be bad. However, I read there will be ICS update for the A100 in 2012 so I don't know.
$399? It's impossible to buy it here (Czech republic) for that price. Even A100 costs $340 here, Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus wasn't even released here yet and it will cost $700 at launch. Yes, 700 bucks.
You kinda scared me with the Acer-will-stop-producing-tablets thing (I know it's a rumour, but I'm paranoid as hell ). I'd love to invest into a Samsung tablet and be sure there will be lots of official support for it, but it's way too over-priced here (and that goes with everything in Europe).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
$700? Jeez. Actually the $340 for the A100 is about what I paid here when I first got it to try out. That sort of pricing seems to explain why so many from Europe purchase devices when on holiday here to take back.
Glad ihavecrayons found the source on Acer. I'm sure some manufacturers will stop producing tabs as the market floods with devices. The A100 (barring the irritants to some people) is a fine little tab really. Once a verifiable/reproducible Recovery is developed it will lend itself to serious modding! Now hopefully there will be increasing love for the device on Xda.
Thanks again.
If you don't mind one (probably last) question... What is this "recovery thing" that everyone's talking about? Resetting the device to its factory state including the default ROM for warranty purposes?
Moderator Message
Alright guys, party over...
@OP... you need to read mate!!
THREAD CLOSED!

[Q] Tab 3 Kids

I have opportunity to buy a brand new Tab 3 Kids from a liquidation sale for about 135. I know it's a little out of date, but this will be going to a 3 year old. Good deal or should I go with something more modern like the Fire Kids 7? And is it easy to root?
rootbeer001 said:
I have opportunity to buy a brand new Tab 3 Kids from a liquidation sale for about 135. I know it's a little out of date, but this will be going to a 3 year old. Good deal or should I go with something more modern like the Fire Kids 7? And is it easy to root?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, No, No.
Very outdated at this point and $135 is way too much. $75 is reasonable for that device now. There are many other options that are much better in the $135 range.
Edit: Look for something with more than 8gb memory. Kid games tend to be large and 8gb fills up very fast.
any suggestions on a good tablet for kids? i would like it to be rootable and durable. not too keen on the super cheap tabs that have very little development behind them.
thanks for your response. they had about 10 in stock, and are only open for two more weeks. i might be able to get it for cheaper. i might bite if i can get for under 100, i think.

still a good purchase at $400 ?? 10.5 tab s

hey guys, kicking around replacing a super tired 10.1 tab samsung. it still works, but feels like its chugging and the lack of memory is killing the thing for sure.
i see the 10.5 s retails for about $400, is this still a good tab to purchase ?? anything new next week or month that i will kick myself for not waiting ?? any others to consider ??
thanks so very much for any help or opinions here,
Joel
sprint gs5,
JS_racer said:
will kick myself for not waiting ??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes. back to school shopping in August will see discounts on tablets and laptops. thats when most new models come out and old models get reduced.
Only bad thing about my tab s is that I didn't get the 32gb version, this tab still rocks
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy® Note Edge.
Man end of this month one plus will release one plus 2 thats will be like $450 and it will be way mkre better than this tab look into it maybe you want it
rookie12 said:
Man end of this month one plus will release one plus 2 thats will be like $450 and it will be way mkre better than this tab look into it maybe you want it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
seeing that is a phone, good there looking for a tablet
I own the 16GB gold trim LTE variant.
Yes, this is still the best tablet money can buy.
Thinner and lighter than any iPad.
Rock solid build.
Beautiful AMOLED display.
Now it has Android 5.0.2 update.
I'm seriously considering buying the 8.4" LTE version as well to replace my phone.
400$ is a quite good price.
I have just bought it with 530$
It gets laggy and you have to wipe cache.. We do have CyanogenMod but that voids your warranty. I am regretful
JS_racer said:
hey guys, kicking around replacing a super tired 10.1 tab samsung. it still works, but feels like its chugging and the lack of memory is killing the thing for sure.
i see the 10.5 s retails for about $400, is this still a good tab to purchase ?? anything new next week or month that i will kick myself for not waiting ?? any others to consider ??
thanks so very much for any help or opinions here,
Joel
sprint gs5,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Retail $400? Where afaik its still $499 retail everywhere and thats just the wifi model.
I jsut saw its on sale this week at bestbuy for that price but yea its a great deal i just got mine last month.
Amazon, best buy, same club, to name a few.
Thanks for the feedback so far people
The refresh announces next week. Hold off.
Sent from my SM-T800 using Tapatalk
i bought my tab s 10.5 on craigslist for 225 and frankly i think it was undersold to me lol but i feel like you get more than you would with most tablets. i hope we get android M support and beyond though
The S2 is supposedly going to be announced tomorrow according to the link below, though i would never buy an 4:3 tablet as i watch mostly video`s
http://www.ibnlive.com/news/tech/le...ion-could-be-unveiled-on-july-20-1022507.html
John.
Tinderbox (UK) said:
The S2 is supposedly going to be announced tomorrow according to the link below, though i would never buy an 4:3 tablet as i watch mostly video`s
http://www.ibnlive.com/news/tech/le...ion-could-be-unveiled-on-july-20-1022507.html
John.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree, I personally would not buy a 4:3 tablet either. Looks like Samsung is just copying Apple once again. I think the current Tab S 10.5 is a killer, and one of the best tablets money can buy right now. I would encourage you to get this over the new model. However I would indeed wait to pick it up on sale. I have seen it on sale multiple times at $100 off. You have both Back to School sales coming up as well as the announcement of the new Tabs. Once the new Tabs come out, they will probably discount these as well. I believe in the philosophy that newer does not always mean better. Which I think may be the case for the new Tabs.
I also preferred 10.5 than 9.7.
vndnguyen said:
I also preferred 10.5 than 9.7.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why?
chong67 said:
Why?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I prefer bigger screen
vndnguyen said:
I also preferred 10.5 than 9.7.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
vndnguyen said:
I prefer bigger screen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ditto here.
Don't forget get that the S2 doesn't come with their flag ship processor (think S6), still only has Android 5.0.2 and a smaller battery. The early reviews are already questioning Samsung's reasoning for this new version. Although the price is not official yet the reviewers are pointing to price along with the specs as big detractor. I've only had my S1 for a few months and that was solely based on the S2s move to a 4:3 aspect ratio but now I feel like I won the lottery as I bought it for $70 less retail.
Start looking for S1 sales and avoid what is shaping up to be a looser.
Sent from my SM-T800 using XDA Premium HD app
You can buy it for about $300 on swappa or ebay right now.

Thinking of getting a second hand Tab S for a younger relative, any thoughts?

It's hard to find an affordable tablet that has a decent spec, also trying to find something with 4g as my young relative doesn't have a phone but uses a tablet (and wants to keep dong so).
Would anyone advise against getting a refurb / second hand one of these for her? The specs look great and people seem happy with it, but it is pretty old.
Thanks!
I love my TabS 8.4 it's still going even after god knows how many years but it is slow, much slower then tablets that are 2 or 3 years old. Personally I would go for a Tab A 10.1 much more modern, much faster and more up to date OS plus they also do a 4G version too. They can be purchased really cheap second hand, my local Game store in the UK have one for £150 with 4G but you can also buy for as little as £200. Not sure what country you are from but I'm sure you could find something slightly better and quicker then Tab S
instarobuk said:
I love my TabS 8.4 it's still going even after god knows how many years but it is slow, much slower then tablets that are 2 or 3 years old. Personally I would go for a Tab A 10.1 much more modern, much faster and more up to date OS plus they also do a 4G version too. They can be purchased really cheap second hand, my local Game store in the UK have one for £150 with 4G but you can also buy for as little as £200. Not sure what country you are from but I'm sure you could find something slightly better and quicker then Tab S
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's really useful, thanks! Is the one in your game store pre-owned? I looked on their website and it's listed as ~ £260
wrapper said:
That's really useful, thanks! Is the one in your game store pre-owned? I looked on their website and it's listed as ~ £260
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it is pre-owned grade b condition, they also had a non 4G version too which was I believe £20 cheaper. £260 sounds about right for a new one yes

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