Develop Bugs

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
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Reader?

What do you owners think about using the tab as a reader?
I'm thinking about investing in either the 8.4 or the 10.1 as the reader. Simply for things like news articles, blogs, and maybe even using the Amazon Kindle app to read books. How much stress would it put on the eyes?

It's not stress on the eyes I would worry about...it's the weight of the device. The screens are mostly the same on these devices but the extra weight of a full size tablet might making extended reading sessions difficult. I would suggest getting the 8.4. I just upgraded to one from an LG G Pad and use it mostly for reading Kindle, Feedly, and Play Magazines.

I'm pretty sure there was a setting I saw that said Reading mode or something to that effect.
Sent from my GT-I9505 converted SGH-i337 w/XDA Premium 4 mobile app

mattskr said:
It's not stress on the eyes I would worry about...it's the weight of the device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I second this. The NotePro 12.2 is amazing for reading, I really like the sharpness of the text. Been using the Newsweek app a lot, read some magazines, comics, etc. View angles are good and you can adjust brighness easily.
There is the "reading mode" indeed but so far I don't see any difference when I turn it on and off.. not all apps support it.
The weight is indeed the problem, don't expect to be holding it up for long, as you would with a very light e-reader or a paper magazine. It will have to rest on your lap (even that way it can tire wrists a bit) or a stand.

I've tried all of the current 8" tablets for extended periods of time for reading. I own (or owned) the mini, the mini retina, the LG G Pad, the Samsung Tab 3 8", the Samsung Note 8", thus Asus Memo HD 8" and currently have the Tab Pro 8.4 on order.
I also had other slightly smaller tablets like the 7.7" Toshiba AT270 and the Samsung 7.7"
They all work fine for reading. Weight with a thin 8" tablet is negligble. In fact if you compare any of these to the top end reader available, the Kobo Aura HD, they only weigh on average about 100 grams more. That is not a big weight delta.
The Samsung tablets (the tab 3 8") and the new Tab Pro all have a reading mode. I used the Tab 3 8" for about 6 months and left it on by default. Wasn't really sure how it helped (or if it did at all).
Two things are important for reading under various conditions, max brightness/dimness and DPI. Max brightness is important if you are reading outside (one of the main reasons I got rid of the LG G Pad), max dimness is handy if you are reading in bed in the dark and don't want to wake up the wife with an 8" flashlight...
DPI, the higher the better as it increases the sharpness of text. As a reference, the Kobo Aura HD is 1440x1080 (6.8") with a DPI of 259. The Tab Pro has a 359 DPI....

I think 10.1 is the best size now that they're so light. I had an iPad 3 (retina) and then went for the first mini. Loved it for reading books, but not so much for Zino magazines, various PDFs that I needed, even web pages. Oh, heck, the occasional comic too. Just too small. I went to the iPad Air to get the size back after it hit 1lb. Two weeks ago i decided I was sick of iPhones and their size (I have big hands) and got a Nexus 5. Loved it so much I just sold the air and got the Tab Pro 10.1. I think the sharpness of current screens nullifies some of the 'lcd' tired eyes syndrome, and I've preferred the ability to turn to night mode in books to something like a paperwhite when it gets dark out.

100% i won't go with the 12in.
Still cannot decide if i want the 10 or 8.

If you are reading primarily books (as I do), there is no real benefit to a 10" tablet. It has more surface area than a page in a hard cover book.
If as mentioned above you read comics or magazines, the bigger surface area is handy.
The benefit of an 8" tablet is that it is extremely portable. I can fit mine into a pocket inside my coat. Try doing that with a 10" tablet...

Love my 8.4 for reading.
Sent from Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4

RobilarOCN said:
I've tried all of the current 8" tablets for extended periods of time for reading. I own (or owned) the mini, the mini retina, the LG G Pad, the Samsung Tab 3 8", the Samsung Note 8", thus Asus Memo HD 8" and currently have the Tab Pro 8.4 on order.
I also had other slightly smaller tablets like the 7.7" Toshiba AT270 and the Samsung 7.7"
They all work fine for reading. Weight with a thin 8" tablet is negligble. In fact if you compare any of these to the top end reader available, the Kobo Aura HD, they only weigh on average about 100 grams more. That is not a big weight delta.
The Samsung tablets (the tab 3 8") and the new Tab Pro all have a reading mode. I used the Tab 3 8" for about 6 months and left it on by default. Wasn't really sure how it helped (or if it did at all).
Two things are important for reading under various conditions, max brightness/dimness and DPI. Max brightness is important if you are reading outside (one of the main reasons I got rid of the LG G Pad), max dimness is handy if you are reading in bed in the dark and don't want to wake up the wife with an 8" flashlight...
DPI, the higher the better as it increases the sharpness of text. As a reference, the Kobo Aura HD is 1440x1080 (6.8") with a DPI of 259. The Tab Pro has a 359 DPI....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like using a tablet for reading but I think you've made some unfair comparisons. First, the Aura HD is a "premium" ereader but if you look at the mainstream model, the Aura, you drop the weight from 240g to 174g. That puts the Tab Pro 8.4 at nearly double the weight (174g vs 331g). I use a 2012 Nexus 7 (340g, only slightly heavier than the Tab Pro 8.4)) and a Kindle Paperwhite (206g) for reading. The Nexus 7 is fine, but I will say that for long periods of use the lighter weight of the Paperwhite is much more comfortable. I often find myself leaning the Nexus 7 on something while I never have to do that with the Kindle. And comparing the DPI of an eInk screen vs an LCD doesn't give you a good benchmark of the text quality since they're using two vastly different rendering methods. For text alone I would take the eInk screen at the lower PPI over the LCD at the higher PPI.
That said, a tablet is much more versatile and can even be better for reading if you're not talking about eBooks but various web content as well.I would say the ideal tablet for reading depends a lot on what you plan on reading. If you read a lot of magazines, I might have to recommend something like the iPad Air as the size and aspect ratio make it great for magazines. If it's mostly web content a 10" Android tablet like the Tab Pro would be good since it most closely mimics a laptop display. If it's primarily eBooks the 7" tablets like the 2013 Nexus 7 are great for the lighter weight. Lastly, if you view more of a mix of the above, 8.4" is a great compromise.

Galaxy tab s or ipad air

I have ipad air and it is not so bad but I hate ios limitations as Iam an android fan ( I have note 3 ) and since the galaxy tab s is announced I was taken by its screen
The only concern i have is it worth to sell my ipad and buy a tab s or not , also the ipad build quality is a beauty does the tab s will satisfy me in its build quality or I will regret giving away my ipad ?
Last thing is the exynos processor coming with it will be good or we will suffer lagging?
Thanks

I wonder if any tablet is worth it now. What are the benefits of having our carrying a tablet?
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There is a 10.5" and 8.4" since OP didn't say which one, I'd take it the 10.5". I'd sell the Air for the 8.4 and/or 10.5". My bro has the iPad Air, very good tablet, but can't do much without jailbreaking it. Tab S specs is beastly! The exynos will not lag. Air has better built quality. Go to the store and check out the Tab S yourself. Good luck!
I might buy the 8.4" since my budget max is $400, but 10.5" Amoled is epic as hell! Wish I had $499 for it.

You buy Apple for the ecosystem, not for the hw/OS specs, which are behind Samsung/Android. If you don't have a must-have app on the iPad, go with Android. Better value for the $ and freedom to make changes as you wish.
The only issue I have with Samsung Tab S is that it's 16:9 screen ratio. I need the 4:3 for portrait eBook reading. For media consumption, I have a laptop & HT system.

I certainly talk about 10.5 model and the budget is not abig problem since I will sell the ipad and I mostly use my tablet for media like movies or tv series and I love android so go for it or wait for better processor and better build quality

Well the clear advantage of the 8.4 over the 10.5 is physical size and portability. While you can easily zoom small text on the 8.4 you cannot easily make the 10.5 physically smaller. The 8.4 is far easier to hold in one hand and read like a book. The 10.5 is more of a two handed affair.
Based upon people who own the Pro model and have seen the S in person, the reporting is the amoled screen is not sufficiently better or different to justify the $120 price premium over the current Pro model discounted pricing.
Rumor is Best buy may be offering a $100 trade in for any older working tablet when buying a S which could be a difference maker as the S will be thinner, lighter and have longer battery life.

mitchellvii said:
Well the clear advantage of the 8.4 over the 10.5 is physical size and portability. While you can easily zoom small text on the 8.4 you cannot easily make the 10.5 physically smaller. The 8.4 is far easier to hold in one hand and read like a book. The 10.5 is more of a two handed affair.
Based upon people who own the Pro model and have seen the S in person, the reporting is the amoled screen is not sufficiently better or different to justify the $120 price premium over the current Pro model discounted pricing.
Rumor is Best buy may be offering a $100 trade in for any older working tablet when buying a S which could be a difference maker as the S will be thinner, lighter and have longer battery life.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just recently bought the 8.4 "Pro" and have been using it for at least 5+hours a day since I got it. I visited my local Best Buy and took a look at the new "S" model as I am still within my return policy. The first thing you will notice is the screen. The amoled screen is very nice but like mitch said I would not buy it just for that.
What I would buy it for, and the reason why I am returning the "Pro" for it, is a number of things. The battery life is better and there is a software feature included that will extend the time of the charge.
The speakers are on alternate sides... this may not sound like much to most but being a guy with big hands I have to hold the "Pro" awkwardly in order to not cover one of the speakers. Having them to one side allows me to hold it like I should and hear what I am supposed to.
The "S" model is smaller and lighter. Now looking at the specs it doesn't look like much until you actually get it in your hand. It is a significant difference and makes it easier to hold and hold for longer periods of time.
The "Pro" functions just as well as the "S" until you start going nuts with the multi-tasking, which I use extensively. The extra 1gb of RAM that you get in the "S" makes a huge difference in what you can have open and how many. Play Order and Chaos with the music player while surfing the web is a wonderful thing.
So to sum it up, the screen is very sexy on the "S", but by itself I don't think "Pro" owners should really worry about that. For those of us that still have opportunity to swap them out, like myself, its all up to you but the rose gold trim on top of the changes I mentioned above are what convinced me to swap.
-Grev

One important point , this topic was created to compare the tab s with the ipad air not with pro and is it worth it to swap from the ipad to the tab s
Thanks

I cannot stand iOS. Just too limited and over simplified.
People for years have been touting the apps but when I tried an iPad mini for a while the app situation was Way worse than android.
The stupid x2 zoom was just totally unacceptable. Android scales everything very well. I don't care if the apps are all totally redone for tablet size or not.
The iOS ecosystem seems like everyone is trying to reinvent the wheel with form over function. Get some buzz with something cool that is less usable than it was. I think it suits the uber hipsters perfectly. But not me at all.
You're going to love holding the Tab S 8.4 at 300 grams, very thin and a nice grippy back.
The Screen..
Battery life, especially if you use a browser with Night mode, darker theme.

I think it has more to do with which OS you like better or which architecture you are invested in at this point as prices are similar. IMO the Tab has some advantages like SD card availability, weight, and size but they are not huge, except the SD thing. Personally I have a deep rooted dislike of Apple from the days when the DRMed music so you couldn't put stuff you purchased on different devices.

salahfathi said:
I have ipad air and it is not so bad but I hate ios limitations as Iam an android fan ( I have note 3 ) and since the galaxy tab s is announced I was taken by its screen
The only concern i have is it worth to sell my ipad and buy a tab s or not , also the ipad build quality is a beauty does the tab s will satisfy me in its build quality or I will regret giving away my ipad ?
Last thing is the exynos processor coming with it will be good or we will suffer lagging?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got a steal on the Mini 2 64gb way under $400 and new. Got it in Feb this year just before 7.1 ios came out. So its jailbroken. The ONLY reason I bought it like so many others say jailbroken is the only way to go. I would never buy one with out it. I can put different icons widgets blah blah. If it was not jailbroken I might sell it for a Tab s.
Yet I didnt and bought the Tab s anyway. For ME there is just more freedom.

Zeblade said:
I got a steal on the Mini 2 64gb way under $400 and new. Got it in Feb this year just before 7.1 ios came out. So its jailbroken. The ONLY reason I bought it like so many others say jailbroken is the only way to go. I would never buy one with out it. I can put different icons widgets blah blah. If it was not jailbroken I might sell it for a Tab s.
Yet I didnt and bought the Tab s anyway. For ME there is just more freedom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My ipad is jailbroken too but enough lies on ourselves android alone without root has much more freedom than jailbroken ios

salahfathi said:
My ipad is jailbroken too but enough lies on ourselves android alone without root has much more freedom than jailbroken ios
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I 100% agree.

Update to my prior post. With the $100 trade in offer I went ahead and got the 10.5 Tab S. Glad I did. Colors amazing on this and like the extra size in portrait.

Get the S 10.5 and stick a 128 Gb sd card in it and save all of your music, videos etc on it so that you always have access to them wherever you go and if you need to do a factory reset then they are still available on the device.
Because the iPad has no sd card is a deal breaker for me.

IPad has a slicker, smoother os and a slightly better app store, but that's about it tbh. You can't use otg usb devices, no sd slot and a more restricted os. I have an ipad3 which I still use, but love the fact I can just plug my usb stick into my tab s and watch a movie or tv episode. Also the amoled screen is amazing. No iTunes to worry about either.
Sent from my SM-T700 using Tapatalk

I only got the tab S 8.4 less than a week ago, was deciding whether to get the ipad mini retina, I wanted the ipad to play one game from teamlava called dragon story, but the developer was more hunger for money with their games which makes player spend alot of money, so I have slowly grown off the game.
With the 8.4 there is more freedom to customize the tab, and with less limitation, and cheap to buy.

You won't be disappointed

bigbrown said:
You buy Apple for the ecosystem, not for the hw/OS specs, which are behind Samsung/Android. If you don't have a must-have app on the iPad, go with Android. Better value for the $ and freedom to make changes as you wish.
The only issue I have with Samsung Tab S is that it's 16:9 screen ratio. I need the 4:3 for portrait eBook reading. For media consumption, I have a laptop & HT system.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HW isn't behind with the exception being the OLED panel itself. The CPU in an iPad Air is much faster then what Samsung uses.

HughesNet said:
HW isn't behind with the exception being the OLED panel itself. The CPU in an iPad Air is much faster then what Samsung uses.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Another exception is running two apps simultaneously on the S 10.5 splitting it's 16:10 screen which is great and would not work on the ipad with it's 4:3 aspect ratio screen.

What is better than an Tab S? Anything comparable?

I still love the size and awesome screen etc of the original S1
Of course battery is an issue but i love the 8.4 inch form factor and thinness.
What Android tablet out there trumps the S1?
I cant seem to think of many.

YEP
I picked the last one off Swappa over the weekend. I have had it before but thought the display wasn't that great. I still don't think it's as good as the S2 display despite being higher PPI. The only thing I think comes close is Huawei Mediapad M3. But it doesn't have as strong of a development community at least at this point. Everything else is comparable or better I think. Great display, but not AMOLED. Comparable performance, SD card slot, USB-C etc.

You dont think the S1 display is good?

in term of what? Display & dimension? None to me. I even dumb my tab s2 8.0 and back to tab s 8.4 due to the screen dimension. Since i watch a lot of movie using the tab i hate the big black bar on tab s2. I really hope they did make the storage to 32GB last time... it will last far longer then the current 16GB space. But it more comfortable if you do reading on Tab S2. Gaming wise... well more less the same. It eat battery like nuts... hahaha... In android world the only thing that can give far more better experience IMO are Nvidia Shield. that's it.

Nothing it cannot be beaten in my opinion, It`s the oled display at 16:10 ratio and 10.5" size that makes it the best, the S2 and S3 have an 4:3 diplay, and if your primary use is video/movies it`s the best.
John.

I am pretty happy with the 10.5 Tab S. It does have flaws, but I don't think it's worth to throw it away and buy a new tablet. However, if it dies, there is no way I am buying another Tab S again. I'd probably go for Lenovo's new line of Yoga Tab 3 Plus 10 inch tablets or for the Huawei mediapad M3. If the prices of the new Tab S3 drop down by the holidays, I'd consider one of those too.

I switched to the tab s3 from a tab s 10.5 last week. Loved my S but it started getting pretty laggy and Ive been waiting for months for something decent to come along and check all the boxes. I'm pretty happy do far, waiting for reviews until I decide on what case to get.
Also, Best Buy gave me $100 trade in for an old note 8.0 Att tablet I had laying around and it looks like I can get $150 easy for the tab s so that makes it easier to swallow.
Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

And the S1 has stereo speakers in the correct location for watching a video in landscape mode, the S2 and S3 has both speakers on one end for use in an portrait mode, good luck getting a stereo effect with that when you are trying to watch a movie.
John.

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.