Within 2 weeks, I have the opportunity to buy an unlocked Galaxy Tab from UK, for use in Canada. It should be unlocked, and has phone + 3G functionality enabled. (Is this correct?)
So, should I get it? Or should I wait for all the newer sexier 2011 CES-announced tablets to come out, and get one of those?
And since I’m incredibly busy with work and Steam games :D can people tell me what I’d actually do with the Tab? I can only imagine surfing/watching anime in bed with this…
I’d definitely wait. Android tablets are getting better in every respect in 2011 (and not far into it based on what we saw at CES). Faster hardware and a much better OS are right around the corner.
The Tab is like an iPad only smaller and not as good…
If it’s Android you want I’d wait for the next generation and personally I Think 7" is too small - the Tab is Nice enough and responds well, but I saw stuff at CES worth waiting for.
Wait.
okie dokie, I will wait.
I was wondering if there’s a chance Honeycomb can be installed on the current model of Galaxy Tab, but I’d rather have a better CPU…
Google says that Honeycomb won’t “require” a dual core CPU, but that’s clearly the hardware platform that it’s being primarily targeted at. I wouldn’t bet against it, but I’d definitely be leery of its performance on existing devices.
RESURRECTION!
OK, so I bit on the Woot deal today which is a refurbed Galaxy Tab. A guy here at work has one and it seems like a good tablet for someone like me.
My question … can you use the GPS functionality without 3G and a data plan? Can it be done purely through the wireless receiver?
GPS doesn’t need 3G to function though the Android software built around GPS typically pulls map data from the network as needed, so unless the device can talk to Google’s servers while you’re using it (which typically means 3G unless you’re sitting at home, in which case why do you need GPS?) there isn’t that much point to having live GPS data. You’ll know your lat/lon, but what good is that if you don’t have map data to go along with it?
To really use the GPS in a practical manner you’ll either need to acquire software which downloads map data to the local device so you have it regardless of network connection, or else tether your Galaxy Tab through something else (I do this with my ASUS Transformer. It has no 3G but does have GPS. I can data tether it through my Android phone so that it can get map data on the go even though it only does wifi).
Well, there are a few things that do this, mainly for hiking/geocaching purposes, as when you’re out in the woods, you aren’t always in range of a cell tower.
I wouldn’t take aa tablet hiking with me though, so I doubt it would be applicable.
The video won’t load (Quicktime? Srsly?), but the comments on this story from people calling parents ‘negligent’ for not buying their kid an ipad were worth the trip
Update: I have 2 friends who have bought and returned the Motorola Xoom. Both have access to iPad 1 or 2, and found issues with Xoom and/or Android that cannot be overcome in their minds. They managed to talk me into waiting even longer for the flood of other brands of Android tablets.
IIRC the reasons: Xoom’s display is not as saturated as the iPad; Android’s store doesn’t have the massive amounts of apps; … I can’t remember the rest.
One guy loved the flexibility and live-ness of the Android home pages.
Why continue to wait for a decent knock-off when you can easily pick up a new or refurb iPad? It’s not like you can’t flip it if you aren’t happy with it after awhile.
I have yet to see an iPad for $250 is the thing … even eBay fails out at that price point.
With the new update to the Xoom, it seems very solid now. The browser is totally badass now. The quirky issues that it had when I first got it seem to have been resolved, and with the new little swype app thing (Flex 9t or something?) that I got for free from the Amazon app store on the day it was offered, the Xoom does exactly what I want it to now.
Oh, and thanks for the info CCZ. I’m sure I can buy an app that comes with map data and get this to happen.
I’m relatively anti-Apple, although I’ve been pro-ipod/touch/iphone for years. I’m trying to break out of the cycle by staying away from the iPad. Not too rational, I know, but hey.
OTOH android tablets aren’t that cheap, either, so a used iPad 1 for $300 or 350 might be considered a good deal to me.
I’m still extremely happy with my ASUS Transformer (though it is priced outside of the core of this discussion, especially if you include the keyboard dock).
I tend to use it in netbook mode about 80% of the time because I just really like using a near-full-size physical keyboard when typing, then just pull out the tablet part when doing lazy couch surfing stuff.
The Transformer has 100% convinced me that I don’t ever want another dedicated tablet, though I do very much always want a netbook that can become a tablet as needed, so I’m pretty much never buying any tablet on any OS in the future that doesn’t reuse this convertible form factor (being able to plug in a bluetooth or usb keyboard to a basic tablet doesn’t count, it loses a lot of convenience by requiring a secondary case with extra accessory storage to tote the thing in).
Apple is selling them from $349. I found some 3G models on craigslist in that price range as well (16 and 32). Some in your neck of the woods are showing on CL for ~$400.
I also like the transformer with the keyboard dock but the one I bought had major light leak issues so I sent it back and after reading about a lot more issues like mine, got the Acer Iconia. Very happy with it so far even without a nice dock like the Transformers.