bsving | # 511 | 2010-10-02, 17:35 | Report

How often do you need to type "SIGNIFICANTLY" ?


Blood sugar is low- need food

Capt'n Corrupt | # 512 | 2010-10-02, 17:37 | Report

Off topic, but:

I hope that PNaCl is absorbed into Android as an alternative to Dalvik. The benefit is native code speed, very tight security, and development in a wide variety of languages. This should also make it much easier to port existing software!

Capt'n Corrupt | # 513 | 2010-10-02, 17:38 | Report

You know what's funny? My blood sugar *is* low!

debernardis | # 514 | 2010-10-02, 18:31 | Report

@Capt'n'Corrupt:

> What are the two circles beside the PDMI connector?!
I don't know. For sure, they can't be pressed. And they are not magnets. There are also two slots on their sides, maybe to connect a docking station?


> 1) What are your general out-of-the-box impressions?

The box is quite unimpressive, and reminds me of cheap mp3 players. Nothing like the elegant black box of the n900. Sports a micro usb charger and a usb-to-30 pin connector cable, and a wired headset. And a quick starting guide.
Putting the sim card and the microsd was easy. The screen is bright but the auto brightness is annoying, so much that I excluded it and set it as fixed.

> 2) Do you see this being something that you use frequently or something that you will get bored of?

This is an interesting question, because I was just thinking I would be bored of it after some time. It's... too standard, too perfect, seems something that doesn't want to be hacked. But perhaps it's me - I have no experience in android hacking and tweaking, and maybe the thing is less impermeable than it seems.

> 3) What are your intended uses?

It's for wife, not the geek sort of. She needs some light web browsing, email, our photos and videos and the occasional youtube browsing in a readable but not too big device, that's both fashionable and quick to operate. For that, the thing seems perfect. She loves it already.

Capt'n Corrupt | # 515 | 2010-10-02, 19:00 | Report

This is great! Thanks for the initial impressions! I'm glad that you got a gadget that your wife really appreciates!

I'd love to hear your thoughts about it after you and your wife have spent some time with it. I'm interested in the way you both use it, what you wish could have been different on the platform, etc, etc.

In the meantime, I will ask one more question:
Is there any visible way to remove the back cover to get access to the battery? But please don't break your Tab trying to do this!

Let us know how you're getting on!

noal | # 516 | 2010-10-02, 19:53 | Report

It's great the Tab is finally out and we can gather some honest opinions about it. Looking forward to more.

Thanks debernardis.

debernardis | # 517 | 2010-10-03, 05:43 | Report

Do you have any advice on which program I could use to make videocalls between the n900 and the galaxy tab? I've learned that there's no proper skype yet for android. Google talk?

EDIT:
RANT #1
I am really pissed off with skype, google talk, qik and all that jazz. No skype app for android, no google talk with video for maemo5 and android either, no way to videocall with qik on the galaxy tab even if there's a video demo floating on the net.
What are these things good for with that 80000000 apps if you can't find the things you need?

---

Last edited by debernardis; 2010-10-03 at 08:06.

danramos | # 518 | 2010-10-03, 10:05 | Report

There is a Skype for Android but it's being offered with exclusivity (which I qualify for, actually), but there's still no video calling in Android Skype.

I'm not entirely sure what's coming down the pike, but I would strongly assume that since Google had acquired Gizmo some time ago, and since they've already started work on making an Android client (some alphas have been available), that the new client will probably sooner-or-later support SIP (standard VOIP with open protocol, unlike Skype) video calls like Gizmo did. Just my personal guess, though.

Capt'n Corrupt | # 519 | 2010-10-03, 11:17 | Report

Sipdroid, recently added video and probably can communicate with the N900. It also integrates with the dialer (AFAIK):
Here's the project page with video: http://sipdroid.org/

I've noticed that video calling has been weak at best, largely due to a lack of standardization. Most players seem to offer proprietary solutions in an effort to lock users into their system each with a unique IM, protocol and codec(s). These islands are small, segmented, and annoying.

I'm hoping that Google can remedy this by pushing open standards (eg. SIP/webm) and inviting others to join in, effectively consolidating all would-be chatters in a decentralized system.

Capt'n Corrupt | # 520 | 2010-10-03, 11:33 | Report

Here's a video expose claiming (with experiment) that skype mobile for android is not actually VoIP but goes over the voice network! This probably explains why its only available for certain (verizon) handsets:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDD9u...eature=related