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	danramos	2010-11-01 , 05:49
	Posts: 4,672 \| Thanked: 5,455 times \| Joined on Jul 2008 @ Springfield, MA, USA	#881

Originally Posted by etuoyo

For that price it looks very good. Only problem is the lack of andrid market. If there was a guarantee of a hack to load the market on it I think I would get the 7 inch version (although I think I heard that the 7 inch version is resistive which would make it a definite no go for me).

EDIT: Just checked and the 7 inch version is capacitive. But is only 800x480 resolution so probably not ideal for such a big screen.

The Archos tablets also lack GPS--so that makes their utility a little bit dimished for things like Google Maps, Navigation, augmented reality and even just web browsing sites or using apps that expect to know where you're located to help you find the closest whatever-it-is you're looking for.

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	Capt'n Corrupt	2010-11-01 , 10:20
	Posts: 3,524 \| Thanked: 2,958 times \| Joined on Oct 2007 @ Delta Quadrant	#882

In this CNET quick-review, they say the usual good things about the Tab. One thing they do call out, though, is the Archos 70 briefly in their review and how (or that) the Tab compares favourably with it. Not a must see, but interesting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okSVeug-pAI

The review is limited to the first section of the video.

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	Capt'n Corrupt	2010-11-01 , 10:43
	Posts: 3,524 \| Thanked: 2,958 times \| Joined on Oct 2007 @ Delta Quadrant	#883

It looks as if the Tab was just released in the UK! I'm very excited to see some feedback re: the Bluetooth stylus and the how it works with the Tab. Here's hoping that there's a review that focuses on this potentially killer feature.

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etuoyo	2010-11-01 , 15:15
Posts: 1,179 \| Thanked: 770 times \| Joined on Nov 2009	#884

Originally Posted by Capt'n Corrupt

It looks as if the Tab was just released in the UK! I'm very excited to see some feedback re: the Bluetooth stylus and the how it works with the Tab. Here's hoping that there's a review that focuses on this potentially killer feature.

Thanks for the heads up. Today should have been the day for me then until Samsung decided to price me out of the market.

Looks like £529 is the low price (available from Tesco Direct). However, this is like £100 less than other places are quoting so not sure what the deal is here. Is it wifi only, does it require a monthly contract? Website does not say.

http://direct.tesco.com/content/spec...ngtab2010.aspx

Also here is a short BBC video showing the tablets available on the market now.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11665362

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	Capt'n Corrupt	2010-11-01 , 15:59
	Posts: 3,524 \| Thanked: 2,958 times \| Joined on Oct 2007 @ Delta Quadrant	#885

Originally Posted by bergie

While I don't have real percentages, it appears PR1.3 improved N900 battery life significantly (I've forgotten to charge at night a couple of times, and that wasn't the problem it was with PR1.2). So I'm sure similar could be achieved in Android with some focus on the issue...

As I understand there are quite a lot of ways to optimize for memory usage. I'm guessing that Android will be far more aggressive with 'closing' (more like state saving) apps that aren't being used, perhaps on some sort of a timer. I also understand that memory segmentation can likely play a role, in power consumption, so there may be very neat hacks to the kernel in this regard.

I suspect that more GPU acceleration will take a large burden off of the host CPU for this redundant task, and should have a considerable effect on battery life.

But of course, the screen and the radio will remain the largest culprits of battery consumption. I'm interested to know if this is something that can be optimized further (eg. decreased frequency of passive cellular checking/reporting -- I have no idea what I'm talking about, please don't kill me!). In any case, if Apple can tune iOS for excellent battery life, surely Android can as well -- the hardware is virtually identical, after all.

This is of course, unless there is a fundamental stumbling block that prevents this from happening (ie. hardware feature, or OS structure). But even if this were impossible, it would be valuable to find out what the cause is.

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	Capt'n Corrupt	2010-11-01 , 16:03
	Posts: 3,524 \| Thanked: 2,958 times \| Joined on Oct 2007 @ Delta Quadrant	#886

Originally Posted by etuoyo

Thanks for the heads up. Today should have been the day for me then until Samsung decided to price me out of the market.

Looks like £529 is the low price (available from Tesco Direct). However, this is like £100 less than other places are quoting so not sure what the deal is here. Is it wifi only, does it require a monthly contract? Website does not say.

http://direct.tesco.com/content/spec...ngtab2010.aspx

Also here is a short BBC video showing the tablets available on the market now.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11665362

I'm actually somewhat nervous about the Canadian price. I assumed that $599 was going to be mirrored across US carriers, but this is sadly not the case. TMobile is charging $699US for the device! It would seem that either the MSRP is very high, or the carriers are being very, very greedy.

I'm planning on buying a Rogers device, so I'm hoping that either Rogers or ATT make the tablet available for $599. Otherwise, I'm going to play the waiting game.

But so far, there is no other device that's been announced that I would purchase over the Tab. They all have one short coming or another that causes them to fail my minimum requirements.

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	Capt'n Corrupt	2010-11-01 , 17:29
	Posts: 3,524 \| Thanked: 2,958 times \| Joined on Oct 2007 @ Delta Quadrant	#887

The Engadget review of the Galaxy Tab is out.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/11/01/s...xy-tab-review/

They scored it a 7/10. However, if you read the full review, the don't really complain about anything, rather they go on and on about what's nice. Also, the listed cons are: Not all apps scale to the screen, Little support from Google, Buggy video calling software; hardly points worthy of knocking the score down by 3.

I'm not sure if the stated points in the review are justification for this score. I would have thought from the reading that it deserves something a little closer to 8 or 9.

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etuoyo	2010-11-01 , 17:33
Posts: 1,179 \| Thanked: 770 times \| Joined on Nov 2009	#888

Originally Posted by Capt'n Corrupt

The Engadget review of the Galaxy Tab is out.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/11/01/s...xy-tab-review/

They scored it a 7/10. However, if you read the full review, the don't really complain about anything, rather they go on and on about what's nice. Also, the listed cons are: Not all apps scale to the screen, Little support from Google, Buggy video calling software; hardly points worthy of knocking the score down by 3.

I'm not sure if the stated points in the review are justification for this score. I would have thought from the reading that it deserves something a little closer to 8 or 9.

Engadget is Apple's marketing mouthpiece. No way were they going to give the Tab an 8 or 9.

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Duncan	2010-11-01 , 17:57
Posts: 157 \| Thanked: 96 times \| Joined on Nov 2007 @ Oxford, UK	#889

This is a bit strange: I pre-ordered a Galaxy Tab on Amazon UK, it is sitting there saying estimated dispatch date 1st November (i.e. today), but hasn't yet dispatched. Meanwhile, if I were to try to order one today it quotes '1 to 3 months' delivery.

I hope that doesn't mean mine will be delayed, but that's a heck of a delay for any future orders. If it doesn't dispatch by tomorrow maybe I should wander down to Carphone warehouse and see if they have them in stock...

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	Capt'n Corrupt	2010-11-01 , 18:32
	Posts: 3,524 \| Thanked: 2,958 times \| Joined on Oct 2007 @ Delta Quadrant	#890

Originally Posted by etuoyo

Engadget is Apple's marketing mouthpiece. No way were they going to give the Tab an 8 or 9.

Agreed. Despite:
- the Tab racking up thousands of comments per news article (obviously the sign of a hot, or at the very least a controversial device),
- the large number of articles surrounding this device (on engadget, no less)
- the past success of Samsung's Galaxy S (7 million units sold and counting),
- admittance that this is the first real iPad competitor

... it has never been featured at the top of the site! What's there is the nook review and two Macbook Air posts. WTF?! Also, they have yet to do a serious android app review, despite doing many iPhone app reviews, and reporting on many accessories.

The Galaxy Tab is a major device, any way that you slice it, and it's a shame that Engadget's 'journalism' is so biased. I read the articles less and less.

They do break news early, so I keep them in my feeds list, but I'm more interested in the headlines than the actual articles. It's like a little piece of me dies each time I read them.