The Epic Android Thread - Page 136 - maemo.org

AndyG | # 1351 | 2010-11-28, 09:23 | Report

Oops, seems the forum auto sized the image down a lot which is a shame. Hopefully still gives a rough idea though.

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Capt'n Corrupt | # 1352 | 2010-11-28, 12:06 | Report

Originally Posted by Snoshrk View Post

Hey Capt'n / et al

Did you ever consider the Dell Streak? (can't remember any mention of it & don't want to re-read 1300+ posts

)

Thanks

I've thought about the Streak. It's a capable device, but I'd like a larger screen, and the Tabs more modern specs are more appealing to me. The streak is a great system, and its cost is comparable to the Tab, but the Tab wins out for me.

There are a lot of posts

.

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Capt'n Corrupt | # 1353 | 2010-11-28, 12:12 | Report

Originally Posted by AndyG View Post

Thought I'd post my Tab homescreen to give people an idea of what you can achieve with a bit of simple customization. This is what I miss on my iPad!

(Pixel density of 180 and using LauncherPro btw.)

That is a BEAUTIFUL homescreen! I love the speaker grill background and the glossy widgets. It's really classy, and just goes to show how easy it is to give the experience a very different feel. What I love most, though, is the fact that you've made the font smaller (something that I would do as well), as to increase the real-estate on the 7" screen.

I'd love to see more screens!

What widgets are you using?

Capt'n Corrupt | # 1354 | 2010-11-28, 12:32 | Report

Here's the Notebookcheck review of the Tab. They tend to measure some things more in depth like colour gamut, viewing angles, and heat, but for some reason, this review is rather subjective with few measurements
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-...D.40476.0.html.

It is fair, though, and they give the Tab a 71% over all (weighted average of 86%), and annoyingly compare it to the iPad quite a bit. Where do they find it lacking? The smoothness of the UI mainly, and little touches like Aluminum on the iPad. What I like about notebook check is that they have a very rigid reviewing system. For example, the iPad scored 73% overall with a weighted average of 90%.

<rant>
I could throttle Google for their lousy browser performance. After users crying out for GPU acceleration for years in a bug report, Google engineers have more-or-less shrugged this off as a non-issue. Sadly, the browser scrolling seems the largest reason people claim that the Tab experience is choppy. But browsers like Opera Mobile show us that the hardware is more than capable of scrolling web pages much more smoothly.

I saw this coming a mile away, and is one of the few real points of lacking between the two systems. I'm glad that the market is getting an upgrade, and the rate of 3rd party development has been huge, but Google needs to focus on a few key areas of the experience, or they will forego a leadership position in usability. I would like them to focus on the UI a bit more. Not only the look, and certainly not only the launcher, but the speed of various components as well.

Google's strategy has been a win, based on the tremendous popularity of the OS. But they could compete better in other areas as well, with a bit of polish.
</rant>

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debernardis | # 1355 | 2010-11-28, 14:21 | Report

I'm having a lot of problems in using a voip app on the Tab, with a bluetooth headset. Android apps seem to need to be coded explicitly for using that. Skype doesn't see the headset, and Sipdroid should - but doesn't. What a mess.

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lemmyslender | # 1356 | 2010-11-28, 14:23 | Report

I read the review Bergie posted. While it was well-written, it had a decided slant to it.

Most of the authors complaints about the Tab came down to "I'm not used to doing it that way" in other words, not an actual complaint in my opinion. Other places he went out of his way to make negative points. For instance, in the first part of the article, he mentions how he loves the haptic feedback. Towards the end, he points out how his wife hates haptic feedback when using twitter. I suspect if his wife was the main user, haptic feedback would have been off by default, and she would not have complained about it in twitter.

I have a different outlook on the size issue than he does. He points out the best uses for the Tab (portability and pocket-ability), then goes on to say how the iPad is better because you'd only use it in the home (room) or cafe. Seems like he considers the iPad too big to be portable, and it's better because of that.

In my opinion, that reasoning is why the Tab (7" size) is better than the iPad (10" size). I'd never sit around and write a 1000 word article on any tablet. I'd rather have a real keyboard. Add a bluetooth keyboard, and the difference between sizes is irrelevant. If I want to catch up on news, whatever, I'd rather use a larger screen (laptop 15"+, mouse, multiple tabs open, multitasking, etc). For quick checks, etc a tablet would be fine, and again, size doesn't seem to be a big issue.

The way I see it, get a 7" tablet and a bluetooth keyboard. Probably not much bulkier than a 10" tablet, more portable while on the go, and a real keyboard to use if you need it.

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Capt'n Corrupt | # 1357 | 2010-11-28, 14:29 | Report

Originally Posted by debernardis View Post

I'm having a lot of problems in using a voip app on the Tab, with a bluetooth headset. Android apps seem to need to be coded explicitly for using that. Skype doesn't see the headset, and Sipdroid should - but doesn't. What a mess.

That's quite a shame. I've read that certain BT headsets don't work well, and it depends a lot upon the device/OS. It appears that BT is a weak point for Android.

What headset model are you using?

This is a problem for me especially, in that I plan to use a headset with the Galaxy Tab; it's a major use case. I'm considering buying a Plantroics Discovery 975, and would like it to work with little fuss.

EDIT:
It appears that there indeed *are* pairing problems with the Plantronics Discovery 975!
http://www.mygalaxytab.net/samsung-g...iring-problem/

I'm not sure what to do in this scenario. I plan for this to replace my N810 as my SIP phone, and absolutely need headset support. Either I purchase a headset that works with the device, or I wait until there is a suitable fix to these problems.

Last edited by Capt'n Corrupt; 2010-11-28 at 14:40.

debernardis | # 1358 | 2010-11-28, 14:31 | Report

I'm using a Motorola H700. I had been trying that some time ago... and it still doesn't work properly. Too bad, it's a very nice headset.

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Capt'n Corrupt | # 1359 | 2010-11-28, 14:38 | Report

Originally Posted by lemmyslender View Post

I read the review Bergie posted. While it was well-written, it had a decided slant to it.

Most of the authors complaints about the Tab came down to "I'm not used to doing it that way" in other words, not an actual complaint in my opinion. Other places he went out of his way to make negative points. For instance, in the first part of the article, he mentions how he loves the haptic feedback. Towards the end, he points out how his wife hates haptic feedback when using twitter. I suspect if his wife was the main user, haptic feedback would have been off by default, and she would not have complained about it in twitter.

I have a different outlook on the size issue than he does. He points out the best uses for the Tab (portability and pocket-ability), then goes on to say how the iPad is better because you'd only use it in the home (room) or cafe. Seems like he considers the iPad too big to be portable, and it's better because of that.

In my opinion, that reasoning is why the Tab (7" size) is better than the iPad (10" size). I'd never sit around and write a 1000 word article on any tablet. I'd rather have a real keyboard. Add a bluetooth keyboard, and the difference between sizes is irrelevant. If I want to catch up on news, whatever, I'd rather use a larger screen (laptop 15"+, mouse, multiple tabs open, multitasking, etc). For quick checks, etc a tablet would be fine, and again, size doesn't seem to be a big issue.

The way I see it, get a 7" tablet and a bluetooth keyboard. Probably not much bulkier than a 10" tablet, more portable while on the go, and a real keyboard to use if you need it.

Well argued. My point exactly. I could not have said it better myself, and missed the authors contradictions!

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Capt'n Corrupt | # 1360 | 2010-11-28, 14:45 | Report

Originally Posted by debernardis View Post

I'm using a Motorola H700. I had been trying that some time ago... and it still doesn't work properly. Too bad, it's a very nice headset.

That certainly is too bad. I wonder what the issue is? If these device are all using HSP properly, then the Tab shouldn't know which device it was talking to and all devices should work as advertised.

Perhaps it has something to do with the BT 3.0 spec? Perhaps it has something to do with the radio?

In any event, lets hope a fix is around the corner, as this is annoying.