A little help

[ironlung]

I am looking to purchase a new tablet for my wife. My biggest question is this: is there really a huge difference between the tab 2 or the tab 3?

 

[ZooCrazie]

My brother just purchased the Tab 3 10.1 . I fiddled with it briefly. As far as operating differences i'm not sure. I did notice the physical features were a little different : has a menu button , a touch (back & menu) they sit about midway up the device. If you know what a Samsung Galaxy S3 looks like it is a very similar to that. just bigger.

 

[Slow learner]

The Tab3 has Home, Back and Menu buttons in the bottom of the frame, which I find useful. It also has a slot for a micro SD card (they're currently on sale at John Lewis with a free 16GB card for

 

[gsturge]

Really disapointed, no adobe flash support guess I'll go back to playbook

 

[relic1138]

Skip the Tab 3 10.1, compared to the Nexus 10 at the same price it doesn't have a chance. It's a also very laggy do to the Intel chip not being optimized for Touchwiz, only 300MB of free memory available for apps. Yeah, stay away from it.

 

[athegn]

I would miss the micro SD slot on the Nexus; I use a 64GB one on my Tab 2 - Tab 3 also takes that card - I tend to carry a lot of data with me on my devices (phone, laptop, tablet...). Also can swap out, very easily micro SD cards so even greater flexibility; wife has 64 GB card, holding different data, that we sometimes swap between our Tab 2s. We may be unusual in the amount of data we carry with us. Why not just download; we seem to be in many situations where there is no signal and much of our data is home produced so not on the net.

Tab 3 also has IR Blaster; can control tv from tablet. Disabled friend looking to get one for that; light weight on lap and no other remotes needed.

Just a few more points to consider.

 

[relic1138]

I would miss the micro SD slot on the Nexus; I use a 64GB one on my Tab 2 - Tab 3 also takes that card - I tend to carry a lot of data with me on my devices (phone, laptop, tablet...). Also can swap out, very easily micro SD cards so even greater flexibility; wife has 64 GB card, holding different data, that we sometimes swap between our Tab 2s. We may be unusual in the amount of data we carry with us. Why not just download; we seem to be in many situations where there is no signal and much of our data is home produced so not on the net.

Tab 3 also has IR Blaster; can control tv from tablet. Disabled friend looking to get one for that; light weight on lap and no other remotes needed.

Just a few more points to consider.

I understand but there is a lot more to consider than just the SD Card such as the fact that the Tab 3 is an absolute dog of a tablet. Meaning it's very, very laggy. Touchwiz takes up a inexcusable amount of memory, leaving the user with only 300MB available for apps. If you enjoy using Office apps on your tablet you can pretty much forget about using them on the Tab 3, the lag time from typing a word in QuickOffice is unbearable. Look, I have nothing to gain from this, I am really just trying to save you from a very big mistake, the Tab 3 is a bad tablet. I bought one and returned it after only a few days, in that time it also broke, holding the tablet on the right side caused it to shutdown. There is also no screen protection like Gorilla Glass so it scratches very easily. Did I mention how much lag there is.

In the 10" range there really isn't much around for the same price as the Tab 3 except the Nexus and Lenova Yoga HD+ and because the Nexus and Yoga are so much better in every way it would almost be idiotic to purchase the Tab 3. Have you read any reviews on the Tab 3 yet?

2560 x 1600 vs. 1280 x 800
2GB Ram vs. 1GB (The Tab 3 is in desperate need of another gig)
9,000 mAH battery vs. 6,800 mAH
Build quality is superb vs. mediocre
Gorilla Glass 2 vs. no protection
Samsung Exynos 5250 vs Intel Intel Atom Z2560 (Touchwiz isn't optimized for the Intel chip, that and the lack of memory makes for a very unpleasant experience)

If there is anyway you can live without the SD card slot you will be better served by the Nexus. All I can do is give you my opinion at the end of the day it's your decision but I cannot warn you enough against this piece of junk.

Oh here is the info on the Lenovo Yoga 10 HD+, it's the same price as the Tab 3, faster, 2GB RAM, unbelievable 18 hours of battery, 1080P resolution, Android 4.4.2, SD Card, really nice design and quite pleasant to hold, it's like holding a magazine.

If you can afford it I would defiantly look at the following as well;
Asus TF701T, Nvidia Tegra 4, 2GB Ram 400.00 (This is a really good price, with an optional keyboard dock that gives an additional 6 hours of battery)
Samsung Pro 10.1, Snapdragon 800, 2GB Ram 450.00
Toshiba Excite Pro, Nvidia Tegra 4, 2GB Ram 470.00

 

[relic1138]

I forgot about the IR, it's a pretty neat toy but that's all it is. First it was designed for a Samsung Smart TV, any other TV and you will just be able to use the basic functions, turn on. change the channel and so forth. Second, it's an absolute nightmare to set up, especially if you do not have a Samsung Smart TV. Just watch people trying to set one up on YouTube, I do not know how tech savvy you are but even editors of tech magazines who play with these things for a living have given up trying to get it to work properly, not to say that you can’t. There is a particular funny video of a person trying to use his Samsung Note 3 with the Samsung Remote app, needless to say he wasn't very successful. Third if you already have a Samsung Smart TV, why do you need a remote. Especially with the new series, I know because I have the new 46” UN46ES7500 model that already comes with a brilliant touch remote, besides the remote, it also has voice recognition and hand gestures control for changing the channel and starting apps. Now you don’t have to buy the huge expensive model to get these features, their available in 30” for under 400 dollars. These new TV’s are basically big tablets now, they have all of the apps you could possibly want and a huge library of other waiting to be installed, in fact I am using it right now to post this, I updated my remote with the Samsung Qwerty, it’s absolutely brilliant, I use Microsoft's OneDrives online Office apps all the time now.

Look I too was lured in by the Samsung Tab 3 10.1’s possibilities but in the end it was all just hype and a horrible tablet experience due to the lack of optimization for the Intel chip inside and the lack of memory. Anyone who has a Tab 3 10.1 and tries to argue this point, I would like you to open up your Task Manager by holding down the Home Key, it’s the big button on the bottom, middle, until the app switcher pops up, then close all of your apps by clicking on, “Close all”, then click on, “Task manager” in the far left hand corner, then, “RAM manager”, finally click on, Clear memory”, you will now see that the system is taking up a 600MB + leaving enough to use maybe two apps comfortably, anymore than that and it’s lag city. In comparison my new Kindle shows 342MB and my Nexus 10 before I returned it showed 430MB used but then again both those have 2GB and a unusually large resolution of 2560 x 1600 which means the system needs more memory to run. So if the Nexus 10 is only using 430MB with the system taking up memory for the graphics, what the heck does the Tab 3 10.1 need 600MB plus for, TouchWiz, Samsung believes people still like the functionality of Android 3.0. Which means you lose a lot of the features that make Android 4.2.2 and now 4.3 great. If the Tab 3 10.1 had the Nexus OS in it, I guarantee that the tablet would be 10 times faster and better. Unfortunately the development community for the Tab 3 is almost non existent.

By the way I too am handicapped, I have lost the use of my left hand do to a car accident. So I use voice control and virtual keyboards like 8Pen to assist me.

I have been thinking about the choice you are going to make too soon and I really think you should buy a Kindle 8.9 HDX. I know it's a little smaller than you want but please give it some serious thought. It is one of the most equipped and capable tablets available with it’s Qualcomm SnapDragon 800 Quad Core CPU, 2GB RAM, Miracast, 8MP rear camera, instant online assistance with it’s Mayday button. I want to talk a little about Mayday, it’s cool and almost worth the price of the tablet just for this service. An example of what Mayday does, my wife wanted to connect the tablet up to the TV so she could watch the Walking Dead’s new episode she downloaded using Amazons service. She of course never reads the manual and she called out for me to help her, I told her to press Mayday, she asked what it is and I told her to just push it. I walked out of the room to put some stamps on bills when I heard laughing coming out of the living room, I was intrigued because the kids were in the garden and there was no one else in the house. When I walked into the living room my wife was swapping husband stories with the Customer Service Rep from Amazon. When you push the Mayday button your connected to the Amazon Customer Service in under 15 seconds, you are than immediately greeted by a human person over a secure video chat. The rep successfully walked my wife through the process of connecting the Kindle to the TV, a extremely easy thing to do by the way, not only were the instructions useful but the Rep had the how to guide for our TV in front of her, she was even able to push the PDF manual to my wife after she requested it. No more posting questions into forums hopeful that a person will answer, no more waiting on the telephone for ever. Since you are face to face with a person they become a lot more helpful and respectful to the customer. Just a friggen awesome service that rivals every customer service center there is. I could go on an on as to why this is great but I’ll stop here as I think you get the point.

The screen; it is one of the most brilliant looking screens I have ever layed my eyes on, it really is a site to behold. Apple has been surpassed as having the best looking screens. At a resolution of 2560 x 1600 it’s like looking at a magazine when reading in apps like Flipboard or Pinterest.

The speed: like I stated before it has a Snapdragon 2,2Ghz CPU but things on paper are much different than the real thing. Take the Tab 3 10.1 for instance, on paper the Intel CPU looks to be a capable processor, however the lack of optimization on Samsung's part for their beloved TouchWiz and the absence of a much needed 2GB of memory, the entire tablet is bogged down turning it into a horrible experience for the user. The Kindle on the other hand is almost flawless. The thing I like about the Apple iPads is even though iOS is the most tyrannically controlled OS ever conceived, the OS moves along flawlessly with almost zero lag. The Kindle 8.9 HDX is probably the first Android tablet that has the same buttery smoothness as a late model iPad and I have played with almost every high end tablet there is, including such beasts as the Samsung Pro 12.1, Pro 10.1, Pro 8.4, Note 10.1 2014 edition, Toshiba Excite Pro 10.1 with Tegra 4, Asus 701T (this is also a fantastic tablet), etc. The Samsungs particular seem to all suffer from lag, it’s not so bad that you wouldn't want one or anywhere near the mess that is the Tab 3 line but it’s still there and every reviewer that has gotten their hands on one has stated the same.

Build Quality: one of the biggest problems plaguing Android tablets today is build quality. The price you pay for example a Samsung Pro 12.1 you expect it to be above the rest. Unfortunately this isn't the case, the plastic used in Pro series still feel flimsy and cheap, even though it’s not. This is not the case with the Kindle, yes it is also plastic but like a Panasonic Toughbook this thing is solid and could easily survive a 4 foot drop on concrete, whereas the Tab 3 10.1 would be utterly destroyed. There are many stories of these near tablet death experiences in the comment section for the Kindle on Amazon. The Kindle just feels solid in every way without the extra heft that usually accompanies tablets with such build quality and strength.

FireOS: this is where I might lose you. Amazon uses a highly modified version of Android. Some people absolutely love it and other absolutely hate it. I happen to really enjoy it. because of the large development community you can install a custom ROM making your Kindle into a Nexus device. I did this to try it out and it worked great, I had a vanilla Android OS.However I missed the FireOS interface so I flashed a custom ROM called Fire Hydrant. This will root the device and install all of the Google apps like Play Store, so now you get the best of both world. Flashing the device is extremely easy, just follow the instructions over at XDA. The integrated apps like Facebook, Twitter, Mayday, Amazons crazy fast web browser Silk, etc. FireOS, when rooted for the addition of Google Play Store becomes the best Android OS there is and I have no doubt that you will like it as well. Even if you don’t want to Root your device you can still easily install whatever app you want by going to the settings and clicking Allow Unknown apps, easy.

Customer Service: like I said before with the new 24/7 Mayday service no other company comes even close to the level of service Amazon provides. Here is another great thing, if you have a problem with the tablet just push Mayday and if the tablet needs to go back, Amazon will send you a box that arrives in one, two days at the latest, you then just put the tablet into the box and send it to Amazon, free of charge, the turnaround is three to four days according to Amazon, I haven’t had a problem yet and I don’t foresee one either as again this thing is built like a tank. My wife said, after talking with customer service rep, that Amazon will start a new service for something like an extra 10 dollars a year, where if you have to send in your Kindle, Amazon will just send you a new one that very day if you call before 1:00PM and all you have to do is put the damaged Kindle into the box the new one came in, slap the RMA sticker that’s in the box over the old address and send it back. Turn around if done before 1:00 PM is 24 hours. This is a whole different world and I don’t know about you but I’m in. Samsung doesn't even come close to this kind of service, surf the Samsung forums and you will quickly find out that many people have waited upwards to a month to get their repaired tablet back. Calling the customer service line isn’t so bad though, I usually get thru after 5 -10 minutes of waiting their very friendly but you have to pay for postage if you have to send it back directly to Samsung. It’s a whole different story though if you buy it from a place like Best Buy, all you have to do is give it to them for repair. The Amazon way is a lot better in my opinion though, Mayday is just worth every penny.

Remote Control: Amazon has a service called Second Screen. It’s pretty good, this app has controls to operate your TV, push movies to it, mirror your tablet desktop to your tablet or TV to your tablet, which is perfect for night time TV bed watching. If you don’t have a TV that supports Miracast though you will have to purchase an accessory like the Netgear Push2TV which is certified for the use with the Kindle HDX, I think its about 60 dollars but worth every penny if you don’t have Smart TV. Second Screen will basically turn your TV into a over-sized tablet, minus the touch controls of course but you can do all that with your Kindle. You can play games at 1080P, stream movies, watch normal TV, there are even DVR apps so you can record your shows for later, the possibilities are endless.

Gaming: I don’t know if you are into gaming but I will quickly say if you are this is the perfect device for it. When connected to your now Smart TV because of Second Screen you can display your games at 1080P. Pair a bluetooth GamePad or use a USB controller if you buy a OTG cable for 2 dollars and you will have a pretty decent gaming console. I have two kids, twins, even though they have a Xbox 360 and a PS3 they are now hooked with playing games on the Kindle. With Games like Modern Combat 4, Dead Space, 9MM I can see why their hooked, their absolutely beautiful games to look at. With the speed of the processor you can also enable 4x MSAA making any jagged line disappear. My kids birthday and anniversary for my wife and is coming up in the next week. Kids were born two days after our anniversary. They are asking for a Xbox One but the amount of time they have used playing with my Kindle is not only starting to bother me but the kids really need a tablet for themselves. So I bought two Kindle 7 HDX’s and a 8.9 for my wife. She’s the one that want’s one the most, she has a Nook HD right now that she loves but after she found out that she could ask questions to the Customer Service she fell head over heals for the Kindle. That and she loves the ability to stream the desktop to the TV. We have a little 20” LG TV in the kitchen that she uses while cooking so I will also have to buy a Netgear.

Wrap up: the Kindle is a little more than the Tab 3 10.1 in terms of pricing. They start at 340 for the 2GB, 16GB model, I would definitely buy the 32GB version though at a price of 380. These prices come from BestBuy. I’m not sure where you live, just assuming. I spent a little time with you because I had an opportunity to try and change your mind. The Tab 3 10.1 for the last time, I promise, is not a good tablet, the features are gimmicky, it’s slow, cheaply built and frankly one of the worst tablets I have ever had the displeasure of owning. I returned the Nexus 10 because I wanted a little extra money to purchase the LTE, 64GB version of the Kindle. When I find a gadget I like I go in. I also purchased a OtterBox Defender, a military grade protection case for it. I’ve broken, scratched, cracked to many gadgets while traveling, I want to make sure nothing ever happens to this one. At this point I hope you were convinced enough to buy a Kindle, if you weren't then at least look at the other 10” tablet I suggested above. If you still end up buying a Samsung 10.1 you’re your an idiot. No just kidding, I would still like to know either way and I can help set up anything you need help with.

GodBless,

Relic1138

Example of MayDay in use: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Xw-OqcOjGLc

 

[athegn]

"Just a few more points to consider. ..."

or horses for courses.

I don't know the OP circumstances but mine require the use of the micro SD card. Ok I know I am old and so are most of my friends and acquaintances so the latest gear is not possessed. So I often use my tablet's micro SD card to store data, say jpgs or videos, on my tablet. Many do not have computers or broadband or wifi; try getting broadband in West Ireland. It is ok in big "cities" like Bandon and Macroom but not in rural areas. I shall attend a small club room, just outside London tonight; no wifi or 3G so micro SD to the rescue. My sig. has come from experience!

BTW I upload from a camera's card via an OTG cable fitted with a card reader; store the data on the tablet's micro SD then download later. Possibly most people do not have to cope with this lack of technology.

As for Office apps I would not use my tablet for that. My desktop is where Access and Excel work is done; I might use the tablet for display of results or simple input but I would hate to create complex formulae or coding on a tablet. Photoshop/Goldwave work I keep on my dual screen desktop.

The IR Blaster is looking more attractive; I can't find it mentioned for Yoga. A friend who has the TAB 3, which she loves as it does all she wants, is looking to get rid of her remotes and just use the TAB 3.

I am not yet looking to replace my TAB 2 and don't know what I will replace it with but unlikely the TAB 3.

Anyway thank you for your advice and pointing out the qualities of other tablets to consider.

(posted before I saw your latest reply)

 

[athegn]

I started to read your second missive but frankly its too long; I lost interest half way through the first paragraph.

Wasn't the phrase sort of "Too many "words" Heir Mozart!"

Still I expect there is a lot of useful information there so again thank you for posting.

 

[relic1138]

I apologize for over whelming you with information. I was trying to be thorough in my analysis. So I will try this one more time with less information and more to the point.

Is the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 better than your Tab 2, NO, because Samsung did not optimize their TouchWiz UI for the Intel CPU. Plus do to the abnormal amount of memory TouchWiz uses, there is only 300MB of free memory available for apps, this means the Tab 3 is very laggy and the older Tab 2 is actually faster because it is optimized for TouchWiz and has more memory available for apps.

"A friend who has the TAB 3, which she loves..." Not to be rude in anyway but she most likely hasn't compared her Tab 3 with other tablets because if she did, she would quickly start to understand how bad her Tablet really is. The remote for the Samsung Tab 3 is a gimick, unless you have a Samsung Smart TV you will be better off buying a Logitech all in one remote control.

All tablet manufacturers are doing away with the SD Card and using Cloud, in the very near future you will not be able to buy a tablet with a SD Card reader anymore, Google has even taken that ability out of Android. Manufactures are now responsible for putting it back in, basically hacking. There is a simple and elegant solution for this and frankly it is better than what you are doing now;

Introducing the EasyAcc. With this device you can wirelessly access you SD Cards from you tablet. You will also be able to share your data with anyone as this device has a built in wireless router. With up to 5 people at once, they can access your data, photos, movies, they can even copy over data. Do you have an external Hard Drive, just plug it into this device and becomes a wireless NAS drive. If someone does have 3G or LTE they can connect to this device and share their internet connection with anyone else conected to the this device. This also acts as an external battery for your tablet, with the built in 8,800 Mah battery, you will be able to get an extra 8 hours of battery life from your tablet or phone. The Price for this miracle device, 45.00 bucks.

I still think you should get the Kindle 8.9 HDX. The interface is perfect for you, the UI is instantaneous with zero lag. I personally have never seen a tablet as fast as this one. MayDay, never before has there been such an effective easy way to contact customer service. Just simply push the Mayday on your Kindle and you will be connected via video chat to a customer rep in seconds. No more phone calls, emails or forums posts. You like taking photos, there is no other device that offers the kind of Photo Manaegment the Kindle does, editing photos and videos is also a very easy.

With, Second Screen and Fling you will be able to control your TV with ease, a whole lot better than the Samsung Tab 3 could ever do without a Samsung Smart TV. You can also use your TV as a second screen for your tablet, while displaying the photos you took of the day on your TV, you will be able to surf, email, read a books or even watch a movie, simultaneously. You seem to be hung up on controlling your TV the traditional way. Did you know that you can now watch Ireland TV online, never miss a show because you weren't home by simply recording the shows you want, for Free. BBC, ITV, SPBTV. all have free apps available on the Kindle. So you can now watch TV in HD like normal and surf on your Kindle at the same time. It's much better than the cable TV your used to. This will change the way you watch TV, I guarantee it.

Here is a fun commercial for the Kindle, please spend a little time and watch it and yes the experience is really that smooth.

So the video focused quite a lot on Amazons content, however you are not forced to use it.

I will no longer bug you sir, I have given you my opinion. As I spend countless hours reading about this stuff and actually testing these devices by going to stores that carry it, I know what I am talking. I'm also in a unique position as I have also owned the Tab 3 10.1 and I couldn't/wouldn't recommend one to my worst enemy. It's that bad, where as the Kindle 8.9 is a bit of fresh air in a vast sea of garbage.

 

[Iproff]

I have the tab 3 10.1 and I am very pleased with it, I also have a Samsung phone and really like how they sinc my pictures and data. My wife has a Tab 3 8.0 and really likes it better than my 10.1. She has a lot of ebooks and reading in bed with the 8.0 is much easier than the 10.1. I don't find either one laggy as was mentioned above. I did buy a usb micro to normal usb that allowed use to plug a thumb drive into either one or a external hd. This has worked great for movies in bed or on the road traveling. Transfering files from my tablet using the thumb drive to computers at work really makes life easy. I also connected a USB hub that had slots for a SD card and 3 USB ports, it works excellent.

Ken

 

[relic1138]

Not trying to diminish your appreciation for your tablet but have you ever used any other tablet besides the Tab 3 10.1?

 

[Iproff]

Yes I have, a Blackberry Playbook, a Kindle and an Ipad. The Kindle was not mine but a friends.

Ken

 

[relic1138]

After using the iPad you still find the Tab 3 10.1 fast? Sorry, I'm not trying to pick on you but every single person I know who has owned a Tab 3 10.1 has either returned it or sold it at a lost just to get rid of it. The local computer shop has stopped stocking them because the return rate is 3 to 1, they now just sell the 8" inch model and the Nexus 10 has replaced the 10.1" version. Every review has also said the same thing, laggy, not worth it when compared to the Nexus 10 which ironically is now cheaper. But if you are a Playbook user I guess you are no stranger to laggy tablets. The Tab 3 isn't worth the money they are asking for, if it was being sold for 180.00, it would still be barely worth the buy. Especially when you can buy a Dell Venue 8 with a faster Intel CPU, 2GB RAM, 32GB storage, SD Card, Miracast and better build quality for 180.00. It's not 180.00 though, it's now between 250.00 to 300.00, started out at a ridiculous price of 400.00. I just don't get why someone would give this tablet a recommendation, the only thing I could come up with is that they haven't used a decent tablet before.

 

[Iproff]

The op asked for experience I gave mine. I stated why I like both of our tablets, the ipad I gave to my daughter, I really don't like apple products.
You have stated your position over and over, time for you to move on.

Ken

 

[brosko]

After using the iPad you still find the Tab 3 10.1 fast? Sorry, I'm not trying to pick on you but every single person I know who has owned a Tab 3 10.1 has either returned it or sold it at a lost just to get rid of it. The local computer shop has stopped stocking them because the return rate is 3 to 1, they now just sell the 8" inch model and the Nexus 10 has replaced the 10.1" version. Every review has also said the same thing, laggy, not worth it when compared to the Nexus 10 which ironically is now cheaper. But if you are a Playbook user I guess you are no stranger to laggy tablets. The Tab 3 isn't worth the money they are asking for, if it was being sold for 180.00, it would still be barely worth the buy. Especially when you can buy a Dell Venue 8 with a faster Intel CPU, 2GB RAM, 32GB storage, SD Card, Miracast and better build quality for 180.00. It's not 180.00 though, it's now between 250.00 to 300.00, started out at a ridiculous price of 400.00. I just don't get why someone would give this tablet a recommendation, the only thing I could come up with is that they haven't used a decent tablet before.

Let's stop comparing tablets like it's a life or death situation to have the best there is.
The tab 3 10 is a nice tablet and there is nothing wrong with it. It may not be the best fastest top of the line device, but it more than suffices for the majority of people.