nickdalzell
Extreme Android User
I may overall prefer Apple but I still use Android and do like using both platforms. However I knew the in-store demo of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 was impressive, however I hadn't seen anything yet. I've been torn between the Nexus 10 (previously unseen until a few days ago) and the Tab 2 as both appear to be high-end Android devices with similar specs. The Tab 2 is a year or two older but still performs admirably. Its price is also $200 cheaper than the iPad 3 and the Nexus 10 (both are selling in the $499 price range for 16GB) but when I first caught sight of the Nexus 10 I was let down. Big time. It looked, felt cheap, looks like a budget brand and reading many reviews speaking of bad battery life. Defective products, screen bleed and the infamous usually-phone-only phantom rebooting issue, I was not going to lose that much Money on a glorified ZTE Merit with a retina screen. So I chose the cheaper and much nicer looking Galaxy Tab 2.
First impressions:
It looks like an iPad. This could be good or bad depending on your preferences. It has the exact same proprietary charging dongle and plug as the iPad only in black vs. Apple white. The form factor is identical to my iPad. The camera is even the same. For me that's great but certainly not expected of an Android device, and can possibly explain the recent Apple vs. Samsung lawsuit.
BOY IT IS FAST!
Now this isn't something I usually say about Android. But like the demo in-store it is perfectly fluid and smooth. It runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream which I've grown to prefer over Jelly Bean as I prefer the bottom status bar and left-oriented virtual keys as well as the right-oriented notification area, as my fingers or thumbs are usually holding it at the bottom, which makes the bar in ICS ergonomically superior. In Jelly bean it got relocated to the top as in Gingerbread and added a virtual button bar that takes up needless real estate and the buttons are dead center which isn't so ergonomically sound. Worse, it cannot be turned off or reverted to the ICS version, either. So lets say I won't miss JB's performance improvements, which is probably noticed on slower devices.
GPS in a tablet?!
I heard the Nexus 10 had one but I often see them exclusively on cell phones. It was a rumor at the time that the Nexus 10 had one but apparently my Tab does as well as I was able to pinpoint my location without the aid of wifi and it shows the GPS seek icon in the status bar. This is something my iPad lacks.
Overall?
I'm impressed. For the first time, I may shelve the iPad, bringing it out for the maybe five games I play that don't yet have an Android version. It is lag-free, seems stable, and the keyboard can put up with my fast typing. I'm not rooting it or changing anything as it is satisfying as is and if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
First impressions:
It looks like an iPad. This could be good or bad depending on your preferences. It has the exact same proprietary charging dongle and plug as the iPad only in black vs. Apple white. The form factor is identical to my iPad. The camera is even the same. For me that's great but certainly not expected of an Android device, and can possibly explain the recent Apple vs. Samsung lawsuit.
BOY IT IS FAST!
Now this isn't something I usually say about Android. But like the demo in-store it is perfectly fluid and smooth. It runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream which I've grown to prefer over Jelly Bean as I prefer the bottom status bar and left-oriented virtual keys as well as the right-oriented notification area, as my fingers or thumbs are usually holding it at the bottom, which makes the bar in ICS ergonomically superior. In Jelly bean it got relocated to the top as in Gingerbread and added a virtual button bar that takes up needless real estate and the buttons are dead center which isn't so ergonomically sound. Worse, it cannot be turned off or reverted to the ICS version, either. So lets say I won't miss JB's performance improvements, which is probably noticed on slower devices.
GPS in a tablet?!
I heard the Nexus 10 had one but I often see them exclusively on cell phones. It was a rumor at the time that the Nexus 10 had one but apparently my Tab does as well as I was able to pinpoint my location without the aid of wifi and it shows the GPS seek icon in the status bar. This is something my iPad lacks.
Overall?
I'm impressed. For the first time, I may shelve the iPad, bringing it out for the maybe five games I play that don't yet have an Android version. It is lag-free, seems stable, and the keyboard can put up with my fast typing. I'm not rooting it or changing anything as it is satisfying as is and if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
