Samsung Galaxy Tablet

[Darth Fanboy]

Does anyone have any experience with the Galaxy Tablet? I am already on Verizon and have a data plan going (part of a family plan with multiple droids) and I'm thinking it's time to get something that I can use while travelling. Would it be a case of buyer's remorse for being an early adopter or is it something that i'll be happy with for 2-3 years?

[xthetenth]

It looks pretty good, but I have a distinct feeling that you'd be better off waiting and trying to get one with a dual-core and Honeycomb. Android upgrades are terribly murky, and I don't think it'll be much of a wait for those two which should provide a big boost, whereas the galaxy may never get honeycomb. Take it with a grain of salt though, I'm only familiar with the android ecosystem through reviews and word of mouth.

[Darth Fanboy]

I was thinking the same things but i'm worried that the newer ones will be priced higher than the Galaxy Tab and i'd rather not wait in order to buy what I could have already had.

[xthetenth]

Hooray for the tech market. You places your bets and you takes your chances. Frankly it's pricing roulette, but I have a feeling that if the worst case comes the galaxy would still be pushed down in price. It all depends on how you value the long term value versus the short term possession.

[Darth Fanboy]

Just got back with lunch which was right next to the Verizon store and asked some questions. Basically although I couldn't get a good straight answer I got enough info that convinced me to wait until the new Motorola tablets come out that work on 4g. I pay more likely but get much better performance.

[xthetenth]

Sounds good, especially if they have honeycomb, because then you're likely getting a faster tablet with a better os and a better connection (some of the time). The added usefulness later on should more than make up for the wait now.

[Archaic`]

You might also consider the 2nd generation Galaxy Tab which should be out later this year, with Honeycomb, a larger screen and generally higher specs.

[Count Chocula]

I tried one (Best Buy or Orifice Depot I'm not sure) and it was slow, sloow, sloooowww. It makes my netbook look like a speed machine. But then again, all I'm really looking for is a Netbook with a flip touch screen. My Acer has multitouch on the touch pad but while I like the Galaxy's and iPad's form factors, they can't do 1/2 of what I need. I plan to wait.

[Pu-239]

If you're technically adept, the Nook Color after rooting can be used as a tablet, and is only 200$

[Darth Fanboy]

Not quite that adept.

And I think that the tablets that will do 4g should address the speed problems I have with current tablets and I have a pretty solid connection at home.

[Starglider]

I've played with one. It's too heavy, too small and too expensive for the few things it is capable of doing. Which is to say that it is an overpriced oversized smartphone. Much as I dislike the Ipad, with its utter lack of connectivity and pathetic CPU, it's better than the Galaxy Tab.

Get a Windows Atom tablet if you want to run real apps and do real work (e.g. I have a WinSlate, which is awesome and cost roughly the same as the Galaxy Tab), or get an Archos 70 or 101 if you want a thin, light, cheap but well built Android tablet (a friend of mine has one and it's cool).

[Darth Fanboy]

Key is I have a data plan with Verizon already and I want to get a tablet that adds to that I am thinking, if I am wrong to want that please enlighten me.

[Pu-239]

If my understanding is correct, a dataplan has to be purchased seperately for each device. You're better off using tethering your current phone to a laptop (20$/month, although this can be worked around w/ via various apps or rooting in potential violation of your service agreement).

My feeling is pen-less tablets simply aren't that useful, lacking the portability of a phone and the capabilities of a laptop.

[Starglider]

My feeling is pen-less tablets simply aren't that useful, lacking the portability of a phone and the capabilities of a laptop.

Windows tablets have at least as much capability as a netbook. Mine has a keyboard built into the carry case for when I want to use it as a netbook, although the on-screen touch keyboard is actually fairly usable (due to being four times the size of a nasty smartphone keyboard). Android tablets are basically good for web browsing, watching movies and playing (non-PC) games. The Ipad is really bad at (1) and (2) because you can't load media from a USB stick, and it has no Flash support for web browsing.

Unless you're an artist using it as a sketch pad, I don't know why you'd bother with a pen. Maybe if you actually handwrite faster than you type? Is wiping the tablet with a cloth once a month so much of a chore that you'd use a stylus to avoid it? Maybe if you play games that need precision mouse inputs it makes sense.

Fanboy, you seem determined to buy a crappy device because that's all your carrier supports, and you have some kind of Stockholm syndrome that prevents you using a carrier that sells unlocked SIMs you can use in any device you like. I guess your only choice is waiting and hoping that they allow you to use a less-crappy device in the future.

[Sir Sirius]

Are there any Windows tablets more or less the size of the Galaxy? All the ones I've been able to find have been in the 10 inch plus category and I was hoping for something smaller.

[Starglider]

Are there any Windows tablets more or less the size of the Galaxy? All the ones I've been able to find have been in the 10 inch plus category and I was hoping for something smaller.

They exist - e.g. the Samsung Q1 - but the form factor proved unpopular and with good reason; you can't really get any work done on a 7" device. I can develop in Visual Studio on my tablet and while typing is much slower than on a real keyboard, it's ok for algorithmic problems where most of the time is spent thinking (I remote desktop to my home workstation when CPU is an issue). I'm pretty sure it would be just barely possible, hopelessly slow and extremely frustrating to do this on a Windows device the size of the Archos 70 - at least unless you have muchkin-sized hands. Really all you can do on a 7" device is view content (web/movies/e-books) and the good Android tablets (not the Galaxy Tab) have that covered.

[Sir Sirius]

Pity, I was hoping for something compact and mobile with out worries about compatibility. But at 10 inches or more I might as well carry a netbook.

[Starglider]

Pity, I was hoping for something compact and mobile with out worries about compatibility. But at 10 inches or more I might as well carry a netbook.

I guess there are two types of tablet; tablets that exist to be easier to passively carry around than a netbook (e.g. 7" models), and tablets that exist so that you can actively use them in situations that a netbook would be too cumbersome for (pretty much the point of 10" tablets).