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Did you buy your Galaxy 4 or 5 primarily to use as an MP3 player or as a web browser?

Regardless of your original reason, how would you rate it as a convenient way to browse the internet?

What, if any, problems have you encountered using it for browsing the web.

What has your experience been like using the keyboard?

Are there any of you reading this who have also used or own the Samsung Galaxy Tablet (of any size) ? I'd be interested in how the Galaxy Player compares to the Galaxy Tab (aside from the obvious size differential)

I'm in the process of trying to decide if I should sell my Acer (while its still marketable) and get a Galaxy Player 5 instead. Any info you could share about your experiences both pro and con would be much appreciated.
 
I originally started looking at media players because my Sansa Fuze mp3/media player was starting to lose battery. I looked at Archos 43 IT briefly before I came across these. Since I originally started looking at players, my use has become far greater than I anticipated. I'm using this like a power smartphone...just without the phone.

Anyway, I own the 5.0. It is adequate for web browsing. Of course the web is a varied experience. Websites are constructed and formatted very differently. Some load up great and give a very good mobile experience. Others will load the entire page, meant to be viewed on a large monitor, on the 5" screen. obviously you can't see a thing and you're pinching to zoom the entire time. Screen refreshes kick you back to the 100% view. This is not a fun or satisfying experience. You're zooming in to 1000% so you can see the fields you need to fill in. then it pops back to 100% and you do it all over. On the other hand, when it's best , it's a snappy experience with the data being presented in a format that fits the screen and is highly viewable.

So, that being said, if I was laying down in bed and needed to browse web and do research/shop...I would DEFINITELY want a tablet or laptop. but I don't have one, so I make do with the 5.0. "Pity the fool" with a 4.0 because THAT cannot be fun...looking at the same webpage only an inch smaller.

I find that the 5.0 screen in general is a good size. It basically takes "handheld" to a reasonable limit. I can cover the entire screen with my thumb and still fit it in my pocket and use it as a phone. Netfilx is fine and I often watch for a couple of hours without any problem.

There are some complaints about the display because it's the same 480 x 800 as the 4.0 screen. It appears lower-res. However I can tell you that it really is quite a good display- especially with brightness turned up. It's like good stereo gear. You like your new stereo- sounds awesome. Your ears get used to a good setup and then you compare side-by-side and the newest setup makes the old one seem poor. It's all relative.

The keyboard app on the device is adequate. I had issues that had me looking at other keyboard apps. I paid for SwiftKey and found that there were very frustrating glitches with editing where if I had predictive text on, the keyboard would leave remnants of stuff I had deleted attached to the cursor so the editing problem I was having got worse and worse as the "bad edits" piled up on each other. After many hours I dumped it and went to GoKeyboard (free) and have been very, very happy with it. Lots of options...you can get it set up just the way you like.

So to wrap up, I would give the unit 10/10 for overall value. The amount of things that this device can do, and do rather well, is amazing. Once you have been to a bunch of places with wifi, and logged on, the device remembers these wifis and you get logged in everywhere you go automatically. It's a fantastic value at $230 compared to an unlocked Galaxy SII, say, at around $800. That being said, I'd rate it maybe 6/10 for web browsing. You'll want websites that are optimized for mobile devices. Or apps that drag up a version of the website for mobile. Read other reviews here and also over at http://www.anythingbutipod.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=238
 
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I got mine mainly for video use. MX player is much better than the stock player, as all controls are onscreen. My phone only has a low res 3.2inch screen, and the battery does not last long playing videos. Web browsing with a small screen is a nightmare, and I only use it if I have to.
I had an archos 5it (for 3 weeks), but the screen was really bad being resistive.

I got the 5inch player as I wanted the biggest screen, and it fitted into a shirt pocket. i'd love a phone with a 5inch screen, but am not prepared to pay more than my pc for one as I don't use it much (I have no friends! lol)

I can use the screen for web browsing quite happily, viewing the page is easier than on a small screen. Double tapping or pinch and zoom is not a problem. For long web browsing, a bigger screen is deffinetly prefferable. I can sit watching TV and loook something up easily on the 5inch device. It can get a bit slow for browsing, but I use advanced task killer to kill background apps. That makes it run faster with the available RAM.
I diddn't like the keyboard for typing, as it does not have a comma (running froyo) but I got a gingerbread keyboard and am much happier now. Using it horizontally, the keys are really big as well. I keep making spelling mistakes on my phone as I'm so used to the player now. I don't use predictive text.

I also use the satnav and the music player in the car.
I use it at work to demmo cameras I sell, and also the new samsung cameras with wifi apps.

As blackdog said this really is a portable mutli use device.

To be honest, buying both devices (5 and 7inch) might might be the ideal solution.

marcel
 
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Well, you've both given me lots of good feedback and food for thought which I appreciate.

@Marcel

If i were massively wealthy, I guess keeping the Acer and getting the Galaxy 5 might be an option, but I'm not. Plus having these two devices plus an iPhone is is really really redundant and then some.

I'm definitely not an Apple fanboy and my primary reason for getting the Acer in the first place is because I wanted an alternative to the ICS walled garden approach.

But, that being said, ive come to a new appreciation for the elegance of the design of Apples operating systems regardless of device. But I'm still not entirely willing to be limited by it.

Plus iPads are ridiculously expensive and it made little sense to me to get what would essentially be a larger iPhone. And the refusal of Apple go include Flash support would still be part of the picture.

I appreciate being able to access both Android and ICS apps and don't want to return to being limited to just one.

But dealing with the Acer since the ICS upgrade has been a thoroughly miserable experience. Web browsing has slowed to a crawl through molasses; its impossible to watch more than one or two vids on YouTube consecutively because then its interrupted with constant buffering every few seconds (LITERALLY) And the lack of cursor control is an issue regardless of which keyboard I try. I have no way to tell if these issues are the fault of Acer or ICS but its a moot point to me because its just a miserable and frustrating experience all around.

Everybody with an Acer had been salivating for months expecting the ICS upgrade and talking about it like the second coming of Jesus Christ or something. It was supposed to solve all the problems of the patchwork system which was Honeycomb. Well, with very few exceptions, for me, it just made everything worse.

So even if I kept the seven inch Acer, it would mostly likely just sit around unused because dealing with web browsing and video watching is such a miserable and frustrating experience all around.

I originally got a tablet because I was getting tired of the puny 3 inch screen of my iPhone. But tiny as it was, it worked flawlessly in spite of IOS limitations. Anytime things got bogged down a bit, a simple 2 minute hard reset solved the problem nicely.

There is no such fix for either Android or Acer. We're just stuck with the problems and the frustrations with no end in sight anytime soon.

So thats my reason for looking for an alternate Android device. I'm not willing to give up access to Android altogether but I'm sick and tired of being a Beta tester (meaning guinea pig) for an immature operating system (namely both Honeycomb and ICS)


I'm hoping that the Galaxy 5 will be a solution and since its not expected to get an ICS upgrade, thats fine by me. Im contemplating just getting one a Best Buy and trying it out for 30 days before returning it, but was hoping to just skip that step.

Since my carrier is ATT, I was also considering the new Samsung Galaxy Note but that would eliminate my iPhone upgrade and im not too thrilled at that prospect.

If anyone has a suggestion for other Android tablets that don't cost an arm and a leg, im open to suggestion. But one way or another, this Acer and I are heading for a fork in the road.
 
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I bought mine for playing music and after I did I find it's an amazing device for surfing, Skype video calls, and some excel editing. Its my first Android and although it takes some getting used to Im glad I'm weening myself off of Apple. Sure it's not a full size tablet and reading a full page web site isn't the best but hey, for $200 it rocks.

... thanks to Blackdog for the replies to my questions on abi. Big help for many of us.
 
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I bought my Galaxy Player 5.0 to gain some experience with Android without paying a monthly phone/data bill. So far, it has worked great. I have WiFi access at home, at work and many stores and restaurants. I can email, text and surf the web. I initially tried the stock browser and Firefox. I didn't really like either. They were clunky and slow. The Dolphin browser made all the difference. It is fast and has lots of features. I'm still in learning mode with Dolphin, but it is far better than the stock browser and Firefox for Android.

I'm glad I bought the Galaxy 5 rather than a larger tablet. It is small enough to easily fit in my pocket, but big enough to use the Kindle app for reading.

And speaking of apps, I discovered apps that integrate with existing systems that I have at home.

There's an app to integrate with my home VoIP phone system so I can make calls on this thing.

There is an app for my home automation system. I can control the lights and irrigation system from anywhere I have a network connection.

There's an app for my personal finance budgeting software. I can enter transactions and check my budget balances when away from home.

There's an app to see data from my weather station.

I'm amazed at what you can do with this device.
 
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@Mike

Which version of Dolphin are you using? I tried the Dolphin mini browser for awhile but it was taking a whole lot of getting used to.

Prior to that (and the ICS upgrade) I was using Skyfire and basically liked it but obviously its not geared to ICS so its not what it used to be. And. YouTube vids are still a miserable experience. The primary reason I use it is because its the only way I can get ebay to display in desktop version cuz the mobile version of it is just too crippled and limited.

Maybe I should give the full Dolphin a try.
 
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Hi, originally I bought a TMOB SGT... the unlocked version with the sim slot. but it was not unlocked... TMOB blocked the dial pad for use with an international sim card.... I still have this... then I bought 2 real international SGTs...one for my wife and one for me... and use them in Brasil... but then I saw the 5 inch MP3 player... had to have.... well it is great... I seem to use it more than my 7 inch. BTW...did sell one of the internationals about 3 weeks ago. could care less about ICS as an operating system.. but like all the ICS graphics... use primarily the SKYPE and TalkaTone ( free phone app) tied to my google voice... have about 3 hours of music on the SD card... been playing with skitch....and use to read the news on line..... at my age (64) cant red my kindle app too well.. but on the 7 it is great... so, seems different strokes for diff folks, Best Ted
 
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[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I'm with ya Hook. The iPod Touch syndrome.[/FONT]


[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I purchased my SGP5 mainly for an organizer, and I have to confess, also for a music and podcast player, but quickly discovered it had many other uses and benefits for my business and personal life. I came from several years of using Palm OS devices. I'm a newbe when it comes to android. But I'm beginning to get a grip.[/FONT]


[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I didn't buy it thinking I would use the web browser much, but I find myself using the web browser quite a bit. You can't beat the convenience. I'm a sports junkie, so browsing ESPN is great. And many sites are optimized for mobile devices. I bought an MLB.com app to listen to baseball on the web. I love it. And I saved a few bucks because the Android app was lower priced than the PC app. I've done searches and research with the SGP5 with no complaints. Some of our suppliers at work have redesigned and optimized there sites for mobile devices. I would guess that 50% of my browsing is done on my SGP5. For real serious work, I fire up the PC if it's near me.[/FONT]


[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I get a lot of use from the email too. I find myself using it quite a bit when I'm near wifi. Still find the PC is hard to beat for heavy duty use.[/FONT]


[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]As for a keyboard, this was extremely important to me. Coming from a Palm device that was built for easy input I anticipated a Android software keyboard to be a challenge I have been pleasantly surprised. I've found 2 solutions that work great for me. I purchased a $4 keyboard called SlideIT. I can type (or mostly slide my finger) words at an incredible pace. The stock Swype keyboard isn't bad either. I preferred SlideIT because it has added navigation arrows to move around with-very useful. The other app I use is a $3 keyboard called Graffiti Pro, which lets you write letters in a box with your finger. It is great for quick notes because of it's accuracy, along with basic input. Very useful, and is quite fast and accurate for me, certainly because I've been using it for years with my Palm OS devices. Long documents like this I'll use SlideIT. Most everything else I use Graffiti. I switch between the 2 depending on what I'm doing, but find I probably use Graffiti the most because most of my input is quick and basic. [/FONT]


[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]That's my 2 cents.[/FONT]
 
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For Gym use, I added 4 32g microcards to my galaxy 5 player.
One card's for music videos,
the second is for recent movies,
the third is for operas and concerts.
The fourth was actually overkill - I tried reading with it - the screen holds too little, and it was a hassle to turn pages constantly.
Still, it works great with audio-books.
Yes, I do own an acer w500 ten incher, and it's a bit too heavy to hold.
The apple pads have no slot for the microchip, so they are not for me.
Other than that my sammy 5, is a fantastic low throughput browser,
and I love everything about it.
Cheers
 
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I bought mine primarily to use as a media player. Then I discovered the wonderful world of Samsung. This little device is amazing!
I also have a Galaxy Tab 10.1 and a 60" Samsung TV. This little 5.0 player is a smaller Tab 10.1. So far I think it can do everything my Tab can do.
And All Share. OMG! I am in hog heaven. I can access media files on my pc and play them on the big screen, from either the 5.0 player or the tab. These things are amazing!
 
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Got a Toyota Tacoma 2012 with bluetooth. Put my cd collection on my home computer and after attempting various ways to get it to play on my car radio got a Galaxy 4 player. Works great via bluetooth. having trouble getting playlists made and working so right now only play album via the Toyota interface.

Have used the unit for web mail and it works great.

Finally got Kies working thanks to this forum board tips.

Found the Samsung site and Kies worthless as far as solving support issues.

Really like the Galaxy 4 device (do not want to use it as a phone, just as music and web access - great for that).

Appreciate this site as a help source, Samsung's help needs a total update and new look for US customers.
 
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Got a Toyota Tacoma 2012 with bluetooth. Put my cd collection on my home computer and after attempting various ways to get it to play on my car radio got a Galaxy 4 player. Works great via bluetooth. having trouble getting playlists made and working so right now only play album via the Toyota interface.



I gave up with playlists also, far too much hassle, mainly as I keep changing the albums
The way I do playlists are via the memory card. I just make a new folder and copy the songs inside it. On the menu of the music player, go to settings and music menu (took me ages to work it out). Then you can choose to see folders on the top line of the player screen, as well as albums.

easy!

marcel
 
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Hello everyone, I'm new to Android and this forum. Bought a SGP 4.2 last week, and I'm nuts about it.

Just want to echo Hook and glassmancheck -- I bought this thing as an organizer, and for keeping journals during travel, etc. I used Palm (Visor, then T|X) PDAs until they all broke and when I looked around, was amazed nobody was making PDAs anymore! So the next few years I went back to those cheap calendar books that you carry around in your back pocket, and a manila folder full of to-do lists. I bypassed iTouch mainly because it provides no way (microSD) to back up your notes during a trip in the wild.

I am still astonished that for $200 the 4.2 offers GPS, radio, wifi, bluetooth, microphone, two cameras, two front-mounted speakers. I know most smartphones have most of those but just think about all those little antennas crammed together. Dedicated GPS devices cost more than this. I have tried the GPS feature on the 4.2 quite a bit in fact, and it works quite well. I am also still a little dizzy over the fact that I can (try to) speak a foreign language into it and it can give me the matching written words. Heck I would have guessed $350 for something like this. I would be happy to throw another $200 at it if it could have a Wacom digitizer for sketching!!

The one solid negative I have found so far is that setting up corporate email (MS Exchange) seems a pain in the neck at best, impossible at worst. From what I have gathered so far, Android 2.3.6 is especially bad in this realm.

Also since some people brought up text entry... my favorite keyboard for the 4.2 is MessagEase, which I used on my Palm PDAs. Back in the Palm days you had to cut out a picture of the keys and tape it over your Palm. I also use voice input - it does an impressive job. I have never gotten used to Swype - too much dragging & friction on the screen for me.
 
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I owned a galaxy prevail and was going to purchase an mp3 player for my son for christmas when I ran across these. Instant love :)

It's basically just like the prevail with a couple of better features and no phone. Of course, it was a total impulse purchase and I almost decided to return it when I got home. But then decided it would be nice to leave my phone hooked up in the living room (we are using it as a house phone connect via xlink through the house wiring).
I could then use my new MP3 player to text my husband when he's at work, play on the internet, read email, or whatever. I can also make voip calls on it, but so far, not impressed with that. I don't really need that, so it's not a big deal.

As far as using it as an mp3 player, it's actually kind of big for that if I wanted to carry it around. I do use it as an mp3 player when I'm on the treadmill and can't just use the stereo system because everyone is either sleeping or watching tv, I also use it in my room at night as an mp3 player when I don't want to disturb my spouse.

Granted, my phone could do all these things, but I love having the bigger screen. Web browsing and reading texts and emails are so much easier on this screen than the phone.

Oh, and I discovered I like to Skype with this as well. Our home network is rather sluggish online (ie sprint aircard) and when we try to skype with the computers, the pictures freeze or won't even load because speeds are too slow. But on the mp3 player, it is much lighter and faster. The picture always shows up, it might be a tad laggy, but way better than our experience on the computer.

I also appreciate that I can view my synced calendar and contacts and can easily transfer files using kies air.
 
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My purchase was more of an impulse buy due to not being able to get the Galaxy Note. I wasn't willing to switch carriers yet wanted the larger screen. Also I wanted my phone to be a phone when need be instead of killing it's battery so quickly due to the heavy load I was tasking it with.

I started to get an iTouch but changed my mind because of that 3.5 screen. I like that my 5" player is pocketable and for the most part does everything I want it to.

I've got enough toys lying around that there's always something to use while this is charging.
The ONLY downside I've had the displeasure of dealing with is the inability to use a BT KB with it. Many who have it have had great success in doing so. I don't have a clue why I cant. Hook can tell you from another forum (Brighthand) that I've tried everything short of purchasing the Logitech BT KB 3.0 for Android.

I've decided to grab the Student Edition tab next week. I like the 7" size and tab 2 7.0 has gotten a lot of great reviews. Also the fact it's white and comes with a keyboard is ideal for me.

Eyes aren't getting any younger so I'm going to trade this player in. Before the student edition was announced I had my heart set on the Galaxy Note 10.1 but sensible thinking had me realizing it's overkill for my needs.
 
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My GP 5.0 is my birthday present for this year, luv it! I have customized it and filled it with my fav apps and widgets and it looks beautiful:) I also wanted the Galaxy Note but didn't want a new phone contract, I thought this would be a good alternative, funny I didn't have the intention of using it for a Mp3 player at all but I wanted something that I could use as a mini-tablet which I think is a better description of this device. I primarily use it for checking email, social networking, reading news and books, the GP 5.0 comes in handy at work where I don't have wifi access by using apps like Mail Online, Taptu, NewsHog, etc. with these apps I can read offline news and by downloading books to my device I can read them as well. With the notifications on this device I don't miss important notices which includes my reminders that I must have to keep order in my life.
 
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Use as a wifi only phone + all the above.
Sick of phone &text-only phone bills, never used the phone much, text or email mostly & Gmail doe both w/ GTalk, then said wait SGP 3,4,or 5 would be better than nothing!
Got sick of phone fees, now went the other way. Sold Innuendo phone, bought used Samsung Galaxy Player 5.0, 8GB [$140], rooted it and now run both GV/IP Groove and PhonePower apps as wifi only. It ain't perfect, but it's free!
BTW there are refurbs out there @ $149. The model # said to started life as Froyo OS, but owner must have upgraded (Samsung?) to 2.3.5 GB.

Auditioning apps that scan & auto-connect to open wifi hotspots. I can even tell you where some open/guest hotspots are in my neighborhood.
Currently "Wifi Buddy beta" is 1st app I have tried to use to scan & stay connected.
Port blocking is a problem like at McDonalds.
There may be better apps to do this and hope someone has found it,
Please advise.
Thanks
 
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Just a little update:

Thanks to all the helpful input from everybody here, i just bought a GP 5 at BF sale price (as well as a Galaxy Tablet 2, 7.0 since it was only $10 more. So i have till Jan. 24 to decide which one to keep :)

And if i can get all my questions and issues with it resolved, it looks like it may well be the Player 5 which i keep instead of the Tablet since there is now no Flash because its over Android 4.0.

I had to take the Iconia in for repair several weeks ago and it will be going up on Craigslist soon. That thing was a thoroughly miserable experience for me.
 
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Just a little update:

Thanks to all the helpful input from everybody here, i just bought a GP 5 at BF sale price (as well as a Galaxy Tablet 2, 7.0 since it was only $10 more. So i have till Jan. 24 to decide which one to keep :)

And if i can get all my questions and issues with it resolved, it looks like it may well be the Player 5 which i keep instead of the Tablet since there is now no Flash because its over Android 4.0.

I had to take the Iconia in for repair several weeks ago and it will be going up on Craigslist soon. That thing was a thoroughly miserable experience for me.
First allow me to ask you what cell phone you use? I cant see keeping both since they're pretty much the same device- One being 5" the other being 7.

I returned the player and the tab once I found out the Note 2 was coming to all carriers. Combined neither of them had the same umph as the Note 2 and I knew I'd probably never use them again.

Adobe
 
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