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