Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 - worth buying?

[choccy]

Don't do that...you'll get in poopoo! But c'mon they're not that expensive really for a one-time purchase...you can get the 3G or LTE version on contract for half price, and the WiFi version is $500 which can be spread over a few payments on a credit card if you're that tight for cash.

Expensive enough - ordinarily I would agree, but lot's going on at the moment so my spare cash funds are low.

Been trying to win one for ages! No joy.

 

[rumbataz]

Thanks to everyone that replied. After two months of deliberation i've finally bought the Samsung Tab. It's awesome!

 

[SoulTerror]

I'm on the fence about getting the GST or the Toshiba Thrive. Starting to learn more toward the thrive due to the SD card slot and the rubber backing since my hyper 4 year old will be using it as well.

 

[Jumbeaux]

I bought the tab 10.1 4 days ago. I was a bit disappointed that it didn't impress right out of the box. I had to spend 2 days to find the best/ most beautiful widgets for the home screen. Pretty well set now but I would understand that a less tech savvy person will be frustrated with what they'd get right off the box.

My biggest gripe though is the slow buffering of YouTube HQ videos. The same video on the same wifi played very smoothly on my SGS2. On GT it buffers every 30 second. I've been trawling the net looking for solution; I even upgraded the firmware but the problem is still unresolved.

 

[xiteg79]

Well after reading this whole thread I am not sure about the GT yet. I am going to be buying a Tab for my fiance (and me!!!) and she wants something that when we travel she can watch movies or read books on it and do some surfing here and there. I got her from blackberry and into android on my old Droid X and she loves the phone and android system. I actually turned her into an Apple hater

So, I see a lot of replies here dating far back and have a few questions I have not seen yet.

Since there is no SD Card slot how easy is it to move files to/from a win7 machine to the GT?

I do understand that tablet apps are not as plentiful as the phone apps but main thing for her will be using it as an e-reader. Does Amazon or similar have good apps to download and read books?

And, yes I do download movies from, umm, time to time (cough) and would like to know how easy is it to transfer the movies from win7 pc to the GT and watch the 720p movies on the tab? I say this because some of the movies are encoded differently and even trying to stream them to the ps3 does not work using ps3 media server. So I want to know if there is an app out like VLC that plays everything.

I am planning on buying in the next two weeks and I am so close to buying the GT but want to make sure things are pretty much polished off.

 

[alackman]

Well after reading this whole thread I am not sure about the GT yet. I am going to be buying a Tab for my fiance (and me!!!) and she wants something that when we travel she can watch movies or read books on it and do some surfing here and there. I got her from blackberry and into android on my old Droid X and she loves the phone and android system. I actually turned her into an Apple hater

So, I see a lot of replies here dating far back and have a few questions I have not seen yet.

Since there is no SD Card slot how easy is it to move files to/from a win7 machine to the GT?

I do understand that tablet apps are not as plentiful as the phone apps but main thing for her will be using it as an e-reader. Does Amazon or similar have good apps to download and read books?

And, yes I do download movies from, umm, time to time (cough) and would like to know how easy is it to transfer the movies from win7 pc to the GT and watch the 720p movies on the tab? I say this because some of the movies are encoded differently and even trying to stream them to the ps3 does not work using ps3 media server. So I want to know if there is an app out like VLC that plays everything.

I am planning on buying in the next two weeks and I am so close to buying the GT but want to make sure things are pretty much polished off.

I have put movies into the tab both via kies wirelessly and using the usb adapter which I would absolutely recommend. I've also been able to easily attach my camera and put images onto it to email when out and about.

I think there is a built in converter in kies that automatically converts films to correct format When transferring them but I'm not too sure of the format. I use win 7 pc.

I use it as an ereader and I actually use the app that comes with it but you can put the kindle app on it.

I am thoroughly enjoying this tablet and would recommend. I actually don't think its as laggy either as some people have written.

My only issue was with my first one, I got the oil slick appear on the screen, went into pcworld and they just handed me a new one.

 

[xiteg79]

Thanks alackman for the info. I actually just read over the new Asus Prime coming out very soon but feel it might be buggy coming out of the box and like that the GT has been out for a decent amount of time now.

 

[5280Man]

I wanted to chime in on this thread as well. I purchased my Galaxy tab back in August and have been extremely happy with it. I bought it thinking I needed it when in actuality I was buying it because I WANTED it. After having it for a while I found myself needing it more as well as I found myself traveling with it alot. The battery life is amazing! It has been flawless and it become more integrated into my life every day. I just purchased a new laptop. When looking for a new laptop I wanted the newest thinnest and lightest laptop for portability. After a month of searching I found myself looking at larger laptops that were more powerful with larger screens. Not really the best for portability. Then it hit me, I have the tab for portability. Apparently I knew that on a sub-conscience level and didn't realize it. So now I have a desktop laptop and a very sleek portable tablet. Add my Droid X and I have a great line up of devices to aid me in my daily life at home and on the go.

The Galaxy tab is an amazing device that is thinner and lighter than the ipad. And to add to it's functionality the case that Samsung has for it is the best case on the market.

 

[rumbataz]

I've now spent a week with the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. I've been away on business and it has transformed my Internet habits. I used to use my work laptop in the evenings at the hotel but now that stays in my laptop bag. I use the Tab and often have a radio station active (over the Internet), a Skype voice call going and general browsing.

The only thing I need to do is get all my bookmarks from my home PC onto it.

I'm really glad that I deliberated and checked that everything I wanted to do was available (in particular, Skype video calling).

My next mission is to see if video/voice calling on Facebook Messenger works. That would be the ultimate icing on the cake for me!

 

[xiteg79]

thanks 5280Man, I am purchasing this mainly for the woman but I know I will need it at times and she also has a Droid X (my old phone) and she loves the android system. I am glad to hear good things about the GT. This is making a good case for me to pick it up for her in a few weeks.

 

[mooseolly]

While we love our GT 10.1, if you're willing to wait, Toshiba is coming out with an even thinner one:
Toshiba announces AT200 tablet, 10.1-inch display and only 7.7mm thick -- Engadget
I was able to use my wifi one with Nav this past weekend (tethered to my Droid). It worked amazingly and was fun to watch the maps on a huge screen.
The browser works very well. Netflix works great on it (being rooted and with the hacks helps). I don't carry a ton of files/music/movies on it, so being restricted to 16gig is fine. No need for HDMI out here, but it can be done as the above post says. Still a little bummed there's no Twitter or FB tablet optimized apps since I use them a bit, but Friendcaster works okay.
Honestly I wouldn't pay $500 for this since that's how much my laptop costs, but with the (now unavailable) $100 off coupon for Staples, I was sold. I have a rooted Nook Color with CM7, and I loved the tablet mobility, but it was just too laggy for my. With the GT 10.1, all those issues are removed.

My experience with Toshiba satellite laptop make me never wanna buy another toshiba product. I bought it in 2006 @3k sgd, After using it for only a year, the motherboard and graphics card spoilt. Warranty only 1 year which has expired, takes 160 sgd to diagnose, another 1,000 sgd to replace motherboard and gpu... simply horrible. My brother asus lappy last for 3 years 6 months before spoiling... Quality difference.... I will take ASUS any time of the day.

 

[dblhelx]

If I bought a USB kit, could I tether this tab using a micro-USB tethered to my HTC Evo and using PDA.net?

If so, should I buy the WiFi only version for this or do I need the 3G/4G version?

Thanks. Bare with me, it's a learning process. lol

I like being able to be at the beach, for example, and tether my laptop to my Evo via the USB cable, for free, using PDA.net. This is a major factor in purchasing a tablet. I don't want to rely on free WiFi spots when I'm out and about.

If I got a 3G/4G version do I have to pay a carrier to access this? And if so, how much? If it had a phone on it I'd cancel my cell and use just the tab all the time!

 

[Szadzik]

If I bought a USB kit, could I tether this tab using a micro-USB tethered to my HTC Evo and using PDA.net?

If so, should I buy the WiFi only version for this or do I need the 3G/4G version?

Thanks. Bare with me, it's a learning process. lol

I like being able to be at the beach, for example, and tether my laptop to my Evo via the USB cable, for free, using PDA.net. This is a major factor in purchasing a tablet. I don't want to rely on free WiFi spots when I'm out and about.

If I got a 3G/4G version do I have to pay a carrier to access this? And if so, how much? If it had a phone on it I'd cancel my cell and use just the tab all the time!

1. No USB tethering on the Tab.
2. You would have to pay if you buy 3G version. How much? That only depends on your carrier and service type.

 

[diablo9420]

Idk what peoples issue with battery life is about, i use mine all day wifi always on, never shuts off for any reason, and unless im playing a game for 5 hours straight it lasts through most of the next day and the only problem ive had with mine is connecting it to my pc snd that was my pcs fault when it downloaded the driver, this tab is pretty great and no regrets on purchasing it

 

[Thorsten]

I