Exploring the Galaxy...

[Skybird]

... Note 10.1.

I saved for this purpose for some months. I tested two ebook readers last week, one I lend from friends, with e-ink, one with LCD display, which I ordered but sent back - for my purpose they both were awfully terrible. And that purpose is large PDF files. Displays are not satisfying, even the e-ink, and the handling when looking for certain passages, are a terrible and inhumane torture of my sense of reason, of my patience, and my human nature in general.

I considered several models, the Tab 2, for it was cheaper, the Iconia 700 by Acer due to the highres display, and the Toshiba at300. But the Acer has almost no system reserves, gets hot, and the display is pretty dark. The Toshiba was nowhere to be located in stores around here. The Tab 2 has two now old cores @ 1GHz and 1 GB at working RAM - the Note has 4 cores withnew CPUs @ 1.4GHz, and 2 GB RAM. I thought, and was encouraged to think like that by others,m that very large PDF may benefit from the performance reserves.

And they do. It's a piece of Star Trek stuff I hold in my hands!

Everything in the hardware I like, and the display is - well, if they do it even better these days, than at least you do not see it easily. The display is perfect. Handling, voice and handwriting recognition, the first tried in German, English and French, works extremely well, better than I knew was possible today (I have no smartphone).

What I do not like is that it is almost impossible to avoid opening a Google account.

Surprise is the battery. I have the WiFi version only, and I switched of all constant synchroniszing stuff, GPS, switch of unneeded apps, reglate the display so that it is no searchlight but still looks well, and I have no energy-hungry 3G. Second day today, using the uploaded Tab for excatly 5 hours in one row, WLAN active - at by the end of the 5 hours the battery is still 65% full. By projection, that gives it 15 hours of very mixed acivities with and without online time. Wowh!

I got EZ PDF, Sketchbook Pro,Schredder (chess) by now, installed some gratis tools, and maybe get twop or three more. Looking for a good painting (oil, watercolours) software, Artrage is still not ready for Android. It is very impressive to draw and probably also to paint on these touchscreen devices, Sktechbook already does a very good job for drawing.

Perfct buy of what by many is considered the best tab at the moment. I can full heartly recommend it so far, nothing,m really nothing negative to say about the hardware. It came with Android 4.1.2. I expect a 32GB micro SD and a clever protective cover to arrive tomorrow.

Will now see if I can get Opera as a browser installed. Would allow me to synchronise with my favourites from PC. The Google browser - I do not like it.

Any recommendation for a good painting program?

Also, security wise, what is a good advise to pick as an AV? What shoulöd be taken into account, security-wise? Many seem to say that Android is "safe haven". I do not buy it.

And do I overlook something: many apps that I leave via return button, just do not close down, this is something that irritates me tremendously, and yesterday made the difference between having 17 apps suddenly running in the background, with a warming-up tab and 75% RAM used, and shutting them down: and having a cool tab and just 25% RAM used. I like the hardware, but I must say the software philosophy I do not like, apps, appstores and all that.

Very good kit. I so far give a 100% verdict. If you plan to get a tab soon, look no further. I compared the 1280x800 to the Iconia-700's 1920x1200, and I really must say that the resolution difference easily escapes the eye. And colours and contrast of the Note are way ahead.

( Apple never was considered by me, and a Google Nexus, which surpasses the Retina'S resolution, I did not find to check the display. Should be a very good kit, I read - but expensive. Also considered that the more energy the display consumes, the heavier becomes the battery, the hotter, and the shorter the battery's legs).

As a PDF reader, perfect - the rest is total and absolute overkill! But I enjoy the freedom to show some decadence here.

Oh, the price, I got it at the local Media markt, in white, as WiFi only, for 379 Euros. Wanted the red one, but the boxes were all opened and unsealed.

[Skybird]

I almost forgot, the most important question at the end: any must-have games out there?

[Herr-Berbunch]

The wife said at the weekend she wanted a Galaxy Note 10.1, she's got the Note as her phone but now wants a tablet too.

So I've looked at them, and others, and it's good.

I think it's overkill just to read PDFs, but you will get sucked in to other features too. Games-wise anything from our very own Codeknitters, for flying Air Navy Fighters and F18 Carrier Landing impressed me (for use on a phone!).

And Tapatalk to use this forum.

[the_tyrant]

How are you liking the note 10.1? Personally, I couldn't stand it (build quality and lag), but its great to hear that you like it.

With android, the thing to remember is to always get your apps from google play, never pirate stuff.

As for apps, I LOVE onenote: https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...office.onenote

and I am addicted to Wheres my water: https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...com.disney.WMW

Oh, and ah, regarding the infuriating android multitasking system, remember that when you hold down the home button, you get the recently used list and not the "currently running" list, also, when you swipe apps away, you don't really close them. Theoretically, you don't need to close apps manually, but since most people do anyways (android's task management doesn't really close stuff aggressively, and your machine will begin to lag), I suggest you find a good task manager).

[Skybird]

Not closing apps? Well, you certainly need to close apps, else they take away from your memory. Before becoming aware of it, I had 17 apps running in the application list, and somewhere in the meues you can even shut down more that automatically get started when switching it on, pushing the list to over 35 entities, all in all! All things that I do not need as long as I do not manually call the app up, ike email handler, pdf reader, etc.

The difference is impressive. Leaving it that way had my little darling really becoming very warm in the left top corner, and had 1500+ MB o fthe 2 GB memory blocked. Switching it all off, started the big ice age, and blocked memory falling from 1500+ to 500+ MB. So it obviously makes a difference, and a big one.

Why pdf reader stays open, of internet browser, when I return to homescreen, why all application keep open in the background, so that I manually have to close them, is beyond me.

And your first question, I love it, the piece I got is showing very good manufacturing quality, it cannot be distorted, shows equal and minimal clearance around the whole frame where the glass is inserted into the main body, and it gives a nice solid feeling when holding it. And the lags you mentioned, I am not aware of any such events. Workflow is fluid for me. Completely. Internet: as fast, maybe even slightly faster, as my connection from PC via Opera.

And let's face it, that thing has performance power in its 10" tablet class, by that, I read, it currently leads the pack. I have so far not become aware of even any minor stuttering, lag, or whatever. Plus the battery life. Roughly 15 hours (with Google-always-scanned spyware and GPS switched off and no 3G operation) - that is rocksolid, I'd say.

BTW, I noted that when I use the virtual keyboard for an input, every push of the keys is answered with a short, slight, minor vibration inside, although I had switched off haptic feedback (and that felt differently, stronger, anyway). It cannot be a harddrive in there, or can it? I would have imagined such small devices to base on SSD tech. It also never vibrates during any other action.

Opera: as good as it is on Windows, as bad it is on Android. Erratic site display, malfunctions, freezes, and extremely slow - terrible. The link feature with PC to synchronise favourites and so forth, also was a mess, and in the end resulted in a fail. Avoid-avoid!

[the_tyrant]

Great to hear that Samsung did a good job on your tablet.

Now the thing about Opera is that there are two Operas for mobile devices. Opera mini and Opera Mobile.

Now if you are complaining about Opera's poor performance, you probably have opera mini (https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...from_developer) opera mini is designed for phones on a slow connection. It compresses the data and strips away many elements of websites. It saves data immensely, and thus is a good way to browse on a phone.

on a home wifi connection however, use Opera mobile: https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...IuY2xhc3NpYyJd . Its "normal" opera, with none of the connection and probably gives you a desktop like performance.



If you a looking for a good browser for Android, try reading this: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...tion,3316.html



PS: I don't know for German, but for English, Swiftkey is an amazing keyboard, well worth the low cost.