Just picked up a Galaxy Tab S

[desura]

For the most I've ever spent on a tablet also. Around $500 (ouch).

Quick impressions:

1. Screen. Wow. The only reason I got the tablet was for the AMOLED screen. Otherwise I'm kind of negative on Samsung design. The last tablet I owned was an 8 incher...but this 10.5 is really nice. There is soooo much space. When you flip it into portrait mode, it shows more than my computer monitor.

2. Video, unfortunately, can't quite keep up with the Tab S. Even blu-rays are usually something like 1920x800 resolution, which is significantly less than the resolution of this tablet. Video certainly looks better than any other tablet I've owned, but the resolution limitation is a little disappointing.

3. Cover is very nice. Gives a good feel to it, and protects pretty well. I like how it attaches itself to the tablet so you don't have an easily broken cradle.

4. Improved wifi is a must with this tablet. Since its best use is video, the faster wifi access it has results in better quality streaming. Theoretically. I tried amazon prime streaming and the results were so-so. I only got medium quality.

5. Samsung software design is probably the worst thing about every samsung device, and here...it's tolerable. The tablet is noticably laggy when doing websurfing though. It is fast, but I do notice the latency. Probably an android thing.

6. I'm not seeing the benefits of 3gb RAM. tabs reload at about the same pace as they do on the ipad, which has 1gb RAM.

7. Build quality is superb. One feature that is overlooked is the rounded/chamfered bezel. It's metal (I think) and it is chamfered like apple's ipad, but the sharp edges are rounded off some. So you get a metal feel but smoother.

Overall, I got it for the screen and the screen is amazing. It is so incredibly immersive watching videos on this thing. Websurfing it is more immersive than my pc with 22 inch monitor.

 

[Arcadio]

I'm very satisfied with mine. It looks elegant and the screen is wonderful. There is a thread about it somewhere.

 

[Ravynmagi]

2. I kinda would like to get this, but the lack of GPU power in the Exynos worries me when paired with this really high resolution. Not sure why Samsung skimped out on the processor.

6. Android has a bit more overhead than iOS since apps can do more in the background. And Samsung has even more overhead than most tablets because of the feature bloat. So it needs the 3GB.

 

[Commodus]

I really don't get why Samsung used the Exynos 5 with the Tab S instead of the Snapdragon 800. Seems like a classic case of the company letting its pride get in the way of a good experience for users.

 

[luv2liv]

im jealous.
we went to Staples today just to check out the screen and see what the hype is all about. unfortunately the store doesnt have any. it does have the galaxy pro which have a great screen already imho. will check out Best Buy next

 

[s44]

6. I'm not seeing the benefits of 3gb RAM. tabs reload at about the same pace as they do on the ipad, which has 1gb RAM.

The 3gb isn't for one app to hog all at once - it's for multitasking, particularly multiwindow multitasking.

 

[desura]

The 3gb isn't for one app to hog all at once - it's for multitasking, particularly multiwindow multitasking.

multi window works...but it is noticably slower than im used to on most tablets. it seems to have more features, but is slower than windows tablets. higher rez might explain it.

 

[Oyeve]

How much better, if, is the S screen compared to the tab pro line? I have a tab pro 8.4 and I don't want buyers remorse.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

How much better, if, is the S screen compared to the tab pro line? I have a tab pro 8.4 and I don't want buyers remorse.

Personally the Tab S 10.5 is the best display I have ever seen, I have a Note 3 and have owned plenty of other Galaxy S devices but something about Super AMOLED on such a large display really takes it to the next level.

 

[Ravynmagi]

How much better, if, is the S screen compared to the tab pro line? I have a tab pro 8.4 and I don't want buyers remorse.

I think it's side-grade. Better display, worse processor. So probably shouldn't feel any remorse.

 

[gorcorps]

I think it's side-grade. Better display, worse processor. So probably shouldn't feel any remorse.

If I spent $500 on a tablet that was nothing but a "side-grade" I'd have huge buyer's remorse, so I'm not sure what you're getting at here.

 

[Red Storm]

If I spent $500 on a tablet that was nothing but a "side-grade" I'd have huge buyer's remorse, so I'm not sure what you're getting at here.

He's saying the new Tab S is a side-grade compared to what Oyeve already has, so there should be no buyer's remorse.

 

[gorcorps]

He's saying the new Tab S is a side-grade compared to what Oyeve already has, so there should be no buyer's remorse.

Oh I gotcha. I thought he was saying that Oyeve shouldn't have buyers remorse since it's just a side-grade, but he's actually pointing out that since it's a side-grade he shouldn't have any buyers remorse.

Thanks

 

[Red Storm]

Oh I gotcha. I thought he was saying that Oyeve shouldn't have buyers remorse since it's just a side-grade, but he's actually pointing out that since it's a side-grade he shouldn't have any buyers remorse.

Thanks

I'm assuming that's sarcasm?

He bought a Tab 8.4 not too long ago. Now the Tab S line is out, so he asked if it's much better than what he has. Apparently it's not, it's more of a side-grade. Thus, he should feel no buyer's remorse.

 

[Ravynmagi]

I need to dust off the /facepalm for this. Haha.

 

[s44]

Pretty sure the S800 and the Exynos 5422 in the various Tab/Note models perform more or less the same.

 

[Ravynmagi]

Pretty sure the S800 and the Exynos 5422 in the various Tab/Note models perform more or less the same.

CPU looks kinda the same. GPU unfortunately is weaker on the Exynos. That is a little problem combined with the really high resolution.

Supposedly the LTE variant of this will have the Snapdragon 800, which will make it a bit more appealing (and expensive).

 

[desura]

i cant imagine buying any other samsung tablet than the s.

there is literally no other good reason, samsung remains the worst implementation of os ive ever encountered, across android, ios, and windows mobile. samsung's android simply sucks.

but amoled makes up for it.

 

[Red Storm]

i cant imagine buying any other samsung tablet than the s.

there is literally no other good reason, samsung remains the worst implementation of os ive ever encountered, across android, ios, and windows mobile. samsung's android simply sucks.

but amoled makes up for it.

I'd have to disagree. Certainly Touchwiz is the worst looking of the bunch, but in terms of functionality Samsung isn't half bad. Also I prefer to have Snapdragon CPU instead of Samsung's Exynos.

 

[desura]

I'd have to disagree. Certainly Touchwiz is the worst looking of the bunch, but in terms of functionality Samsung isn't half bad. Also I prefer to have Snapdragon CPU instead of Samsung's Exynos.

all of that dubious functionality is unused and takes up screen space and drains the battery faster.

 

[Red Storm]

all of that dubious functionality is unused and takes up screen space and drains the battery faster.

I'm not talking about S Voice, S Health, S whatever, I mean things like plugging in a USB flashdrive, playing various video formats, having a workable file browser that doesn't try to do too much. Samsung does all of these better than any other major OEM in my experience.

 

[Ravynmagi]

Samsung has started making some nice tablets since late last year. The Note 10.1 2014, Tab Pro, Note Pro, and Tab S are all very nice Android tablets.

Before that the original Note 10.1, Note 8, Tab 2, Tab 3, and Tab 4 have all not be that good. Shame the Note 8 still hasn't been updated for ever a year now. We really need a good 8 inch note taking device.

Sadly there isn't much else besides what Samsung is doing. The best alternative remains the Nexus 7. It's got a great price, very nice build quality (though ASUS does have some QA issues, so there are bad apples). Though these days some people would have something a little larger like 8.4 inches than 7 inches. And the Nexus 10 completely abandoned. Hopefully Google will fill the gap soon with a Nexus 8 or 9.

Other than that, not much else to pick from.

LG made a nice 8.3 inch tablet last year. But it's about 9 months old and doesn't really compete well with the 20 new tablets Samsung has since launched. LG has since launched some new low end G Pads. I hope LG isn't giving up on the high end.

ASUS seems to only be making small updates to it's Transformer line, which is very long in the tooth now. Not sure what happened to ASUS, they were doing pretty well for a while. Though ASUS really struggles with quality control and seems to screw up something big in each tablet they make. Still, I would have liked to have seen them keep trying. They were making quite a few almost great tablets, I thought they'd eventually figure it out.

Sony's new Xperia tablet is pretty cool, though a bit too much bezel for my tastes. And Sony hasn't gotten the memo yet that there is a lot of demand for smaller tablets too.

Acer, Lenovo, Dell, HP, the PC manufactures, all seem to be focusing on low end Android tablets. Not sure if this is just to avoid competing with Apple and Samsung or to avoid pissing of Microsoft. Maybe both.

Dunno what happened to HTC. They made an interesting small tablet with pen a few years ago and have they done anything since? Seems strange they are so absent from the tablet space. But are rumored to be manufacturing the next Nexus tablet, maybe.


With phones with have lots of great options. With tablets... kinda feels like it's just Samsung and Nexus, maybe an LG or Sony tablet.

 

[r4sh1d]

OP, have you tried debloating your tab by stopping/removing/freezing unwanted samsung junk? I've read over XDA forum that there's a new firmware that fixes the lag issues, they say you can get it through the KEYS software though I guess. Could you try the latest Chrome beta and report how's the lag/reload of tabs please? I'm interested in purchasing this tab for the extra RAM and this would be a deal breaker for me!

 

[desura]

OP, have you tried debloating your tab by stopping/removing/freezing unwanted samsung junk? I've read over XDA forum that there's a new firmware that fixes the lag issues, they say you can get it through the KEYS software though I guess. Could you try the latest Chrome beta and report how's the lag/reload of tabs please? I'm interested in purchasing this tab for the extra RAM and this would be a deal breaker for me!

Uh, not really.

I can live with the lag. The lag is on-par with my motorola phone, and I think it is largely a fundamental aspect of android's OS, which always has more latency than iOS.

I'm pretty sure that when I first started it it updated the firmware. Don't think it can be updated further.

 

[r4sh1d]

Android OS runs fine if you have at least 2GB RAM and the unwanted services stopped.

Usually when my non techi friends asks me which android phone to go for, I tell them to stay away from samsung (except for the note line). I have a HTC one M7 running stock 4.4.2 and it flies, no lag whatsoever; Unless I open tons of pages with heavy flash content I find the browser start reloading pages, no lag though.

I read that the new firmware update can be found through kies software though, not the "check for updates" in your tab.