Very, very nice. A beautiful screen, an OS that can have more than one app on screen at a time, and accessories that are quite elegant, set this apart from much of the competition. If I were to buy a tablet, this is what I would likely get.
Amoled displays seem to be suffering from quite a severe burn-in effects. However, it's quite difficult to actually find any discussions about this in reviews of the phones.
Battery life will for sure be interesting, especially with high brightness in daylight conditions and 300+nits display brightness. Few generations ago samsung phones (Galaxy S3 for example) skimped on max brightness...
I have a few older-generation AMOLED devices (GS1, GT7.7 and GN1) and none shows noticeable burn-in effects in normal conditions. On the other hand, most LCDs have their own issues (rMBP and N7 had burn-in issue, many devices has backlight leaking and so on) and I just cannot tolerate their bad blacks.
For phones "normal usage" probably doesn't show static images that much on the screen. But in tablet use this could be different. Especially if OS happens to support multitasking with a instant messaging software statically in one place...
It's most definitely not an AMOLED screen, but I have a Zune HD since late 2009 and I'd expect it to have the quick-media controls to have some slight burn in since it has the longest time on screen. As far as I can tell, there is no burn in. Then again I set the thing to the lowest brightness.
I've owned 4 or 5 phones with OLED displays, and the only one ever showing signs of burn-in for me was the absolute first generation Samsung Jet. I have more issues with burn-in on my LCD telly and my IPS monitor.
Keep in mind that those devices you see in the carrier store run a demo loop 24 hours - for months at a time and that is what causes the burn in effects
This is not an issue for consumer use, store demo models are required to be on 24-7/ 100% brightness/ looping a 15-20 second video. Unless you plan on doing this I wouldn't worry. My AMOLED phone is 2 years old with zero burn & I consider myself a heavy user
It feels like anyone who bought a Tab PRO got burned here (the 10.1 and 8.4 models). They were just announced 8lin January and they've already been replaced with a thinner model with a (arguably) better display. I understand that the tech world moves fast, but 5 months is pushing it. That 8.4 Tab S is looking really nice! Looking forward to battery life reports.
Yet another promising tablet crippled by only 16GB of internal storage.
Are there even any sub-10" android tablets with 32gb+ internal memory and microsd for sale in the US? If anyone knows of any I'm shopping for a new android tablet and have been disgusted so far with the pitiful amounts of internal storage everyone seems to be using for their tablets and not even providing an option to buy the higher capacities (I know the nexus 7 comes in 32gb, but it doesn't have microsd and wouldn't work for me).
Article says there is 32gb option + SD card slot = 96 GB total storage. Just get a "global" version if you are not happy with what local carries are pushing to local chumps.
Many of the other recent samsung android tablets have been listed as having 32gb options as well, however these models seem to be destined for other markets and there hasn't been any mention at all of 32gb availability in the states even though tablets like the galaxy tab pro 8.4 have been on sale for several months now. That's why I'm skeptical about being able to actually get a "global" version without having to import it.
I've had no problems getting Blackberry, GoPro, and Samsung devices to take 128GB Micro-SD storage chips.
So I'm guessing these tablets should work fine with 16GB + 128GB = 144GB.
If you need more storage, then the Microsoft Surface Pro 2 will do that, but you will then lose any hope of buying a tablet with any built-in 4G or 3G telephony voice or data capabilities.
I've got a 2014 Note 10.1. 16GB with 64GB SD, but unfortunately you can't install apps onto the SD card.. just stuff like movies/music/photos. I thought 16GB would be enough but I'm constantly out of space.
Same problem on my Galaxy S4.
Have tried some apps that are supposed to workaround this issue, foldermount and such, but haven't had any luck with them.
Find app alternatives that do support SD. I think I've always something like 5-8GB free space on my GS4. All apps that need large amounts of storage for me support SD. If they don't I just find a better alternative.
I have lots of available space on my 16gb Note 10.1. I installed a 64gb card and loaded nearly every app to the SD card. The way to go is to root. Without root some of the large game files and programs cannot move the entire app to SD. What most of the "move to sd" apps do is only move the executable part not the game files where the bulk of the data is. So root, then use the correct apps... like GL to SD(root).
The only things you shouldn't move are
Widgets – no matter how menial in usefulness or design. System tools – many might not operate as intended without being on the phone’s storage. Important apps – you don’t want to risk an important app becoming inaccessible when you need it.
Had a similar problem with my Galaxy S2. In my case, because I had it so long, and I guessed used so intensively, the internal logs got quite big. I used sysDump (dialler *#9900#) to delete and freed up a gig (I believe 200-300mb is more common), and now I don't get storage memory warnings. It seems smoother, but that could be just my perception, or some of the app updates. This mightn't help you at all, but thought I mention it in case it does.
PS The logs are hidden system files, so apparently if you can't open sysDump you have to root the phone and install certain apps to see them and truncate them. Obviously back everything up, before doing this or sysDump. If you can use sysDump to delete, the device will restart when done, and for my phone was unresponsive for a few minutes when it was deleting/truncating the logs.
I got a nook hd+ last year with 32 internal and added another 32 GB. The tablet cost me $130. I wouldn't reccomed it however unless you are going to put CM on it day one and even then think twice. The touch screen is sluggish and inaccurate and the glass cracks way too easy. Mine has never left the couch and has three sizable cracks. Whereas, my 3yo totes a gen 1 ipad that has hit the concrete and other than bends in the aluminum sill has no cracks. Other than that the nook hd+ has two other issues one being the speaker faces away from you, and two it has a big stupid charge connector. Bigger than the original iPod dock connector.
meh, my 2 yr old had dropped our ipad 2 lots of times, including down the stairs once, barely a scratch. Then one week he dropped it two times and pretty much destroyed the thing. I think it's all about the angles when it hits the ground.
The Nook HD+ is sluggish, no question about that, it's designed primarily as a reader and it shows. I've had mine for over a year and it's as new, build quality is quite good for the price I think. As for the connector, well, in exchange it charges quite more quickly than the standard USB 2 could manage.
It still takes way too long. Plus there are plenty of devices that violate the usb spec and deliver 1.5 to 2A over a standard usb 2.0 port. My MB has several 1.5A ports on it marked in red.
The Nook HD+ is not perfect, but at $130 why complain. I have never had any problems with build quality, although battery runs down a bit quicker than I would like, and the comments about the touch screen are very true. It does however stream HD movies very well, play my media fine, is good as an ereader.
That is all I need it for
But I did upgrade with CM - the B&N software is a total waste of effort. It is also probably 2 generations behind the Samsung
Thanks for the suggestion, but a big part of the reason I want the extra space is for games (humble bundles FTW) and the large games that I need the extra space for also tend to be more demanding.
There's a big hole in the 7" - 8" android tablet market right now for someone to swoop in with a gaming tablet that actually has enough space to store more than a handful of games and also includes microsd for music and movies. Right now the most promising tablet in that space is the Xiomi Mipad, although I'm not sure if it will ever be available stateside.
I might have to end up importing to get the tablet I want which is just sad since there are several smartphones with the specs I want (Galaxy S4 and Note III both have variants in the states with 32gb + microsd) but nobody has put those same specs into a 7" - 8" tablet. They always cheap out on the storage for some reason which makes no sense to me since a tablet is an ideal entertainment device while traveling where you actually need the storage and can't rely on the cloud.
Samsung stubbornly designs their tablets to watch video, so I see little chance that they're going to move away from 16:10 anytime soon. I agree that it sucks though.
They explained quite reasonably why 16:10 is the optimal ratio on a tablet. They see usage stats for everybody, and people use tablets a media consumption devices.
Gawd. If Samsung had Apple problems before with tablets that actually didn't even look like the iPad, I can't imagine the crap a 4:3 tablet would stir up.
And HP were the first to sell 4:3 tablets. Hell, even Archos had 9.7" 4:3 tablets long before Apple.
I just don't get the thought process of Apple apologists. "Apple used a 4:3 ratio, and therefore from that point on, Apple are the rightfully owners of that implementation, no matter how late to the game they actually were..."
So the 10" Tab S has an RGB stripe screen while the 10" Tab Pro is pentile, and the 8.4" Tab S has a pentile screen while the 8.4" Tab Pro is RGB stripe.
Oh, great. Now it's not enough to evangelize about "convergence", we have to strive for "true convergence". Here's a hint --- when you start throwing in adjectives like "true" it's pretty obvious you've reached the theological stage of ranting.
I've been using 7" OG GT and now 7.7" GT7.7 for my PHONE. Oh and my phone case doubles as my wallet too (It houses bills and credit cards). So I only have to carry a single device.
While others carry tiny phone, smallish tablet and wallet all separately.
Why so upset about people wanting to do more than one thing with each device, name99? If you pay $500 for a tablet, you'd expect it to do a little bit more than just play Angry Birds and brows mobile web pages...:)
Samsung has been flooding the market with tablets this year and I see that as a bad thing. Diversity is fine, sure, but this is stretching it too far. The same applies to their phones as well. Samsung needs to trim down most of the lineup.
Yes and no. It is easy to mock devices that are simply a little thinner. I was guilty of this a few years ago when Seagate released some very thin 2.5" external drives, and did not expect the thinness of the iPhone5 to make much of a difference compared to my iPhone4. But I was wrong in both cases. You certainly can't tell the extra pleasure the thinness gives you from a photo, and you may not even consider it an issue the first few times you use it. It's only on repeated use, when you go back to a fatter device, that you really appreciate the contrast.
Having said that, battery life is also highly desirable. Design is about tradeoffs, and my honest opinion (based on plenty of recent history) is that Samsung can't be trusted to make the best tradeoffs for most customer scenarios. I would not be at all surprised if they reduced battery life to levels that are lower than would be desirable purely to be able to win the marketing bullet point of "thinest tablet available" for three months.
Will it actually work? By that I mean that if an issue is found will Samsung actually fix it or ignore until the next version hits the market. Yeah I've been bitten by the 7 Slate and the 9 model of their expensive laptop (I buy for work). Good luck to them.
Kudos to samsung for actually advancing the technology. 10.5" AMOLED panel has been a dream for so many years.... in a few years we'll see AMOLED laptops.
Pretty much, MY OG ASUS TF was 16:10 and even the Nexus 7 has a 1920x1200 display even though they advertise it as "1080p" capable in places (which is just kinda amusing). One of the things that really jumped out at me about early Windows 8 tablets was how skinny the seemed in profile use cause of the 16:9 aspect ratio.
Like the Nexus 7, the LTE models should be universal no? Is there a single SKU for the LTE models. One tablet should be compatible with Verizon, ATT and T-Mobile (not sure about sprint).
If I'm not mistaken, a perhaps more useful competitor to compare it to in the tables (given the ultathin+light focus) would be Sony's 10-inch tablet; that's also an android tablet of similar size and therefore a pretty direct alternative.
I imagine it'll be out around the time it launches, that's how the bigger products tend to be timed from what I remember. Wait a little longer and you'll be rewarded with a better quality and more in-depth review anyway.
Viewing this from my lg g pad 8.3: more affordable and from a less sh*tty company. If I were to buy a top end 10 incher I would give my money to sony instead and get the xperia tablet z2. Simply cannot stand Samsung. (Galaxy s3 owner.)
You'd expect them to put the snapdragon 801 instead of the 800 for the efficiency boost, especially with the lighter body and power sucking high-res amoled screens.
Pre-ordered it from Sears last night. This is the perfect tablet for me. I would like 32gb, but I use 11gb in my phone and don't expect to load all those apps on to the tablet as I will always have my phone with me. I just ordered a 64gb Samsung EVO SD card that I will install into the tablet as soon as I get it. That should provide me with enough space for video and music when I am out of town on business. At home I have my file server so I don't need that much on my consumption device.
Now, if I can just be patient in the coming three weeks until my new tablet ships!
Very, very nice. A beautiful screen, an OS that can have more than one app on screen at a time, and accessories that are quite elegant, set this apart from much of the competition. If I were to buy a tablet, this is what I would likely get.
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bengildenstein - Thursday, June 12, 2014 - link
Very, very nice. A beautiful screen, an OS that can have more than one app on screen at a time, and accessories that are quite elegant, set this apart from much of the competition. If I were to buy a tablet, this is what I would likely get.Battery-life is my number one curiosity.
zepi - Friday, June 13, 2014 - link
Amoled displays seem to be suffering from quite a severe burn-in effects. However, it's quite difficult to actually find any discussions about this in reviews of the phones.Here is a simple picture from a local carrier store and it's quite obvious.
http://cornflake.softcon.fi/export/burnin.jpg
Battery life will for sure be interesting, especially with high brightness in daylight conditions and 300+nits display brightness. Few generations ago samsung phones (Galaxy S3 for example) skimped on max brightness...
nerd1 - Friday, June 13, 2014 - link
I have a few older-generation AMOLED devices (GS1, GT7.7 and GN1) and none shows noticeable burn-in effects in normal conditions. On the other hand, most LCDs have their own issues (rMBP and N7 had burn-in issue, many devices has backlight leaking and so on) and I just cannot tolerate their bad blacks.zepi - Friday, June 13, 2014 - link
For phones "normal usage" probably doesn't show static images that much on the screen. But in tablet use this could be different. Especially if OS happens to support multitasking with a instant messaging software statically in one place...theduckofdeath - Saturday, June 14, 2014 - link
The icons in the task bar are extremely static on any phone. I've never seen any of those icons leaving a mark on my phone.Burn-in is a non-issue on modern OLED.
xenol - Friday, June 13, 2014 - link
It's most definitely not an AMOLED screen, but I have a Zune HD since late 2009 and I'd expect it to have the quick-media controls to have some slight burn in since it has the longest time on screen. As far as I can tell, there is no burn in. Then again I set the thing to the lowest brightness.theduckofdeath - Saturday, June 14, 2014 - link
I've owned 4 or 5 phones with OLED displays, and the only one ever showing signs of burn-in for me was the absolute first generation Samsung Jet. I have more issues with burn-in on my LCD telly and my IPS monitor.cyntrax - Sunday, June 15, 2014 - link
Keep in mind that those devices you see in the carrier store run a demo loop 24 hours - for months at a time and that is what causes the burn in effectsKensingtron - Tuesday, June 24, 2014 - link
This is not an issue for consumer use, store demo models are required to be on 24-7/ 100% brightness/ looping a 15-20 second video. Unless you plan on doing this I wouldn't worry. My AMOLED phone is 2 years old with zero burn & I consider myself a heavy userguidryp - Thursday, June 12, 2014 - link
Dang. I just bought a Pro 8.4". If I thought this one was going to be the same price, I would have waited.UltraWide - Thursday, June 12, 2014 - link
$499 for the 10.5"$399 for the 8.4"
AP27 - Monday, June 16, 2014 - link
It feels like anyone who bought a Tab PRO got burned here (the 10.1 and 8.4 models). They were just announced 8lin January and they've already been replaced with a thinner model with a (arguably) better display. I understand that the tech world moves fast, but 5 months is pushing it.That 8.4 Tab S is looking really nice! Looking forward to battery life reports.
gamer1000k - Thursday, June 12, 2014 - link
Yet another promising tablet crippled by only 16GB of internal storage.Are there even any sub-10" android tablets with 32gb+ internal memory and microsd for sale in the US? If anyone knows of any I'm shopping for a new android tablet and have been disgusted so far with the pitiful amounts of internal storage everyone seems to be using for their tablets and not even providing an option to buy the higher capacities (I know the nexus 7 comes in 32gb, but it doesn't have microsd and wouldn't work for me).
ddriver - Thursday, June 12, 2014 - link
Article says there is 32gb option + SD card slot = 96 GB total storage. Just get a "global" version if you are not happy with what local carries are pushing to local chumps.gamer1000k - Thursday, June 12, 2014 - link
Many of the other recent samsung android tablets have been listed as having 32gb options as well, however these models seem to be destined for other markets and there hasn't been any mention at all of 32gb availability in the states even though tablets like the galaxy tab pro 8.4 have been on sale for several months now. That's why I'm skeptical about being able to actually get a "global" version without having to import it.hrrmph - Friday, June 13, 2014 - link
I've had no problems getting Blackberry, GoPro, and Samsung devices to take 128GB Micro-SD storage chips.So I'm guessing these tablets should work fine with 16GB + 128GB = 144GB.
If you need more storage, then the Microsoft Surface Pro 2 will do that, but you will then lose any hope of buying a tablet with any built-in 4G or 3G telephony voice or data capabilities.
skrewler2 - Friday, June 13, 2014 - link
I've got a 2014 Note 10.1. 16GB with 64GB SD, but unfortunately you can't install apps onto the SD card.. just stuff like movies/music/photos. I thought 16GB would be enough but I'm constantly out of space.Same problem on my Galaxy S4.
Have tried some apps that are supposed to workaround this issue, foldermount and such, but haven't had any luck with them.
theduckofdeath - Saturday, June 14, 2014 - link
Find app alternatives that do support SD. I think I've always something like 5-8GB free space on my GS4. All apps that need large amounts of storage for me support SD. If they don't I just find a better alternative.gearheadvr4 - Sunday, June 15, 2014 - link
I have lots of available space on my 16gb Note 10.1. I installed a 64gb card and loaded nearly every app to the SD card. The way to go is to root. Without root some of the large game files and programs cannot move the entire app to SD. What most of the "move to sd" apps do is only move the executable part not the game files where the bulk of the data is. So root, then use the correct apps... like GL to SD(root).The only things you shouldn't move are
Widgets – no matter how menial in usefulness or design.
System tools – many might not operate as intended without being on the phone’s storage.
Important apps – you don’t want to risk an important app becoming inaccessible when you need it.
Ev1lAsh - Monday, June 16, 2014 - link
Had a similar problem with my Galaxy S2. In my case, because I had it so long, and I guessed used so intensively, the internal logs got quite big.I used sysDump (dialler *#9900#) to delete and freed up a gig (I believe 200-300mb is more common), and now I don't get storage memory warnings. It seems smoother, but that could be just my perception, or some of the app updates.
This mightn't help you at all, but thought I mention it in case it does.
PS
The logs are hidden system files, so apparently if you can't open sysDump you have to root the phone and install certain apps to see them and truncate them.
Obviously back everything up, before doing this or sysDump.
If you can use sysDump to delete, the device will restart when done, and for my phone was unresponsive for a few minutes when it was deleting/truncating the logs.
hpglow - Friday, June 13, 2014 - link
I got a nook hd+ last year with 32 internal and added another 32 GB. The tablet cost me $130. I wouldn't reccomed it however unless you are going to put CM on it day one and even then think twice. The touch screen is sluggish and inaccurate and the glass cracks way too easy. Mine has never left the couch and has three sizable cracks. Whereas, my 3yo totes a gen 1 ipad that has hit the concrete and other than bends in the aluminum sill has no cracks. Other than that the nook hd+ has two other issues one being the speaker faces away from you, and two it has a big stupid charge connector. Bigger than the original iPod dock connector.andrewaggb - Friday, June 13, 2014 - link
meh, my 2 yr old had dropped our ipad 2 lots of times, including down the stairs once, barely a scratch. Then one week he dropped it two times and pretty much destroyed the thing. I think it's all about the angles when it hits the ground.R. Hunt - Friday, June 13, 2014 - link
The Nook HD+ is sluggish, no question about that, it's designed primarily as a reader and it shows. I've had mine for over a year and it's as new, build quality is quite good for the price I think. As for the connector, well, in exchange it charges quite more quickly than the standard USB 2 could manage.hpglow - Friday, June 13, 2014 - link
It still takes way too long. Plus there are plenty of devices that violate the usb spec and deliver 1.5 to 2A over a standard usb 2.0 port. My MB has several 1.5A ports on it marked in red.cjs150 - Friday, June 13, 2014 - link
The Nook HD+ is not perfect, but at $130 why complain. I have never had any problems with build quality, although battery runs down a bit quicker than I would like, and the comments about the touch screen are very true. It does however stream HD movies very well, play my media fine, is good as an ereader.That is all I need it for
But I did upgrade with CM - the B&N software is a total waste of effort. It is also probably 2 generations behind the Samsung
hpglow - Friday, June 13, 2014 - link
I really wish I had done CM day one now I'm wondering if reloading content is worth the time.gamer1000k - Friday, June 13, 2014 - link
Thanks for the suggestion, but a big part of the reason I want the extra space is for games (humble bundles FTW) and the large games that I need the extra space for also tend to be more demanding.There's a big hole in the 7" - 8" android tablet market right now for someone to swoop in with a gaming tablet that actually has enough space to store more than a handful of games and also includes microsd for music and movies. Right now the most promising tablet in that space is the Xiomi Mipad, although I'm not sure if it will ever be available stateside.
I might have to end up importing to get the tablet I want which is just sad since there are several smartphones with the specs I want (Galaxy S4 and Note III both have variants in the states with 32gb + microsd) but nobody has put those same specs into a 7" - 8" tablet. They always cheap out on the storage for some reason which makes no sense to me since a tablet is an ideal entertainment device while traveling where you actually need the storage and can't rely on the cloud.
cyntrax - Sunday, June 15, 2014 - link
You can always use an sd card the tab s is expandable up to 128gbddriver - Thursday, June 12, 2014 - link
Got to love "progress" - progressively thinner devices for progressively "thicker" consumers :DSlide83 - Thursday, June 12, 2014 - link
No 4:3 aspect ratio, no buy.LandLockedPH - Thursday, June 12, 2014 - link
Ha Ha Ha Ha... LMFAOR. Hunt - Friday, June 13, 2014 - link
Samsung stubbornly designs their tablets to watch video, so I see little chance that they're going to move away from 16:10 anytime soon. I agree that it sucks though.theduckofdeath - Monday, June 16, 2014 - link
They explained quite reasonably why 16:10 is the optimal ratio on a tablet. They see usage stats for everybody, and people use tablets a media consumption devices.CBone - Friday, June 13, 2014 - link
Gawd. If Samsung had Apple problems before with tablets that actually didn't even look like the iPad, I can't imagine the crap a 4:3 tablet would stir up.R. Hunt - Saturday, June 14, 2014 - link
The physical dimensions of the Tab Pro 10.1 are strikingly similar to that of the iPad Air. And anyway, they could go for 3:2 like the Surface Pro 3.theduckofdeath - Monday, June 16, 2014 - link
And HP were the first to sell 4:3 tablets. Hell, even Archos had 9.7" 4:3 tablets long before Apple.I just don't get the thought process of Apple apologists. "Apple used a 4:3 ratio, and therefore from that point on, Apple are the rightfully owners of that implementation, no matter how late to the game they actually were..."
boozed - Thursday, June 12, 2014 - link
So the 10" Tab S has an RGB stripe screen while the 10" Tab Pro is pentile, and the 8.4" Tab S has a pentile screen while the 8.4" Tab Pro is RGB stripe.Samsung does a good job at being confusing.
kascollet - Saturday, June 14, 2014 - link
Tab Pros are RGBG Pentile. I guess Samsung is still playing with words about this new Tab S 10.4 (certainly another Pentile variant).slacker711 - Thursday, June 12, 2014 - link
The battery for the S 10.5 is 60% larger than for the S 8.4. Perhaps that is to support RGB stripe?theduckofdeath - Saturday, June 14, 2014 - link
And the fact that the display is a few inches larger... :)Morawka - Thursday, June 12, 2014 - link
Why does the US version not have phone call capability? that's freaking retarded. Is this the work of the Big 3 Lobbying?nerd1 - Friday, June 13, 2014 - link
US tech bloggers always mocked "freakingly big phone" while others enjoying true convergence.name99 - Friday, June 13, 2014 - link
Oh, great. Now it's not enough to evangelize about "convergence", we have to strive for "true convergence".Here's a hint --- when you start throwing in adjectives like "true" it's pretty obvious you've reached the theological stage of ranting.
nerd1 - Saturday, June 14, 2014 - link
I've been using 7" OG GT and now 7.7" GT7.7 for my PHONE. Oh and my phone case doubles as my wallet too (It houses bills and credit cards). So I only have to carry a single device.While others carry tiny phone, smallish tablet and wallet all separately.
theduckofdeath - Saturday, June 14, 2014 - link
Why so upset about people wanting to do more than one thing with each device, name99? If you pay $500 for a tablet, you'd expect it to do a little bit more than just play Angry Birds and brows mobile web pages...:)gsalkin - Thursday, June 12, 2014 - link
What is this? The 8th 10.1" tablet they've released in 4 years?theduckofdeath - Saturday, June 14, 2014 - link
OH MY GOD! SO CONFUSING!Laxaa - Friday, June 13, 2014 - link
Samsung has been flooding the market with tablets this year and I see that as a bad thing. Diversity is fine, sure, but this is stretching it too far. The same applies to their phones as well. Samsung needs to trim down most of the lineup.bsim500 - Friday, June 13, 2014 - link
Isn't it getting to the stage where below a certain thickness, most people are actually more interested in longer battery life than anything else?GC2:CS - Friday, June 13, 2014 - link
YeGC2:CS - Friday, June 13, 2014 - link
Yep... But thin and long lasting is better than just thin or long lastingname99 - Friday, June 13, 2014 - link
That's what she said.name99 - Friday, June 13, 2014 - link
Yes and no.It is easy to mock devices that are simply a little thinner. I was guilty of this a few years ago when Seagate released some very thin 2.5" external drives, and did not expect the thinness of the iPhone5 to make much of a difference compared to my iPhone4. But I was wrong in both cases. You certainly can't tell the extra pleasure the thinness gives you from a photo, and you may not even consider it an issue the first few times you use it. It's only on repeated use, when you go back to a fatter device, that you really appreciate the contrast.
Having said that, battery life is also highly desirable. Design is about tradeoffs, and my honest opinion (based on plenty of recent history) is that Samsung can't be trusted to make the best tradeoffs for most customer scenarios. I would not be at all surprised if they reduced battery life to levels that are lower than would be desirable purely to be able to win the marketing bullet point of "thinest tablet available" for three months.
nerd1 - Saturday, June 14, 2014 - link
They put much larger battery than sony tablet (which is actually slightly thinner)semo - Friday, June 13, 2014 - link
Still no word on the S5 mini?damianrobertjones - Friday, June 13, 2014 - link
Will it actually work? By that I mean that if an issue is found will Samsung actually fix it or ignore until the next version hits the market. Yeah I've been bitten by the 7 Slate and the 9 model of their expensive laptop (I buy for work). Good luck to them.nerd1 - Friday, June 13, 2014 - link
Kudos to samsung for actually advancing the technology. 10.5" AMOLED panel has been a dream for so many years.... in a few years we'll see AMOLED laptops.Zingam - Friday, June 13, 2014 - link
Finally a tablet with a correct aspect ratio!!!! 10:9 is even worse on tablets than on a monitor!!!Zingam - Friday, June 13, 2014 - link
A book page should be optimally readable/viewable on a tablet without any wasted space.Death666Angel - Saturday, June 14, 2014 - link
A book page, as in a bunch of words, should be dynamically adjusted to fit any screen it is on.R. Hunt - Friday, June 13, 2014 - link
I don't know where you got that idea from, most Android tablets have been 16:10 for many years.Impulses - Friday, June 13, 2014 - link
Pretty much, MY OG ASUS TF was 16:10 and even the Nexus 7 has a 1920x1200 display even though they advertise it as "1080p" capable in places (which is just kinda amusing). One of the things that really jumped out at me about early Windows 8 tablets was how skinny the seemed in profile use cause of the 16:9 aspect ratio.agent2099 - Friday, June 13, 2014 - link
Like the Nexus 7, the LTE models should be universal no? Is there a single SKU for the LTE models. One tablet should be compatible with Verizon, ATT and T-Mobile (not sure about sprint).emn13 - Friday, June 13, 2014 - link
If I'm not mistaken, a perhaps more useful competitor to compare it to in the tables (given the ultathin+light focus) would be Sony's 10-inch tablet; that's also an android tablet of similar size and therefore a pretty direct alternative.emn13 - Friday, June 13, 2014 - link
(more useful than the phones, anyhow)iresh - Friday, June 13, 2014 - link
Hey Anand, this is very interesting and all. But FFS can you post your Surface Pro 3 review! Its been more than 3 weeks.Sorry about the swearing!
frostyfiredude - Friday, June 13, 2014 - link
I imagine it'll be out around the time it launches, that's how the bigger products tend to be timed from what I remember. Wait a little longer and you'll be rewarded with a better quality and more in-depth review anyway.Sunburn74 - Friday, June 13, 2014 - link
Still waiting on update to galaxy note 8.0 tab with the s pen. come on samsung!johnny_boy - Friday, June 13, 2014 - link
Viewing this from my lg g pad 8.3: more affordable and from a less sh*tty company. If I were to buy a top end 10 incher I would give my money to sony instead and get the xperia tablet z2. Simply cannot stand Samsung. (Galaxy s3 owner.)BMNify - Friday, June 13, 2014 - link
with only ac 2x2 (every new router worth buying will have 4x4 MiMO) and no USB3 never mind USB3.1 for whats left of 2014/15 , giving these Soc a missRoland00Address - Friday, June 13, 2014 - link
No larger screen model such as a 12 inch?I thought 12 inch tablets were all the rage according to samsung. Do 4 apps at once and just remote desktop in, or use hans office.
(I am not being serious here, but this was samsung's marketing.)
az06093 - Friday, June 13, 2014 - link
You'd expect them to put the snapdragon 801 instead of the 800 for the efficiency boost, especially with the lighter body and power sucking high-res amoled screens.dwade123 - Friday, June 13, 2014 - link
Too bad they only sell specs and skim out on the actual thing that matters the most: user experience.Mastadon - Saturday, June 14, 2014 - link
128GB or no sale. I don't want to carry around or store separate microSD cardsnerd1 - Saturday, June 14, 2014 - link
So you are too lazy to just put an 128GB card and forget it afterwards?tromp - Saturday, June 14, 2014 - link
Screen area ratio = (10.5/8.4)^2 = 1.56250Battery capacity ratio = 7900/4900 = 1.61224
So the bigger model has a relative advantage of only 3%.
rkhighlight - Monday, June 16, 2014 - link
If these devices were display-only.Etern205 - Monday, June 16, 2014 - link
For anyone interested, the background used on the very first pic. It's called Dome of Light, located at the Formosa Boulevard Station in Taiwan.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formosa_Boulevard_Sta...
hockeyfan81 - Tuesday, June 17, 2014 - link
Smaller battery compared to the pro 10.1 8200.bigboxes - Tuesday, June 17, 2014 - link
Pre-ordered it from Sears last night. This is the perfect tablet for me. I would like 32gb, but I use 11gb in my phone and don't expect to load all those apps on to the tablet as I will always have my phone with me. I just ordered a 64gb Samsung EVO SD card that I will install into the tablet as soon as I get it. That should provide me with enough space for video and music when I am out of town on business. At home I have my file server so I don't need that much on my consumption device.Now, if I can just be patient in the coming three weeks until my new tablet ships!
Rashid Iqbal - Tuesday, July 1, 2014 - link
Very, very nice. A beautiful screen, an OS that can have more than one app on screen at a time, and accessories that are quite elegant, set this apart from much of the competition. If I were to buy a tablet, this is what I would likely get.Rashid Iqbal - Tuesday, July 1, 2014 - link
plz visit this site eocean