question Which Tablets

MaxBurn

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Not sure why they are slamming it but yes at that size it won't do for one handed operation. Still pocketable. I'd have to see the pentile screen and see how typing works out on this between a tablet and phone size. I bet they sell a lot.
 

LunarMist

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Which device actually has pixels mapped rectangularly from 16:10 ratio to a 16:9 display? It would be like viewing an HDTV with a SD signal stretched to fill the screen in a bar or hotel room. :( Maybe nobody cares if everything looks goofy.
 

LunarMist

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No, because it is not 1.6:1. I need to order a tablet and see that for myself. I wish I had a woreless network to connect it with.
 

time

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FFS, the effective pixel pitch is the same in both vertical and horizontal directions. If you want to think of a subpixel cluster as square, feel free to do so - it won't make any difference to you.

The examples Mercutio gave are approximately 16:9 ratio displays, ranging from 1.6 to 1.7 and a bit. Objects will appear to have the same aspect ratio regardless of whether they are viewed in portrait or landscape mode.

PenTile is a very clever technology that works fine in 99% of situations. I really don't have time for people who take magnified pictures of display panels and then claim that they can see it with their unassisted eyes. Do they always see JPEG effects? Do they count the frames per second in the cinema? Bah humbug.

As for continual trawling of vacuous sites with authors that make DJs look smart - thanks, but I don't need to look at some iDouchebag's printed diarrhea.

As it happens, I know someone with a Galaxy Note (he had to import it). He's a big guy and it's the smallest phone he can manage comfortably. But as others have pointed out, it's not too big for the average person to use anyway. You can easily make a case that the smallest productive size for a touchscreen PDA is 4", so 5.3" is far from 'gigantic'.
 

LunarMist

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FFS, the effective pixel pitch is the same in both vertical and horizontal directions. If you want to think of a subpixel cluster as square, feel free to do so - it won't make any difference to you.

The examples Mercutio gave are approximately 16:9 ratio displays, ranging from 1.6 to 1.7 and a bit. Objects will appear to have the same aspect ratio regardless of whether they are viewed in portrait or landscape mode.

Good, that's what I mean.
 

Clocker

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I'm running CM9 alpha2 (ICS) on my Touchpad and can't believe how great it is. Got mine for $99 during the firesale but I think the refurbs you can buy now at twice that price still represent a grat value. Streaming my google music on it now as I type tis.
 

Clocker

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Using Firefox for Android and I didn't see an edit button although I looked for it.
 

Mercutio

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I keep saying that form factor is critical in tablet selection, and it's on that basis that I've come to appreciate the 8.9" Galaxy. The 10" tablets are just too damned big. 7" with a high res screen would be great, but ~.5lbs. for an 8.9" leaves no good reason to complain. Everyone looks at available storage and CPU specs, but in my experience those things really aren't that important at all as long as there's a decent system for moving content on and off the device.
 

LunarMist

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That is a good point. I just can't decide whether to buy a tablet now or wait a couple of months. I'd like a smallish one and also a larger one for photos. Is there any chance we will see >HD resolution?
 

Mercutio

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You certainly will eventually, especially after the ipad3 is released.
Maybe you could start with something simple and inexpensive like a Kindle Fire (bleh) or a refurbished Galaxy 7" Tablet?

I suspect we'll start to see 720p screens on tablets in the near future, even if we don't move all the way to 1080p. Apparently that's a problem at present, because of how Android draws screen elements or something.

(Occasional SF lurker) Ms_Nitsirk just bought an 8.9" Galaxy and says she loves it, but the price is tough to justify since it's pretty obvious that Samsung is about to refresh those products.
 

MaxBurn

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Apparently that's a problem at present, because of how Android draws screen elements or something.

I hadn't read that they had problems scaling the UI to different DPI, have a link? Or is it more of a ceiling they have hit?
 

Mercutio

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I've read poo-flinging on Slashdot and Engadget about it. That's why I said "apparently."

Both Engadget and Gizmodo are biased to the point of uselessness in favor of Apple hardware. It's almost impossible to discuss developments in Android devices on either site.
 

Nitsirk

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(Occasional SF lurker) Ms_Nitsirk just bought an 8.9" Galaxy and says she loves it, but the price is tough to justify since it's pretty obvious that Samsung is about to refresh those products.

True story, I love it. Also, true story that the price is tough to justify currently; however, I am mostly happy with it nonetheless. My biggest complaint is the battery charge time (3-4 hours I think). I do find the battery life satisfactory for a device of its kind though (I'd say I got about 10 hours of use out of it). I will be doing further testing on both of these factors, I've only had it a few days. I'll report back if anyone is interested.

My main motivation for buying a tablet now and not waiting like I otherwise would have is that I am traveling out of the country soon and would rather carry only one electronic gadget (the 8.9 Galaxy) rather than 4 (Nook, Zune, Droid, and laptop.) The Galaxy can do what I need from all of them good enough while carrying only one fairly small, fairly light device.

As a side note, I am still fighting with myself about leaving the Nook at home though. I find reading the E-ink screen a much better experience than any tablet or PC and my Nook is far more efficient on battery life (days or even weeks rather than hours) of course. I keep having thoughts of being stuck in an airport on an unplanned layover and having no place to charge my Galaxy or not having enough time to charge it to full and then having nothing to read or do.

Anyway, hello again all! True story, I do lurk , mostly because I don't usually have much to add, but I find you guys are a great source of knowledge and experience for keeping up with new technology.

Nits
 

Mercutio

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I think I mentioned in another thread, the thing to do with the tablet is to just and keep the charger somewhere around your nightstand and plug it in every couple days just before bedtime . You're probably not going to kill the battery with one marathon session of use. I've done that; you have to be willing to keep the screen lit for nine or ten hours to do it, and most adults don't get a whole lot of uninterrupted stretches of ten hours. Be sure to turn off all the stuff you aren't using, including sound and vibration, and set the screen brightness at a moderate level, and you might be able to stretch reading time to 11 hours or so if that's all you're doing.
The charge time does kind of suck, but I see it as an indication that I've probably been messing with my e-reader for too long anyway.

Plus I can just go pick up another e-reader anyway.

Also: Hi Nits. Nice to see you again. :)
 

ddrueding

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I plug in all my devices at the nightstand every night. I don't even pay attention to charge. I know this isn't good for the batteries, but it isn't worth worrying about.
 

Mercutio

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It bothers me a little to do that, if only because the devices generally aren't designed to allow for battery replacement.
 

LunarMist

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What do you mean, the back does not come off for swapping the battery? :skepo: I thought that only Apple did not want the users to change batteries. :(
 

ddrueding

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Everyone else followed suit, there was no way to compete with Apple's form factor otherwise, and people that don't know don't care.
 

Mercutio

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Honestly, you won't care.

You won't.

In three years, by the time the battery craps out, you'll want or possibly even already have, something better. Now if the batteries don't make it two years, that's a different story. But at the three year mark, I doubt it will matter much to you or any other adult who buys gadgets.

And yes, you can probably take one apart and do the replacement. It's just going to be a huge pain in the ass, like it is for an ithing or a Macbook. I've done ipods a few times. It probably takes four or five times as long to put them back together than it does to take them apart and stick a new battery in. I'm sure there will be videos on youtube explaining the procedure by the time people start to genuinely need it, if you're someone who really really wants to maintain what will basically be an antique by that point.
 

MaxBurn

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For example apple offers a battery replacement service for something under a hundred dollars, about $80 I think I read somewhere. The dirty secret is you have to demonstrate the battery is actually bad and when they switch it you get a whole new service replacement handset, not just a battery. If others stood behind their hardware like that it would be a non issue IMO.

There are people on the forums swapping their iPhone 2g under the battery replacement clause and selling them basically as new. I think they are starting to see the same on the 3gs.
 

Mercutio

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Is 1/3 the cost of a new device that will in all likelihood be several times faster and have quadruple the storage really going to be a worthwhile expense?
 

MaxBurn

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It's an option. I'm actually with you and don't care, I have been getting new things every year and handing them down.
 

LunarMist

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OK, I can live without the battery replacement, though I am concerned about it dying right after the warranty expires. I'm still not sure if the overall cost is worthwhile. It looks like the data plan is $35/mo.
 

LunarMist

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So now I finally have the wireless, but the 8.9' tablet is out of stock at most places. :(
 

LunarMist

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I keep saying that form factor is critical in tablet selection, and it's on that basis that I've come to appreciate the 8.9" Galaxy. The 10" tablets are just too damned big. 7" with a high res screen would be great, but ~.5lbs. for an 8.9" leaves no good reason to complain. Everyone looks at available storage and CPU specs, but in my experience those things really aren't that important at all as long as there's a decent system for moving content on and off the device.

What do you use for a case/stand?
 

Mercutio

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I have a rooCase. I got it off Ebay for about $10. All of my cases are rooCases. They're nice and I'm a fan.
 
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