Thinking of buying a tablet

Very close comparisons between the iPad Mini 3 and the Tab S. Screen is definitely superior on the Tab S (but iPad Mini is no slouch, either). The Galaxy has a widescreen aspect ratio while the iPad is 4x3 (or very close). I like the widescreen for video but I have to admit I've never tried a 4x3 tablet. They say the A7 CPU is superior. Then, again, Samsung can run multiple apps (not so for the iPad mini). That's a somewhat useful feature (I know when I played Zinga Poker I could not fold and switch to another app -- well, I could, but it would not continue running in the background so I could not easily switch back and forth). The iPad Mini is virtually the same price for the 16GB version ($10 more at Staples.ca). 32GB is $50 more (Tab has a micro-SD slot to allow for cheaper expansion).

I know nothing about other tablets other than I am not a fan of my wife's iPad Air (seems to hang too much when browsing the net) and I am a huge fan of my Nexus 7.

tim1_2 wrote:I know nothing about other tablets other than I am not a fan of my wife's iPad Air (seems to hang too much when browsing the net) and I am a huge fan of my Nexus 7.

I'm a huge fan of my Nexus 7, too (don't know if yours is the 1st gen or the 2nd gen with the FHD). Fantastic screen. But it's busted.

Looking around there are replacement kits -- around $60US for the screen+digitizer+top glass, but since in my case the LCD itself is fine, I can get away with the cheaper $20 just for the top glass and digitizer (I suppose "digitizer" is the touch-sensor). The full LCD+digitizer kit is easier to install; for the other one they recommend a professional repair person. Asus themselves were offering repairs for $130 (couple years back, may have changed since then) so I figure replacing just the digitizer/glass would be under $100. I've sent a quote request to a local repair shop (Merivale). We'll see.

On the other hand, now that I've read the specs on the Tab S it's hard to be as excited about my "old" Nexus 7. $400 is a bit steep for my taste but I've only just begun to look. I'll be visiting my sister in law in the US this summer so I should definitely check out for sales south of the border.

Mine has the FHD. 2nd gen I guess.

I guess it all depends what you want to use your tablet for. No doubt the newer ones are faster/better/whatever. All I do on mine is surf the web, converse with you hooligans, check Twitter/email, and play a bit of Candy Crush. I also find this tablet is great for Netflix/YouTube, although the screen is a little small.

My wife has a big iPad, and it's pretty great for videos.

I dunno how long the battery lasts on these things until it'll start draining really quick...yours is 18 months so I guess that's a consideration. I think I've had mine for about 16 months and the battery still is going strong.

If you could get the screen fixed for $120ish or less, that's what I'd do. It wouldn't hurt looking on Kijiji or UsedOttawa for repair services. My wife had an old iPad screen replaced for something like $80 by an old man and it was a perfect repair job.

Good idea with Kijiji. Just send an inquiry to an ad -- they operate out of the INK stand at Lincoln Fields. I drive past there twice a week dropping off an picking up my daughter for pre/post school activities.

If I can get it fixed for under $100 then continue using it until the Tab S drops $100 (around Black Friday or Christmas, latest).

To be honest, I'd love to see what an 8.4" screen is like compared to the 7". I'd definitely get a good attached case for it, though.

Oh, I'll also check out Costco. Have to drop by there for some stuff anyway. I know they had *some* Galaxy stuff there, don't think it was the Tab S, though. I guess I'll see.

wprager wrote:Good idea with Kijiji.  Just send an inquiry to an ad -- they operate out of the INK stand at Lincoln Fields.  I drive past there twice a week dropping off an picking up my daughter for pre/post school activities.  

If I can get it fixed for under $100 then continue using it until the Tab S drops $100 (around Black Friday or Christmas, latest).

To be honest, I'd love to see what an 8.4" screen is like compared to the 7".  I'd definitely get a good attached case for it, though.  

Oh, I'll also check out Costco.  Have to drop by there for some stuff anyway.  I know they had *some* Galaxy stuff there, don't think it was the Tab S, though.  I guess I'll see.

i sold a samsung tablet(i cant remember if it was the 7 or 8.4) for 150 brand new at xmas. it came free with my new subscription to fido. took the cash and bought an Ipad air 2 64g for 550$. sorry prags, I thought i'd rub it in.

Those Samsungs get really good reviews. 8.4" sounds good.

Flo The Action wrote:

wprager wrote:Good idea with Kijiji.  Just send an inquiry to an ad -- they operate out of the INK stand at Lincoln Fields.  I drive past there twice a week dropping off an picking up my daughter for pre/post school activities.  

If I can get it fixed for under $100 then continue using it until the Tab S drops $100 (around Black Friday or Christmas, latest).

To be honest, I'd love to see what an 8.4" screen is like compared to the 7".  I'd definitely get a good attached case for it, though.  

Oh, I'll also check out Costco.  Have to drop by there for some stuff anyway.  I know they had *some* Galaxy stuff there, don't think it was the Tab S, though.  I guess I'll see.

i sold a samsung tablet(i cant remember if it was the 7 or 8.4) for 150 brand new at xmas. it came free with my new subscription to fido. took the cash and bought an Ipad air 2 64g for 550$. sorry prags, I thought i'd rub it in.

Don't see how you're rubbing it in. They'd never give away the ones I'm looking at. The iPad AIR has 2048x1536 resolution in a 9.7" form factor. The Tab S has 2560x1600 in an 8.4" display. Also has 3GB RAM (my Nexus had 2, the iPad Mini has 1 and I'd assume the same for the AIR). In addition to the pixel density I'm really stoked about the AMOLED display. I've seen them, they are fantastic.

Now, the AIR and iPad mini have a kick Donkey processor. The first (only?) 64-bit processor in the medium tablet market. Doubt there are many apps yet that take advantage of it. I was ok with my Nexus, but it definitely could have been a bit stronger in some places (some mpeg-4 decoding, for example). Unfortunately it's not like I can put a video on a USB stick and try it in the store, and putting a micro-SD card in probably requires me to lift off the cover -- not something they'd let me do in a store.

wprager wrote:

Flo The Action wrote:

wprager wrote:Good idea with Kijiji.  Just send an inquiry to an ad -- they operate out of the INK stand at Lincoln Fields.  I drive past there twice a week dropping off an picking up my daughter for pre/post school activities.  

If I can get it fixed for under $100 then continue using it until the Tab S drops $100 (around Black Friday or Christmas, latest).

To be honest, I'd love to see what an 8.4" screen is like compared to the 7".  I'd definitely get a good attached case for it, though.  

Oh, I'll also check out Costco.  Have to drop by there for some stuff anyway.  I know they had *some* Galaxy stuff there, don't think it was the Tab S, though.  I guess I'll see.

i sold a samsung tablet(i cant remember if it was the 7 or 8.4) for 150 brand new at xmas. it came free with my new subscription to fido. took the cash and bought an Ipad air 2 64g for 550$. sorry prags, I thought i'd rub it in.

Don't see how you're rubbing it in.  They'd never give away the ones I'm looking at.  The iPad AIR has 2048x1536 resolution in a 9.7" form factor.  The Tab S has 2560x1600 in an 8.4" display.  Also has 3GB RAM (my Nexus had 2, the iPad Mini has 1 and I'd assume the same for the AIR).  In addition to the pixel density I'm really stoked about the AMOLED display.  I've seen them, they are fantastic.

Now, the AIR and iPad mini have a kick Donkey processor.  The first (only?) 64-bit processor in the medium tablet market.  Doubt there are many apps yet that take advantage of it.  I was ok with my Nexus, but it definitely could have been a bit stronger in some places (some mpeg-4 decoding, for example).  Unfortunately it's not like I can put a video on a USB stick and try it in the store, and putting a micro-SD card in probably requires me to lift off the cover -- not something they'd let me do in a store.

i dont know it was a samsung tab. it was a ridiculous deal. i think they sold for like 400+ dollars new. had to subscribe to a 2 year plan to get it.

There's several Samsung Galaxy Tabs. The S is the latest one. The one before was the Pro. Same resolution and pixel density but it was an LCD screen. The AMOLED has more vibrant colours, higher contrast and truer blacks (each pixel emits its own light, so there is no backlight, which means black is black -- this also leads to better power consumption especially watching video).

Here's a decent (unbiased) comparison of super AMOLED and super-LCD:
http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/super-amoled-vs-super-lcd-the-big-screens-compared-1226721

Having read that, I'm a bit concerned about burn-in. Hmm. Maybe Tab Pro is the way to go (same resolution, lower cost since its older -- I was quite happy with the LCD on my Nexus).

I'll have to check what are the other differences.

Well the two ads on Kijiji that I e-mailed for info only contacted be via the automated reply but no actual person.  Tried a couple times, checked my spam folder -- nothing.  Then I e-mail another non-Kijiji ad and got a quote of $135. Yikes.  For $50 I can get the full LCD+digitizer+top glass assembly (free shipping) from China.  My LCD is working fine so technically I could get just the digitizer+top glass part.  It's cheaper but more difficult to replace.  But this is adding $85 for labor for a job they say will be done within an hour.

Just found another ad -- $35 including some tools to do the job. I've seen how it's done on YouTube. At those prices why would you even want to risk replacing just the digitizer. I might end up getting a new tablet *and* fixing this one. Eventually.

Hey, Flo, did you get your free Samsung tab at Future Shop?

http://forums.redflagdeals.com/fs-galaxy-s4-galaxy-tab-4-7-0-inch-0-2-year-contract-fido-virgin-1612105/

This is the Tab 4, not Tab S. I can get the 7" for $160 at Staples. The order was Galaxy Tab, Galaxy Tab 2-3-4, then Tab Pro, then Tab S then Tab A.

I also saw that TD was giving away the Tab A with new accounts. Although it's more recent than the Tab S it's on a lower tier ($280 at Staples vs. $420 for the Tab S). It doesn't have the super-AMOLED display and the resolution is poor (1024x768 -- same as my work laptop, which I find insufficient for using at work). It *does* come pre-loaded with MS Office (free version -- if it's free, wouldn't I be able to just download it on another tablet?) Anyhow, it's billed as the "true family tablet", whatever that means -- just doesn't sound high end.

Just read an article comparing the Tab A and the (coming soon) Tab S2. Not a fair comparison (different tiers) but they are the two latest Samsung offerings. The S2 will be just 5.5mm thick (the S is 6.1, I think). That's kinda insane. Thinner than the iPad Air 2!

All of this is speculation/rumors since Samsung hasn't released anything officially, but:
- launch date in June or July
- metal body
- 4:3 aspect ratio for both 8 and 9.7" versions
- lower resolution than the Tab S (2048x1536 vs. 2560x1600) -- this is unexpected

Personally, I prefer the wide-screen aspect ratio for watching movies, although the 4x3 is probably better for web contents. A co-worker just bought the 10.1" Tab S and there's no way that fits in any pocket. I could fit the 8'4" one in my coat pocket, probably. Not that it's a determining factor. The 8'4" one can be held with one hand (leaving the other free for scrolling and stuff, while the 10'1" is a bit unwieldy in that respect.

With the new S2 on the way there should be some good sales, especially for Black Friday and around Christmas. I think I'll order the $35 screen replacement kit (which will take 3-4 weeks to arrive, unfortunately) and try to fix my 7" tablet until November rolls around.

The replacement LCD finally arrived. Wish me luck.

wprager wrote:The replacement LCD finally arrived.  Wish me luck.

Crap, it's not the right thing. Looks like it's the LCD only, it's smaller than the top glass. Crap.

wprager wrote:

wprager wrote:The replacement LCD finally arrived.  Wish me luck.

Crap, it's not the right thing.  Looks like it's the LCD only, it's smaller than the top glass.  Crap.

This is what happens when you try and save a few dollars...let this be a lesson, Walter.

tim1_2 wrote:

wprager wrote:

wprager wrote:The replacement LCD finally arrived.  Wish me luck.

Crap, it's not the right thing.  Looks like it's the LCD only, it's smaller than the top glass.  Crap.

This is what happens when you try and save a few dollars...let this be a lesson, Walter.

Believe me, I still save over buying everything local.

(plus this might just provide enough of a rationalization to take the plunge on a new table )

Why buy a table when you need a tablet...confusing logic.