I just ordered the Galaxy Tab S 10.5 from amazon for $450. Originally I ordered the nexus 9 and amazon ****ed me, then the more I thought about it the more I realized the Nexus 9 4:3 form factor just didn't make sense for me. See I use my tablet 90% for youtube and watching hd videos (movies, f1 races, nfl games, etc). I realized I was going to end up with massively less actual viewing area for my videos going from my nexus 10. Not only is it 8.9in vs 10.1 in but with 4:3 I am going to have massive black bars.
So then I canceled my Nexus 9 order and decided to order the Tab S 10.5. It had been in my wishlist for several months mainly due to the screen. I am excited to receive it but then I went and checked out the benchmarks on the Tab S 10.5. I had thought this was a top performing tablet with the 8 core processor and 3gb of ram (yes I know only 4 cores at a time). Then I realized the GPU is weak and outdated, the NAND Is terribly slow, the cpu is OK, and the sun spider score is not very good (worse than the older ipad air?).
Then I started reading Samsung was likely to release a new Tab S 10.5 with a better upgraded processor and gpu in Nov/Dec. So now I am wondering if I should cancel this order and wait it out. I paid near full price so it's not like I paid $350 or even $399. I figure this refresh will launch at $499 and for massively better performance $50 more is no problem.
Anyone can offer some advice for my dilemia? I think I actually have 30 days to use the tablet before I must return it to amazon for a full refund, so maybe I could do that and then send it back if this new refresh launches in the next month, if it doesnt launch then just keep it? Thanks guys.
I had the Samsung Pro Tab 8.4 a close cousin it's a nice tablet.
I had been thinking of getting the Tab S but the $ got in the way Plus Samsung is famous for selling a device but never updating it.
The Crapware leaves a lot to be desired.
I recently sold the Pro tab and ordered the Nexus 9 then cancelled my order yesterday due to Amazon's order dalays.
This morning I've had a change of heart or common sense prevailed and so I reordered the Nexus 9 from Amazon and hopefully will get it next week.
Like you, It's a tough decision but I miss not having a tablet.
kdkinc said:
I had the Samsung Pro Tab 8.4 a close cousin it's a nice tablet.
I had been thinking of getting the Tab S but the $ got in the way Plus Samsung is famous for selling a device but never updating it.
The Crapware leaves a lot to be desired.
I recently sold the Pro tab and ordered the Nexus 9 then cancelled my order yesterday due to Amazon's order dalays.
This morning I've had a change of heart or common sense prevailed and so I reordered the Nexus 9 from Amazon and hopefully will get it next week.
Like you, It's a tough decision but I miss not having a tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looks like i have my answer. Amazon says: Returnable until Jan 31, 2015
So I am going to use this and keep it and enjoy it and if a better Tab S 10.5 comes out before Jan 31 with upgraded processor/gpu then I will return this and get that.
mike240se said:
Looks like i have my answer. Amazon says: Returnable until Jan 31, 2015
So I am going to use this and keep it and enjoy it and if a better Tab S 10.5 comes out before Jan 31 with upgraded processor/gpu then I will return this and get that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like a good plan. I was tempted to bite when the price dropped to $404 on the 3rd, but I decided to wait it out a bit longer. I have owned the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Galaxy Player 4.0 in the past. While they were decent devices for their time, the lack of software updates bothered me to the point that I hesitate whenever considering Samsung products. The AMOLED screen does look appealing when backlight bleed is so common on tablet IPS panels. Depending on what Samsung brings to the table this coming month, or how low the price of the current S 10.5 drops on Black Friday, I might make the jump.
ongoing said:
Sounds like a good plan. I was tempted to bite when the price dropped to $404 on the 3rd, but I decided to wait it out a bit longer. I have owned the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Galaxy Player 4.0 in the past. While they were decent devices for their time, the lack of software updates bothered me to the point that I hesitate whenever considering Samsung products. The AMOLED screen does look appealing when backlight bleed is so common on tablet IPS panels. Depending on what Samsung brings to the table this coming month, or how low the price of the current S 10.5 drops on Black Friday, I might make the jump.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The lack of updates bother me too, but I will most likely root and run a custom rom anyways to get rid of touchwiz.
kdkinc said:
I had the Samsung Pro Tab 8.4 a close cousin it's a nice tablet.
I had been thinking of getting the Tab S but the $ got in the way Plus Samsung is famous for selling a device but never updating it.
The Crapware leaves a lot to be desired.
I recently sold the Pro tab and ordered the Nexus 9 then cancelled my order yesterday due to Amazon's order delays.
This morning I've had a change of heart or common sense prevailed and so I reordered the Nexus 9 from Amazon and hopefully will get it next week.
Like you, It's a tough decision but I miss not having a tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I cancelled my reorder again.
I just feel very uneasy with all the screen bleeds and button issues.
Don't these damn companies test their product?
I do NOT want to be their "Crash Dummy" !
The Galaxy Tab S 10.5 is back to $404.67 on Amazon, available in both colors.
ongoing said:
Sounds like a good plan. I was tempted to bite when the price dropped to $404 on the 3rd, but I decided to wait it out a bit longer. I have owned the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Galaxy Player 4.0 in the past. While they were decent devices for their time, the lack of software updates bothered me to the point that I hesitate whenever considering Samsung products. The AMOLED screen does look appealing when backlight bleed is so common on tablet IPS panels. Depending on what Samsung brings to the table this coming month, or how low the price of the current S 10.5 drops on Black Friday, I might make the jump.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Would this be the Samsung tab s (slate version)? Have you any links to new tablet
ongoing said:
The Galaxy Tab S 10.5 is back to $404.67 on Amazon, available in both colors.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks much for posting, you just saved me $50. they gave me the difference.
mike240se said:
thanks much for posting, you just saved me $50. they gave me the difference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad I could be of help Mike!
After one day of using the tablet I have a few observations and would welcome feedback.
1) Touchwiz is OK, not as terrible as what I have heard about it IMO, but I would prefer to go back to stock android or cyanogenmod. The issue is, its my understanding if you flash a custom ROM on this device it triggers something in the bootloader and you lose your warranty? If that is the case, more importantly it would risk my ability to return it to Amazon between now and Jan 31st. I doubt amazon checks for something like this but I am not sure I want to take the chance. I know rooting causes this bootloader flag to be tripped so I am guessing a custom rom would be no different.
2) The speakers on the device are pretty poor. I knew side spacing speakers wouldnt match up to my front facing nexus 10 speakers simply due to the direction but they also seem to be a lot less loud, less clear and less bass than my nexus 10. I dont really care about playing back music, the poor quality speakers are evident in simply playing back news stories on youtube.
3) There have been some odd lag/freezing issues. Most noticablely I was on sky's website reading an article and I kept trying to scroll down to read more and it just completely froze. after a few seconds it came back and was in copy/paste mode (my guess is from trying to scroll during it being frozen it picked it up as a long press, idk).
4) The screen is amazing, no complaints here, there have been some instances however that the digitizer didnt pick up my taps. perhaps this is related to the freezing/lag i mentioned above.
5) The wifi has been a little odd at times. At times it wants to connect to poor quality networks with low signal over the excellent signal wireless-ac networks.
All in all its a really nice tablet but I am not sure if I am going to keep it. It's not as fast as I expected compared to my nexus 10 (touchwiz likely to blame I guess?) and the biggest issue for me is the speakers. I use my tablet 90% of the time as a media consumption device to watch youtube and HD videos. This is a big reason I didnt get the NExus 9 with it's 4:3 ratio screen which kind of sucks for watching videos unless you are ok with half the screen being wasted with black bars. If the sound from the speakers suck (i never use ear buds, i only use the speakers on the device) then this is a pretty big drawback. I did get it for $399 now which helps but I just dont know.
Nexus 9=RMA
Buy this device at great risk. There's definitely a build quality issue with these early batches.
See my post here for my experience.
Related
So i totally support google and love all of their products and gadgets. Ive owned the Original Nexus One all the way to the N4 and im eagerly waiting for this N5 now. Also owning the chromecast which i love for youtube streaming from my phone when laying on the couch. Also recently ordering a Chromebook to have laying around for easier and quicker web browsing and chromecasting im now about to grab a nexus tablet. I was leaning more towards the Nexus 7 for the cheaper price tag but figured i have 4.7in phone and soon to have the nexus 5s 5inch screen. So going to a 7inch over a 10 inch seemed silly.
After browsing the forums im seeing alot of bad things about the N10 having defects and problems, etc. I believe the new N10 is about to be released as well which should lower the price on the original which also makes me want to grab it. Anyone have any advice? Would buying the Nexus 10 be a decision id regret? I would firstly definately root it and flash a third party ROM if that makes any difference.
emerica243 said:
So i totally support google and love all of their products and gadgets. Ive owned the Original Nexus One all the way to the N4 and im eagerly waiting for this N5 now. Also owning the chromecast which i love for youtube streaming from my phone when laying on the couch. Also recently ordering a Chromebook to have laying around for easier and quicker web browsing and chromecasting im now about to grab a nexus tablet. I was leaning more towards the Nexus 7 for the cheaper price tag but figured i have 4.7in phone and soon to have the nexus 5s 5inch screen. So going to a 7inch over a 10 inch seemed silly.
After browsing the forums im seeing alot of bad things about the N10 having defects and problems, etc. I believe the new N10 is about to be released as well which should lower the price on the original which also makes me want to grab it. Anyone have any advice? Would buying the Nexus 10 be a decision id regret? I would firstly definately root it and flash a third party ROM if that makes any difference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah maybe if you root it. I had it for about a year and recently sold mine. Never needed to root it for my purposes, and after the 4.3 update it seemed pretty smooth. Only problems I had with it were random restarts (could be software/certain apps related) and it sometimes churned quite a bit on graphically intense web pages. I think there's just not quite enough power under the hood for that screen resolution. It got pretty hot and stuttered on intense games after playing for about an hour. I am waiting for the next one, hopefully it will have a little more "umph." Other than that, I loved it, and am now missing it as I wait for Google to get around to finally releasing the next one.
Sythrix said:
Yeah maybe if you root it. I had it for about a year and recently sold mine. Never needed to root it for my purposes, and after the 4.3 update it seemed pretty smooth. Only problems I had with it were random restarts (could be software/certain apps related) and it sometimes churned quite a bit on graphically intense web pages. I think there's just not quite enough power under the hood for that screen resolution. It got pretty hot and stuttered on intense games after playing for about an hour. I am waiting for the next one, hopefully it will have a little more "umph." Other than that, I loved it, and am now missing it as I wait for Google to get around to finally releasing the next one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is exactly the reasoning im hesitant to sprout for it right now. Ive read alot of problems with it. I really only require a snappy device that has alot of support for third party fully features ROMS. The only thing i dont like about the new Nexus 10 is the fact its being made by Asus and ive heard alot of terrible things about their tablets and support.
emerica243 said:
This is exactly the reasoning im hesitant to sprout for it right now. Ive read alot of problems with it. I really only require a snappy device that has alot of support for third party fully features ROMS. The only thing i dont like about the new Nexus 10 is the fact its being made by Asus and ive heard alot of terrible things about their tablets and support.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The original nexus 10 is made by Samsung, not Asus. Asus is purported to be the manufacturer of the new one. The build quality on the original is decent. The back is kind of wonkey, but it feels solid over-all. I'm certain there's loads of support for ROMs. It is a very popular tablet. I doubt they will give a lot more speed though. It's not like there was an abundance of bloatware on the original. When I rooted my Galaxy S3, I saw massive gains in speed, but that was bloat heaven. I just don't see that being the case for this tablet. Maybe I'm wrong, don't know, haven't researched it.
If you don't like Asus, then don't wait around for the next one though. All signs and rumors say they are the manufacturer. Remember though, this is Google overseeing the manufacturer, so the build quality may end up surprising you. We'll just have to wait and see.
emerica243 said:
This is exactly the reasoning im hesitant to sprout for it right now. Ive read alot of problems with it. I really only require a snappy device that has alot of support for third party fully features ROMS. The only thing i dont like about the new Nexus 10 is the fact its being made by Asus and ive heard alot of terrible things about their tablets and support.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Part of the problem with this and any device, outside the initial release time, you rarely see individuals post about how much they like the device.
That said, I like my N10. And even with the rumored release of a new 2nd gen, I'd purchase the N10 again at the recent discounted pricing.
Samsung had improved the build quality as time went by, so you see a lot less posting about light bleed issues. The memory leak from the Mali GPU has been solved with the 4.3 release.
Mine also doesn't flex on the back, so it doesn't have the cheap feel that has been reported in the past.
If you don't require cutting edge, get the Samsung Google Nexus 10.
That said, the 2nd generation is almost any time now, I think it's worth waiting to see what it's like and the reviews from users in the forums.
I'm still having memory issues with mine, even after 4.3. (Reboots once a week, and if I try to load it like I did my original Prime it reboots more often) so I'm waiting for the 2013 Nexus to see if it's good enough to replace my current Nexus 10.
Nexus 10
I agree with the one of the previous posters in that most of the threads that you will see are regarding help and problems. If everything is working well, people generally tend not to make posts.
I love my N10. I even got it refurbished from Walmart and have no problems with it at all. I have rooted and installed custom ROMs as well. I love the feel, the speed and resolution. I use it daily. Since I got it, I rarely use my laptop anymore.
emerica243 said:
So i totally support google and love all of their products and gadgets. Ive owned the Original Nexus One all the way to the N4 and im eagerly waiting for this N5 now. Also owning the chromecast which i love for youtube streaming from my phone when laying on the couch. Also recently ordering a Chromebook to have laying around for easier and quicker web browsing and chromecasting im now about to grab a nexus tablet. I was leaning more towards the Nexus 7 for the cheaper price tag but figured i have 4.7in phone and soon to have the nexus 5s 5inch screen. So going to a 7inch over a 10 inch seemed silly.
After browsing the forums im seeing alot of bad things about the N10 having defects and problems, etc. I believe the new N10 is about to be released as well which should lower the price on the original which also makes me want to grab it. Anyone have any advice? Would buying the Nexus 10 be a decision id regret? I would firstly definately root it and flash a third party ROM if that makes any difference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think you'd regret it. Its a great tablet though a lot of the models have light bleed so its something to watch out for and make sure it isn't too bad on yours. Usually it isn't very noticeable unless u look for it though
Sent from my Nexus 10 using xda app-developers app
You wont be disappointed. Nexus 10 is my first tablet, tho I have tried/used many. The screen is amazing, and the tablet is very responsive. Never had any problems with it. The day I got it, I unlocked it, rooted it, and installed CyanogenMod. Currently using a nightly build of CM 10.2 (4.3). The build quality isnt that bad either. The speakers are huge compared to what other tablets have, so you can expect good sound quality too.
My Nexus 10 has been great from day one. Now on 4.3 and have never had a problem.
No problems or complains with mine. The screen is excellent especially for reading which is a reason I bought it. I don't calibrate for color or look for light bleed, its a good tablet for the money and just as good if not better than the ipad4. I guess if I could suggest one improvement, it needs extended battery life.
That said, we're pretty sure the new Nexus 10 will be released in a week or two, I'd wait. The current model will be discounted if you see nothing you'd like with the new one.
Is this HTC Nexus 9 special real or fake? Or, unloading refurbished returns or defective junks or may be even cheaply made different models for Chinese market?
HTC Holiday Special
http://store.htc.com/store?Action=C...104_G - US20%NAM - HTC - PS - Tablet - B&Ps=1
Reading user negative reviews on Amazon HTC Nexus 9; is HTC products really that extremely bad?
Are overheat and screen bleeding and many defective hardware issues still persist and unresolved?
Amazon.com: Customer Reviews: Google Nexus 9 0P82100-16-BLK 8.9-Inch, 16 GB Flash Memory Tablet (Black)
http://www.amazon.com/Google-0P8210...ByStar=one_star&showViewpoints=0&pageNumber=1
However, after carefully reading these user reviews, we have a slight notions that may be, just may be, some people (ie, “Family Fun Store”) is sneaking different HTC Nexus 9 models (made for Chinese market) and selling it in Amazon (have Amazon doing the fulfillment) which is very poor in quality control and cheaply and badly made, not intended for American market.
http://www.amazon.com/sp?_encoding=...rderID=&seller=ARKFFGMZRYG2X&tab=&vasStoreID=
That was a legit HTC sale. I think they were just trying to empty the inventory over the holidays. It's not the tablet I was hoping for, but marshmallow made it much better. Many people reported no issues. As I'll be looking to upgrade my N5 in the fall, I'm super concerned about the phone(s) being HTC. Although they have a rep for making good phones, my N9 experience screams a warning to me. There did seem to be an issue with quality control, and some sellers may have picked up "defective" ones to resell.
Sent from my Nexus 9 using Tapatalk
young707 said:
Is this HTC Nexus 9 special real or fake? Or, unloading refurbished returns or defective junks or may be even cheaply made different models for Chinese market?
HTC Holiday Special
http://store.htc.com/store?Action=C...104_G - US20%NAM - HTC - PS - Tablet - B&Ps=1
Reading user negative reviews on Amazon HTC Nexus 9; is HTC products really that extremely bad?
Are overheat and screen bleeding and many defective hardware issues still persist and unresolved?
Amazon.com: Customer Reviews: Google Nexus 9 0P82100-16-BLK 8.9-Inch, 16 GB Flash Memory Tablet (Black)
http://www.amazon.com/Google-0P8210...ByStar=one_star&showViewpoints=0&pageNumber=1
However, after carefully reading these user reviews, we have a slight notions that may be, just may be, some people (ie, “Family Fun Store”) is sneaking different HTC Nexus 9 models (made for Chinese market) and selling it in Amazon (have Amazon doing the fulfillment) which is very poor in quality control and cheaply and badly made, not intended for American market.
http://www.amazon.com/sp?_encoding=...rderID=&seller=ARKFFGMZRYG2X&tab=&vasStoreID=
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought one in late november at that exactly same price from the same HTC store. Mine came with a build date from early november 2015, so I got one with less than a month from being manufactured.
I'm happy with my tablet, it does what I want and have not had any of the early problems. It does get hot in the upper right corner but that's just normal in this tablet... I think that's a processor thing and not necessarily a defect. About the screen bleeding, I have none at all. The only thing I don't like are the buttons, but I solved that with a smart-cover for turning on and off, and the volume buttons are not used that much so it's fine by me.
The thing about this tablet is that it's not worth 399, but 239.40 it is... I don't you can find a better one for that price, and first in line for updates? Don't be scared!.
blanco2701 said:
I bought one in late november at that exactly same price from the same HTC store. Mine came with a build date from early november 2015, so I got one with less than a month from being manufactured.
I'm happy with my tablet, it does what I want and have not had any of the early problems. It does get hot in the upper right corner but that's just normal in this tablet... I think that's a processor thing and not necessarily a defect. About the screen bleeding, I have none at all. The only thing I don't like are the buttons, but I solved that with a smart-cover for turning on and off, and the volume buttons are not used that much so it's fine by me.
The thing about this tablet is that it's not worth 399, but 239.40 it is... I don't you can find a better one for that price, and first in line for updates? Don't be scared!.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you very much for your reply. Did you purchase directly from HTC? How is any customer services from HTC? Are you able to get Android updates? When you purchase it, what was the Android version? What is the Android version now?
When you say it gets hot, how hot? Is it too HOT to touch, after how long usage?
So far, are you heavy user, does this device hot up well?
Thank you very much.
young707 said:
Thank you very much for your reply. Did you purchase directly from HTC? How is any customer services from HTC? Are you able to get Android updates? When you purchase it, what was the Android version? What is the Android version now?
When you say it gets hot, how hot? Is it too HOT to touch, after how long usage?
So far, are you heavy user, does this device hot up well?
Thank you very much.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
`
-I purchased directly from HTC in a sale, just like the one you found at exactly the same price. I got the White 16GB
-I don't know about customer service... I ordered it and it arrived rather quickly but I've never contacted them after that.
-Of course I get android updates. As soon as I got it it had a couple waiting to be downloaded... I mean, is a nexus!. Anyways, I have a custom rom but I can go back and install whatever I please. That's the beauty of a Nexus device. This device WILL get the next android N so officially you're good to go for at least another year, but being a nexus it will keep getting support from the developers for a couple of years more and that's for sure.
-Recently I reinstalled a rom and while it was installing all my apps the CPU temperature got up to about 75-76 C, which is within the safe limits for the CPU. The thing is that it transmit the heat to the upper right of the screen and it might feel uncomfortable for you because that's pretty hot. On normal use it does not get close to that and it works just fine. I'm not a heavy user, I use it for social media and occasionally to play a game, where it does sometimes get a little bit hot... but as I said, I don't care because I feel like it's normal. But yeah, from time to time it gets hotter that other devices.
Coming from an old Ipad 2, I can say that the nexus 9 battery sucks in comparison. That old ipad was bought in 2011 and it still lasted several days with about 10 hrs of screen on time... this one gets 2-3 days with about 4 hours on screen on time. But again, I don't care, I keep it at home and I just charge it often. That being said, if you want a very good built tablet, even if it hurts to say it (as an android fan), you should get an ipad. But if you can only pay under 300, the nexus 9 is the best you can get for that price.
Edit: I Heard that the pixel C is at 350 right now, so it might be a better choice. Check it out!
Now I am seriously looking at the LG G Pad 8.3 V500.
How is this LG G Pad 8.3 V500 compare to the HTC Nexus 9. The cost difference is around $80 to $100.
Both will be reasonably useful enough for my applications.
My main concern is product quality. Reading all the Amazon feedbacks and comments (I only read the negative 1 or 2 stars) on the HTC, I am greatly concern.
For app developers, would one select either HTC Nexus 9 or LG G Pad 8.3 as their primary hardware testing platform? Thank you for your comments.
I have the release version of the N9. I did the preorder and got it as soon as it was available. I've had it for 18 months. Build wise I think it's fine. I haven't had any issues and I use a $5 case from amazon.
I won't deny that it doesn't do some things that well. My biggest issue is it doesn't play The Simpsons Tapped out once you get a lot of stuff in your city. (I know sad for a 43 Y.O. )
Other than that it's fine. great for a reader, videos, and general web browsing. I do wish it had a Qualcommm chip over the Tegra. My 2013 N7 does things better than the N9 does.
And the N preview is really good on it.
Please confirm this HTC Nexus 9 has NO MicroSD card slot. Correct?
If no MicroSD card slot, this shall not be the tablet product I can use.
I got my Nexus 9 32gb lte a few months ago from a local retailer (JBHIFI) and there has been a few issues that have since popped up and i'm looking for advice on what i should do. I should start out by saying that it was a floor model with literally nothing else besides the tablet. No charger, no box, no Htc manuals or warranty cards (i know what they look like thanks to my Htc one x and Htc one M9) but at half the retail price i thought it was a good deal. The screen looked good with very little backlight bleeding ( only at the top and bottom and you can't really tell if you're not looking for it) and the housing looked to be in good shape as well but after a few months the issues started to pop up. The first issue i noticed was the tablet gets pretty hot to the point where i can't touch it, I'm not sure if it's a nougat issue but i doubt it, it's specifically hot around the top half and there's a crunching sound when i press down around the top 1/4 of the tablet which leads me to believe the copper shield is having issues. Second issue is the battery life has also taken a pretty big hit, i used to be able to get 6+ hours sot (managed 7 hours once) and now I'm barely able to get 4 hours sot with it frequently only getting about 3 1/2 hours sot before i have to charge it. Third issue is the air bubbles in the corners of the screen. I've got 3 separate bubbles along the top of my nexus 9, one in the top left and one in the top right corner and a small strip very close to the right corner air bubble. I know i have consumer laws on my side in case JBHIFI decide to do nothing to help me and i could force the issue if i wanted to. I'd like to get it fixed but these issues are making me look at other options like a new tablet (not much to choose from though). Any advice would be a great help.
Cheers Mrbtree98
My advice (having one of the finicky ones for nearly 2 years) is to return it. I don't think mine has any actual hardware issues but requires frequent wipes (at least every 8-12 weeks) to avoid lag, freezes, and reboots. The back of the tab-near camera-does get hot especially when using Chrome but the bubble issue would concern me.
Tapatalk on Nexus 9
ritchea said:
My advice (having one of the finicky ones for nearly 2 years) is to return it. I don't think mine has any actual hardware issues but requires frequent wipes (at least every 8-12 weeks) to avoid lag, freezes, and reboots. The back of the tab-near camera-does get hot especially when using Chrome but the bubble issue would concern me.
Tapatalk on Nexus 9
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your reply. I went back to the store, spoke with the manager and they'll be taking it back with a full refund in the new year because of a massive hardware fault in his opinion. He asked if I could come back after the Christmas/Boxing Day madness which is fine with me. Thank you again for making up my mind on this.
I wish I could help with a suggestion for another tablet. The reason I still have mine is because I've found nothing better. I actually love the form factor, and when it's working well, the display is remarkable.
Tapatalk on Nexus 9
ritchea said:
I wish I could help with a suggestion for another tablet. The reason I still have mine is because I've found nothing better. I actually love the form factor, and when it's working well, the display is remarkable.
Tapatalk on Nexus 9
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I loved my Nexus 9 when i got it but these issues have put a serious dampener on my love with the nexus line, Especially when I'm coming from the Nexus 7 2012 and the 2013 (2012 died from either a mobo failure or a nand failure but the thing served me and later my dad well. The 2013 was easily my best tablet experience to date and still is). Like you said the screen is amazing (minus the bubble issue) and i love the form factor, it's just a shame that google went with the "lets price everything higher" approach which screwed over Aussies with $1000+ Pixels. (128gb Pixel XL comes in at almost $1500) I'll be keeping an eye out on CES and MWC to see what comes out on the tablet scene but i'm hoping for a Galaxy Tab S3 to get announced or for Lenovo to come out with something amazing as they're really the only players in the Australian market outside of windows 2 in 1's from Asus, Hp, etc, Ipads and the Surface lineup.
ritchea said:
I wish I could help with a suggestion for another tablet. The reason I still have mine is because I've found nothing better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Likewise, (and I think most people who use the N9 share this opinion)
When it works, its great. Sadly.....it doesn't always work great, biggest reason for this is that its a 64-bit android with only 2 gigs of memory. thus, your memory is 90% of the time near full capacity.
(Which is why I find my OnePlus 3 for instance with its 6gb of memory a godsend. It might be overkill but atleast I never ever have issues apps force closing etc due to no more memory available)
mrbtree98 said:
I loved my Nexus 9 when i got it but these issues have put a serious dampener on my love with the nexus line, Especially when I'm coming from the Nexus 7 2012 and the 2013 (2012 died from either a mobo failure or a nand failure but the thing served me and later my dad well. The 2013 was easily my best tablet experience to date and still is). Like you said the screen is amazing (minus the bubble issue) and i love the form factor, it's just a shame that google went with the "lets price everything higher" approach which screwed over Aussies with $1000+ Pixels. (128gb Pixel XL comes in at almost $1500) I'll be keeping an eye out on CES and MWC to see what comes out on the tablet scene but i'm hoping for a Galaxy Tab S3 to get announced or for Lenovo to come out with something amazing as they're really the only players in the Australian market outside of windows 2 in 1's from Asus, Hp, etc, Ipads and the Surface lineup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My first nexus was the Nexus 5, after which I bought the N9. The N5 was a remarkable phone....the N9 also managed to kill my love for the nexus line.
Pixel kosts around € 950,- for the 32gb version and around € 1175,- for the 128gb version in Europa). Which translates to around 1000~ 1250 dollars. Still not as bad as 1500 dollars but I will never ever in my life lay down that much money for just a phone.
Now, as far as recommended tablets go. I cannot recommend Samsung (We have a Tab Pro here aswell), simple verdict on that. Its slow, sluggish, comes with far too many un-installable system junk apps and Samsung can F*** right off with their locked bootloaders, anti-flash policies, KNOX and instant-warranty void if attempt to flash remotely anything.
If I were to count I'd say our Samsung Tab came with atleast 3~4 news apps which it will try to shove down your throat. (As they are baked into the default launcher so you can't even remove or disable them)
Maybe Sony/Lenovo comes out with a good tablet. The only other good aspect about N9 is that it features only Google default apps and very little to no bloat. So its rather clean.
Never thought I'd say this but, If you really need a good tablet. Personally, I'd recommend just getting an iPad instead (Coming from someone who uses 100% Android at all times)
GiantAxe said:
Likewise, (and I think most people who use the N9 share this opinion)
When it works, its great. Sadly.....it doesn't always work great, biggest reason for this is that its a 64-bit android with only 2 gigs of memory. thus, your memory is 90% of the time near full capacity.
(Which is why I find my OnePlus 3 for instance with its 6gb of memory a godsend. It might be overkill but atleast I never ever have issues apps force closing etc due to no more memory available)
My first nexus was the Nexus 5, after which I bought the N9. The N5 was a remarkable phone....the N9 also managed to kill my love for the nexus line.
Pixel kosts around € 950,- for the 32gb version and around € 1175,- for the 128gb version in Europa). Which translates to around 1000~ 1250 dollars. Still not as bad as 1500 dollars but I will never ever in my life lay down that much money for just a phone.
Now, as far as recommended tablets go. I cannot recommend Samsung (We have a Tab Pro here aswell), simple verdict on that. Its slow, sluggish, comes with far too many un-installable system junk apps and Samsung can F*** right off with their locked bootloaders, anti-flash policies, KNOX and instant-warranty void if attempt to flash remotely anything.
If I were to count I'd say our Samsung Tab came with atleast 3~4 news apps which it will try to shove down your throat. (As they are baked into the default launcher so you can't even remove or disable them)
Maybe Sony/Lenovo comes out with a good tablet. The only other good aspect about N9 is that it features only Google default apps and very little to no bloat. So its rather clean.
Never thought I'd say this but, If you really need a good tablet. Personally, I'd recommend just getting an iPad instead (Coming from someone who uses 100% Android at all times)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only reason i'm looking at a Galaxy Tab right now is because my mum and step dad came to visit and they both have a galaxy s7 edge and the thing bloody flies so i'm hoping that carries over to a future Tab S3 release if it ever comes out but you're right about the bloatware damn things came packed full of crap I wouldn't use but I think Samsung have actually bothered to optimize their skin more than in the past (before they upgraded, they had a galaxy S3 3g 1gig ram version and a og note and those things were turds) but i'll wait and see what happens as i'm not rooting or running custom roms anymore except on my old htc one x. (i'm alpha testing cm13 on it and it's going ok but damn are there issues we need to iron out). I don't think Sony is going to be doing another tablet even thought the z3 compact and the z4 were really good tablets from user and reviewer reports just from the amount of time between releases. It's been well over 18 months since the z4 tablet came out so i'm thinking they've pulled out of the tablet arena because of how poorly their mobile division is doing at the moment. I'm wary on lenovo because my dad had a bad experience with one of their recent 8" yoga tabs. Thing would constantly freeze, lockup then dad would have to reboot it manually so not the best experience there from a hardware point but the software is pretty bare bones and stock like but with lenovo icons, you get the standard google suite of apps and some lenovo additions, some are good and some are horrible (why they changed the look of multitasking and put in their own gallary i don't know but they ruined the look of the os and did not follow material design at all) but they're a more budget option so you get what you pay for. Asus is out as they don't sell their zenpad line here in Australia but i wouldn't have gone there anyways as their update support is absolutely woeful and i think their bloatware situation is worse the Samsung considering they let anyone buy there way in to get their apps installed. I would have looked at a pixel c but it's out of stock at google and some eBay sellers are asking $1000+ so that's out. I'm not in a hurry to get a new tablet thanks to my dad giving me the nexus 7 2013 i gave him back so I've got something to use in the meantime until something comes out at CES or MWC.
GiantAxe said:
Likewise, (and I think most people who use the N9 share this opinion)
When it works, its great. Sadly.....it doesn't always work great, biggest reason for this is that its a 64-bit android with only 2 gigs of memory. thus, your memory is 90% of the time near full capacity.
totally agree
My first nexus was the Nexus 5, after which I bought the N9. The N5 was a remarkable phone....the N9 also managed to kill my love for the nexus line.
I've owned Galaxy Nexus, N4, N5, both N7's. So, the N9 killed any trust for HTC, not Nexus. I got my older son 6P as his N4 was ageing out. Great phone! Too big for my hands, though. As my N5 was slowing down, I bought a 5X (after replacing DH's i4S with one and discovered I liked it). My first android was a pandigital novel which still works. I then got a 10.1" Toshiba Thrive.
Never thought I'd say this but, If you really need a good tablet. Personally, I'd recommend just getting an iPad instead (Coming from someone who uses 100% Android at all times)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I even tried that as we had two in the family. I replaced older son's ipad 2 with Samsung Tab pro 12.2-both sons got one as they have 1000's of digital comics, and that tab was the best for that. Even after jailbreaking the iPad, it was far too restrictive for me. Loved the display on the iPad. I'm just really picky [emoji20]
Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk
Well i took it back and the manager give me a full refund so that's the end of the nexus 9 experiment. Now to play the waiting game to see if any new tablets come out that are interesting.
Good luck.
Sent from my Nexus 9 using Tapatalk
opinions if you have them, thx!
Note 10.1 2014 died a horrible death, have been looking for a replacement -- and of course, have been following threads in XDA and other sites in the meantime.
aware of various issues:
- wifi drain (though the latest update has some reporting it's been fixed?)
- non-Sammy magnet cases wreaking havoc
- still on Nougat, Oreo delivery date uncertain
- no backwards compatibility with .spd Note files
i can get the Tab S3 for $517 USD; or in bundle from B&H for $565 (no taxes on either order), which includes the keyboard cover.
thing is: the Galaxy Tab S4 will launch sometime this year (speculation is September), it will have Oreo out of the box (one would think), and it also looks to have a 16:10 ratio at 10.1"-- and maybe improved accessories. of course, the Tab S4 will be spensy AF.
thoughts?
I don't have mine yet, but if your carrier is Verizon, you can get the Tab S3 (T827) for $299 w/2yr contract. I snapped it up, since I don't anticipate leaving them in that time period. Should arrive Monday. It's supposed to get Oreo this summer. Many find 4:3 the best ratio for a tablet.
I should add that there doesn't seem to be a root available for the T827 as of yet.
Yes it worth i got yesterday with 24 months contract it rocks!!! Its sexy fast and powerful! You can just sell the s3 for some money and buy the s5 in few years when will be released. In next few years 5G will arrived and probably s5 would support it.
I don't know about the 2nd one, but the other problems don't need to worry about.
The tablet, with newest update, can install S Note from apkmirror, and you can also open SPD file using Samsung Notes.
thanks for the answers so far!
the SPD issue being resolved is pretty huge for me ...
i'm on the fence: argh, do i buy now (B&H just dropped the price by $70 for the tablet itself), or do i wait for the Tab S4, though unannounced but which is rumoured to be due later this year?
I've had mine since Aug 2017 and am completely happy about it. And I have the "composition book" magnetic cover and it has not had any issues with the magnets in it. Definitely get S Notes off apkmirror as Samsung Notes is really watered down.
AM Radio said:
opinions if you have them, thx!
Note 10.1 2014 died a horrible death, have been looking for a replacement -- and of course, have been following threads in XDA and other sites in the meantime.
aware of various issues:
- wifi drain (though the latest update has some reporting it's been fixed?)
- non-Sammy magnet cases wreaking havoc
- still on Nougat, Oreo delivery date uncertain
- no backwards compatibility with .spd Note files
i can get the Tab S3 for $517 USD; or in bundle from B&H for $565 (no taxes on either order), which includes the keyboard cover.
thing is: the Galaxy Tab S4 will launch sometime this year (speculation is September), it will have Oreo out of the box (one would think), and it also looks to have a 16:10 ratio at 10.1"-- and maybe improved accessories. of course, the Tab S4 will be spensy AF.
thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have had my Tab S3 tablet since release day. Here are my thoughts:
- wifi drain (though the latest update has some reporting it's been fixed?)
Even after numerous updates wifi battery drain is still there. Hoping Oreo would fix this.
- non-Sammy magnet cases wreaking havoc
I used to use a smart magnetic case bought off amazon. They work for the auto screen on and off. However, the magnets do interfere with the Spen. I suggest to not fold the case all the way to the back of the device when writing on it. Im now using the official keyboard cover. It does not offer side protection and has no screen auto on/off function. But I prefer this over the magnetic case.
- still on Nougat, Oreo delivery date uncertain
Oreo is confirmed in the works and is coming soon. How soon? Im thinking mid to end of 2nd Quarter.
- no backwards compatibility with .spd Note files
Cant comment on this.
$565 for the tablet and keyboard cover is a good deal. I got my Tablet for $599 and paid extra $150 for the keyboard. Cant comment on the Tab S4 as I have not even heard rumors about it.
S-note can be side loaded on the S3. I have it on mine. Can't remember where I got it but the reference came from somewhere on this board.. Samsung Notes is a cruddy downgrade from S-note . No idea what Samsung was thinking. The off screen writing though goes to Samsung Notes only.
So far I've not seen any problem with my off brand case other than cheaply built retainers cracking. It does provide a good holder for the S-pen.
Sent from my SM-T820 using Tapatalk
With the TabS3 being on the "quarterly update" path, that is something to think about.
I have my Wifi Tab S3 since about a month after release. I still like it and use it, but at times it feels laggy, and I need to turn off WiFi when sleeping to save battery. Battery life still isn't as good as my several year old iPad Air 2 Cellular (with T-Mobile SIM and service).
Would I buy one today? I'd have to think hard about it.
KidJoe said:
With the TabS3 being on the "quarterly update" path, that is something to think about.
I have my Wifi Tab S3 since about a month after release. I still like it and use it, but at times it feels laggy, and I need to turn off WiFi when sleeping to save battery. Battery life still isn't as good as my several year old iPad Air 2 Cellular (with T-Mobile SIM and service).
Would I buy one today? I'd have to think hard about it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with KidJoe, although user experience is very depending on usage. I use the tab s3 mostly for watching Netflix and YouTube and some surfing the internet and therefore don't experience any lag. The screen is better than any other tablet I have seen (never looked at the iPads though). Battery life is fine. Easily one to two days on a charge. That's fine for me, I charge my smartphone every night so no big deal to plug in the tablet as well. Never really noticed the wifi drain (specially on latest update), only because everybody is complaining about it (conformation bias?).
Also never used the pen so can't comment on that. Still waiting for the google assistant coming to my country (the Netherlands). And that's also my only critique on the tab S3: damn Samsung software. I prefer the stock Android experience.
To summarize: because the lack of tab S4 and google pixel tablet with OLED screen, I would definitely buy this tablet again. I paid 485 Euro's on eglobal central. They now sell it for 430 Euro's which is a great deal imo.
my s3 is a hog.
Android tablets get a lot of hate for reasons I don't understand. If Android tablets are your preference (as they are mine) then I don't know of a better "current" tablet than the S3. The Pixel C is still pretty awesome. I marginally prefer the S3 because of the haptic feedback and slightly better screen, but it's not a huge difference. I have no complaints about the S3.
badwiring said:
Android tablets get a lot of hate for reasons I don't understand. If Android tablets are your preference (as they are mine) then I don't know of a better "current" tablet than the S3. The Pixel C is still pretty awesome. I marginally prefer the S3 because of the haptic feedback and slightly better screen, but it's not a huge difference. I have no complaints about the S3.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree. I'm not into the Apple environment and came off an iPhone 3GS back in the day when I migrated to Android and been Android ever since. My Tab S3 is fantastic and does what I need it to do which is taking notes. I work in IT so it is a lot of diagrams and drawings so being able to quickly draw out an infrastructure diagram and have it posted to my laptop in a PDF or JPEG is just like magic. And when I need to I have the keyboard cover so I can quickly type out notes without needing my laptop. The only thing I lack is being able to VPN into work (because my employer won't support BYOD) but the bluetooth transfer of docs to my work laptop is what resolves that issue for me.
price drop on the Tab S3 across the board right now
B&H
Bestbuy
Amazon
all selling the tablet for $449.99
I just bought one of these from Verizon, on a 2-yr plan, for $299 . . . new Samsung Keyboard cover was $67 through Amazon . . . I'm thinking that this is a pretty good deal . . . maybe available at these prices because the Tab S4 is coming soon?
stonecoldtx said:
I just bought one of these from Verizon, on a 2-yr plan, for $299 . . . new Samsung Keyboard cover was $67 through Amazon . . . I'm thinking that this is a pretty good deal . . . maybe available at these prices because the Tab S4 is coming soon?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
or maybe to fire a shot over the bow as Apple announces their new iPad?
if this is part of the strategy, i can see Samsung dropping the Tab S4 bomb in Q2 ...
Hello all,
I have a Fire HD 8 that is just too slow for my needs. I am looking at 8 and 10 inch variants and I keep coming back to the M5 family of devices. First off am I am making a quality decision in looking at the M5? Is the M5 8 radically different from the M5 10.8? I see the M5 just got upgraded to Android Pie but will we see Android Q for this?
Thanks,
Steve
Hi Steve, I had a Galaxy Tab S3 that got stolen along with my luggage so I bough what was avaliable and it was the M5 Pro. Very happy with it, even the screen the LCD screen is very good (so used to amoled by now, has been years since I had an LCD).
I mainly use it for for PDF textbook reading (big screen is a plus), streaming movies (very nice screen, exclent sspeakers, very good WiFi reception) and light office work - gmail, Word, etc (optional keyboard folio makes it a lot easier).
I would wait to see what the M6 looks like but very happy with the M5, would buy it again (soon to be updated to Android 9. 1)
I have it for two weeks now and it's a great tablet.
Fast, screen is beautiful and is well built.
I was going for a Xiaomi at first. But as I am going to use a lot for Netflix L1 widevine was a must.
Not many tablets has it.... I hate Samsung products so the choice was little.
I bought it for my daughter.
She is three years old now
I think the mobile phone screen is too small for children
I already used it for a few months
I am very satisfied with its performance
yes. it is good value. the newer Samsung s6 is much better, but at least twice expensive. the bad thing about every huawei tablet is lack of software support after 1st year. so you can expect a few more security updates in the next year and thats all.
It's a good tablet overall, however I would prefer the Samsung S5e wifi if no pen is required for four reasons:
Superior wifi speeds
Super Amoled screen (although the M5 led is excellent, Samsung tech is better).
Ability to pair the S5e with a recent Samsung phone and use the message and call continuity service.
Weight. On paper the difference is small, but in real life it is substantial. The S5e is a device that has the right weight for a handheld usage.
However price can be a factor in some markets. Personally I would easily pay 50 to 100 euros more for the Samsung, for the reasons listed above. But it is due to my usage patterns. I use it everyday, and one of the applications is as GPS in my truck, hence the importance for me of getting calls and messages from the phone on the tablet as well as the brightness of the superamoled in day light.
The M5 is still a very good device though. Largely enough for most applications, especially for occasional use.
My issue with Samsung tablets is they do not upgrade the Android software.. My wife has the S2 model and she is still two updates behind. She has constant issues with the battery also. This is her third and last Samsung.
SPetrillo said:
Hello all,
I have a Fire HD 8 that is just too slow for my needs. I am looking at 8 and 10 inch variants and I keep coming back to the M5 family of devices. First off am I am making a quality decision in looking at the M5? Is the M5 8 radically different from the M5 10.8? I see the M5 just got upgraded to Android Pie but will we see Android Q for this?
Thanks,
Steve
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got the 10 inch LTE variant for more than half a year and I`m using it for house multimedia.
I wouldn`t buy it anymore for only 1 thing : the issue with bluetooth + wireless , both being connected and working in the same time, where the wireless transfer speed decreases significantly. Thank God that I have a SIM card with 50 Gb data and I don`t need to use wireless when listening to music or anything via bluetooth . Other than that, its a great gadget. Fast charging is one of the most important things for me since since I don`t have to wait a long time until it charges ( 1.5 hours from 10% to 100% without using it during charging). Also, the speakers are amazing, very clear and great bass coming from them. The screen is also very good, not perfect, but it does the job very well. Soon it will receive Android 9.1 and probably Android 10 to follow probably at the end of the year. If you didn`t bought any yet, I would say that this is the best option at this price. But if you have the money, I would advise you to go for the S Tab or iPad.
reubenray said:
My issue with Samsung tablets is they do not upgrade the Android software.. My wife has the S2 model and she is still two updates behind. She has constant issues with the battery also. This is her third and last Samsung.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Huawei has so many models that they stop giving you uptades over a while, save maybe for flagship phones. And with Google cutting Huawei off, it remain to be seen how things will go.
I think they'll still update the M5 to 9.1 but I doubt they'll support it beyond that.
BTW, I've seen the S6 and it's just €100 more. I would still wait for the M6 and to check it out if I could wait.
After having it for 18 months now:
No. Not only due to the US ban on Huawei, but also some major things:
I had the official AMORK keyboard - way to fragile, was defectuous 5 times (the bar that holds the tab in place broke ...)
USB-c -> USB2-only, thus no HDMI-capability
"Mediapad" had no Widevine L1 at first (I know they fixed it, BUT it should not need fixing in a MEDIAPAD)
I was hoping for keeping it a little longer than my usual 2 years, after all I only read with it and take notes for my PhD thesis. I want to write parts of it on the tablet, using the keyboard ... so far I haven't been able to set it up in a productive way...
Probably going for a ChromeOS Tab next time ... *
Safe to say: Huawei - never again!
*productive use: external monitor displaying different stuff than tablet-screen. using with mouse and keyboard.
Yeah lack of widewine l1 is bad. I own too many Huawei things. If i change tablet i should change my phone and watch. They are part of their ecosystem, clous etc and works perfectly together. Same with Samsung tablets/phones.
reubenray said:
My issue with Samsung tablets is they do not upgrade the Android software.. My wife has the S2 model and she is still two updates behind. She has constant issues with the battery also. This is her third and last Samsung.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a tab s2 as well. It's a good product.
Samsung has a standard rule similar to other players, you get two major updates plus minor security changes, lately the pace of these has increased, albeit with smaller changes (monthly instead of quarterly) . Tab S2 is a pretty old product... at some point they have to stop issuing updates at the end of the advertised service life... I think this product was first released with Android 5 and went up to android 7.x....
The latest generation is the Tab S6...
SPetrillo said:
Hello all,
I have a Fire HD 8 that is just too slow for my needs. I am looking at 8 and 10 inch variants and I keep coming back to the M5 family of devices. First off am I am making a quality decision in looking at the M5? Is the M5 8 radically different from the M5 10.8? I see the M5 just got upgraded to Android Pie but will we see Android Q for this?
Thanks,
Steve
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure if you still need advice, but I recently bought an 8" M5 to replace a Chuwi Hi9 Pro that I accidentally cracked the screen on. I also have a GalaxyTab S3 but really prefer the form factor of an 8".
I've been really pleased with my M5 and would recommend it, especially if you can catch a deal on it. I bought mine from Newegg as an open box for $180. It has Widevine level 1 for HD Netflix etc., gaming performance is pretty good (some of the more intensive games may lag a bit), wifi performance has been good, speakers are great, screen is great. Biggest annoyances for me are that I have occasional standby drain, I've disabled location services and I clear apps which seems to resolve (extremely good standby when it works), the DPI is set pretty large and I prefer smaller icons (can generally resolve with 3rd party launcher but not perfectly), and the worst, I'm in the US and will probably never get the Pie update.
If you want a cheaper option, especially if you can't find a great deal on the M5, I really liked my Chuwi Hi9 Pro. It's like 80% the tablet the M5 is. It's a little slower, speaker is not nearly as good, but it has global LTE, fantastic screen for the price, expandable storage, good build quality (though the screen glass is pretty fragile … and not terribly scratch resistant and screen protectors aren't great on it, so I'd recommend a folio case). $140 on Amazon.