microSD Slot and Screen Resolution Questions

[garyd]

I'm still up in the air...been looking at both all day. They both have something I want. I'd definitely appreciate some more info on the 7.0 Plus as you guys use it a little more.

It's a very nice tablet. Compared to the Acer A100 tablet (the only other 7" I've used), the battery life and screen are better. The GPS seems to work better as well. The bluetooth actually supports tethering to another device for hotspot access (which should use less power than wifi hotspotting.)

However, it also has some issues, #1 being the amount of bloatware on this thing.

It appears that there are at least 5 different pre-loaded applications that can play mp3 files, at least 2 for buying videos (and another for just watching them), 3 for reading ebooks, and I'm starting to wonder if Samsung is being paid off by facebook and twitter with the amount of "social networking" on here. I have no idea why they don't just let people download what they want instead of FORCING us to waste storage space with it.

Then there is touchwiz. My own opinion of TouchWiz is that it's still not ready for primetime. The applets in their little "drawer" are too primitive and there's no way to change them. There's also no way to get rid of that silly button that takes a screen shot (and in just a few hours playing with the tablet, I've already accidentally taken about a dozen screenshots - very annoying.)

Finally, Samsung likes to take liberties with some of the "built in" application on an android tablet. Expect a different look and feel to the built in mail and web browser applications.

If you can live with touchWiz and a few other android changes, it's a great tablet. If not, look elsewhere. The bloatware can be dealt with after the tablet is rooted.

(I wonder if there will ever be a hacked "non-touchwiz" firmware appearing...)

Take care
Gary

 

[volwrath]

Then there is touchwiz. My own opinion of TouchWiz is that it's still not ready for primetime. The applets in their little "drawer" are too primitive and there's no way to change them. There's also no way to get rid of that silly button that takes a screen shot (and in just a few hours playing with the tablet, I've already accidentally taken about a dozen screenshots - very annoying.)

I agree. I hate touchwiz! Hated it on my phone as well. I'm going to try adw.ex today. Supposedly it will install. And the screenshot button is ridiculous. The buttons are too close together and sometimes I hit the multitask menu instead of going home. If we could get rid of screenshot I think it would space out much better.

If you can live with touchWiz and a few other android changes, it's a great tablet. If not, look elsewhere. The bloatware can be dealt with after the tablet is rooted.

Getting ready to attempt to root here in a minute.

 

[micah_lane2001]

Has anyone put a sim card in it and tried out the phone functions yet?

 

[garyd]

I'm going to try adw.ex today. Supposedly it will install.

How did things work out with ADW Ex? How much of "touchwiz" will that get rid of? (in particular, does it get rid of that stupid screenshot button?)


Thanks
Gary

 

[volwrath]

To be honest I have not tried it out yet. I will do it here in a bit although I doubt it helps the snapshot issue.

Sent from my GT-P6210 using Tapatalk

 

[volwrath]

OK I tried ADW EX and I'll give the bad news first. It doesnt mess with the honeycomb bar, so I guess we are stuck with the snapshot for a while.

But theres a lot of good news. As a Touchwiz replacement ADW EX is GREAT. Instead of having top and bottom of screen unusable, ADW EX uses all the screen and is completely customizable. Ive configured gestures to open the app drawer and enabled vertical scrolling in the app drawer. The end result of this is the tablet absolutely flies. It felt very fast before, but now its amazing. I liked the 7+ before adw.ex but now I love it. I was undecided on whether or not I was going to keep it. Now there is no doubt, although I would love to get adhoc working

All in all I recommend it, and you can tell in 15 minutes whether or not you agree with me. Cant beat it for $3.00 or so

 

[garyd]

OK I tried ADW EX and I'll give the bad news first. It doesnt mess with the honeycomb bar, so I guess we are stuck with the snapshot for a while.
...
All in all I recommend it, and you can tell in 15 minutes whether or not you agree with me. Cant beat it for $3.00 or so

Okay, at least I know it'll work. I wasn't sure, and the non-EX version (the free version) of ADW won't install in the GT7+.

I still need to figure out which app I need to freeze in order to disable the stupid screenshots. If I can figure that out, I should be able to modify the systemui.apk to not display the icon for it...

 

[garyd]

I still need to figure out which app I need to freeze in order to disable the stupid screenshots. If I can figure that out, I should be able to modify the systemui.apk to not display the icon for it...

Making some interesting progress here... Using Titanium backup, I froze the "com.sec.android.app.screencapture" app (ScreenCaptureService.apk), and now the touchwiz screen shot button acts in a way I find more desirable (though still not perfect):

Tapping the button now does nothing at all (which helps prevent the numerous accidental screenshots I was getting when I was trying to get into menus for applications.)

However, if I tap/hold the button for a a bit over 1 second, it not only takes a screenshot, but drops me into some kind of image editor (DioScreenCapture) where it appears I can add notations to the image, crop it, save it, send it (via bluetooth, etc), or cancel (which results in the image not being saved at all.)

For me, this is better than the default touchwiz behaivor, but I think I'd still like to completely get rid of the screen capture functionality...

By freezing the DioScreenCapture (P2_ScreenCapture.apk) app, the button is rendered useless. It's still a button, but it doesn't do anything except vibrate a bit.

Until I'm able to figure out how to completely get rid of the button (both the image of it and the fact that there's a button there), I think I'll leave my tablet in the state of "touch/hold" to take a screenshot.

take care
Gary

 

[volwrath]

Making some interesting progress here... Using Titanium backup, I froze the "com.sec.android.app.screencapture" app (ScreenCaptureService.apk), and now the touchwiz screen shot button acts in a way I find more desirable (though still not perfect):

However, if I tap/hold the button for a a bit over 1 second, it not only takes a screenshot, but drops me into some kind of image editor (DioScreenCapture) where it appears I can add notations to the image, crop it, save it, send it (via bluetooth, etc), or cancel (which results in the image not being saved at all.)

For me, this is better than the default touchwiz behaivor, but I think I'd still like to completely get rid of the screen capture functionality...

Gary

This is excellent news! Tonight I plan on freezing the apk you listed!

 

[Wildo6882]

I was just wondering what you guys thought of the 7.0 now that you've had it for a few days? In particular, what about the unrooted/unfrozen variety? I'm still on the fence, and kind of leaning to the Fire, but I'm not 100% sold just yet.

 

[garyd]

I was just wondering what you guys thought of the 7.0 now that you've had it for a few days? In particular, what about the unrooted/unfrozen variety?

What do you mean by "unrooted/unfrozen variety"? You mean as a plain stock device? If so, there really isn't much difference between the rooted and unrooted device for me.

For most things, the stock device is identical. The only changes I've done after rooting are freeze some applications I don't need so they aren't cluttering up my apps drawer, and to change how the screenshot button works. I've also installed Titanium Backup (which requires root) to do the freezes and to back up the device apps.

If you want to compare the Fire to this, its as simple as asking if the hardware and functionality provided by the SGT7+ is worth $200 for you. Also remember that the Fire will be limited to only install what amazon provides in their own app-store, while you can install pretty much anything you want on the SGT7+.

As far as "touchwiz", some people like it, other people don't. You'll have a similar issue with the Fire, however, as Amazon has their own launcher and customizations as well.

Perhaps you should also consider the new Nook Tablet in your search. For $50 more than the Fire, you get twice the storage space (16 vs 8 GB), the ability for even MORE storage via micro SD card (Fire has no expansion ability), etc.

Take Care
Gary

 

[Wildo6882]

Yeah, I was meaning the stock tablet. That was just my roundabout way of doing it. So far do you have any issues (besides the bloatware and the screenshot button)? That's more of what I'm looking at. Do you use it for e-reading, movies, tv shows, etc.?

Basically what I want a tablet for is easier internet browsing than having my laptop on my lap, reading books and magazines, playing a few games, and getting my email (both gmail and hotmail). The Fire seems to fit the bill for all of these. However, as far as I can tell, the 7.0 would as well. And I know I have to pay an additional $79 for the Prime, but it might be worth it for all of the content I can get for free. That being said, I'm still on the fence.

 

[volwrath]

The only real issue I've had with it is the lack of developer support so far I hope that is only because it hasnt been released yet!

I use mine for browsing in bed and also reading. As far as prime, the galaxy can watch video as well on it. The huge things the gt7+ has that the fire does not is a) a mic. Google Voice Search ftw and b) front and back camera for skype etc. c) bluetooth for voip or wireless a2dp stereo.

Personally : GT7+ >> Kindle Fire >> NC2

Oh one other thing that bothers me about the Fire is the server side web browsing.

 

[whydidnt]

I have to say I'm loving the Tab+ so far. I had the original tab, and this is what I wish it had been. It's lighter, so much faster and more functional for me. I thought about the Fire, but I just wouldn't be happy with such a limited device. The Fire really locks you into Amazon's eco-system (and I'm an Amazon fan/Prime member already). I want to be able to load books from what ever source I want, including side-loading. I have the same need for videos music and apps. I have about 14GB of music in the Google cloud, will the Fire limit me to Web Browser access and all it's inherent limitations? I use Bluetooth with both headphones and my stereo system...so you can see it's worth spending more $ to be able to use the device how I want. I'm sure the Fire will be a nice tablet for those who don't share my same needs though and willing to accept the trade-offs I mention.

I think users that just take for granted the things I mention on their current device or tablet are going to be quite disappointed when they get the Fire and find out they are locked to Amazon, probably more so than Apple locks people to iOS devices.