I bought a Nexus 7 at the start of the year. I passionately adore it. However, I am mildly visually impaired, and while Boat Browser copes reasonably well with websites (it appears to be the only browser which continues to wrap text after you've increased the size, so that you almost never need to scroll horizontally - how is this not the norm for such browsers?), it can still be rather frustrating. At the time, I bought it partly because the size fit my hand nicely, and 8" tablets back then were significantly larger and heavier. (I'm 4'11", I have small hands, so this is still a dealbreaker.) However, the Nexus 7 does have a honking big bezel, and there are now some 8" tablets around with much slimmer bezels which are only marginally bigger than the Nexus 7.
Specifically, I'm looking at the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8", which is 210 x 124 x 7mm to the Nexus 7's 199 x 120 x 11mm, and weighs 20g less. I'm now trying to figure out whether it will fulfil my needs. The spec looks fine, and while it has less storage, a micro SD card will sort that out. I've only used about 8GB on my Nexus 7.
People who have one of these, what's it like, in terms of general quality? What is the screen like? Does a small bezel ever cause problems? The resolution is the same, which on a larger screen actually works well for me - I can't read tiny font. I'm particularly interested in the speakers. That one's a deal-breaker. They should be no worse than the Nexus 7, and preferably better. Listening to audiobooks is one of the main things I use this tablet for, and external speakers just aren't practical for me.
Here's what I do with my tablet on a regular basis:
Browser the internet in Boat
Read books in Aldiko Premium
Listen to books in Ginkgo Audio Book Player
Instant messaging in IM+ Pro
Use lists in ColorNote
Use the eBay app
Use the Twitter app
Use the YouTube app
There are a few other bits and bobs, I was checking the measurements for a square within a square in the QuiltCalc app last night for instance, but that's the regular stuff.
How similar will it feel to the Nexus 7? I know they're all running Android, but I don't know how much is done differently from tablet to tablet. If you've used both, how would you say they compare?
Out of curiosity, is the rear-facing camera likely to be any good? I cannot understand why they have equipped it with a 5MP camera but no flash! I do a lot of quilting, and it would be nice to be able to take photos of my work straight onto something computery without having to faff about with cables in order to get them from the camera onto the laptop. But it wouldn't be much use if they came out dark or blurry.
I'm also a bit worried that there will be quality problems, that I will spend the money, do a hard reset on my beloved Nexus 7 and sell it to my boyfriend, and then find that I'm landed with a tablet that won't work properly.
What's that physical home button like? You can still use the tablet upside-down, right? Because I frequently do, when it's charging and sitting on its little stand, or when it's plugged into an external keyboard. Also it seems like odd speaker placement. If the tablet was in the stand the right way up, thereby covering the speakers, would the sound be OK, or would I have to remember to put it in upside down whenever I wanted to listen to an audiobook or youtube? I suppose I could get another stand if I really had to, maybe one like this.
Specifically, I'm looking at the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8", which is 210 x 124 x 7mm to the Nexus 7's 199 x 120 x 11mm, and weighs 20g less. I'm now trying to figure out whether it will fulfil my needs. The spec looks fine, and while it has less storage, a micro SD card will sort that out. I've only used about 8GB on my Nexus 7.
People who have one of these, what's it like, in terms of general quality? What is the screen like? Does a small bezel ever cause problems? The resolution is the same, which on a larger screen actually works well for me - I can't read tiny font. I'm particularly interested in the speakers. That one's a deal-breaker. They should be no worse than the Nexus 7, and preferably better. Listening to audiobooks is one of the main things I use this tablet for, and external speakers just aren't practical for me.
Here's what I do with my tablet on a regular basis:
Browser the internet in Boat
Read books in Aldiko Premium
Listen to books in Ginkgo Audio Book Player
Instant messaging in IM+ Pro
Use lists in ColorNote
Use the eBay app
Use the Twitter app
Use the YouTube app
There are a few other bits and bobs, I was checking the measurements for a square within a square in the QuiltCalc app last night for instance, but that's the regular stuff.
How similar will it feel to the Nexus 7? I know they're all running Android, but I don't know how much is done differently from tablet to tablet. If you've used both, how would you say they compare?
Out of curiosity, is the rear-facing camera likely to be any good? I cannot understand why they have equipped it with a 5MP camera but no flash! I do a lot of quilting, and it would be nice to be able to take photos of my work straight onto something computery without having to faff about with cables in order to get them from the camera onto the laptop. But it wouldn't be much use if they came out dark or blurry.
I'm also a bit worried that there will be quality problems, that I will spend the money, do a hard reset on my beloved Nexus 7 and sell it to my boyfriend, and then find that I'm landed with a tablet that won't work properly.
What's that physical home button like? You can still use the tablet upside-down, right? Because I frequently do, when it's charging and sitting on its little stand, or when it's plugged into an external keyboard. Also it seems like odd speaker placement. If the tablet was in the stand the right way up, thereby covering the speakers, would the sound be OK, or would I have to remember to put it in upside down whenever I wanted to listen to an audiobook or youtube? I suppose I could get another stand if I really had to, maybe one like this.
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