ICS Benefits on Tab 10.1

himmatsj

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Hi there. I know this may have been discussed many times, but I really want to know first-hand from those who've installed ROMs - what are the benefits of ICS on the Tab 10.1 over Honeycomb 3.2.

I know there's supposed to be lesser lag in general, but can I have something more concrete? Would really appreciate it as the more I use my dad's iPad 2, the more I am hating my Tab 10.1 as the iPad 2 seems smoother in every way - scrolling, pinching/zooming, web loading, typing, and game performance. All apps work extremely fluidly.

The thing is, for the time I never got my hands on the iPad2, I thought the Tab 10.1 was great. But really, once I got accustomed to both, the iPad 2's user experience is jarring compared to the Tab 10.1.

If ICS cannot bring this closer to the iPad 2 then I may consider getting a 3rd-gen iPad.
 

plemelin

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Maybe something is wrong with your Tab as I have an IPad2 and absolutely hate it. I got it for free through work and everytime I used it I wanted to toss it out a window. It was slow, lots of app crashes, web browser sucks and everything worth anything you have to pay for. I got a 10.1 and instantly fell in love. It is quick, games play well and I have not had 1 app crash yet. When I am home now I don't even use my PC or laptop. Strictly my 10.1. My wife has played with it and wants one.
 
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paintdrinkingpete

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Based on my experience, running CM9 (Android 4.0.4), here's what I got:

1. The Browser. The default browser is MUCH improved. Hard to specify what exactly is better, but it just seems to load pages faster, render them better, and is easier to navigate within pages and perform actions (typing, click links, zoom in and out, etc). I used to prefer Dolphin HD, but honestly, after installing ICS, the default browser has become my browser of choice.

2. Chrome. Chrome Browser is also available on ICS. What I really like about Chrome is that like the desktop version, it syncs with your Google account, so all of your desktop bookmarks are present. It would be my "go to" browser, except it doesn't support Flash, so as much as I like it overall, I do still find myself using the builtin browser more often.

3. Typing. Especially in browsers, but even just in general, the typing experience is much improved. So many times I'd get frustrated as I'd be trying to type in certain fields and either there would be an extreme lag or words would just disappear as I typed and it was very frustrating. I prefer using Swype keyboard, but even the standard default keyboard is the same...it's just easier to type.

4. To be honest, it really does just seem to be "smoother"...don't know how else to describe it. The only exception to this in any of the current ICS is the landscape to portrait transition, which actually causes the screen to go blank for a brief second (this is an aesthetic issue only, as the transition itself works just fine), and I expect this will go away once an "official" release hits.

There are of course some drawbacks to running ICS on the tablet as well, mostly stemming from the fact that Samsung has not released a source for their device drivers yet (or something to that effect, I'm not exactly an expert on the subject). Primarily, as far as I know, no ICS ROM has a working camera, and probably none will until Samsung releases an "official" ICS version for the tab. Also, if you actually like some of the extras Touchwiz has to offer (and some of them are nice), you obviously won't have any of that running a vanilla ICS on it. Then, of course, you also have to accept the fact that any ICS ROM you run is essentially a BETA release, and there may be (or rather probably will be) bugs, which is pretty much the part of any development process.
 
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paintdrinkingpete

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Maybe something is wrong with your Tab as I have an IPad2 and absolutely hate it. I got it for free through work and everytime I used it I wanted to toss it out a window. It was slow, lots of app crashes, web browser sucks and everything worth anything you have to pay for. I got a 10.1 and instantly fell in love. It is quick, games play well and I have not had 1 app crash yet. When I am home now I don't even use my PC or laptop. Strictly my 10.1. My wife has played with it and wants one.

It's funny how so many "experts" on tech websites, journals, etc, all say that the iPad is so far superior to any of the Android tablets available, yet I have exact same sentiments as you do. There is no denying that app support, especially a year ago when the Android tablets first hit the market (but even still now), is better on the iPad in terms of the number of apps available developed to be optimized strictly for tablet use...but that's about all I got.

I have found my experience with the Galaxy tab a very pleasurable one, and even convinced my sister to get one (over an iPad), and she too has not been disappointed.
 

himmatsj

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Maybe something is wrong with your Tab as I have an IPad2 and absolutely hate it. I got it for free through work and everytime I used it I wanted to toss it out a window. It was slow, lots of app crashes, web browser sucks and everything worth anything you have to pay for. I got a 10.1 and instantly fell in love. It is quick, games play well and I have not had 1 app crash yet. When I am home now I don't even use my PC or laptop. Strictly my 10.1. My wife has played with it and wants one.

I really love the Tab too. But all I'm saying is that the iPad is so much faster and smoother in every way imaginable. To be honest, I get app crashes on my Tab but never encountered it before on an iPad.
 

rebornr

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If you are using the stock 3.1 on your Tab then yes, it's laggy and not very smooth - especially after opening a few memory hungry apps. However, once I broke down and rooted, then installed Overcome ROM, everything has been smooth as silk. So I KNOW that it's totally possible to do.

Once Samsung officially releases ICS for the 10.1 I'm looking forward to what the developers can do with the code. I know I can load ICS ROMs now but I'm really not big on updating my Tab constantly while the ROM is development and rather wait and be one and done.

For me app crashes are inevitable no matter what OS you use. Some apps are just written better than others. If crashes and bugs weren't a problem then there would be no need for software updates and I know from having a iPhone and a Tab that there are always a TON of them for both platforms.
 

TheDonJ77

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I just think it crazy that we still have no ICS from samsung yet other android manufactures have already updated their tabs to ICS (Asus) Where is my ICS!!! x-(
 

elcheapodeluxe

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Having a super-laggy tab may be the result of a crappy app. My tab bogs down whenever I had the WSJ tablet edition installed on it and it was doing a download. If I turned off wifi my tab would come back to life. If I wait for it to finish its download(s) then things were usually ok. But there was no control because there appears to be a service that does the downloading in the background regardless of whether I had the app open or not - and there was no way to control when it did a download. I ended up uninstalling it and just sticking to reading the WSJ in the kindle app.

Point being - a crappy app may very well be the cause of your laggy tab, even if you don't think that app is open.
 

himmatsj

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It is generally accepted that the Tab 10.1 has massive lag problems. This effect is accentuated if you have used any iPad in your life.

Yes, an app can make things worse, but even then the Tab would be laggy. So yu're saying your Tab is lag-free with no WSJ?
 

Stardate Tab 10.1

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I am lag free except for my thumb keyboard coming up for certain apps.

AOKP rom
Nova Launcher

Before I rooted I used adw ex launcher, that removed my lag on the home screens.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2