I'm depressed about my Gal-Tab

[Cahow]

I have had a Samsung Galaxy Tablet since it came out in late November/early December. I own a landscape firm and it has increased productivity off the charts, since the first week I learned to use it. The 7" size is flawless, for me and I "thought" I couldn't be happier.

Then, I started reading articles about the new iPad2. I tried to stay away from Fanbois sites and read ONLY articles about it at what I thought were "neutral sites". And that's what got me depressed.

What it boils down to is this:

A) The consensus is "Every other tablet manufacturer should just toss in the towel. Apple won the war and NO ONE is going to come close. Articles from MAJOR sources called the "Xoom...Doomed", the "Galaxy, Obsolete" and "every other product being launched or even thought of as ridiculous." Mind you, these were NOT Apple sites!!!

B) The World Boils Down into Three Types of People:

1) Those smart enough to buy the iPad and each generation.

2) Those too poor or dumb to buy the iPad so they buy Nooks, Xoom's or Galaxy's.

3) Those people who "claim" they don't want/need an iPad so they buy a Kindle, which Apple will toss that bone to them.

They claim that the sales figures for Gal-Tab are fake and made up and that they are all sitting in a warehouse somewhere; no one wants them, along with the "tragic Xoom".

Honestly, I feel dirty reading those articles. I write recaps for a Tech Forum so part of my volunteer job is to read tech updates and report on them at our forum. I've never felt so....stupid or dumb or misled, even though the Galaxy tablet is so flawless for my applications. It's like a big band of bullies came up to you as a kid, took away your favourite toy, tore the arms off of it and left it in a puddle of mud, laughing all the way.

I have no emnity towards Apple. I'd just like a choice, like in real life where I may eat an apple on Monday, but a banana or pear on Tuesday, etc. I feel that the Government of Apple has stepped into and onto my life and said, "You WILL eat an Apple a Day, and love it!" Mother's are buying their 8 year olds the iPad2, for school. Schools are holding "iPad #101" classes. I feel like I'm the only one not drinking the Kool Aid.

For those in the know, is it really that grim for Android tablets? In article, after article, from CNN to Cnet and others, there is NO option but an iPad. Every article they write is titled, "Will this tablet be the iPad Killer?" or "Good enough to go against the iPad?" Honestly, I can't think of a phone, car, camera, or anything else that has such a crushing feel to it that if you don't own one, there is something tragically wrong with you.

I have NO intention of selling my Galaxy tablet and I guess I could hide it in a paper bag, for the shame of owning it. Does anyone else feel pressured beyond believe into owning an iPad 1, 2, 3, .....? Aren't monopolies illegal in the U.S.? I thought free enterprise was a "good thing"?

If it wasn't part of my job as a forum moderator to read those articles, I wish I could scrub my brain clean of all the hating going on.

 

[upperking#AC]

Nope! Im keeping mine and I think you need a new hobby..

 

[Cahow]

I'm keeping mine too, because it does everything I want/need. Do you mean change hobbies because ????? In my defense, you can only read so many articles bashing something before even the most strong-willed begins to waver. I have threads on myriad MP3 players, smart phones, laptops, gaming systems and e-readers; not in any of those worlds do you see the "Eat $h-t and Die" philosophy if you don't own a specific product, as in the iPad. Just wish I could once read a review on the Gal-Tab or anything without the word "Apple" being in the first paragraph.

I wanted to add, with no snark, thanks for responding; I was interested in what others had to say.

 

[tkurtz1977]

I just bought my tab a couple weeks ago and absolutely love it. I know what you mean about what everyone is saying with the iPad. If the galaxy works for you, why worry about it. Most everything you read is someones opinion. The only way to know if its better would be to go buy one.

The biggest hang ups I have with the iPad is price and its size. When I first got mine I worried I wasted my money. That lasted about one night. After personalizing it and getting a few apps on it, I'm totally hooked. I even find myself grabbing the Tab for general web browsing instead of our desktop our laptop.

I love this thing, iPad or not, and will be hard pressed to ever go away from the seven inch design.

anyway, just a bit of my opinion, and also my first post on AC.com forums.

 

[gizzyman]

I have an ipad 1 (since it was released), I have the samsung tab, and now I have the xoom, with the xoom, yes the samsung tab is obselete, its slow and it crashes, the ipad works like it is suppose to, except the wifi seriously sucks, as it has from day one. but its apps work really good, its smooth, but you have to have itunes and conect it to a computer with the most recent itunes do get any software updates. One ipad looks exactly like another, there is only one, one flavor, one manufactor, so what you have, the next guys has the EXACT same thing.

the xoom, smoking fast, now that flash for it is out, thats a non issue, you can customize it, make it yours. nothing has crashed on me yet with the zoom. its a total package. I would not trade it for a ipad 2, I can afford it, I am pretty smart, smart enough not to buy an ifad.

the ONLY thing the ifad has over the xoom is number of app's, that it. the xoom has to many things over the ifad to list.

 

[mmanuel552#WN]

Having owned both of them the Galaxy Tab and the iPad 1 i can honestly say i love my Galaxy Tab more. Why?..... Size yeah ok not as polished as iOS and does have some quirks but for what i use it for kicks A$$. I own several devices i.e. iPhone, OG Droid, Eris, Palm Pre + plus a few dumb phones. Fads are just that Fads. Granted iPad jumped on the scene first but there are also options out there.

my .02

 

[Cahow]

Hey! Thanks to each and every one of you who chose to respond to my question. I know, as an adult, that I shouldn't feel so vulnerable about a purchase (the Gal-Tab) that I did FOUR MONTHS of research on in 2010. And, if it wasn't my volunteer job as a forum host for a Tech Thread forcing me to read days worth of spiral-eyed articles about the iPad being "King of the World", I doubt that this subject would even be on my personal radar. But, it is, and that's how I was feeling and I came to an Android-friendly site to ask how others were feeling about their Gal-Tab purchase.

I bought my Tab through HSN, the last bit of November. They had pre-sales, you could lock the price "in" and you had 5 months to pay for it, interest free. You also got a $350 dollar rebate for buying it through HSN. In the 3.5 months of constant and chronic use, it has performed FLAWLESSLY! First and foremost, I use it as a business tool and it shaves up to 2-3 hours off of my work day, each day. The size of 7" is flawless for business applications and I feel safe and secure, being able to conceal it in a jacket pocket or any purse except a clutch. It's never frozen or had a single download problem. I daily go to HSN to check reviews of the Gal-Tab and not only is it listed as a "Customer Pick" but of the 140 reviews, almost every single one is a 5 star review. (the negative ones have to do with Sprint or UPS problems).

So, I have to ask myself, WHY hasn't this device been more embraced by the professional public? I had the Entourage Edge; didn't care for it after 3 weeks of use and returned it. Tried the Nextbook2 and it was too much of an e-reader and not enough "laptop". Got it right with the Gal-Tab.

Over and over again, in the articles from PC Tablets, cnn, cnet, Alltouch, etc., I kept reading about "Apps! Apps! Apps!" for iPad2. How they have a ba-zillioin million apps. That GarageBand kicks arse. Really?!? THAT is why people are standing in line for days and forking over a minimum of $500.00....to play Angry Birds and tap on virtual drums? Wow. And wow, again, only a smaller "wow". I thought we were still in a recession where every.penny.counted., yet I read over and over again about how iPads are being bought for kids, REAL single-digit humans, so they can play on it! To date, I haven't read a single article outlining how the iPad is used as a business tool.

I guess that must be the problem with the Gal-Tab. It falls into the drudgery pile of "Work Tool" and people are less likely to cough up $$$ to make MORE $$$$$. How truly sad. Yes, I use the e-reader function, yes! I watch videos and movies via the MediaHub, but that's after I've had my tab at work with me for 10-12 hours straight. Let's see an article for iPad address THAT use for it!

Once again, to each and every one of you who posted, thank you. Your responses were well read and interesting.

 

[CopyThis]

Here's my 2 cents worth, too:

My list of toys includes the Galaxy Tab, iPhone 4, HTC Touch Pro 2 (WinMo 6.5), HTC HD2 (WinMo 6.5), HTC HD7 (WinPhone 7), HTC G2 (Android).

I have been playing with a Galaxy Tab since the middle of November. The 7 inch screen is what prompted me to buy this device. I am in the service industry and support a field staff of nearly 500 technicians across the country.

Currently we have a custom designed mobile workforce application that the technicians can access on their mobile phones. The application is nice, but once you start doing some research on an issue, the screen on a mobile phone gets pretty limiting. What to do....

Each tech has a laptop, but they don't have aircards for internet access. Booting up a laptop to find one simple answer is time consuming. And then there is the "my laptop is in my vehicle 4 blocks away."

The iPad is nice, but it is big and expensive. Plus, the wireless is flaky.

In walks the Galaxy Tab. The size: The 7 inch screen size is perfect for the field staff to carry in their coat pocket or their tool bag. Not too big, yet a helluva lot bigger than a mobile phone screen. Perfect for my group. We have about 25 of these being tested and look to be deploying to the rest of the staff very soon.

The iPad is nice, no doubt. But this is a tool, not a toy. And it's turning out to be a production-enhancing tool, as well. I have no regrets about this device.

 

[clevin]

7" is the perfect tablet. Especially at 1024x768, it doesn't shrink most website, and generally loses nothing comparing to a 1024x768 10" tab. If somebody want a 10", sort of portable devices, they can get a 10-11" notebook that can do a million more things than an iOS or android or webOS can do.

thats IT.

its stupid for all the people blindly go after ipad size, like HP, motorola, and new samsung's 10" tab. The bigger, the less useful.

 

[WhitePhone]

By staying with Android you are doing the right thing. I hope you realize at this point in your life, that a large majority of the people in the world are idiots today. You need to wake up to life. In this world, you have to do your homework and understand what is really good and right or else you will be dumb like everyone else. Lots of people buying Apple stuff doesn't mean they are good products, its shows how many dumb people there are who don't do their homework and know the capabilities of their device before they buy it. Sorry to sound like a a$$, but I hate how people think Apple is the only right way to think.

 

[Cahow]

Copy This: I really, really needed to read your reply. The fact that your company is using the Gal-Tab as a business TOOl reaffirms how I'm using mine and that I made a wise choice. I am 6 months away from my 60th birthday; yes, I am one of those "old dogs" learning New Tricks and I've taught myself to expand into the digital age. I've been self employed since 18 years old, had and rolled over 3 companies. My background is in Plant Genetics, Geology and Pests & Diseases and that's what my current firm specializes in. The value of being able to instantly reference a disease killing a $5000 maple tree, and pull up the treatment is invaluable! Being able to take a photo of a necrotic stem and send it right to the lab...priceless! I shared with a friend of mine who is thinking of owning "a tablet" about my use of the Gal-Tab and he said, "Holy Crap! You work that thing like a 25 year old!" (best compliment I've had in ages.)

Since starting this thread, I've been lurking over at a famous Apple site. Didn't need apples tossed at me and called "a troll" if I asked a simple question. NO WHERE on that site, did I see a single member post about business uses of their iPad1 or 2!!!! I found posts such as "GarageBand!!! ONLY reason to buy an iPad2!" or "I'm sticking with my iPad1...who needs a stupid camera in their tablet?" Well, to the uninformed, when I take a shot with my Gal-Tab, it takes me 8 seconds from shoot, share, hit address, imbed, and Send the email to the lab or client. THAT is what a camera in a tablet is for! Also, this week, we were looking for a rare chemical to treat a bad fungus on a tree. Used Google Places to search and found the chemical at a Horticultural Warehouse 4 miles from job site.

I do not like to mock people or make them feel badly about anything, but when it's flipped, and MY choices are mocked and ridiculed, then I become defensive. If the Apple audience is Recession-Proof and can afford to buy, dump, buy each new gen of iPad for some minor upgrades, then I guess I'm in the wrong profession, as I don't generate that degree of slush cash. I work brutally hard for every buck I earn and the Gal-Tab is as important to me as my front end loader. It's a great tool that helps get the job done. Thanks, Copy This, for your sharing your work experiences with it, too.

 

[Cahow]

By staying with Android you are doing the right thing. I hope you realize at this point in your life, that a large majority of the people in the world are idiots today. You need to wake up to life. In this world, you have to do your homework and understand what is really good and right or else you will be dumb like everyone else. Lots of people buying Apple stuff doesn't mean they are good products, its shows how many dumb people there are who don't do their homework and know the capabilities of their device before they buy it. Sorry to sound like a a$$, but I hate how people think Apple is the only right way to think.

~sigh~ Yeah, evomaster, sadly I do realize that at my age, there are far more "Followers" than "Leaders" today. I did 4 months of hardcore research before I bought my Gal-Tab and although I knew a new Honeycomb version would be released in 2011, I also knew that with a seasonal job of a landscape architect, if I didn't embrace the current Android OS, I'd be out of luck once my season broke in Spring. I'd take the manual to bed with me each night, set the timer for 2 hours, and commit to memory each page so I can squeeze every lovin' drop of technology from that tablet. My goal is to make money with it, not waste time. For recreation, I do outside things, not e-things, except my forum I write for. As I mentioned to Copy This, from lurking 1/2 the day at an Apple site, it seems that the majority of iPad owners are into web surfing, youtube watching, facebooking and game playing. Wow!, they must ALL be Lotto Winners; I've got to work to earn my money!

This thread has been healing. I remember when I got my Entourage Edge, I adored it but when I went Head-to-Toe against the main users: nuclear engineers and literal rocket scientists, I knew the Edge was a bit too much for my use. The 7" size is easy to use at a job site and so many strangers think that I'm using a Kindle that it has a low theft factor! (I guess that a Kindle is too low for even a thief to go!) LOL

 

[longshot]

I could afford the iPad2 but its just too **** big and I just don't care about 200k games. So I bought the GT (WiFi only) and had to reset to factory the next day. It has some quirks - maybe thats Froyo - but I have about 30 days to make sure its stable enough for me.

If Apple releases a 7" iPad, THAT will be a game changer ! IMHO

 

[drjb74]

I bought the Tab like most people, for the size. I run a small company, and I travel two or three days a week. I have a desktop in my office, and a laptop in my briefcase. I also carry an EVO (personal) and an EVO Shift (work). Having all this tech to carry around every day is really kind of annoying. With the Tab and LogMeIn, I have not only stopped carrying my laptop around, I gave it to someone else. I use Google Voice to allow me to carry one cell phone, but "answer" two of them.

The Tab, while not the newest and greatest device out there, does everything I need it to do. I have never had any issues with my Tab, and I am okay with it being "out of date." Eventually the Xoom and iPads will be out of date as well, as new things will come along. I looked at the iPad, but choose the Tab. I have seen the Xoom, but IMHO, there is nothing on either device that makes me think I am living in the stone age with my Tab.

Eventually, the tab will become outdated, just like everything else. When it does, I will again look at the newest iPad, or Xoom, or whatever, and then I will pick what suits me best, which at the moment is the Tab.

 

[Johnly]

Ipad runs iOS.....yack* n Trak U.

 

[curney]

I love my tab. In the last few weeks I have sold 3 real estate agents I work with on picking one up. Its a great business device.

I think Samsung went the wrong direction marketing this as a tablet when honeycomb was right around the corner. The should have sold it as a "companion device" and hyped up the GPS, ereader and video chat. Buy a tab and get a dumbphone free. That's how I use it anyway

I looked at the g-slate yesterday and the tmo Rep who sold me the tab informed me there is no native texting in honeycomb. If someone sends a text/SMS to the number associated with it, it just never shows up. That is a major downer for me going g forward. I do all my texting from the tab with its big keyboard.

Sent from my Galaxy Tab using Tapatalk

 

[Raptor007]

As technology addict (I can truly say I am one), I have owned just about everything and anything including the iPad 1, twice. I got my first one on launch day and went app buying crazy, too crazy. I found myself 6 months later realizing I didn't have a good use case for it so I sold it early and moved on.

At that time I had the iPhone (sadly I left my DInc for it) and in six months realized what I should have known, the phone had major issues with the antenna (S.Jobs denies it, I say he lies about it). I sold the iPhone in November and moved my single AT&T number back to my 4 Verizon numbers.

I couldn't be happier with Android, choice, awesome dev support and a community that is about community support, not flashing an expensive status symbol around.

Apple is the king of a) Spin, b) Marketing, C) Convincing you that last years model is broken even though it works, D) Upgrading devices at a glacial pace so you feel you gotta have the new one.

Both my wife and I have MAC's, iMac for her MacBook Air for me (should have kept my MacBook Pro, another story). I will say their computers are far more solid than other computers, but the OS is on par with Windows 7. Yes on par but the hardware is better.

Steve Jobs says 7" Tablets are junk, DOA, but 2 million users and growing are proving him wrong. If Samsung had not royally messed things up and launched the WiFi model with the Carrier models in November they would have sold far more.

I had the XOOM, its a sweet device, super fast, powerful and crippled . . . for now. In a effort to race it out the door Google took shortcuts and well 4G isn't in there neither is microSD support and there is no timeline for it either. I also found it to be too big for my real case use.

So I find myself right where you are, should I get (or keep in your case) a 7" tablet or get the iPad 2. The funny thing is I ordered an iPad 2 saying to myself, "Self you have loads of apps so go for it". I called Apple today and canceled my iPad 2 order. I am getting a 7" Android Tablet its really that simple.

7" tablets are the right size for on the go use, 10 Inch tablets are whats too big. Enjoy, be happy and never listen to the crowd of judgement for they too will be judged they just don't know it.

One final note, there were to non device motivating factors that pushed me away from the iOS community. The rude, condescending attitude that seems to come from a good portion of the iOS community and also I no longer listen to MacBreak Weekly. While its a great show, I got tired of the weekly attacks on anything non apple, because if it wasn't apple it was junk. Some of them (most) are journalists, not very unbiased it would seem.

 

[manonmoon49]

The iPad and iOS are really nice. I won't deny that. I'm a create of customization though. Android allows me the freedom to customize my tab to my liking. The 7" size is perfect for what a tablet should be for, portability (try putting a Xoom or an iPad in your coat pocket). The Galaxy Tab was introduced too early (the same as the original iPad was) with a mobile phone software. The iPad was never called obsolete because iOS is exclusive to one tablet, unlike Android. Apple simply updated the iPad with the tablet optimized iOS. Samsung has left the 7" Tab behind for greener pastures. If Samsung would have at least updated the software to a tablet optimized 2.3 (like the HTC Flyer) people would be much happier. Coincidentally, the HTC Evo View (Sprint's version of the Flyer) will most likely be my next purchase. I'm really liking what I see so far. After that, my Galaxy Tab will be passed down to my 5-year-old so he can continue his mission to destroy all of those pesky pigs that keep stealing those Angry Bird's eggs.

Dropped from my Galaxy Tab with a little tiger blood

 

[vjr021]

I am still torn... I really want the GTAB but it seems like my iPad has taken over my life, or more appropriately my life has been organized around the iPad...

I travel quite a bit, so I load the iPad up with movies before I go on the plane... I have Zinio loaded up with magazines to read while I am out.

I use Reeder to go through my 1000+ RSS articles a day, and send them to Read It Later to go through when I am done.

Lately, I upgraded my wife to the Droid2Global and took her Original Droid to hack, and test apps on... I wanted to make sure my life can still be the same, if not better with the Android.

It will be a transition, but the #1 reason is the sizer of the GTAB.

My only thing I am concerned about is movie rentals (the only nice thing about itunes) and Zinio (which I hear can be hacked to work on GTAB)

Hopefully I will join the band of merry brothers...

 

[jr62strat]

I just ordered my GTab from Verizon last night, my decision was several weeks in research, thought of how it was to be used and time spent with the Ipad2.

My son has the Ipad2 and while it is nice, there was just too many limitations that I did not want to live without, Widgets are big to me on my Droid 2 Global. Plus really I was able to do anything on my D2G that he could do on his iPad execpt for Flash, I really wanted something smaller than an iPad 2 as well, I use corp email, surf, read, listen to music and just found the GTab to do what I wanted. HTC Flyer looks nice but price and features sold me on the GTab. I will be more active here once it arrives I am sure. Just my FYI (A 40 something techie)