Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 - finally here

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lofreq

334 posts

Ultimate Geek

#91394 12-Oct-2011 17:45

the Galaxy Tab 8.9 is finally here, something ive been waiting for since its announcement in Feb... as im sure some of you have been as well.

I finally see that PB Technologies has them in stock and in store right now - Mobicity also have them, and apparently Bond&Bond/Noel Leeming will be stocking them also. (if Pricespy is to be believed)

However they all list the 16gb versions. I intended to "buy once buy right", and get the 32gb model in 3G (so i can use it when travelling) - but querying Mobicity today confirmed Mobicity is not getting any 32gb models, and potentially neither will the rest of NZ

im unsure if i should wait even longer to see if the 32gb model comes in, or if that would be in vain.

has anyone heard any different?

Galaxy Note 3 SM-N9005, on Telecom 4G LTE. ROM: Stock Touchwiz, Android 4.3, XUDMJ6 MODEM: MJ4 Kernel: Stock (for now...:)

1 | 2 | 3

959 posts

Ultimate Geek

#532458 12-Oct-2011 18:08

http://www.bondandbond.co.nz/shop/computers/portable/tablets/samsung-gt-p7310-m32b-galaxy-8-9-wifi-16gb-tablet/prod113986.html

32GB but not 3G

Samsung Note20 Ultra, on 2degrees

NZtechfreak

4649 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#532463 12-Oct-2011 18:14

Oh, nice! Been waiting to try one out, the size seems really perfect for me...

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heavenlywild

5060 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#532486 12-Oct-2011 19:06

Is it a wise time to buy a new tablet considering there are rumours of Tegra 3 coming out later this month?

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lofreq

334 posts

Ultimate Geek

#532492 12-Oct-2011 19:29

heavenlywild: Is it a wise time to buy a new tablet considering there are rumours of Tegra 3 coming out later this month?

its never a wise time to buy technology :) you will never win

tegra3 needs to be announced, then it needs to be built into hardware by manufacturers, new models media launched/announced, fcc'd, mass produced, taken up by providers somewhere in the earth, launched to public, taken up by providers in NZ, shipped, landed, stocked, and then finally ready for you and i.

it took 9months from the 8.9 tab being announced at IFA (or whatever it was back in FEB) until now when i see it ready to be bought here... so going from that rule of thumb, if youre happy waiting for tegra3 to be announced then wait 9+ months then i guess, away you go :D haha

looks like i might have to head to (of all places) bond&bond... lol

Galaxy Note 3 SM-N9005, on Telecom 4G LTE. ROM: Stock Touchwiz, Android 4.3, XUDMJ6 MODEM: MJ4 Kernel: Stock (for now...:)

ronw

1222 posts

Uber Geek

#532703 13-Oct-2011 10:05

I got the 8.9 16Gb 3G last night and while it is quite expensive I love it.
It is also so light that I worry about dropping it. Of course no one has bothered to being in accessories like screen protectors and cases.
Tries to order a case from Amazon and they refuse to sell cases or screen protectors to New Zealand.
Fortunately I found someone else that was happy to sell me a case so I will get that.
I also own the Samsung 7 which even though it is heavier seems to withstand knocks better than the 8.9 would

Nokia 7 Plus
Nexus 6P 32Gb
Nexus 6 Phone
Nexus 5 Phone
Nexus 7 2013 Tablet
Samsung TAB A 8"
Samsung TAB A 10"

& many Windows laptops, Desktops etc

heavenlywild

5060 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#532706 13-Oct-2011 10:08

ronw: I got the 8.9 16Gb 3G last night and while it is quite expensive I love it.
It is also so light that I worry about dropping it. Of course no one has bothered to being in accessories like screen protectors and cases.
Tries to order a case from Amazon and they refuse to sell cases or screen protectors to New Zealand.
Fortunately I found someone else that was happy to sell me a case so I will get that.
I also own the Samsung 7 which even though it is heavier seems to withstand knocks better than the 8.9 would

What is the battery life like and overall performance?

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ronw

1222 posts

Uber Geek

#532720 13-Oct-2011 10:30

I charged it when I got home and was surprised around 11pm to get a musical tone from device with a message saying fully charged please remove power connector. None of my other devices ask for that and I usually leave hem charging all night. Wonder if leaving it on charge is likely to cause problems?
I did a little surfing last night and some this morning. Read the herald on line and it now says 90% power remaining. It may be that it requires several charges to condition battery so it may be a while before I know.
I did some browsing last night on 3G and it seemed very fast compared with my other tablets. I am using 2degrees.

Things I don't like
1. It is not easy to tell when on Wifi or 3G On my Samsung 7" I get an indicator in the bar at top of screen which shows when on wifi and a separate indicator showing a 3G or H for HSDPA I like seeing that in case for some reason the wifi stops and I am using 3G data when I don't need to.
The 7 inch also has a pull down activity bar which shows all activity happening to the device. You can pull the bar down and see all new messages, updates in fact anything that has happened since last clearing the bar. I also have this same feature on my Desire phone.
The 8.9 and the Transformer 10.1have moved this to bottom right which is not as easy to access and can be missed. It is now an app like gadget which gets lost in all the stuff on screen.
I presume this is a feature of Honeycomb as the 7" is on Froyo all other devices are Honeycomb
The other thing I don't like is the way the screens work in Honeycomb. I like the froyo screens much better. It is easier to add apps and new apps dont automatically fill up the main screen
Fairly minor points and maybe things will change as Honeycomb matures

Nokia 7 Plus
Nexus 6P 32Gb
Nexus 6 Phone
Nexus 5 Phone
Nexus 7 2013 Tablet
Samsung TAB A 8"
Samsung TAB A 10"

& many Windows laptops, Desktops etc

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heavenlywild

5060 posts

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#532727 13-Oct-2011 10:40

Thanks for the feedback.

In regards to whether it is using wifi or 3G, I assume it works in the same way as Android smartphones. If you see the wifi symbol, it is definitely using wifi only. If wifi isn't available, it will automatically switch to 3G.

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lofreq

334 posts

Ultimate Geek

#532730 13-Oct-2011 10:46

thanks for your feedback, thats very interesting. im about the get the 3g model as well, so its good to hear your thoughts.

the pull down notification is default for Froyo and Gingerbread, and by design it is moved to the bottom right side for Honeycomb - to increase screen real estate id imagine. i guess its something to get used to until Ice Cream Sandwich comes out - i agree that a pull down window is more intuitive

good point about the 3g/wifi notification. id say you would benefit from installing a widget like Switchpro or Widgetsoid, which will allow you to toggle 3G data on or off, with a press of a button - that way you know for sure that you arent on 3g when you dont want to be. im hoping those widgets (or similar) will work on honeycomb...

question: is the SIM card slot a full size SIM or one of those micro sims?

also: from new, after all the default programs on board, how much actual space is left out of that 16gb capacity?

finally: how is the device suited for reading full size (desktop) webpages... like this forum, or the HErald, Engadget etc... is it readable at full zoom out, or do you find you still need to zoom in and pan about?

many thanks for your feedback

Galaxy Note 3 SM-N9005, on Telecom 4G LTE. ROM: Stock Touchwiz, Android 4.3, XUDMJ6 MODEM: MJ4 Kernel: Stock (for now...:)

ronw

1222 posts

Uber Geek

#532746 13-Oct-2011 11:03

yes and it does have an indicator down in bottom of screen but it is easy to miss. I will see if I can upload a pix. No it is to big.

heavenlywild: Thanks for the feedback.

In regards to whether it is using wifi or 3G, I assume it works in the same way as Android smartphones. If you see the wifi symbol, it is definitely using wifi only. If wifi isn't available, it will automatically switch to 3G.

Nokia 7 Plus
Nexus 6P 32Gb
Nexus 6 Phone
Nexus 5 Phone
Nexus 7 2013 Tablet
Samsung TAB A 8"
Samsung TAB A 10"

& many Windows laptops, Desktops etc

ronw

1222 posts

Uber Geek

#532755 13-Oct-2011 11:18

Re pull down it certainly works better than Honeycombs option.
You can toggle wifi /3g off on by going to the area where the notify stuff is and pressing what you want to toggle on or off. I guess I will get used to it
Sim card is a full sized 2degree card
memory I have a few games installed and my newspaper reader and several papers downloaded and memory says Total memory is 13.11GB
Applications 331 Mb Misc Files 285 Mb Available 12.51

This is another small problem in that there is no external memory card. So the 12 Gb mentioned above is all I get. I am not interested in storing video or music on the device so 12 Gb will probably be fine.
Re reading web pages I just went to stuff actual site not mobile and it looks fine on screen everything fits just fine. I also use PressReader to read my papers and I have to move the page a bit to read but that is expected with broadsheet papers.

lofreq: thanks for your feedback, thats very interesting. im about the get the 3g model as well, so its good to hear your thoughts.

the pull down notification is default for Froyo and Gingerbread, and by design it is moved to the bottom right side for Honeycomb - to increase screen real estate id imagine. i guess its something to get used to until Ice Cream Sandwich comes out - i agree that a pull down window is more intuitive

good point about the 3g/wifi notification. id say you would benefit from installing a widget like Switchpro or Widgetsoid, which will allow you to toggle 3G data on or off, with a press of a button - that way you know for sure that you arent on 3g when you dont want to be. im hoping those widgets (or similar) will work on honeycomb...

question: is the SIM card slot a full size SIM or one of those micro sims?

also: from new, after all the default programs on board, how much actual space is left out of that 16gb capacity?

finally: how is the device suited for reading full size (desktop) webpages... like this forum, or the HErald, Engadget etc... is it readable at full zoom out, or do you find you still need to zoom in and pan about?

many thanks for your feedback

Nokia 7 Plus
Nexus 6P 32Gb
Nexus 6 Phone
Nexus 5 Phone
Nexus 7 2013 Tablet
Samsung TAB A 8"
Samsung TAB A 10"

& many Windows laptops, Desktops etc

chezgeeknz

2 posts

Wannabe Geek

#532757 13-Oct-2011 11:19

We got the 16GB 3G 8.9 on Tuesday afternoon. I'm really impressed with this tablet. It's a really good size to use - not too big, not too small, not too heavy. The battery life seems reasonable; the battery is currently at 32% and has been running on battery for 21 hours with about 4-5 hours of actual usage in that time.

question: is the SIM card slot a full size SIM or one of those micro sims?

Full sized SIM. Both my VF and 2Degrees sims work fine.

also: from new, after all the default programs on board, how much actual space is left out of that 16gb capacity?

I've installed a few small apps since getting it, so this is not a completely empty value, but it has 12.73GB available now.

finally: how is the device suited for reading full size (desktop) webpages... like this forum, or the HErald, Engadget etc... is it readable at full zoom out, or do you find you still need to zoom in and pan about?

In landscape orientation it's a real pleasure to read web pages. I don't need to zoom or pan about to read either geekzone or Stuff. Portrait it's still readable, but the text is small enough that I wouldn't be comfortable reading it for more than a minute or two.