The Samsung Galaxy Tab has been very disruptive over the weekend. I had never planned to have it and it’s completely changed the plans. Videos have been going out at a rate of knots and it’s left me no time to get on with the challenge. I’ve started now though and here I am laying on my back on the sofa with the Galaxy Tab in portrait mode using the Samsung on-screen keyboard with auto correction, word prediction and a low level of haptic feedback. The Tab is light enough to be very comfortable and the thumbboard in this mode is just perfect. I guess im already running at 60 percent of my normal typing speed and i bet there’ll be less spelling errors at the end of it than is normal!
I’m using the WordPress application to input the text and although there’s no auto save feature, simple formatting and linking is possible. You can also upload an image into the post via the app. It’s not feature rich but where you’re only writing, it doesn’t matter too much.
One other nice little feature here is that im working in a very low light room. Try doing that with a normal keyboard!
The Galaxy Tab has surprised me this weekend. I thought i would be hitting some major issues with applications that don’t scale to the full screen size but in general, everything is working out well. Some games and graphical apps only scale to 800×480 and center themselves in the middle but I’ve only found four apps out of about 30 that I’ve tried
I have to be little carefull about my excitement levels for the Tab and keep those in check because this is, for me, uber gadget of the year. Im sitting here with a 3Mp digital cam, web browser, music player, great video player, navigation device and thousand and thousands of apps. Its weighs just 380gm and lasts for over 24hrs without a charge. Wouldn’t you get exited about that too?
Later in the week ill be looking for a Bluetooth keyboard that will work with the Tab. Apparently the Apple BT keyboard works ok so i might give that a shot. I might also look for the Samsung keyboard too. It looks great and provides us ports. I guess there’s Usb Otg support built in here.
So that’s it for now. This has been a very easy post write. Way easier than i imagined and let me just say that word prediction and correction on the Samsung keyboard are absolutely top notch. I’ve been correcting a few mistakes as i go bit as i reach the end of this article im getting very confident that what im typing is going into the post Write intended. Great job Samsung!
P.S. that’s about 450 words there in about 45 minutes including formatting, corrections and posting.
Starting the 1k Challenge with the Galaxy Tab: The Samsung Galaxy Tab has been very disruptive over the weekend. I… http://bit.ly/aLQHiu
RT @umpcportal: Starting the 1k Challenge with the Galaxy Tab http://bit.ly/9PORqC (Written on the Galaxy Tab)
Galaxy tab initial thoughts with the tablet – http://is.gd/g78dL
Starting the 1k Challenge with the Galaxy Tab http://bit.ly/bJNSWI
Are the dangling “i” characters in place of the “I” characters purposely or inadvertently illustrative?
“Wouldn’t you get exited about that too?” No. As a human, I’ve decided to differentiate between my emotions and my technology. As an adult, I’ve decided that “the bad” neither justifies nor nullifies “the good”, ever. This device is fraught with problems, and if you gave it to me, then I would foist it off onto somebody else. Don’t misunderstand me. I appreciate that there are always trade-offs, but trade-offs exist in the domain of values (i.e. features that increase or decrease the value of the experience). Rather, I’m more concerned about the domain of constraints (i.e. features that a device absolutely must have or not have in order to even be considered as a candidate on which my values can be reasonably applied). “The good” in this device lives in its values, but “the bad” lives in the constraints. To me, you’re describing the wonderful scent of the perfume as worn by a pig.
That said, it does seem like a device that many people will want. I doubt many will actually buy it, and it seems like a device destined for desk drawers and storage closets by the end of next year. I think we’ve been down this road before.
I’ve always been fairly good at defining my requirements before buying something but I can’t help get excited about the Tab. It won’t replace a netbook for me (looking at the N350 right now) and I have to say that I probably wouldn’t have bought one at the opening price (Disclosure, this one was aquired as part of a business deal) but when I think about my desires for a ‘Carrypad’ in late 2005/early 2006, this is close to what I was imagining.
I respect that. In fact, I’d like to officially back away from the tone of that initial message and thank you for your level-headed response. I do legitimately see this as an exciting product for the marketplace and for lots and lots of consumers. My frustrations are starting to get the best of me, and maybe I’m not as good at keeping my emotions and my technology as separate as I aspire to (actually, there’s a confounding factor in there: freedom). I loved my Sharp Zaurus. The hardware wasn’t awesome. The software wasn’t awesome. The user experience wasn’t awesome. However, the freedom was awesome. It was like being given a plot of fertile land and being endorsed to do whatever I wanted with it for as long as I cared to do it. That’s exactly what I did. In contrast, all of these Android slates are like prison cells that have been renovated to look and feel like upscale, swanky apartments. Where they’re good, they’re great, but I’ve experienced the taste of freedom and don’t want to give it up. It’s terribly frustrating that there’s not a device that offers the best of both worlds. I believe that the Shogo from Realease will support Angstrom Linux (I have run this on other arm-based handhelds, and the e17 desktop with the Illume profile is “good enough”) and am checking into that for myself. Otherwise, I’ll just sulk on the sidelines while we let Google take over the world.
low light conditions .. that is one of the reasons why i’m using white netbooks with white kayboards …black ones become nearly invisible
RT @Alltop_Mobile: Starting the 1k Challenge with the Galaxy Tab http://bit.ly/bJNSWI
Heh, i somewhat look forward to seeing the archos 101 actually hit shelves. i just hope both the screen and the android keyboard have support for all 10 fingers if one can so manage.
…I have to be little carefull…
…a very easy post write…
…as i go bit as i reach…
…going into the post Write intended….
Hmm. I’m not so sure about the auto-correction offered by the Samsung keyboard.
The high number of errors in your final paragraph (ironically, where you are praising Samsung’s efforts on their OSK and auto-correction) illustrates the frustrations I’ve had with my own Samsung Galaxy S and typing anything of significance.
I was indeed excited about the Tab; but the crazy price and issues I’ve had with the Galaxy S have put me off entirely.
£200 over the price of the Galaxy S (for what appears to be very similar hardware) seems excessive – especially given that the Galaxy S is itself not exactly cheap at around £400. You could almost buy three Archos 70 devices for the cost of a Galaxy Tab.
I don’t personally believe that the Tab (or any Android-only device for that matter) can offer the productivity or functionality I’d expect for a £600-700 device.
I’d much rather go for a slightly cheaper but much more flexible dual-OS device like the TegaV2/Viewpad. Then you have the simplicity of Android when desired, and the power of Windows 7 when you actually need to get something done.
One question. Where can I get EXACT dimensions and hole/port locations of this device. A 3D model would be perfect.
I happen to own a machine/fab/prototype shop and have some ideas for machined cases/stands/holders for the Tab. I think it’s going to be a huge success and would like to produce some limited-edition accessories for it.
thanks,
Gene S.
low light conditions- That’s why I bought a Toshiba laptop with chicklette style LED backlite keys. I didn’t initailly plan on buying a backlite keyboard/numerical pad, but after seeing how great it is, I would never buy any laptop without them.
Just a question about using the galaxy tab as a phone..
I have the Desire HD on order… however I hardly use my phone as a phone.. just for texting etc.. with very few mins actually spent using the phone of any phone I’ve had.. would you be able to get a day out of it.. battery wise with stand by etc with the gsm radio on and possibly bluetooth?
Basically could it be used as your sole handset if you used it more for internet/email and phone only a little bit.