
Four Worthless Samsung Galaxy Tab Reviews and One Useful - showngo
http://brooksreview.net/2010/11/4-suck/
======
rbarooah
it's also curious that some of them (notably Gizmodo) found the software to be
a complete mess, whereas other found it to be nearly as slick as Apple.

Is this journalistic bias, or is there a background process or bug that was
affecting some reviewers and not others?

~~~
ergo98
The default for the Flash plug-in should be onDemand (aka FlashBlock). I love
having Flash on my phone, but yeah if you have it on all the time it is going
to seriously bog down the device. The perfect medium is ondemand where you can
enable it when you want and need it, but disable it otherwise.

Every review where the browser was ever described as "slow" had Flash turned
perma on. The Android 2.2 browser is the fastest of the bunch, and the Tab has
one of the fastest CPUs, so it's the only explanation.

Samsung and others need to push back against Adobe on this. The Flash thing is
a good option in the bag, but it's hurting reviews.

Other than that, sometimes what is a critical deficiency for one reviewer just
really doesn't matter much to another.

I have zero interest in the Tab. I think it's a premature product, and I don't
know why someone would get it over an iPad.

Having said that, the Gizmodo review is _terrible_ , and it is, by far, the
outlier: Everyone else is generally positive, and then you have the over the
top criticisms of Gizmodo.

Like-

 _Which means, conversely, that there's almost no added benefit to using the
Tab over a phone. It's not big enough. Web browsing doesn't have greater
fidelity. I don't get more out of Twitter. A magazine app would be cramped."_

Aside from the improved resolution (or does an iPhone 4 not have more
"fidelity" than a 3GS?), 7" is a _world_ different than 3.5-4.0". Perhaps it's
just that I actually browse on my phone a lot, but I find this criticism oof
Gimzodo's bizarre and...well...a bit "pick up the talking points from Steve
Jobs". You know the whole ridiculous "sandpaper your fingers" bit.

If 7" isn't usable, then what the hell are people bothering paying good money
for 3.5" iPhones for? Clearly they're _completely_ unusable.

~~~
roc
No-one's saying 'too small is useless' and '7" is too small'.

The complaint is that 7" is in a no-mans-land between pocketable-and-good-
enough and something that justifies being carried in a bag (better for more
complex tasks and/or longer sessions).

Gizmodo is arguing that the Galaxy isn't _better_ than a pocketable device,
except for reading/browsing/video. But at the point that you're dealing with a
secondary unpocketable device, the Galaxy has no advantage over the iPad
except weight and Flash support that you wind up leaving disabled by default
because it causes usability problems.

So unless flash-based browsing is a must and barely-better content consumption
is enough to justify carrying a second device in a bag, it's very hard to make
a case for the Galaxy.

~~~
ergo98
_The complaint is that 7" is in a no-mans-land between pocketable-and-good-
enough and something that justifies being carried in a bag_

That's Steve Jobs angle because Apple currently makes an 10" iPad, and now
have a black hole between it and the iphone. As someone who uses PMPs and
internet appliances, though, I find it to be an incredible lie.

Having a much lighter, smaller, easily holdable-in-one-hand device == a HUGE
advantage. The Kindle carries big advantages over the iPad for the same
reason.

 _So unless flash-based browsing is a must and barely-better content
consumption is enough to justify carrying a second device in a bag, it's very
hard to make a case for the Galaxy._

I doubt many people plan on getting one to carry in a bag. This will primarily
be an internet appliance, either kept at the office or on the bedtime side
table or coffee table. The idea that someone is going to tote it around is
ridiculous, though it's just as ridiculous that people are going to tote
around an iPad and use it at, for instance, a coffee shop.

~~~
roc
> _"Having a much lighter, smaller, easily holdable-in-one-hand device == a
> HUGE advantage."_ It's an advantage, potentially large, depending on what
> you want from the tablet. If you want one-handed reading, yes, it's a huge
> advantage.

It's not a lie, it's a personal, subjective assessment.

> _"The idea that someone is going to tote it around is ridiculous, though
> it's just as ridiculous that people are going to tote around an iPad and use
> it at, for instance, a coffee shop."_

Given that people _do_ tote around their ipad from home to work, to meetings,
to coffee shops, to friends houses, I don't think it's at all ridiculous.

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ZeroGravitas
If I cared _that_ much about typing, then I'd probably be thinking about using
my favourite 3rd party Android keyboard, which renders a review of the
included keyboard(s) moot to some degree.

I'd also question whether feeling "like a total dorkface while typing" is
classed as a usability issue.

~~~
StavrosK
What keyboard is that, by the way? I've heard there are some good options in
that area, but I find Swype fantastic to type with.

------
InclinedPlane
Most tech journalism (online and off) is terrible. Often nothing more than
rehashing press releases spattered with some superficial observations. If it
still gets views and ad dollars why work harder?

