Years ago, i kept purchasing apple products (ipods) for my kids. I had to keep replacing them, via Best Buys extended warranties, because, for one reason or another, the products seemed to fail within six months. This led me to seek out worthy alternatives. Thus, back in 2005, I purchased a samsung K3 (4gb) mp3 player. The user interface wasn't as intuitive as the apple products but the sound quality and ability of the device to accept almost any format, pulled me in. Loading WAV files onto my Samsung mp3 player was almost unheard of back in 2005. While AppleHeads were sheepishly accepting 128kbps songs, I was listening to 1411kbps songs WITH A 7-band equalizer. It was like having a Klipsch or DefTech high-end audio system playing in my head. Unfortunately, the sheeple were captive to itunes walled garden. Pity.
I enjoyed the K3 so much, that when I let a friend borrow it, never to see it again, I missed it terribly. What would I replace it with? That would be the Samsung Q1 diamond. Better build, more elegant, more storage (8gb) and same incredible sound meant....SCORE! I still own it, and it works great, but I never ordered any protective gear for it, so, while it is holding up well, it does not look as shiny and elegant as it once did.
Next, I purchased a new Samsung mp3 player. The Samsung Galaxy Player 3.6. Blah, blah, blah. It's great. The main point that drew me to Samsung's products was the user's ability to load almost any high quality format for music or video on to the device.
Now that Samsung has entered the tablet market and runs off of the Android operating system, this holds true once again.
You will find scores of reviews of what this Tab2 can do with web surfing, free apps, etc., but I love it because I can load video and music in multiple formats and I can tweak the 7 band equalizer and 7.1 surround sound to my liking,
Netflix, Chess, Spider Solitaire, Weather, Magazines, Facebook, etc., etc., etc..
It runs silky smooth and flawlessly, especially since downloading Jellybean.
Speakers are front facing, which is so logical, you wonder why other tablets were ever designed with speakers facing the rear.
I love downloading for free The Economist magazine, every Friday. It has an audio option, so you can read it or listen to the articles like an audiobook.
Another favorite is the ability to take a screen shot of whatever is being displayed on your screen. This is perfect for capturing articles that you would like to peruse later, when you may not have access to wifi.
Apparently, Adobe Flash is no longer available from Adobe for Android products, but there is a workaround if you know how to use Google. Apple products do not support Flash, so that's a wash.
I've downloaded videos from YouTube and converted them to any number of formats and they play crystal clear and flawlessly. Watching and hearing Melanie Amoro belt out a Whitney Houston or Mariah Carey song on my Tab2 is a nice bonus for choosing a tablet that allows me to do so.
The display, to my eyes, is fantastic. Some folks rave about Apple's Retina Display, but I don't find that it warrants paying an additional $200 for that option, because the benefit is negligible. Not to mention the walled garden point.
But the nail in the ipad coffin is its inability for additional storage. My 16gb Tab2 was $350 and my SanDisk 32 GB Mobile microSDHC Flash Memory Card SDSDQ-032G-AFFP card was $22. While the gross total storage is 48gb, the user has 40gb at his/her disposal.
$372!!!
If you format a SanDisk Ultra 64 GB MicroSDXC Class 10 UHS-1 Memory Card with Adapter (SDSDQU-064G-AFFP-A) your Tab2 will accept it. That gives you, I'm guessing, 70+gb, if you so choose.
Let's do the math. $372 for the tab2 and microSD, $20 for my i-BLASON Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1-Inch Leather Case Cover / Stylus for New 2012 16G 32G 3G Wifi GT-P5100 GT-P5113TSYXAR (Black) elegant cover/stand, and $5 for a 3-pack of Ionic Screen Protector Film Clear (Invisible) for Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 (3-pack)[Lifetime Replacement Warranty]. Grand total.....$400!
A 32gb Apple iPad with Retina Display MD514LL/A (32GB, Wi-Fi, White) NEWEST VERSION wifi unit is $600.....no expandable memory, and worst of all, you're in a walled garden.
Sheeple, indeed.
The Tab2 is worth every penny, and that's not hyperbole!
| Standing screen display size | 10.1 Inches |
|---|---|
| Screen Resolution | 1280 x 800 |
| Max Screen Resolution | 1280 x 800 Pixels |
| Processor | 1 GHz omap4430 |
| RAM | 1 GB DDR2 |
| Hard Drive | 16 GB |
| Graphics Coprocessor | 1500 |
| Card Description | Integrated |
| Wireless Type | 802.11bgn |
| Average Battery Life (in hours) | 7 Hours |
