Galaxy tab s 10.5 any good?

Hello

So i think i found the best android tablet


I want to replace my old laptop with something and this tablet seem to be the perfect replacement. Lot of battery awesome screen and good onboard audio exynos cpu too


Anyone can tell me if i should know some bad thing about it or if something better is coming soon?

I currently use my nexus 5 as tablet and it a bit complicated on forum

Too small screen.

I have a main desktop so that the reason i throw aways my msi gt72 and or alienware 17 dream im gonna stick with multimonitor gaming



Thank you

 

Yeah, I have had one since Christmas and i love it, the screen is amazing nothing comes close if you watch movies/video, the S2 is coming out soon but the screen is supposed to be 4:3 aspect ratio like the iPad when the S1 10.5" is 16:10 which is much better for video and it gets great video battery life, see link below.

But oled displays use more power when showing light pages than an lcd does like browsing white/light websites, but a lot of browser have an night mode that turns white to black, so that saves power.

Any questions just ask.

http://www.cnet.com/news/cnet-tablet-battery-life-results/

John.

 

I don't personally have the Tab S 10.5, but I've used one and it was pretty good. I have a Galaxy Note 10.1 which is pretty similar and I was looking at the Tab S 10.5. The screen is better (AMOLED) vs the Galaxy Note 10.1's TFT. The Note's display was good, the Tab S is even better. Touchwiz is a little on the bloated side, but honestly after a cold boot its fine. If I just watch Netflix and surf the web, I can easily exceed 8.5 hours of screen on time. If I game Hearthstone, I get ~4.5-5 hours of screen on time which really is not too shabby. With the Tab S being a little newer, it should have Lollipop already, you may have to upgrade via system updates.

 

Great thank you

I do know that samsung software is heavy i heard it use lot lot of ram is it real?

My nexus 5 with facebook + messenger in background task + chrome us about 800-900mb on 2gb


I have my old samsung galaxy nexus still alive here in almost perfect shape friend broke the screen but it still working fine with it dual core
And the old low res amoled

I do expect to have this thing 3-5 years if possible i love to have hardware that last sure battery is the killing point with time

Thank you everyone

 

On cold boot I find my Galaxy Note has 1.3-1.5 GB of RAM usage out of 3 GB (2.7 usable). It's a little bloaty on a fresh boot but once you kill everything its pretty lag-free. If your needs don't go beyond streaming video, general tablet usage, 3-5 years isn't unheard of in a flagship tablet. Gaming on the otherhand, unlikely it would last beyond 2 years.

 

Lollipop is slowly being release by Samsung about ten country`s have it so far including the US, the Uk is still waiting, but i think i am going to stick with kitkat for the moment as there are too many problems with lollipop, have a look at the xda forum thread below for the Tab S, I have a 1000+ posts myself.

I have never had any problems with my 10.5" and i use it every day.

You can buy a spare battery on ebay for £9 and the pry tool for £1 and you can find a teardown to guide you need a guide to replace the battery when the time comes to replace it.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-tab-s

John.

 

Just pried open one nexus 5 for some purpose to rma it it was restarting since days one and it decided to swim after a month but it still working ( i suspect the ram leak problem so im testing it currently.

Just opened another phone to find the problem that the sim card and camera is not working is because the battery bulged and broke the motherboard in half almost.


So yea i have some knowledge to open them that tool is sure a thing i need because opening phone with the bad tool is stupidly hard.


I found some battery for 60$ usd battery here https://www.newpower99.com/Samsung_GALAXY_Tab_10_1_Battery_Replacement_Kit_p/samsung galaxy 10.1.htm

I have just no idea if in 3 - 5 years it still going to be on the market and i have no idea of shelf life of those.


Im aint gaming too much im mostly browsing and reading + movie.

Did not know gaming could reduce life of a tablet except the high power consumption killing battery.


So many thing to know with modern hardware ahah


Thank you alot

 

Btw any idea how much time is left for android update on this device i heard it 18 month but i have no idea when it was released?



I must add im getting the lte version

And for a trick i found out to save battery

Airplane mode + wifi on The antenna is disabled and save ton of power from searching antenna all the time

 

The M99 is a full kit and you know you are getting a good battery, but i would take the chance on the £9 and the £1 opener i found the one they sell with the kit on m99 and bought one.

Gaming damages the battery, because heat is the battery`s greatest enemy, but what can you do if you like to game, you can use an app like GSam to give an alarm when your battery temp gets to 45C i have mine set to this, and it went off during the night when my Tab S was in it`s case, it woke me up, and app must have gone bad or the tab was doing some housework, my my tab was hot when i took it out of the padded case.

If you want to look after your battery you can make it last for years if you follow a few rules about charging and discharging, but if you have the money to replace the battery or need a full battery when you are away from somewhere to charge-up i would not bother.

John.

 

Yeah those battery are rated at max 60c so under 40c is the safe zonei think. Im gonna try that app on my phone could be usefull i want my stuff to last that why i have an infrared thermometer and im going crazy with my part ahah.

I read somwhere some Lithium battery have different voltage like 3.92v is the safest max charging voltage for lifespan but most company charge at 4.1 4.2 and some push that even further on cheaper battery for higher capacity vs lifespan.


I wish those battery had 10000 + cycle



I dont game on my phone for about a years now so im unsure if im gonna play on the tablet either i may but not often and nothing intensive. I have my desktop for that.

I have a external 6000mah charger.

Of what i know we should charge battery at like 90% and let it drop to like 20% and charge it again but i always run my phone to 10-40% and charge them at 100%

 

Samsung li-polymer battery charge to 4.35v higher than the normal 4.20v for normal li-ion battery`s

I bought my T800 just before Christmas and i have only full charged it to 100% about three time, I use the GSam app to sound an alarm when i am charging the battery and it gets to 70% i stop the charger, the same when discharging to set the alarm to 20% , If you fully charge and discharge an li-ion battery every time you will get between 300-500 charge cycles, if you only charge to 70% and re-charge at 20% you will get up to 1500 cycles , but you are really only using half a cycle 20-70% is only 50% half a cycle, another thing dont charge you battery when it is warm/hot wait 30min to 60min for it to cool down, as charging causes heat, and you dont want to do that to an already hot battery.

Every 3 to 6 months you need to calibrate the battery to keep the battery gauge accurate, or you could end up with the tablet thinking it is 50% full when it is really empty and it will just shut down unexpectedly.

This is a lot to remember and you say is it worth the effort, it`s up to you, I ran my T800 for 260days without restarting or turning it off, I calibrated my battery the other day so i had no choice but to turn it off.

Then you need to talk about how much power your tablet uses when it is sleeping my T800 used between 1-2% in 16 hours, many apps and alarms and sync can keep your tablet from going to deep sleep, I have a few apps to help with that.

Thats all for now.

http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_prolong_lithium_based_batteries

John.

 

Oh ahah it the same page i read the other days well ( i mostly skipped 90% )

Gonna read that again and try that app.

What is the calibrating thing is it just emptying it completly? i found it ahah

 

Thank you again i love to learn new thing on these forum

 

A guide on calibrating below, also a good free app if you want to know how much power you battery is using, say overnight.

https://www.androidpit.com/how-to-calibrate-the-battery-on-your-android-device

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ck.batterymonitor&hl=en

EDIT: this app will let you know how much power you usb adaptor is putting into you Samsung phone/tab the max on the 10.5" is 1800ma from the stock charger, but you really see around 1600ma, this will allow you to diagnose your usb cable and chargers to find the ones that charge the fastest, the free version of the app you have to keep pressing the refresh button look at the avarage that builds up over a few minutes not the minimum, the paid version refreshes itself and is worth the money, this app only works with some Samsung phones and tablets.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.abmantis.galaxychargingcurrent.free&hl=en

I have loads of other apps and advise i have bookmarked but i dont want to overwhelm you.

John.

 

Hum gonna look at those voltage too + % on my nexus to see what is full charge and try to charge a 3.92-4.0v

Fun to know i can prolonge the lifespan of my laptop phone tablet and stuff arround

And for temp im charging from my motherboard most of the time so clean power with low ripple + A/C room in summer and usb port dont have lot of power so it charge cool at 25c

 

The website below is called Candle Power Forum, it`s a flashlight crazy persons forum which is me and where i learned out about alkaline nimh nicd li-ion battery`s and chargers and other great stuff.

Laptops that have removable battery, they normally use a type of li-ion cells, so if you have an 4cell 6cell or 12cell battery in your laptop they are normally 18650 type battery`s and we use them in flashlights, you can buy them new or get them from old laptop battery which we take apart, you can get larger and small li-ion battery but 18650 is the most common.

ultrabook`s normally use an li-polymer type battery as it can be make any just about any shape to make an ultrabook nice and thin.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?9-Flashlight-Electronics-Batteries-Included

John.

 

Oh yea i heard of those battery for some high performance flashlight. I heard of those filled with sand on ebay too. ahah


So i could solder new one in those laptop battery probably it a cool thing to know but anyways i have the old one as a spare and this laptop is on it end. Ugly yellow screen glossy + Cheap touchpad + pretty bad keyboard. So im just using it until i replace it with the Tablet.


Seem my Samsung nexus stop at 4.08v charging aint sure of peak volt thought Nexus 5 i have no idea yet

 

I bought an ultra slim case for my 10.5" for only £5 before Christmas and it works great, and does not add to the bulk at all, and has the magnet so the tablet wakes up when i open the case, I keep my 10.5" in a well padded zip up case when i am not using it as a bit of extra protection.

I can get it to stand in a couple of ways to watch video`s or at an angle for typing.

You can get the official Samsung case, but they are not cheap and i am happy with my £5 case.

John.

 

Yea i will do probably the same thing brand thing cost too much.


How the speaker are on this tablet for movie? Considering this samsung cost me about 800$ on a contract with internet and or 515$ cash that i cant really afford in time for my birthdays.

Ive being looking at those Lenovo yoga 2 but The multitasking part of the samsung allowing 2 program at once is the real factor making me want it




Oh and for you app list if you can share some with me i would be happy for battery performance and maybe if you know some game and or usefull program. Is tapatalk any good ? never used that thing

 

I only use my Tab for video and a bit of browsing, I dont use any of the social apps, I have an 20" Tablet that i use as an notebook replacement for that, see my signature.

I have an Lenovo Yoga 1 8" and it is a great tablet, I love the front facing speakers, the built in stand, and the 18hr battery life, but the display does not compare to the Tab S.

Have you consider waiting for the Tab S2, If the screen is 4:3 it would put me off, maybe there will be a price drop on the S1.

This is the case i bought it is very light, you might want a heavier case for more protection, as i said i keep my tab in a zip up padded case when it is not being used, so i like the lightness.

It looks like they have added an hole for the home button so it is not pressed when the case is closed.

See if you can find it from a local seller or even cheaper.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121421462409?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2648&var=420358031405&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

The speakers in the 10.5" do not have a lot of bass, but i think they sound ok for the size of them, you can get some cases that redirect the sound forward.

OK a few apps, I will post the free versions, but you can buy the pro version.

Watchdog

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.zomut.watchdoglite&hl=en

Battery monitor widget.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ccc71.bmw&hl=en

John

 

Not a bad review of the 10.5" and 8.4" it shows the problem with the oled display power usage when displaying white web pages can use a lot of battery power, but a few browsers offer an night mode.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/8197/samsung-galaxy-tab-s-review-105-84inch

John.

 

Oh great a real task manager you just saved my life

Bored of the stock Task manager worth nothing ahah


Gonna see if i can get that case on ebay.ca or at worst im gonna get an overkill case like i always do.


Thank you

 

Thank you for the review


And i confirm that my nexus 5 from lg charge at 4.35v and my old samsung nexus at 4.15v So well im gonna just make an alarm at 85% an says to all my familly with nexus 5 to do the same if possible

 

Do you use an Anti-virus, if not install the free Avast i have been using it for years, it gets the best detection rating, and it does not use any battery life.

I have been trying to fit a screen protector to my 10.5" but i can never fit it right, there is always bubbles or bits of dust trapped, and if you buy one of the glass screen protectors once it`s down it is down, I need a 6 pack of cheap screen protectors that actually fit, going to have another look on Amazon and read the reviews.

John.

 

Well i have no antivirus on all of my pc for years i just run malware byte sometime

I will maybe try it on the phone.

I seen some case on amazon that was thicker than the tablet to protect the screen it a bit ugly but could do the job i think for me.

 

I am sticking with kitkat v4.4.2 as lollipop v5.0.2 has too many problems in my opinion from memory leak, to less battery life, to flash led problems, touchscreen problems, and strange colored lines appearing, the setting menu is now white so it eats your battery, good job you are not in settings very long.

The only thing i want in lollipop is the write to the microsd for third-party apps.

Lollipop v5.0.2 has not been released in the UK at the moment, but i have turned auto updates off, and found out how to stop an upgrade and remove the icon from the taskbar, v5.1 hopefully will be better but it is smart to wait a couple of days for other owners to do the update first and find the faults they can be the guinea pigs.

I have had zero problem with kitkat v4.4.2 , 260 days without rebooting or tuning my tab off.

John.

 

Well i have 0 problem with my nexus 5 on latest android. My mom was not closing her app on the last app page thing and it was rebooting randomly. Probably because of that and or a defective phone.

The flash problem is here it can stay on for long with the phone app

But with a third party app it seem i can set it on for how much time i want.

idk for the other did not really use my phone to know for the battery and the rest never happened.


Well im probably going to see how it go with the 4.4.2 and update maybe.

 

I have lollipop v5.0.2 on my HTC M7 and have had no problems, but this can vary from device to device, have you had an look at the XDA forum for the Tab S ??

john.

 

Gonna look right now

Any idea if the tablet can play movie in native res? it a 1600p panel but it says it can play 30fps 1440p

 

I downloaded 5 1440p mp4 sample from the website below and all but 1 played

http://www.yourepeat.com/g/1440p

But remember the higher the resolution the more power the cpu/gpu has to use so your battery will not last as long.

Anything i want to keep on my microsd i convert to 640x360 and they look fine to me and they dont take up a lot of flash memory space, so i can fit a few full series of the Anime i watch.

John.

 

Do youtube work in 1440p ? I mean how high the setting go if you look at a 4k video?


Anyways my movie are 720-1080p and lower so im safe. Im just interrested to know.

 

720p is the highest for chrome browser before the audio and video go out of sync.

1080p is the highest for the youtube app, no 1440p option is avaliable.

John

 

lollipop v5.0.2 might be available for the UK T800 today.

http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/database/SM-T800/

John.

 

Oh great did not see those post uh ahah. What it killing me is it worth 650$ cad and with my phone company it come at like 800$ + my accesorie that im getting after so about 1000$ Damn it pricey.

Unsure yet if im getting it or not im bored of my laptop

 

I have decided to stick with kitkat for the moment no that i have rooted it, and can get the micosd card working 100%

John.

 

What you had problem with the sd card? im letting it stock aint rooting it Im updating to latest and reseting it to be sure it a clean one.

And after im gonna use it and gonna get the keyboard + the 128gb lexar and or samsung eov


Hmp is supposate to work on that cpu so it a real 8 core? Or samsung is drunk

http://www.samsung.com/global/busin...us_Multi-Processing_Solution_of_Exynos_5_Octa

 

Have a read of the link below about the kitkat microsd problem, supposedly fixed in lollipop.

https://metactrl.com/docs/sdcard-on-kitkat/

The cpu is supposedly 8 core, four weak and four strong cores and they supposedly can all work at once, but i have download loads of cpu apps and while they say you have eight cores, you can only see four actually working, maybe they dont support eight core yet?

I would stick with an Samsung 128gb microsd they are worth the extra money for compatibly and ruggedness, I have bought nothing but Samsung for years and have never had a problem.

Have a look at the Logitech keyboard.

John.

 

Yea i like the logitech but it dont protect the screen like the chinesse one do

Uh yea it marketing bulllcrap Hmp was supposate to allow switching from the small to the big and allow to use all of them but samsung never enabled it. The galaxy tab S2 will run with the 8 core enabled and have higher clock be report and expectation = to 50% singlethread increase and about 80-100% in multi from clock and all the core working

I had a samsung evo 32gb great stuff. Lexar is micron Micron is making lexar and crucial ssd ( One of the biggest manufacturer of nand. Samsung is one of the big too i trust both of them personally but yea i think i will go with samsung because well it a samsung tablet

 

The logitech seems to cover the screen when it is closed, see link below.

Also what Chinese ones? , do you have an link

https://metactrl.com/docs/sdcard-on-kitkat/

John.

 

Well that one but im sure gonna try the tablet without keyboard i may not need it too

http://www.amazon.ca/MoKo-Samsung-G...ref=lh_ni_t?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A13VGFDPBB0IW3

 

That keyboard looks like good value, I will see if i can find it on Amazon UK.

Was that you making your first post on XDA forum today? , I have quite a few post there.

John.

EDIT: The case/keyboard is on Amazon UK for £28.99

 

The screens on the Tab S devices are just wonderful. That AMOLED Reading white text on a black background works perfectly and I really enjoy it, just couldn't justify the purchase just for reading.

 

Think about it this way, your average 7" Android tablet that isn't absolute trash is 200 dollars. A comparable iPad Air is up there. Sure 450+ is alot of coin to drop on a tablet, but at least it will last you. And I got my Galaxy Note 10.1" 2014 for 350 on Ebay new.

 

Well finally i decided to skip that and wait