Just bought CINCHOUSE a Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7 (Birthday+Christmas). $199 at Best Buy. Since I am going to be tech support I "had" to buy one for myself as well.
So far so good. Working the E-Reader portion now. Going to see what I can do with the Calibre and Aldiko apps (thanks for the heads up Rich. 99% of my stuff is from Baen, (BOMA Charter Member) and the rest from free sources. Running Window XP on the desktop, so we'll see how this goes.
...even before I read MHI, my response to seeing a poster for the stars of the latest Twilight movies was "I see 2 targets and a collaborator".
Follow up after not quite a month with the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7".
It's a keeper. CINCHOUSE loves her's as well.
I have slowly been converting it into a large scale Palm.
Installed DejaOffice and purchased the CompanionLink software ($40.00 and worth it to me). This allows me to synch my calendar, contacts, task list and memos from my Palm Desktop through either my WiFi or USB connection. Since I also synch my Palm Centro to the desktop, I have 3 redundant and independent storage location for my information (which has been building on my Palm devices since 1998). When the Centro dies I will probably go to a basic cell phone, 1 each and use the tablet as my portable data device.
I also found an Android version of Pocket Money. An app I've been using on my Palms since 199 or so. Finally have a desktop version (something the Palm versions never had), and again can synch through WiFi in the house or USB connection. Another $20.00 for the desktop but worth it to me to maintain continuity.
Installed Graffiti Pro and find that the larger screen makes it easier to use my index finger than a stylus to write. It's easy to swap to standard keyboard if I get stuck on a gesture, but again, I've been using Graffiti since '98, so it's natural to me.
I went with Aldiko for my reader. Handles the books I already have just fine. I have to go searching to the Calibre created directory to open books, but at that point I can "import" the active ones to it's bookshelf. Stuff I want to keep on the tablet (reference manuals, etc) I copy to the micro D card and erase from the tablet memory. When I want to pull them up all I have to do is use the file manager to navigate to the Card and select to open them with Aldiko.
I got Calibre Companion which allows WiFi synching with my desktop.
Reading is easier than on my Sony with just a little pressure from my thumb the way I usually hold it to move forward a page
Using WinAmp for music (I'm used to it's interface) and keep the music on the Card. Easy transfer using Window Media player, and since then have figured out how to use WinAmp on the PC to accomplish the same task.
Battery life has been good in my day to day activities. Turning off WiFi and GPS when not needed/available helps. Sleep mode works well. Comes right up and I've let it run a couple of days in sleep mode and occasional use and the battery was still over 50-60%
Maps has the handy feature of allow you to save Google Maps for offline use. Used it yesterday at a Public Service Event to orient the hard to read photocopied B&W course maps they handed out. GPS plotted us at the right location and I was able to verify street names that weren't too readable on the supplied maps. Night before I had zoomed in on the area and selected for to be available offline.
Weather radar is actually readable, unlike on my work BlackBerry.
Tried linking the BlackBerry and the Tablet with Bluetooth to see if I could tether the tablet for internet. Either I'm doing something wrong or the BlackBerry just doesn't want to play (8500 Curve IIRC). I'll probably work with it some more and do some research. Could be the BB just doesn't support the feature as well.
Playing with a bunch of Ham Radio apps. A lot of the firearms ones I've looked at don't really have much utility to me at this time, or aren't compatible with my device according to Google.play Any suggestions?
A handy free app I've found in WiFi Analyzer. Gives a lot more information about the local environment than the built in app.
At the recommendation of an It Guru type friend with android phones I put on Avast! Mobile Security. Doesn't seem to eat much in the way of resources, and hasn't seemed to cause any problems. Hasn't caught anything yet.
I've been using the supplied browser, will probably try Firefox when I get around to it.
A nice free app I found is Swiss Army Knife. Can set the screen to "flashlight" (100% brightness and white), ruler (that can be calibrated, was pretty close), bubble level, again that can be calibrated, calculator, "magnifying glass" that uses the camera to zoom and display, compass, stop watch, timer and timer. For free, it's nice to have.
So Far so good. I'm a liking it. And most important, CINCHOUSE is happy!
...even before I read MHI, my response to seeing a poster for the stars of the latest Twilight movies was "I see 2 targets and a collaborator".
If you're looking for more Baen stuff to feed your addiction here is a site that has all the CD's they have put in their hardcovers. Site has Baen's permission.
RESISTANCE IS NOT FUTILE. It's voltage divided by current.
There is no such thing as overkill. There is only "Open fire!" and "Reloading!"
-John Ringo "The Hot Gate"
Like Randy, my Samsung Tab 2 is becoming a PDA. I can directly sync my phone contact list and photos with bluetooth to the tablet. I use Out of Milk for shopping and to-do lists.
Gotta look into more of the utilities listed above. I do use mine as a reader to an extent, but not that much.
Still learning...
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Well, I guess I'll post one more time about my (mis)adventures with my AGPtek tablet. Not really, although there are a couple of nitpicks.
One is no bluetooth, although I knew that going in. I'm willing to bet if I popped the hood (which I'm not gonna do) I could probably add a standard module similar to that in a netbook.
If I ever get a 3/4G phone, I could use that service in place of of requiring a wi-fi hotspot.
The other, my biggest problem, is synchronization with my computer. Either there is something I'm not understanding (likely) about the process, or I am going to have to go through a third party (somewhat less likely) in order to have files able to be read by both this tablet and my computer(s).
Overall, I like it and it is useful to me. I absolutely love reading e-books on aldiko, the weather.com app is useful and TED is a hoot.
It's just a different sort of beast than I'm used to.
A weak government usually remains a servant of citizens, while a strong government usually becomes the master of its subjects.
- paraphrased from several sources
