$150 in BB gift cards, worth getting now, or should I wait?

lemmyslender

Senior Member
Jan 10, 2011
95
9
Been considering getting a tablet since before Thanksgiving, and the S7 looks really tempting. I got $150 in BB gift cards, so my cost would be $150+tax.

I really like the 7" form factor (as opposed to 10"). The Galaxy Tab looks to be almost exactly what I'm looking for, but I don't want to pay $600 for one (and I'd prefer a T-Mo one and couldn't defray the cost with my gift cards).

Things I'd use if for: reading, web, games, movies, gps/navigation. Really more of a companion device.

I currently have a Nokia N900 on T-Mo with the $10 unlimited data plan. So I'm used to resistive screen, and sounds like this has a good one anyway.

Sounds like there are some issues with T-Mo currently, so it may not be easy (pop my current sim in) or cheap (pay as you go) to get data on it, but it looks like with some hacking I can use an ad-hoc connection from my N900 if needed.

I'd really prefer the resolution of the Tab as opposed to the S7, how do videos and text look on the 800x480? Seems like many are happy with it as an ebook reader, so it's probably ok. I know it won't be as good as my N900 (3.5" 800x480).

How is the GPS? My N900 works fine for driving, but the accuracy tends to bounce around alot, so difficult to use for things like golf distances. The compass is really a sensor, not just calculated from the GPS?

Battery life doesn't seem great, but appears to be getting better. How would do just watching movies (say on an airplane, no 3G, no wifi, etc)?

I've seen conflicting info on whether it has 256 or 512 memory?

So given the fact that it may or may not get an official 2.2 update, and that a capacitive screen device may be coming soon, would you get one now, or wait a month or two?

I should note that this would be my first android device. I've played with nitdroid on my N900 (both 2.2 and 2.3), which is why I'm thinking about an android tablet.

Thanks in advance.
 

stephndudb

Member
Jan 5, 2011
34
4
Hi. That's exactly what I did - used a bunch of BB gift certs to buy the S7. Can't answer all your questions, but I'll say what I can. The 7" form factor is great. My Palm Pre now lives in the cradle when I'm at home and I use the S7 exclusively. I use it to surf, watch YouTube, and as a Nook e-reader. There is a separate compass along with the GPS. They seem pretty good and would be great for geocaching, but it's a bit too big to carry around the woods.

The resistive screen is fine for me, I'm used to Palms. Battery life is OK for me, too. Enough to read as long as I'm comfortable, or surf a fair bit, before I plug it in. Since I use it mostly at home, where power is handy, that's enough for me (and I have a car charger, too).

T-Mobile could be a major setback now. They've classified the S7 as a data device, rather than a smartphone, so smartphone-type voice and data plans don't work as of last Friday. Hopefully, this will get fixed. Otherwise, you have to buy either a data plan (like a tablet) or a voice plan (like a dumb phone). I tried to add a data plan to my current sim and they couldn't (or wouldn't) do it. I suppose you could get both and swap the sims back and forth, but who would bother with that?

Android is OK, but I much prefer WebOS (sorry Android guys!). I was waiting for the PalmPad to be announced 2/9 before I bought the S7, but I heard the PP would have a 9-10" screen and I didn't want that. The new Dell Streak 7 has a 7" screen, so that might be a good choice. What pushed me to the S7 now was the price and the lack of a carrier contract.

If this is only a companion device for you, and you don't care too much about the OTA data (for instance, if you can tether off your phone), I'd say it's still worth it. If you have to have T-Mobile data service (which is only 2G on the S7, BTW), need long battery life, or really need Froyo/Flash, I'd wait.

YMMV. Hope this helped.
 

buzzman

Senior Member
Dec 8, 2010
235
15
lemmyslender- if you do get the s7, please report back on how switching your chip works. Since you have no need of talking to tmobile in setting up the plan, let us know if they can sense that you are now using a "grey" device. I have a feeling they won't know the difference. Good luck!
 

lemmyslender

Senior Member
Jan 10, 2011
95
9
Thanks for some answers. Still pondering, only started really reading about it this weekend. Trying to hold off a little before I make a rash decision.

One other question: Is the track pad useful for anything other than navigating menus, like game control?

@buzzman

My N900 is also a "grey" device. It was never offered by T-Mo, was never in their line-up of devices. It's more an internet tablet than phone. But probably more likely considered a phone than the S7 would be.

Because it was never on T-Mo's lineup, they don't recognize it as a "smart" phone, so I'm (and many others) are able to use it on the old $10 dumb phone plan. I don't abuse the "unlimited" internet though, so YMMV.

I have to use internet2.voicestream.com as opposed to epc.tmobile.com (sim default) otherwise I get prompted to upgrade. Works just fine though, in my area 1.5-2Mbps download. I'm also in an IPv6 trial, which works very well to (it has a different access point).
 

stephndudb

Member
Jan 5, 2011
34
4
I don't find the trackpad to be very useful. Too sensitive (or maybe my fingers too fat?), and no way to adjust it. I even have a hard time selecting a menu item with it (although tapping on the screen is not a problem).
 

kevmueller

Member
Dec 7, 2010
146
20
Is it worth it, if you want to pay less than $300 for a tablet the answer is yes. There are some new tablets that will be coming out that will rival the Tab, but so will the price $500+. I got my first Android device the first of August, the DroidX and feel in love with it. I used it more than my laptop. Now my poor X is not getting as much love at home because I use my S7 for almost everything and well my laptop.....not much use, but I am starting to learn how to develop Android Apps so it will get some time as well. I use it for an eReader, YouTube, Social Networking and Games. I still use my X for navigation since I don't have a data plan for the S7. However I can turn Wireless Tether on with my X and have WiFi for my S7 whenever I want. I am very happy with it and the $600 I spent, one for me and one for my wife.

There has been a major break through in getting apps on to the SD card, which I will try once they have the bugs worked out. This will be a huge breakthrough for the S7. The next big thing is when we either get a 2.2 update for the S7 or a custom ROM running 2.2.

As for the track pad, I do not use it. However my wife loves it, she is not a big touch screen person. I guess it is a nice option to have and it works fine according to her.
 

lemmyslender

Senior Member
Jan 10, 2011
95
9
Is it worth it, if you want to pay less than $300 for a tablet the answer is yes. There are some new tablets that will be coming out that will rival the Tab, but so will the price $500+.

Thanks, I think that this may have made the decision for me. I hadn't thought about it like that. There is supposed to be a wifi only Tab, which should be cheaper, but I don't know if it would have GPS. Also, I think the ability to be used as a phone w/data is a bonus.

Probably go get one tomorrow. Once I play with it a bit, I'll try with my T-Mo sim.
 
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