Galaxy Tab S or Surface Pro 3

[colorblind]

Just looking for a little advice. Currently I have an older Note 10.1 2013 edition and would like to upgrade it. My main use is for watching videos, internet, e-mail, etc. Basically a consumption device. I was looking at the Surface Pro 3 with the I-5 processor 256ssd and 8gb memory. Yes, it is a lot more $ than a Galaxy Tab S 10.1. Though we all know it can also do a lot more.

I use Amazon a lot and the one thing I don't like about android is that Amazon has not made an app for Android to watch prime videos. Yes, I can do the work around with Dolphin browser and an older version of flash installed. Though it seems like one shouldn't need to do this.

I received my Surface Pro 3 today and have yet to open it. Microsoft offers a 30 day refund policy. I am considering waiting and trying out the new Tab S Amazon shows it shipping on June 26th. All advice welcomed, thanks in advance.

 

[at80eighty]

disclaimer; i'm 99% sure i'll be buying an SP3

that said,
if your primary use is consumption (and assuming you like to carry it around while travelling) i'd go for the Tab. and if you need the Prime workaround, so be it

anything beyond consumption though, to me the sp3 feels like an easy choice

 

[s44]

The SP3 has all the joys and annoyances of owning a full-fledged PC. This make for a poor consumption device - your time should be valuable. And the 3:2 ratio is somewhat worse for videos.

I have Dolphin set up *only* to watch Prime, and a launcher bookmark to open straight to it. Simple.

 

[fr]

I find it a pain to use any Windows tablet for touch consumption. It feels like it's not really designed for it.

 

[Ravynmagi]

(I love Windows 8 as a tablet OS, edge swipe gestures are awesome.)

I just got my SP3 too. Umm... but I wouldn't spend this kind of crazy money as a solution to watching Amazon videos though.

Why not get a Kindle Fire HDX 8.9? It's a good consumption device, will play Amazon content, surface the web, gets email, much cheaper.

 

[Imaginer]

The SP3 has all the joys and annoyances of owning a full-fledged PC. This make for a poor consumption device - your time should be valuable. And the 3:2 ratio is somewhat worse for videos.

I have Dolphin set up *only* to watch Prime, and a launcher bookmark to open straight to it. Simple.

Modern side and web browsing, it "consumes" well. It definitely comes when one wants to work alongside it, which I would give the nod to the Surface Pro 3.

Even if it isn't, off media websites would handle better on the Pro 3, due to a plethora of existing browser options. And if time is valuable, why waste time in consuming things instead of doing anyways (opinion).

 

[desura]

Galaxy Tab S.

Heck, I was set on an ipad air but I think I'm going to get the Galaxy Tab S instead.

For starters, it has more RAM. And the screen...OMG.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

I am facing the same dilemma between the Tab S and SP3. As close as I was to picking the Surface since it's close to the perfect no compromise device I am having a hard time getting over paying $1k for a pc that's no faster than my old ThinkPad x220, especially since the base i5 SP3 only has 4gb of ram. Sure that's great for a tablet but at 2x the price of the Tab S I can't help but wonder if I really need to merge my laptop and tablet into a single device.


Plus the SP3 will require relying on IE when I want a touch friendly browser, not something I would consider desirable.

 

[Kenmitch]

(I love Windows 8 as a tablet OS, edge swipe gestures are awesome.)

I just got my SP3 too. Umm... but I wouldn't spend this kind of crazy money as a solution to watching Amazon videos though.

Why not get a Kindle Fire HDX 8.9? It's a good consumption device, will play Amazon content, surface the web, gets email, much cheaper.

Gotta love that swipe fest on Win 8 tablets. I just did the switch from Android on both my phone and my tablet.

OP....I was looking for a new media consumption device also. Was looking at the SP3 but decided it was overkill for my needs which were basic stuff like you listed.

Another cheap option would be the HP Omni 10 on Amazon. It's only $249.99 currently.

 

[Bateluer]

For the OP's stated usage, the Tab S is the device he wants. An expensive, clunky tablet/ultrabook hybrid with a clunkier, half defunct OS isn't want he's going to use.

Course, Samsung did release the Tab S only a couple months after the TabPros. And given Samsung's hit or miss track record with Android updates, and the overall bloated nature of TouchWiz, you could well have buyers remorse in October when Sammy ships the Tab S2s. At least, with the SP3, you can install future releases of Windows. Maybe. Getting OEM versions of Windows installed can be a crapshoot, given my experiences with Acer and Lenovo laptops this past year.

 

[RockinZ28]

I'm going with Tab S.

I use my Note II to do all that stuff and love it, except now it is my sole internet connection. And I only get a decent 4G signal in certain areas, and if the phone is kept at a certain position lol. So when home, it will be a hotspot and I can use the Tab S.

Can't decide 8.4 or 10.5, have them both pre-ordered. Wife will get the one I prefer less. Although she did significant burn in damage on the GSIII I gave her...

 

[Dari]

Galaxy Tab S.

Heck, I was set on an ipad air but I think I'm going to get the Galaxy Tab S instead.

For starters, it has more RAM. And the screen...OMG.

Have you seen one in person? I went to the Best Buy on 23rd street today and it was there. There was a Samsung rep training the BB people. The screen, as with the Galaxy phones, was very dim compared to my tablet. The thing has to be set to like 100% brightness to get to the 50% brightness I have on my Pro.

 

[desura]

Have you seen one in person? I went to the Best Buy on 23rd street today and it was there. There was a Samsung rep training the BB people. The screen, as with the Galaxy phones, was very dim compared to my tablet. The thing has to be set to like 100% brightness to get to the 50% brightness I have on my Pro.

No, I have not seen it in person. But I have owned the Galaxy Tab 7.7 in the past. Horrible tablet in many ways, but OMG amazing screen.

AMOLED = black levels better than plasma screens.

 

[Dari]

No, I have not seen it in person. But I have owned the Galaxy Tab 7.7 in the past. Horrible tablet in many ways, but OMG amazing screen.

AMOLED = black levels better than plasma screens.

Well, if black is all you care about then it's the way to go, I guess. But the colors appear muted compared to other tablets. Not sure what setting Samsung has the demos running at but it was not impressive at all. I wonder how the battery life is compared to their (now discontinued) Pro models...

 

[dawheat]

Well, if black is all you care about then it's the way to go, I guess. But the colors appear muted compared to other tablets. Not sure what setting Samsung has the demos running at but it was not impressive at all. I wonder how the battery life is compared to their (now discontinued) Pro models...

I didn't spend much time with it, but the S screen seemed plenty bright and the colors were quite vibrant compared to the tablets around it.

I didn't play with it bc once I unlocked it, it was just a tablet like everything else. A little thinner and a nice screen, but same old same old.

 

[Raduque]

Galaxy Tab whatever and Sufrace Pro 3 aren't even the same class of device. A SP3 is a 12" laptop without a keyboard.

I really didn't think anybody would be cross-shopping these two devices. It's like cross-shopping an F-250 and a Smart to drive 5 miles to work every day.

I'd get a Kindle Fire HDX if easy Amazon prime video is a requirement.

 

[Imaginer]

I'd get a Kindle Fire HDX if easy Amazon prime video is a requirement.

Agreed. Kindle Fire along with Prime (if you use Prime anyways) is a big benefit in both first and foremost shipping amongst the merchants, stores, and Amazon - and their offerings with their online digital services (media, books, Lending Library).

However, I can say this - don't expect to do much anything else in terms of work - as this is solely a media device and reading device. Web browsing, is not up to par on the last Kindle Fire I used but that may change - but if web browsing is your prime concern, I would possibly look elsewhere for compatibility and across the board capability.

Netflix is also available on the Kindle Fire HDX by the way.

 

[Dari]

I didn't spend much time with it, but the S screen seemed plenty bright and the colors were quite vibrant compared to the tablets around it.

I didn't play with it bc once I unlocked it, it was just a tablet like everything else. A little thinner and a nice screen, but same old same old.

Samsung AMOLEDs have the ability to "pop" but you have to be in a dark environment for that to happen. In a BB store with all the bright lights, they simply don't do that. But, if people like the phones I guess the tablets will be no different.

 

[jhansman]

Have not even held a SP3, so I don't know what MS loads it up with, but I have returned two Galaxy tablets. Why? Samsung is in love with their multitude of apps, most of which are, IMO, crap. I must say that I am really curious about the new SP and am tempted to wander over to my Best Buy and scope it out, but a little voice keeps saying "Relax. You're fine with what you have."

 

[InfiniteLurker]

Have not even held a SP3, so I don't know what MS loads it up with, but I have returned two Galaxy tablets. Why? Samsung is in love with their multitude of apps, most of which are, IMO, crap. I must say that I am really curious about the new SP and am tempted to wander over to my Best Buy and scope it out, but a little voice keeps saying "Relax. You're fine with what you have."

If you buy from the Microsoft Store, they're gloriously free of crap-ware in my experience with the Surface Pro 1 and the Razer Blade 2014. Not sure if Best Buy gets their chance to load it up with anything however...

 

[Puddle Jumper]

Have not even held a SP3, so I don't know what MS loads it up with, but I have returned two Galaxy tablets. Why? Samsung is in love with their multitude of apps, most of which are, IMO, crap. I must say that I am really curious about the new SP and am tempted to wander over to my Best Buy and scope it out, but a little voice keeps saying "Relax. You're fine with what you have."

You can easily disable preinstalled apps on all modern versions of Android which makes them as good as gone.

 

[jhansman]

You can easily disable preinstalled apps on all modern versions of Android which makes them as good as gone.

Some apps, yes, but certainly not all. Gotta root for that, and I'm not going there quite yet. Thus far, I've "disabled" 23 apps (which BTW, gives you no recoverable storage), which is OK, but I'd much rather be able to just dump them altogether. Next phone is not subsidized, whatever it may be.

 

[Bateluer]

You can easily disable preinstalled apps on all modern versions of Android which makes them as good as gone.

Not exactly. You can disable most, but not all preinstalled apps. And you will not get the storage back from those apps, however, you won't lose the storage from installing the updates to those apps. In some cases, that lets you cut the storage used by them by half.

Samsung's bloat is out of control though, on that, I will agree. Their TouchWiz editions somehow manages to lag and stutter on the most powerful SoCs available.

 

[Raduque]

If you buy from the Microsoft Store, they're gloriously free of crap-ware in my experience with the Surface Pro 1 and the Razer Blade 2014. Not sure if Best Buy gets their chance to load it up with anything however...

I don't think BBuy is allowed to load anything on the Surfaces - and I don't think they actually load any software on new PCs at all, unless you request some kind of Geek Squad Service.

I've purchased two laptops from BBuy in the past 6 months and neither of them (A $250 Toshiba and a $900 Lenovo UB) had any BBuy crap loaded.