Posted by Kyle Dornblaser in News | 1 Comment

16 Percent Return Rate is a Lie, Actual is Under 2 Percent

A number has been floating around the web that made it seem like users were dissatisfied with their Galaxy Tab purchase. That number was an outstanding 16% return rate.

This number was based on a study of 6,000 locations tracked from November to January. Either they were not tracking the bigger stores or luck just had it that those stores had a higher return rate. Samsung came out with an official statement today.

The return rate of the Galaxy Tab in the US as claimed by an North American market research firm is incorrect. According to Samsung Electronics Mobile Communications Business the return rate is below 2 percent.

Once you have tried a Tab, there is no going back. I know there is no way I would return mine.

Did you/are you going to return your Galaxy Tab?

Source: Engadget

Posted by Kyle Dornblaser in Wallpaper Wednesday | 0 Comments

Wallpaper Wednesday – A Place in the Sun

Today Galaxy Tabs brings you its 10th Wallpaper Wednesday! Whoo! We are featuring A Place in the Sun by Dominic Kamp, a finance major in London.

Click here to download the 1024 x 1200 wallpaper.

How to add a wallpaper for noobs.

• Click the download link above on your Galaxy Tab
• Longpress on the wallpaper image
• Click set as wallpaper

Posted by Kyle Dornblaser in Featured, Reviews | 0 Comments

Case-Mate Samsung Galaxy Tab Express Case Review

It has been a few weeks since I unboxed the case, but the review is finally here. I put the case through its paces by carrying it in my backpack for college, taking it out to a coffee shop, and general use around the house.

The first thing I noticed upon testing the case out was how slim it was. So slim in fact that I had trouble putting the Galaxy Tab in at first. After a few minutes I got the hang of it, but was quite frustrated at first. I fell in love with the magnetic fasten after that. The soft poof the case makes when it closes gives you confidence that your Galaxy Tab is secured inside.

After fitting the Tab in the case, I began feeling the protective nylon casing and was very pleased by the amount of traction it provided. Case-Mate also claims that it repels dirt and water – I did not put that to the test.

The case is also impact resistant, which is true to some extent, but this is definitely not a rugged case. So if protection is your main concern, then you should probably stay clear of the Express Case. Its function is only to be quick, portable, and stylish.

A big complaint on a lot of cases is the lack of access to ports. This case lets you access the charging/sync port as well as the 3.5 mm jack on the top of the device. It does prevent you from accessing the SIM Card and microSD slot, but 99.99% of the time you won’t need to swap them out.

You cannot use your Tab without taking it out of the case. That is a big knock against it. Having to put the case on your lap or back in your bag can be awkward and time consuming.

Overall the case does what it needs to do and looks good doing it. The build quality is fantastic, but I would not expect anything less from a company like Case-Mate. You can buy it now on Case-Mate’s website.

Rating: 7/10

Posted by Kyle Dornblaser in App Of The Week | 1 Comment

App of the Week – Tank Hero

Tank Hero is an epic new game on the Android Market.  The app is free, but ad-supported.  Don’t worry about that though, because they are no more intrusive than on games like Angry Birds.

This game could have easily been a 2D game, but the developers went one step further and made it 3D.  The graphics are beautiful because of this choice.

There are two modes of play – Campaign Mode and Survival Mode.

Campaign Mode consists of several levels of increasing difficulty.  The goal is to kill all of the other tanks.  Most of the tanks will explode after being hit once, but the red tanks take several shots.

Survival Mode is my personal favorite.  You earn credits after each level to purchase cannon upgrades and ammo.  There are four different types of cannons:

• Stock Cannon – The stock cannon fires in bursts of three and is capable of reflecting off of walls to hit enemies in hard to reach places.
• Spread Cannon – The spread cannon fires a salvo of bullets covering a wide area of attack.  This is useful for taking out multiple enemies at the same time.
• Heat Seeker – The heat seeker cannon fires bullets that identify and home in on enemy tanks.
• Howitzer – The howitzer cannon fires explosive shells that cause damage around its area of impact.  It is also capable of firing over walls and other obstacles.

You can download this game for free by searching for it in the Android Market, using the QR code, or following this link on your Galaxy Tab.

Posted by Kyle Dornblaser in Featured, Tips and Tutorials | 1 Comment

How to bypass activation on Sprint Galaxy Tabs

If you decided to buy the Sprint Galaxy Tab with no contract like I did, then you are undoubtedly looking for a way to bypass the annoying activation screen. Unfortunately the activation bypass for the other models does not work on the Sprint version.

These steps are not going to be extremely easy and there is a chance of harming your device, so make sure that you really want to eliminate the Sprint Activation notification. If you decide to proceed, then the instructions are below.

1. Root your Tab, (preferably with z4root), I suggest using the “permanent root” option.
2. Go to Menu -> Settings -> Applications -> Development -> and check “USB Debugging”
3. Install Titanium Backup
4. Run Titanium Backup and go into “Backup/Restore” Look for “Software Update 1.5.0″ in the list.
5. Tap the application name.
6. On the window that comes up, select “Freeze” It will give you a confirmation of success and the “Freeze” button will change to “Defrost” now hit the back button.
7. Locate “Sprint Installer 2.0″, “Sprint Zone SZ 2.1.11″, and “System Updates 1.0.0″ Repeat steps 5 and 6 for each of these applications.
8. Close Titanium Backup
9. Restart

The above instructions were copied word for word from rkmj on XDA so as to not distort any of the steps.

Posted by Kyle Dornblaser in News | 0 Comments

Galaxy Tab has sold over 2 million units

Well they have shipped them at least. Honestly there is not much of a difference, in a few days the customers will have bought them and it then they will have sold the units. Samsung credits their success with the fact that it is sold on 200 carriers in 94 countries!

The sales are being stifled of course by the uncertainty of Android 3.0 on the current Galaxy Tab model. Recently I saw that it has been ported to the Nook Color E-Reader. It was not very robust, but the Galaxy Tab has superior specs than the Nook. With out a doubt there will be Android 3.0 on the Galaxy Tab through unofficial channels and possibly through official ones.

In the same period of time after its launch (three months) the iPad had sold over seven million units. This is largely due to the lower price point with the Wi-Fi version of the tablet.

The Galaxy Tab is still the most popular Android powered tablet by an enormous margin.

Source: Electronista

Posted by Kyle Dornblaser in Wallpaper Wednesday | 0 Comments

Wallpaper Wednesday – Pier 51

Hey guys. For week nine of Wallpaper Wednesday we are featuring Pier 51 by submicron.

Click here to download the 1024 x 1200 wallpaper.

How to add a wallpaper for noobs.

• Click the download link above on your Galaxy Tab
• Longpress on the wallpaper image
• Click set as wallpaper

Posted by Kyle Dornblaser in App Of The Week | 0 Comments

App of the Week – Battery Life

Battery Life was one of the first applications I installed on my Galaxy Tab.  Well technically it is a widget, but it was still one of the first.

Once I installed the widget I noticed that there was an inconsistency between the battery bar on the notification bar and the battery bar on the widget.  The notification bar displayed a full battery charge and the widget showed only around 80%.  I had been using the Galaxy Tab for hours and knew that there was no way that it could be at 100% after the workout I put it through.  Now this widget is an invaluable tool for me since having the battery charge correctly displayed is vital.

Battery Life is also a great tool for testing the health of your battery.  I learned about this back when I owned an HTC HD2 with Android dual-booted on it.  The mV should be around 4,200 when it is fully charged.  If it is lower, then your battery is getting old and a replacement might be necessary.  Too bad the Galaxy Tab does not have a removable battery.

Even before I overclocked my Galaxy Tab, I was worried about the heat of the CPU.  Battery Life also displays the current temperature of the CPU in either Fahrenheit or Celsius.

Go ahead and download this app now.  It is free so it can not hurt to give it a shot.  Search for it on the Android Market, use the QR code, or follow this Market link directly on your Tab.  Let me know what you think about the widget.

Posted by Kyle Dornblaser in News | 0 Comments

Overclock your Sprint or Verizon Galaxy Tab to 1.2 GHz, make your friends jealous

Let me start out by saying that this is potentially dangerous and you can brick your device very easily.  Always make backups before you flash.  If you don’t know what flashing is, then you should probably stay away.

Don’t take my word for it.  Here is what the developer had to say about the Extremely Alpha Code.

WARNING: THIS KERNEL MAY NOT WORK ON YOUR DEVICE, MIGHT DESTROY YOUR DEVICE, MIGHT PUNCH YOUR CHILDREN, I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE CAUSED BY THIS KERNEL, USE AT YOUR OWN RISK

It is not as scary as it may seem though.  I have never flashed a thing in my life and was able to overclock my Tab with ease.  The only problem was that the kernel was not stable.  I was able to remedy this by underclocking it again with SetCPU.  That was with v1.0 of the kernel.  The latest version, v1.2, has not locked up on me once.

I should mention that I overclocked on the Sprint Tab rooted with z4root.  It also should work with the Verizon Tab.

The 200 MHz boost is not as noticeable as I would have thought, but it is still there.  It can be seen especially well in the default browser using pinch to zoom or scrolling.

You can try your luck with the overclock right now by visiting XDA-Developers.  Let me know about your experiences in the comments.

Posted by Kyle Dornblaser in Head to Head | 0 Comments

Refreshed Galaxy Tab vs Notion Ink Adam Specs

I wish that I could say that this spec head to head was close, but alas I can not. Both the Galaxy Tab and Notion Ink Adam are solid tablets, but only one comes out the winner.

And the winner is…. Notion Ink Adam. If you want one of these bad boys, then I am afraid you are out of luck. They are only available for preorder. I suppose that is one up on the Refreshed Galaxy Tab though without a release date. As always take this with a grain of salt because reviews never tell the full story.

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