iPad Air or Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition?

jsntrenkler

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I think they are both great devices, it just depends on your preference, my only gripe with android tablets is the lack of optimized apps for the platform, nothing worse than seeing a giant version of a phone app open when you are expecting something formatted for a Tablet.
 

Carlton English

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iPad air, android tablets don't have the apps. But I will be honest I do like the multi-tasking features, even if it is for certain apps, just not enough to buy that over the iPad air.

I do own the Note 3 so I'm satisfied.


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tigerinexile

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I'd suggest comparing multitouch accuracy and responsiveness.

I tend to greatly prefer iPad devices to Android tablets for precisely that reason.

If you find that you don't mind how the Note performs relative to the iPad, then you know which way to go. But you may find that it's a significant enough difference to go with Apple.
 

thoots

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I'm quite a bit late to the party here, but I currently own both tablets, so I'm game to chime in:

I purchased an iPad Air 64GB with LTE recently, as I wanted a full-sized tablet with a data plan. The Air is the first Apple product I have ever owned, and I have to say that I have gotten massively, MASSIVELY frustrated with it. But more about that in detail, later. I've been an android user for several years, and I got the Note 10.1 2014 edition the first day it was available. However, I've been with AT&T forever, and I wanted to stick with them for my "full size tablet with a data plan." And AT&T just doesn't have a decent, current Android device available -- I really actually LIKE what Samsung does with Android, so I definitely prefer going with a Samsung device. But, AT&T does not have the Note 10.1 2014, or even the original Note 10.1, nor the Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 -- all they have is the old, bottom-feeding Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 -- no thanks. So, I figured I'd get an iPad Air, which is the highest-end tablet AT&T offers, and then I could at least learn about it and get to understand it personally.

knuck1111's list, above, is really very comprehensive, and I agree pretty much 100% with it. But, there are other things I can add, so here goes -- mainly, I just have daily frustrations with the iPad software, since it has absolutely nonsensical issues, as follows:

1. Might as well begin with my current issue: I have 248 e-mail messages on my iPad Air that I've already read on my desktop computer. Actually, with Android, once you receive a message on your desktop's mail application, it disappears from the Android device. Perhaps not what you want all the time, but at least you don't have to spend hours re-maintaining things on your tablet. But with the iPad Air, I have looked and looked on the device and searched the Internet, to find, as it obviously appears to be: There is absolutely NO WAY WHATSOEVER to "mark all" and delete messages in bulk. No, Apple has determined that YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO DO THIS. For crying out loud, WHY??

2. OK, then let's go over to Safari. Pretty quickly, you realize that all of the pages you have visited are showing up in tabs each time you start it up -- and once again, quickly you have an overload of tabs for all of the web sites you've ever visited. So, if you don't want to have dozens of tabs for everything you've ever visited, you have to MANUALLY CLOSE EACH AND EVERY ONE once you're done visiting a page. Is there any way to turn this behavior off? NO!! Is there any way to just "start with the page of favorites? NO!! Okay, so I'll just say good-bye to Safari, and use Dolphin, which I have happily been using for years on my Android devices. I'll just set it as my default browser, like I've done on my Androids. BUT WAIT!! Of course, YOU CAN'T DO THAT, EITHER. Apple software is all about "NO CHOICE FOR YOU."

3. And then let's talk about the iTunes store. I decided to splurge a few bucks and a few gigabytes to purchase a few episodes of the Top Gear TV show. Initially, I purchased three episodes, which downloaded to my iPad Air just like I expected, and I was pretty satisfied. But afterwards, I decided to buy a fourth episode from "in the Videos app." And it apparently downloaded to the "iCloud," which I haven't ever even signed into before. All I knew was that there was a little "cloud with a down-pointing arrow" icon beside the new episode. So, I don't want to use up my data just to watch the thing -- I bought a large-capacity tablet so that I could have everything on my device. So, HOW CAN I DOWNLOAD THAT TO MY iPAD AIR?? Tapping on the little icon apparently did nothing -- it didn't animate, or produce some text saying that something was happening, or show the usual "circle of progress" that is often displayed to show downloading progress. NOTHING happened. And then I started digging through the device itself, then the Internet, then the Apple forums, all asking the very simple question: HOW CAN I DOWNLOAD SOMETHING FROM THE iCLOUD TO MY iPAD?

And you know what I've gotten so far? A couple of replies from an Apple representative -- definitely a good effort there -- but NOTHING that actually answers HOW CAN I DOWNLOAD SOMETHING FROM THE iCLOUD TO MY iPAD. In fact, the latest message advised me to contact "real" Apple support. REALLY?? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? Apparently, this is NOT such a simple question. I really just boiled it down to three questions:

1. How do you know if and when an iTunes purchase will download to your device, or to the iCloud?

2. Is there any way to choose whether an iTunes purchase will download to your device, or to the iCloud?

3. How do you download something from the iCloud to your device?

Three very simple questions. And so far, an Apple representative utterly, utterly cannot answer them. That's why I'm here -- I'll be asking if anyone here in iMore can answer them.

At any rate, after a while, I noticed that the little "cloud with a down-pointing arrow" icon had disappeared from alongside my newly-purchased episode, and I was able to physically back up that episode to my desktop -- some way, some how, it actually DID download from the iCloud to my device. But how?? I certainly tapped that icon a few dozen times -- did THAT initiate the download, which means that the icon was actually a CONTROL that lacked any means of confirming that you had actually initiated an action, and lacked any means of showing you the progress of that action? I certainly didn't find anything else that described any action to download that file to my device -- did it just MAGICALLY happen?

4. And then there is iTunes itself. I've spent a couple of DAYS doing what I could accomplish in a couple of hours with an Android device. On the Android, just connect a USB cable and drag over anything you want -- folders full of MP3 files, videos, pictures, whatever. From wherever they existed, to wherever you want them on your device. But in iTunes, you have to put all of your pictures under a single folder, and if you have them in different folders, it will put them into albums with those folder names -- but only if you choose to import "selected" folders, instead of "everything" under that main folder -- if you do that, you don't get any "albums" at all. With videos, it's more like how it works in Android land, but of course it will only copy over MP4 format videos -- it will ignore anything else, such as AVI files. And then music is handled completely differently, as all of your MP3 and WMA fles must be converted into Apple's proprietary format. And some tags just don't work quite like they've done in every other device I've ever used -- I've had some wonky results with album names that I've given to "various" tracks, trying to get them into one album I could play.

And so on. "If you care" about the little details that make a device "usable" rather than "frustrating," well, I have been frustrated with a number of very basic things on my new iPad Air. I presume all of the people who absolutely love everything Apple just can't possibly care about this kind of stuff, but I sure do.

Otherwise, as knuck1111 mentioned, the Air is a beautiful device, and one thing I can say is that it is FAST. I don't consider the Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 edition to be "slow" in any way, but I have definitely noticed an essence of speed in loading up web pages, e-mail messages, and so on.

As for "apps," I'm sorry, but I'm just not impressed with what I have found in the App store -- or rather, what I HAVEN'T been able to find. On Android devices, I've always used an app for setting up different sound and vibration profiles -- such DOES NOT EXIST in Apple land. I've used an on-screen icon to switch off the display, but again, there's no such thing in Apple land. "Just use a smart cover," I'm sure people will say, but I haven't really liked anything with one, so far. And something funny happened when I looked up "all of the Apple-only apps" that I've seen advertised for years -- and they are mostly PAID SUBSCRIPTION apps, like for iPad versions of magazines. Not to say that I don't like to pay for apps, but again, these things have mostly been "tablet version subscription" things. So, in the end, I don't see any advantage on the Apple side for "useful" apps -- I see a definite LACK of apps for those of us who would like to set up our tablets the way WE want them to work -- I have definitely seen the kind of "APPLE WILL CHOOSE FOR YOU" how their devices work, and you'd better be willing to go along with that. Frankly, I see MORE apps on the Android side than on the Apple side, if you're looking for "useful" things -- perhaps Apple has more "entertainment" things like games and such.

And finally, let's talk about those "cases." I've tried the Smart Cover and the Smart Case -- and while they are quality-built, they just aren't very useful as stands. And I don't like the kind of "multi-segmented" covers that flop around so much. I definitely prefer the Samsung "book cover" cases to the Apple cases -- they have "less floppy covers" and far better "stand" functions. After trying a few cases for my iPad Air, I've settled upon a simple Solo case with a stiff, one-piece cover, which converts to a genuinely useful stand. But it lacks a magnetic on/off feature, so I've got to push that hardware button to do it, every single time.

In the end, once I complete getting my media files over to the Air (mainly taking more time to rebuild tags for every single MP3 file I want to move over, and converting the AVI files I want to move over), I'll pretty well say good-bye to the frustrations of iTunes, and I am absolutely DONE with the nonsensical iTunes store. And then I can probably manage along with the iPad Air, spending all of my free time closing web pages in Safari, and deleting every single e-mail I'll ever get manually, one by one.

And when AT&T finally gets something like the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition available for purchase, perhaps I'll chuck this iPad into the river, and get a tablet I can control.

thoots
 

anon(52425)

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And so on. "If you care" about the little details that make a device "usable" rather than "frustrating," well, I have been frustrated with a number of very basic things on my new iPad Air. I presume all of the people who absolutely love everything Apple just can't possibly care about this kind of stuff, but I sure do.

thoots

Or you could take the time to learn about your new device. I don't much feel like typing out the solutions to your "issues" since you don't seem to want to learn.


And when AT&T finally gets something like the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition available for purchase, perhaps I'll chuck this iPad into the river, and get a tablet I can control.

thoots

And while you're at it, maybe swim on over to AndroidCentral. And stay there.
 

c_hack

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Actually I use a Nexus 7 and have an iPad Air as well. Despite having 4 cores, the Nexus 7 is painfully slow. Granted it's the 2012 version, but it's on par with my 2010 iPad 1 for speed. The Nexus has turned into my beater tablet basically just to save my iPad's battery life.

I have absolutely no problems syncing my Google calendar and contacts using caldav and carddav. IMAP syncing gmail is a little delayed but is basically Google's fault because it no longer supports exchange on new setups. If I had to do it over again I would not be as dependent on gmail as I am.

As far as apps, android tablets are horrible. Most android apps are not designed for tablets and will refuse to install the the Google Play store. So much for openness and choice Google. The apps that are available usually are inferior to the iOS versions.

Aside from the OS being needlessly confusing, the poor app selection, the poor build quality, the slow speed, the lack of customer support, the lack of local backup capability, etc, android tablets are fine - as long as they are less than $99.


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Just_Me_D

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Android tablets are not horrible, in my opinion. They're just not for everyone, and neither are Apple products.
 

nabans

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To be very fair, if you want quality for your work (if you are ever going to use it for work) then I will advice to go with Apple because it has the best things to offer. If you want productivity (no matter what the quality is), go with android because it can be customized to your hearts content and make sure you take advantage of that.
 

Hanss1

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I owned both devices. Fist the Samsung.

I needed a tablet that I can take on holliday, connect my camera and download photos to the tablet. I was told the new 10.1 Samsung is the answer. Forget it.

You need a pc for that. I got myself a OTG adapter and 9 out of 10 times the tablet crashes. The few times that it worked you can only see one photo at a time and can`t save it. I returned the tablet after a week because it crashes when you plug in a usb, and got new tablet again.

I had the same problem with the new tablet. Fighting two weeks now to get a photo on it. I returned it and got my money back.

I went to a shop that sell apple products and got a new iPad air. It works perfect. I can put the photos on it and even make new files.

Never Samsung again.

Posted by Thoots

OK, then let's go over to Safari. Pretty quickly, you realize that all of the pages you have visited are showing up in tabs each time you start it up -- and once again, quickly you have an overload of tabs for all of the web sites you've ever visited. So, if you don't want to have dozens of tabs for everything you've ever visited, you have to MANUALLY CLOSE EACH AND EVERY ONE once you're done visiting a page. Is there any way to turn this behavior off? NO!! Is there any way to just "start with the page of favorites? NO!! Okay, so I'll just say good-bye to Safari, and use Dolphin, which I have happily been using for years on my Android devices. I'll just set it as my default browser, like I've done on my Androids. BUT WAIT!! Of course, YOU CAN'T DO THAT, EITHER. Apple software is all about "NO CHOICE FOR YOU."


Learn your product first before you break it down

This is how it works:

1.Launch the Safari app from the Home screen of your iPhone or iPad.
2.Tap on the all windows button in the lower right hand corner of the bottom navigation bar.
3.Now tap on Private in the bottom navigation.
4.Now tap on Close All.
 
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tigerinexile

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I own both an iPad Air and a Sony Xperia Tablet Z.

Both have their advantages and disadvantages, which is why I own both.

If I could only own one, I'd keep my iPad.

Advice for those who hate the default iOS Mail and Safari apps? Replace them with third party variants. No-one forces you to use them. I use Chrome and sometimes use Gmail, although I often prefer Mail. Others use Mailbox.
 

Richard Cruise

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Hi There,

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 has more pixel front camera (1.9 m vs 1.2 m) , faster processor speed (1.4 ghz vs 1.3 ghz) , wider width (10.3 inch vs 9.45 inch) , higher height (7.1 inch vs 6.67 inch)
its official page:16GB Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 WiFi (Deep Grey) | Samsung Mobile
Meanwhile Apple iPad Air has more pixel vertical resolution (1536 pixel vs 800 pixel) , more delicate ppi (263 vs 149 ) , more pixel horizontal resolution (2048 pixel vs 1280 pixel) , longer battery life (10 hours vs 7 hours) , lighter weight (1 lbs vs 1.31 lbs) ,
its official page:Apple - iPad Air
I personal prefer to Apple iPad Air, because it get a higher score of 92 at
Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 vs Apple iPad Air

Some other helpful resources -
Apple iPad Air vs Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014) | Stuff
Apple iPad Air vs. Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014: Center of gravity - GSMArena.com

Thanks
 

shanghaichica

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I was having the same debate over past week or so. I went with the Air in the end. I've used A Samsung 10.1 inch tablet before and it was ok but the experience was not as good as I've had with my iPad mini.

I think the major things that put me off getting the Note 10.1 2014 edition is the aspect ratio, the lack of tablet optimised apps, lack of video content in my country and the keyboard.


I prefer the 4:3 screen because the device can be used comfortably in both landscape and portrait. With android 10.1 tablets they are good in landscape but virtually unusable in portrait. I also find that the 4:3 ratio is better for reading and web browsing.

I've used an android tablet before and most apps looked horrible because they were just blown up phone apps.

In the UK, there aren't a lot of TV shows available to buy in the google play store. Also the amazon instant app is not available on android devices.

The keyboard on android tablets is a pain to use. It's probably due to the aspect ratio but I've tried stock keyboards, swift key, the google keyboard etc and none of them are satisfactory. The iPad keyboard, even the one on the mini is a breeze to do. You can easily touch type.

So basically that's why I chose the Air over the note 10.1 and the Tab Pro 10.1


I like android phones, I have a galaxy note 3, but I think Apple is King when it comes to tablets.



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anon(5719825)

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Yes, too many apps on Android still have phone apps with no tablet version. This is why I quickly gave up using a Nexus 7 and bought an iPad.

Supposedly manyAndroid developers are working on this but in the year that I was using the Nexus 7, only about 4 of the apps that had only a phone version, actually got tablet versions. Most of those were news apps from the major networks.
 
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I'd go iPad air. Definitely the better screen (To me). It'll also be more likely to have all the apps the iphone does where as the Tab may be limited.

Plus you're getting a device that is long supported by the manufacturer. That's the plus with Apple products.

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anon(161369)

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IPad Air, if it was phones there would be an argument, however on the tablet side of things apple has a major lockdown


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WordPainter

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I have been an Android person for years and last week got an iPad Air. I love it. Android and iOS have their strengths and weaknesses. While yes, Android developers are lazy and for some reason don't bother to optimize their apps for tablets, I found that there are also a lot of iOS developers who are just as lazy and for some reason their apps are designed for the iPhone only. They work fine on the iPad but are stretched out and not retina quality. Still, the iPad does have a better app store, and I think reading on the 4:3 display is superior to 16:10. 16:9 is hideous for reading in portrait mode. I have a Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0, a Dell Latitude 10 (Windows 8), and an iPad Air and while I love and enjoy them all, I have to admit the iPad is my favorite. The screen, the beauty, the smoothness and speed are just superior.
 

Carlton English

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I like my note 10.1, the features work for me. iPad Air isn't bad but I'm one of those who cannot be invested in one Eco system. Sine I have the iPhone 5s and will be upgrading to the 6 plus I will stay with the 10.1.
 

WeAreAllUnique

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I like my note 10.1, the features work for me. iPad Air isn't bad but I'm one of those who cannot be invested in one Eco system. Sine I have the iPhone 5s and will be upgrading to the 6 plus I will stay with the 10.1.

Tell me what your experience with the onscreen keyboard has been. Are you able to type in the traditional style with ease? I was wondering about this for some time. The keyboard on my iPad Air is awesome. But if the Tab 10.1 had something similar I would give it some consideration in the future.


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