Samsung is great. They may be slow to update, but when they update, they do it right. People complained that it took so long for the update, but they do a lot more than other companies. Samsung creates the absolute best tablet experience since they now take note of stock android and only built upon it rather than change it (Sense 3.0, MotoBlur, TouchWiz 3.0)
Quick Apps:
Multiple quick apps open at once are now supported and the apps themselves are much improved. Having access to calendar and calculator are very handy. You can check email without exiting or minimizing a game and the task manager has quite the pretty facelift.
Music App:
Not only is it Samsung's best music app yet, I think it provides a better tablet music experience than any other music app out there (that I've tried). Google Music is close, but I love the quick app/mini app.
-SoundAlive enhancements are great, allowing you to simply improve the clarity and bass of a song without touching an EQ. EQs are nice, but you always have to sacrifice something (add bass and treble, lose mids)
-Customizeable navigation. Never seach with Year, Composer, Genre, etc? Disable them.
-Quick App. Quick access to playlist, volume, and navigation in any app. No need to minimize or quit.
-Scrollable Widget. Full playlist access right from the homesecreen.
-One negative is the no social features such as last.fm, facebook sharing, or the like...I don't care about those features anyway...I don't even know what scrobbling is.
App Drawer:
-Can finally organize apps by name. Or customize it as before.
-Built-in function to Hide Apps. Samsung finally allowing us to hide their own bloatware.
-Continuous looping. Swiping doesn't force you to enter the Widgets panel.
-App drawer allows application uninstalling.
-Instant Play Store access from the menu, like stock.
Other Apps and Features:
-Browser has built in desktop page request feature, page saving for offline viewing, network printing, instant homescreen shortcut creation, incognito mode, color modes, inverse mode for night reading, text scaling, search engine chooser, and sharing features. Holy crap.
-Beautiful Accuweather widget, but only truly compatible with TouchWiz
-S Planner is a calendar and task list app, which could be as good as Google Calendar, but it still bolstered by the quick app.
-Built-in Photo and Video Editors (I know this isn't new, but it's still nice)
-Find My Mobile. Remotely track, lock, or wipe your tablet.
-Automatic power saving features below a battery threshold.
-Tilt to move apps/widgets from one homescreen page to another.
Visual Changes:
-Google Search and App Drawer bar is less intrusive and more concise.
-Quick Launch buttons now have more varied icons.
-Black status bar without having to mod...nice.
-Reskinned clock, notification window, and notification toggles. Green...ehh.
-Added "Restart" to the Power Menu.
Performance Changes:
-The choppiness has been reduced quite a bit, though it's inconsistent. You can have every quick app open and the performance will not get worse. This is WAYYY too big a deal to so many people. I know it sullies the experience of buttery smoothness like the iPad, but unless you spend all day transitioning home screens, it doesn't diminish functionality. PocketNow even went as far as to say that the lag often renders the tablet unusable, which is preposterous, and went on to say that the tablet is a 3.5/5 rather than a 4.5/5 because of it. Other than home screen transitions and additions, the performance is top-notch, and a custom launcher can be used to smooth it out completely. However, you will lose some of the features listed above (though other launchers have most of them anyway).
-I am getting much better WiFi reception. I haven't seen whether the Bluetooth breaks up/slows down the WiFi connection anymore...if someone would like to check/confirm that for me, it would be much appreciated.
With all the the features that Samsung throws in (that allow you to opt out or hide), I would pick the Tab 7.7 over the Excite 7.7 any day. With the ICS update, this tablet is truly the best small tablet on the market today, IMO. Considering the S-AMOLED Plus screen, the incredible battery life, the top-notch performance, the expandable storage capacity, and all of the features listed above, if you are unhappy with this tablet, you are impossible to please and shouldn't be allowed money to purchase tablets.
I know some of the features above are in 3.2, but I can't remember which exactly. All I know for sure is that the Excite doesn't have all of these.....but it does have a USB port...hmm..
Quick Apps:
Multiple quick apps open at once are now supported and the apps themselves are much improved. Having access to calendar and calculator are very handy. You can check email without exiting or minimizing a game and the task manager has quite the pretty facelift.
Music App:
Not only is it Samsung's best music app yet, I think it provides a better tablet music experience than any other music app out there (that I've tried). Google Music is close, but I love the quick app/mini app.
-SoundAlive enhancements are great, allowing you to simply improve the clarity and bass of a song without touching an EQ. EQs are nice, but you always have to sacrifice something (add bass and treble, lose mids)
-Customizeable navigation. Never seach with Year, Composer, Genre, etc? Disable them.
-Quick App. Quick access to playlist, volume, and navigation in any app. No need to minimize or quit.
-Scrollable Widget. Full playlist access right from the homesecreen.
-One negative is the no social features such as last.fm, facebook sharing, or the like...I don't care about those features anyway...I don't even know what scrobbling is.
App Drawer:
-Can finally organize apps by name. Or customize it as before.
-Built-in function to Hide Apps. Samsung finally allowing us to hide their own bloatware.
-Continuous looping. Swiping doesn't force you to enter the Widgets panel.
-App drawer allows application uninstalling.
-Instant Play Store access from the menu, like stock.
Other Apps and Features:
-Browser has built in desktop page request feature, page saving for offline viewing, network printing, instant homescreen shortcut creation, incognito mode, color modes, inverse mode for night reading, text scaling, search engine chooser, and sharing features. Holy crap.
-Beautiful Accuweather widget, but only truly compatible with TouchWiz
-S Planner is a calendar and task list app, which could be as good as Google Calendar, but it still bolstered by the quick app.
-Built-in Photo and Video Editors (I know this isn't new, but it's still nice)
-Find My Mobile. Remotely track, lock, or wipe your tablet.
-Automatic power saving features below a battery threshold.
-Tilt to move apps/widgets from one homescreen page to another.
Visual Changes:
-Google Search and App Drawer bar is less intrusive and more concise.
-Quick Launch buttons now have more varied icons.
-Black status bar without having to mod...nice.
-Reskinned clock, notification window, and notification toggles. Green...ehh.
-Added "Restart" to the Power Menu.
Performance Changes:
-The choppiness has been reduced quite a bit, though it's inconsistent. You can have every quick app open and the performance will not get worse. This is WAYYY too big a deal to so many people. I know it sullies the experience of buttery smoothness like the iPad, but unless you spend all day transitioning home screens, it doesn't diminish functionality. PocketNow even went as far as to say that the lag often renders the tablet unusable, which is preposterous, and went on to say that the tablet is a 3.5/5 rather than a 4.5/5 because of it. Other than home screen transitions and additions, the performance is top-notch, and a custom launcher can be used to smooth it out completely. However, you will lose some of the features listed above (though other launchers have most of them anyway).
-I am getting much better WiFi reception. I haven't seen whether the Bluetooth breaks up/slows down the WiFi connection anymore...if someone would like to check/confirm that for me, it would be much appreciated.
With all the the features that Samsung throws in (that allow you to opt out or hide), I would pick the Tab 7.7 over the Excite 7.7 any day. With the ICS update, this tablet is truly the best small tablet on the market today, IMO. Considering the S-AMOLED Plus screen, the incredible battery life, the top-notch performance, the expandable storage capacity, and all of the features listed above, if you are unhappy with this tablet, you are impossible to please and shouldn't be allowed money to purchase tablets.
I know some of the features above are in 3.2, but I can't remember which exactly. All I know for sure is that the Excite doesn't have all of these.....but it does have a USB port...hmm..
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