Verizon Wireless made it official on Tuesday that the Galaxy Tab 7.7 will go on sale on Thursday (Mar 1, 2012) and will cost 500 dollars for a 2 year contract. It will require you to get yourself enrolled into 4G LTE mobile broadband data package as well that starts at 30 dollars per month in which you get 2GB bandwidth.
Samsung introduced new version of P1000 Galaxy Tab called Galaxy tab 2 7.0 at the Mobile World congress 2012. Folks at engadget were able to get their hands on one of these units. Here is the video of it.
I am not a huge fan of Samsung apps on my Tab and would love to get rid of that bloatware. Unfortunately, the only way to get rid of it is by flashing a new ROM.
Features of this bloatware-free firmware:
* Removed Samsung Bloat
* ADW Launcher or TouchWiz Launcher
* 95% AOSP Gingerbread themed
* Custom Honeycomb style battery with percent indicator
* All Apps up to date
* De-Odexed
* Zip Aligned
* Rooted with Superuser and Busybox pre-installed. This means that you need not root it as it pre-rooted.
To install ClockworkMod Recovery (CWM) for Galaxy Tab P1000, follow these instructions:
1- Reboot your device in download mode (power button + volume down rocker)
2- Open Odin. If you do not have it on your PC, get it from galaxy tab plus official firmware post (see the bottom of the post).
3- Download Skin1980_P1010_CWM-RECOVERY-BETA-1.tar from this thread at XDA and select the file in the PDA field in ODIN;
4- Flash it.
Tip – Make a data backup of your Tab before you proceed.
Many Samsung Galaxy tab P1000 users are not able to get the video chat function on their tablet to work. Even the one available from the Google market does not work the way it should on the Tab. However, there is a solution to this problem.
First, download this build of Skype from here and install the APK on your tablet. Then, go to Advanced Settings, and set the following:
Here is how you can perform root / gain super user access on your Samsung galaxy tab 7.7 to run special apps or to do extensive modification of the file system on the tablet.
1. Download and install LATEST SAMSUNG KIES (or stand-alone USB drivers if you can find them)
2. Transfer the file root.zip [zip file] to the EXTERNAL CARD on Galaxy Tab 7.7
3. Turn off the Galaxy Tab 7.7
By default, apps do not have the permission to write data onto the external SD card in the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7. However, there is a hack that lets you accomplish that. It requires you to have a rooted Tab though.
Ready? Here are the steps:
Continue reading Galaxy Tab 7.7: Make Apps write to external SD
Rumors are brewing that Samsung will be launching Galaxy Tab successor next week at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2012. The biggest improvement, as expected, will be increase in display size. It is said to have a 11.6 inch retina display, which basically means very high PPI (pixels per inch).
By performing root on your Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 LTE version, you will be able to modify things to a different level. For example: you will be able to overclock / underclock it. First, make sure you are running the latest version of Kies. Download from Samsung’s website and then, follow these steps.
Vanilla ROMs are great for those who are not huge fans of Samsung TouchWiz UI. Many, including me, find it slow and not that useful and thus, prefer having stock Android UI. Unfortunately, Samsung does not lets you uninstall it unless you flash a custom ROM like the one I have mentioned in this post.
Someone at xda forums has made the factory, stock ROM for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9. This ROM has to be flashed by using an application called ODIN and is compatible with the Wi-Fi model only. After flashing, you will be running Android 3.2 honeycomb operating system.
A Chinese developer has made a very beautiful and fast app launcher for the Galaxy Tab P1000 tablet. Earlier, the launcher was Chinese-only, but thanks to the community efforts, it has now been made available in English. The launcher is called 360 Mobile desktop and has myriad of nice transitions and themes.
Here are its features:
Download theme from its site
Download custom lockscreen from its site
Download wallpaper from its site
Quick launcher widget (power widget)
Built in clock widget
Built in power saving widget (more setting requires 360 Battery Guard)
Folder in Home screen
Folder in Launcher
Unlimited apps in a Folder
Built in lockscreen
Built quick system setting widget
USB connection kit from Samsung is great but forces the user to hold it in awkward position, especially if you are watching the movie while holding the Tab Plus in your hands. An xda user bought himself a cheap third party USB host adapter and glued it all together to one lump. The adapter is actually meant for use in P1000 but works fine in Tab 7.0 Plus. He then paired it with a tiny microSDHC reader. Here is how it looks like.
Continue reading Small USB host adapter for the Galaxy Tab Plus
Many opt for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus instead of Tab 10.1 because of the portability factor. As the Tab Plus is narrower, it has a great potential to be the best note taking tool out there and that is why perhaps Samsung offers a conductive stylus for the users that are into scribbling and note taking. Here is a review from an xda user whose wife bought him this stylus.
She bought it for me for a gift and at first I was skeptical because I had not used one before. But I quickly adapted to it and now the stylus goes with me everywhere I go (it works great on my Atrix and the touch screens at work).
Here is the stock ROM / firmware for the T-Mobile version of Samsung Galaxy Tab P1000. This ROM contains no bootloader which is good as it would not brick your Tab in case the firmware is not properly flashed. Flash it in Odin from the PDA button, no .pit file, nothing else.
Download the firmware from here. You can the T mobile modem’s bin file from here. Credits to the rotohammer from xda developers. [via xda devs]
