A Review Of Samsung Galaxy View
The very first thing I noticed about Samsung Galaxy View is its sheer size. It is VERY big. Okay, maybe not that big but compared to our Ipad mini, the device is humongous.
The next thing on my mind was, “How am I going to use this?”
Turned out, there are many ways to incorporate Samsung Galaxy View into our daily lives. Once I’ve started using it, it is hard to imagine not having one around the house.
It’s a Family Edutainment Companion
Lauren calls it ‘the big giant screen’, and she’s not far from the truth. It is a tablet with 18.4″ full HD touch screen. But in a way, it’s more than just a tablet. The big screen allows for comfortable screen sharing.
Our weekly Skype sessions with my in-laws in Sydney are a lot more pleasant now. The built-in stand sits upright, putting the front camera at a right angle, so we don’t have to squeeze our faces together in front of the camera. Ah Ma and Ah Kong look more ‘real’ and vivid too – it feels like we are talking to them in person!
The Galaxy View has an ergonomically designed two-way stand that allows upright viewing when placed on a table or tilted when placed on laps. The upright view is great for watching videos and using apps that require minimal typing.
While it’s impossible to have a read while lying down on the bed, reading magazines and casual web browsing on my lap are delightful. However, having the stand also means that Galaxy View is only built for widescreen viewing.
I see it as a portable entertainment system. With that huge screen and two 4-Watt speakers, TV shows and movies are a joy to watch at any room of the house, especially from a distance. I’ve been watching Rachel Khoo in the kitchen while I channel my inner domestic goddess cooking for my family.
The built-in handle makes it easy to lug the device from room to room. We only have one television at home, in our living room. So the Galaxy View works great as a second television for when the girls want to watch Cinderella for the 50th time and counting.
Setting it up as a second television at home couldn’t be easier. All I had to do was download the app that allows log-in into our hard-drive. In our case, it was the DS app, which connects to our Synology hard-drive that stores all our movie, music and photos. Once logged in, just a few clicks like you would choose a file from folders, and the movie plays like a dream.
Samsung KidsTime™ App
Little Georgia refers to the Galaxy View as ‘KidsTime’ because that’s what the girls have been up to for the past 2 months whenever we are at home. Samsung KidsTime™ has over 100 educational apps and ebooks. As Samsung users, we have free access to 30 apps every month. You could also pay a subscription fee of USD4.99 to access all games and ebooks but quite frankly, having 30 apps per month is more than enough for us.
I love Samsung KidsTime™ for its ability to sync to Samsung KidsTime™ Parent app on my phone, which allows me to track and monitor my child’s learning and progress. You could see in the picture above that I’ve set a profile for each of my children. The personalised report lets me know which apps the children are playing, time spent and recommend additional areas of play while I’m away from home.
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| KidsTime App Lock |
Samsung KidsTime™ has an App Lock feature which makes it digitally safe for the little ones to access on their own. They won’t be able to stray into unsafe content and because it has no ads or in-app purchases, I don’t have to worry about unauthorised downloads by those little fingers.
And the best part is… wait for it… I could set a time limit they can spend on Samsung KidsTime™ or turn it off remotely whenever I want! THE POWER IS IN MY HANDS!
Overall, we are having a lot of fun with our Galaxy View and there’s still so much more we could do with it!
Samsung Galaxy View comes in two versions, Wi-Fi® ($898 w/o contract) and Wi-Fi® 4G+ connectivity ($998 w/o contract). It also includes a microSD expansion slot at the back of the device. It is available at all local telecommunication operators and major consumer electronics stores.
Disclaimer: I have received a Samsung Galaxy View for the purpose of this review. All opinions are mine.
Wi-Fi® is a registered trademark of Wi-Fi alliance.
HELLO! I’M MICHELLE.
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Wow! That’s indeed huge! My techie hubby and the kids would surely love it and hmmmn, with the time limit setting I think I would consider buying one too. I strongly don’t encourage screen time to my kids but my hubby always tells me that a balance of both (screen-time + outdoor/indoor screen-free play time) is actually good for the kids which I couldn’t beg to disagree. – Cherry of http://www.sweetmemoirs.com
You are right, the key is balance. There are lots of educational apps for kids these days and I must say my kids learnt a lot through screen time.
I love the giant screen! Portable and so user friendly.
Goodness me! THIS IS A TELEVISION! hahahah I would have reacted the same way as you really, “How Am I Going To Use This?” hahhhaa but cool stuff. Chatting with grandparents online on such a big screen is just so cool!
You are very right! First thought that came to my mind was, “WHOA is this a TV or what?” I think using it for skype would be perfect, but will it be too big for something meant to be watched at a short distance?
You are right. I wouldn’t watch a video from a short distance. But web browsing and reading e-magazine with the device is a pleasure.
Size is indeed pretty big. Liked the together-use of it.
We love its portability and ease of use. Dana’s been using it for her e-learning and we like the fact that we can monitor her usage too!
Wow. The screen looks pretty big and good to use and not like usual tablets. Do you think can use it.to replace a desktop?
I think the processor may not be as powerful as a desktop. It all depends on your usage. I find the touch screen keyboard quite easy to type on. I can type an entire blog post with it.
I saw it in stores and the first thought was.. my goodness!! So big a tablet!!! Hahaha. I would prefer if it’s a detachable tablet PV! The size will be most ideal!
wow yes it does look pretty big!! but handy enough to bring to different rooms and use too 🙂
Ai @ Sakura Haruka