Samsung Galaxy Player (4.0 takes on the iPod Touch)

You don't need a "smartphone" to get the services and toys available to them.  And, I'm not referring to "tablets" and "e-readers"...

The early devices I became familiar with that allowed for similar features are personal digital assistants (PDAs):  the Sony CLIÉ, Palm TX and LifeDrive, and the like.

A Samsung Galaxy Player 4.0 was sent to me so that I may review it...

One of the first things I experienced is, because of the size of my hands...I wish they had sent the the 5-inch version:  at times my fingers are too big for the small targets of the on-screen keyboard.

Another reason I want the largest of the players is because, to use a memory card with the Player 4.0, I need to remove the back cover of the unit.  The Samsung Galaxy Player 5.0 has a memory card slot on the top of it.

It has an FM radio receiver...but stations are played in mono...and four of them can be presets/favorites.  Wi-Fi capability is also included.

On the back there are two ports for speakers, and the 3.2 megapixel camera.

Based on my experiences with the iPod Touch, the Samsung Galaxy Player is a much better choice for users of Microsoft Windows:  I have never been able to master using Apple's iTunes with (various models of) iPods.  The Galaxy Player uses the Android operating system so the folder storage structure is like Windows.

Recently while riding a bus...I noticed that I was very happy I was using the Galaxy Player 4.0, and not a (7-inch) tablet:  I was seated, with someone sitting next to me...and only had enough room to be able to move my arms to use the Galaxy Player to make a few notes.  If  you use public transportation, I strongly recommend you consider using a Galaxy Player to entertain yourself:  you can read books, magazines, and newspapers on the device.

Other than my notebook computers, I have been using it as my portable communications device:  I installed the Google Voice app and use it to monitor incoming voice messages, and receive and send text messages.

Review: Google Docs "offline" feature

You can "Edit Google documents offline...when you don’t have an Internet connection."

But...what you need to be aware of...and what I had to experience to understand...is that this can only be done (when using the Microsoft Windows disk operating system) in the Google Chrome browser.  I use a lot of different browsers, and was unable to have this feature available with them.

"...Any changes you've made while disconnected will sync with the online version in your Documents List when you regain your connection to the Internet.

"Offline editing is only available for Google documents. It’s not available yet for Google spreadsheets or presentations.

"If you lose your connection to the Internet while editing a Google document, you'll be informed at the top of the page that your network connection has been lost. Your edits will continue to be saved offline, so you can keep typing.

Note that:  "...offline editing allows a document to be open in only a single tab at a time.

http://support.google.com/drive/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=107972

When offline, in the Google Chrome browser, go to "drive.google.com" and what is available will appear.

This is great!

I am now considering moving all, or most, of my information from Evernote to Google Docs because of this free offline feature.  I love Evernote, and have always been thankful for it.  But, I've not been happy with the offline options available for free accounts.  Until recently, I believed I was unable to have a note available on my (Samsung Galaxy Player) Android device while offline.  Evernote states:

"...When this user syncs their device, enough data to allow for this note to be found via search (title, text in the body...and other metadata) is downloaded to their device, but not the whole note. When this user selects the note in question from a list of notes, the rest of the note will be downloaded."

With Google Drive installed on my Android device, I am able to make files available offline.  I find this very, very useful.

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I am very interested in apps that allow for synchronization, accessing, and modifying of data offline.  I continue to appreciate, and use, Palm personal digital assistants (PDAs).  And will probably replace them with Android and Google Chrome OS devices...when I am able to get all of my data ported to them from the Palm Desktop.