With the new Galaxy Note 10.1, Samsung finally ups its tablet game
The original Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 had a storied path to release. Originally unveiled at Mobile World Congress 2012 and later redesigned, it arrived last fall to mixed reviews. Since then, Samsung has focused on mid-range tablets in the Android space, with the one major exception being the Google-backed Nexus 10.
So as the Korean manufacturer unveils a new Galaxy Note 10.1, whats changed? Well, as it turns out, quite a lot. And the 2014 Galaxy Note, as its being called, is a better device for it.
Unveiled today alongside the Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Gear, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition brings Samsungs leading smartphone technology to an Android tablet. Its packing a ridiculously-detailed 2560x1600-resolution Super Clear LCD display and high-end CPUS Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 for the LTE version, Samsungs homegrown Exynos 5 Octa for others. As is the case with the Note 3, this is backed up by a whopping 3GB of RAM.
The tablets external hardware has also been re-vamped. Like the Galaxy Note 3 its sporting a faux leather plastic texture on its back panel, encircled with a faux-stitched trim. It might look a little weird on a larger device, but the feel in the hand is significantly classier. It still feels like plastic, just not grimy, slimy plastic.
Centrally situated is the Note 10.1s 8-megapixel camera, and along the tablets edge is a silo for the S Pen the stylus which sets Samsungs Note series apart from other tablets. Slightly larger than its smartphone equivalent, the Note 10.1s S Pen functions in the exact same way, with a button located where your index finger sits.
The front of the tablet is dominated by that large, super-high-quality screen, and beneath the display (at least in landscape mode) youll find Samsungs three-button setup a clicky home key, flanked by capacitive menu and back buttons. There are obvious advantages to doing your buttons this way for one, you lose less of that gorgeous screen to on-screen buttons. But it also makes the Note 10.1 less easy to use in portrait mode.
On the software side, the Note 10.1 is a very close match to its smaller sibling, the Galaxy Note 3. The tablet runs Android 4.3 Jelly Bean and Samsungs latest TouchWiz UI, including all the fancy new pen stuff from the Note 3, and Gear Manager for Galaxy Gear owners.
The short version is that Samsungs added a bunch of new software capabilities to make the S Pen easier to use, and to encourage users to get the most out of it. Pull the S Pen out of its slot and youll be presented with an Air Command menu, letting you choose between common stylus-centric features and apps. Theres one for taking a screenshot and drawing on top of it. Another lets you take actionable memos for example, phone numbers and email addresses will be recognized as such.
Also on the Air Command menu, Scrapbook lets you cut out clipping from apps including the browser and third-party apps like YouTube, and arrange them in an organized categorized virtual book. And all that stuff is searchable through the new S Finder app, which can intelligently interpret written language in notes, and filter based on time, tags or location data.
Similarly, multitasking can be accessed through the traditional multi-window setup effectively splitting the display between two fullscreen apps or through the new Pen Window feature which lets you draw a window with the S Pen and then drop an app into it. From there, the window can be maximized, minimized into a tiny icon, or closed entirely.
If this sounds familiar, its because things work just the same as they do on the Galaxy Note 3 as such, youll find more on these new S Pen features in our Galaxy Note 3 preview.
The S Pen remains the Note series main point of differentiation, especially in the Android tablet market dominated by mainly interchangeable slates. But even if youre not going to use the S Pen all the time, the new Galaxy Note 10.1 looks to be a strong Android tablet offering in the large form factor space. Its taken Samsung long enough, but finally it seems the manufacturer may have conjured up a winning combination of top-level hardware with a few stand-out software features. Were eager to spend more time with the new Note 10.1 when it arrives later in Q3.
Via: Hands-on: Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014)
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