The good: The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 sports a proven, sensible design, a bevy of useful features, and fast performance. The S Pen Stylus is a unique addition.
The badness: Only a limited number of apps make full use of the S Pen and some of the ones that do can be buggy and confusing. Some S Pen features aren't enabled by default and others don't work properly.
The bottom line: The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 is the best Samsung tablet yet. If you can get over its somewhat high price, it's a sound Android tablet investment.
Samsung recently launched the follow up to their Galaxy Tab line of Android-based tablets, the Galaxy Note 10.1. Although the original Galaxy Note's form factor didn’t quite conform to either traditional smartphones or tablets, and some even dubbed it a “phablet”, it has been a huge success for Samsung and has sold millions of units worldwide. With the new Galaxy Note 10.1, not only does Samsung leverage the branding of one of its more popular products, but it’s bringing over some similar technology as well. Along with a few new design queues and software tweaks, the Galaxy Note 10.1 also features Samsung’s S-Pen stylus, which was one of the differentiating features of the original Galaxy Note, along with its funky form factor.
With the inclusion of a stylus, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 attempts something different for full-size tablets. In certain apps the S Pen (as the stylus is called) does improve precision and can make note taking a much faster affair. Also, if you're willing to put in the time learning the apps and gestures, the S Pen can deliver a useful and rewarding interface experience. But if you've no artistic aspirations and typing out your notes is your preferred method, does the S Pen offer any real benefit?
Not really. For general tablet usage your finger is still the best tool for the job, and unless you have a specific need for an electronic pen (say, you're an artist) or are willing to a take long hike over a slow, steep learning curve, there's really no benefit to using it.
Thankfully, even if you don't use the pen, the Note 10.1's fast overall performance, sensible design, great-looking screen, and useful features make it the best Samsung tablet yet.
Specifications & Features
Processor
- 1.4GHz Exynos Quad-Core Processor
Display
OS
- Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
Camera
- Main(Rear): 5 Megapixel Auto Focus Camera with LED Flash
- Sub(Front): 1.9 Megapixel Camera
Video
- Codec: MPEG4, H.263, H.264, VC-1, DivX, WMV7, WMV8, VP8
- Format: 3GP(MP4), WMV(ASF), AVI, FLV, MKV, WebM
- Playback/ Recording: 1080p Full HD@30fps, 720p HD@30fps
Audio
- Codec: MP3, Vorbis, WMA, AAC, ACC+, eAAC+, AMR(NB,WB),
- MIDI, WAV, AC-3, Flac
- Music Player with SoundAlive
- 3.5mm Ear Jack
Enterprise Solutions
- Exchange ActiveSync
- On-Device Encryption
- Cisco VPN(Virtual Private Network)
- uniper Junos Pulse VPN
Sensors
- Accelerometer, Digital compass, Light, Gyroscope
Connectivity
- Bluetooth technology v 4.0 (Apt-X Codec support)
- AllShare Play / AllShare Cast
- Kies / Samsung Kies air
- USB 2.0 Host, Samsung
- Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n (2.4 & 5 GHz), Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Channel Bonding
| Memory
- 16/32/64GB User memory + 2GB (RAM)
- microSD (up to 64GB)
Battery
- Standard battery, Li-ion 7,000mAh
Value-added Features
- S Pen Experience(6.5mm S Pen, S Note, S Planner etc.)
- Multi Screen
- Adobe Photoshop Touch
- Pop up play
- Smart Stay
- Samsung TouchWiz
- Video Wall
- Samsung Apps
- Samsung Hub
- Readers Hub*/ Music Hub/ Game Hub/ Video Hub*Samsung S Suggest (App recommendation service)
- Samsung ChatON mobile communication service
- Google Mobile Services
- Google Play, Gmail, YouTube, Google Maps,
- Syncing with Google Calendar, Google Search, Google +Polaris office
- A-GPS(3G version)
- S-GPS(WiFi version)
- Glonass
Form Factor
- Dimension : 262 x 180 x 8.9 mm
- Weight : 600g (3G), 597g (WiFi)
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Peel's Smart Remote app
The Note 10.1's IR blaster, in conjunction with Peel's included Smart Remote app, helps turn your tablet into a remote control for your TV. Peel can take the place of your cable or satellite channel guide and display a list of shows currently playing locally on your provider's channels. Go to the currently playing tab and click on a show, and your TV switches to the appropriate channel. Peel does a great job of holding your hand initially through a step-by-step setup wizard. The setup only requires that you know your TV manufacturer's name, your cable/satellite provider, and your ZIP code. Thankfully, Peel spares us from having to know any more-detailed information; however, be aware that Smart Remote does not work with regular monitors, only TVs or monitor/TV combos. Though it's well-implemented overall, I'm still waiting for Hulu and Netflix integration, and an actual search feature would be useful.
Hardware features
The most obvious and significant hardware feature on the Note 10.1 is easily the S Pen. The S Pen looks like a traditional stylus and pretty much feels like one too, but differentiates itself from lesser digital pens. The pen's tip sports a pressure-sensitive sensor that recognizes 1,024 levels of pressure. Samsung says the original Note only got as high as 256. So, depending on the app you're using (not all apps support this), the harder you press the pen on the screen, the thicker the resulting lines.
This may be appealing with those (unlike myself) with actual artistic talent who know how to use shading to approximate three-dimensional figures in a two-dimensional space. Again, if you're like me and you have no idea what I just wrote, the Stylus has limited appeal as simply a tool used to navigate. I mentioned a difficult learning curve before; that really isn't limited to any one app. There is depth here for those willing to take the time to delve deeply, but the sharp jagged rocks of the confusing UI will scare many off. Also, for the most part, my fingers still work better.
The Note 10.1 houses a 1.4GHz quad-core Exynos 4410 CPU and 2GB of RAM. Tablet mainstays like 802.11 a/b/g/n (2.4GHz and 5GHz) Wi-Fi support, Bluetooth 4.0, and GPS are included as well as gyroscope, accelerometer, and a digital compass.
Performance
Whether I'm using the pen or my fingers, tapping through menus is as swift a process as I've seen on any Android tablet, with no noticeable hangs or stops. Switching between apps also matches the fastest Android tablets available. However, from an aesthetic standpoint, I was disappointed by how stuttery scrolling through pages and apps looked compared with the ultra smoothness most Tegra 3 tablets demonstrate.
I used Riptide GP as my real-world games benchmark. The game delivered frame rates roughly on par with what I've seen on 1.4GHz Tegra 3-based tablets like the Asus Transformer Prime, but doesn't include the Tegra 3-specific graphical effects. Also, the frame rate isn't as consistent or as high as on either the iPad 2 or third-generation iPad.
Web speeds on Wi-Fi were about typical using either Chrome or the default browser. App downloads over Wi-Fi at 5 feet away from the router were pulled down at a rate of about 1.8MBps, compared with the Google Nexus 7's 2.3MBps, with the scores averaged over three iterations.
The screen responds quickly to the S Pen and scrolls just as quickly as it would under a finger; however, the screen may be a bit too heavily calibrated toward accepting precise touches from the pen. Attempting to scrub through videos using just my finger didn't always work.
The screen's 1,280x800-pixel resolution is fine for most purposes, but I must admit to being spoiled by recent Android tablets like the Asus Transformer Infinity and Acer Iconia Tab A700 with their sharper 1,920x1,200-pixel resolutions -- a resolution I feel would have been beneficial on a tablet so focused on creating content.
The front camera won't wow you with its quality, but at 1.9 megapixels, it won't distract you either as long as you're not planning to do more than some videoconferencing on it. The 5-megapixel back camera isn't capable of the same level of clarity or color saturation I've seen on higher-quality cameras like the Transformer Infinity's or the iPad's.
Conclusion
The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 comes with 16GB of storage for $500 or 32GB for $550, and thanks to its fast performance, sensible design, and a bucketload of features, it's the best Samsung tablet yet.
However, as Jessica Dolcourt implied in her review of the original Galaxy Note phone, the S Pen's potential far outreaches its implementation and that price, no doubt driven by the inclusion of the stylus and its supporting technologies, should be about $50 lower. Especially given the limited usefulness of the S Pen for most people, the lack of the Jelly Bean OS at launch, and a lower-res screen than tablets are capable of.
If you're looking for a full-size tablet, the Asus Transformer Infinity is still the Android tablet to get because of its beautiful, high-res screen, fast performance, and useful features; however, artists looking to take their portfolios on the go or those willing to put in the time to learn a new type of interface will want to give the Note 10.1 serious consideration.
Thanks and credit for
Eric Frankilin (Cnet)