The Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 is really the first major product launch of Mobile World Congress, and has certainly received plenty of attention, both at the preview show and in the press. You’d be forgiven, then, for thinking it’s really exciting – but in reality, it’s not all that different to the Note 2 and Note 10.1. Yep. Samsung is experimenting with yet another screen size.
Samsung has already tried out 7-inch, 7.7-inch, 8.9-inch, and 10.1-inch screens on its tablets, but this is its first try with an 8-inch screen size, which it has mated to the S Pen technology seen on other Note tablets. The cynical among us will see it as a response to the Apple iPad Mini, which has a 7.9-inch screen. The Note 8.0’s screen is noticeably sharper than the iPad Mini’s 1024 x 768 panel, thanks to the 1280 x 800 pixel resolution, which is identical to the bigger Note 10.1.
The S Pen slides out of a holster on the base of the tablet, which gives a warning on the screen that the stylus has been, “detached,” and opens a menu with the S Pen-centric apps. While the S Pen will continue to divide tech fans into groups who love or hate it, there’s no denying it works well and is often fun to use. Scribbling notes on the screen is natural and it happily recognizes messy handwriting, while it’s now possible to tap the standard Android keys with the S Pen. The hover feature, where the stylus is held slightly above the screen, has been expanded so developers can add it into their own apps, with Flipboard being one of the first to do so.
Samsung has installed Android 4.1.2 on the Galaxy Note 8.0, and it’s as snappy as one would expect from a device powered by the 1.6GHz version of Samsung’s own quad-core Exynos processor. TouchWiz obscures the OS, but it’s not terribly intrusive, and Samsung has added its Premium Suite software features to give it some purpose. This includes the ability to run two applications at the same time, and these are dragged out from a menu which runs down the side of the screen. The process is easy, but getting the two apps to work was sometimes a little awkward, and trying to resize the windows was a fiddly affair, even when using the supposedly more precise S Pen.
An Infrared sensor – which is fast becoming a must have feature this year – has been added to the Galaxy Note 8.0’s chassis, so it can control any compatible piece of equipment in your home. It works alongside a custom programming guide to help manage your viewing habits, but sadly this couldn’t be demonstrated at the launch.
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