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Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 review
More Info Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 preview (video) Samsung rumored to tweak Galaxy Note 10.1 inside and out Samsung's Galaxy Note 10.1 coming worldwide this month, UI shown off on YouTube Consider it the fallout from a decade-plus of reality TV, but our made-by-the-masses approach has expanded into new territory: technology R&D. Or so Samsung's very public handling of the Galaxy Note 10.1 would have us believe. Thrust into an American Idol-like spotlight at Mobile World Congress earlier this year, the still-unfinished slate, a follow-up to the pen-enabled Galaxy Note phone, was forced to perform for hordes of skeptical insiders. Sure, there was raw talent on display and we could see the promise of this 10-inch contender (we said as much in our exhaustive preview), but it was also clear the company was testing consumer waters, fishing for a vote of confidence before continuing down the development track. Does this make Samsung's latest flagship the Kelly Clarkson of the tablet category? It's an apt analogy, if you think about it: Kelly wants to be country, the Note 10.1 wants to be a pro-designer tool, but neither are allowed. Why? Well, simply put, products sell better when they're made more palatable for a wider range of tastes. Which is why the company used MWC to gauge popular opinion before molding its untested product into something wth a broader appeal. Ultimately, that meant a drastic makeover: since MWC, the Note 10.1 has received a slot for that S-Pen, streamlined software, a quad-core Exynos 4 chip and two storage configurations: 16GB / 32GB, priced at $499 and $549, respectively. So it now has more horsepower under the hood, that much is assured, but is that chip enough to boost the Note 10.1's mass appeal? Will savvy shoppers be able to forgive that relatively low-res 1,280 x 800 display? Will its Wacom digitizer elevate this slate past its more generic Android and iOS rivals? Or will that feature hamper its widespread appeal, attracting mainly creative professionals? Meet us after the break to see if the Note 10.1 can succeed as the multitasking everyman's go-to tablet.%Gallery-162350%
Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 launches stateside August 16th starting at $499
If you didn't see this one coming from a mile away, then it's clear you haven't been paying much attention. After countless leaks and even an early August availability from online retailers, Samsung's ready to make its S-Pen slate, the Galaxy Note 10.1, official for the U.S. market. The TouchWiz-skinned Android tablet is set to hit retail shelves tomorrow, August 16th, and will be offered up in 16GB and 32GB WiFi-only configurations priced at $499 and $549, respectively. For the money, you're getting an ICS tab outfitted with a 10-inch 1,280 x 800 TFT LCD display, quad-core Exynos 4 CPU clocked at 1.4GHz, 2GB RAM, microSD storage expandable to 64GB, 1.9-megapixel front-facing / 5-megapixel rear cameras and a 7,000mAh battery. The device, first introduced this past February at Mobile World Congress, stands apart from its capacitive rivals thanks primarily to the addition of a Wacom-like digitizer panel optimized for the company's handwriting recognition software and a slew of stylus-specific, pre-loaded apps, like Adobe's Photoshop Touch and Samsung's own S Note. Prospective owners will be able to choose from two neutral launch colors, grey and white, when it goes on sale this Thursday.
Live from Samsung's 'Meet the new way' event in New York City!
It's just about time to "meet the new way." Samsung's sketch-heavy invitation clearly points to some type of pen-input device, and given the timing of the event and the fact that plenty of tablets have already been sold across the pond, we're expecting the Galaxy Note 10.1 to be outed properly... again. Judging from reports earlier this month, there will be plenty of new features (and color options) to be demoed since our last in-depth look at the evolving device, so expect a fairly packed show, complete with the typical Samsung fanfare. The event kicks off at 11AM ET, so stay tuned right here for the play-by-play from NYC.
Samsung's Galaxy Note 10.1 coming worldwide this month, UI shown off on YouTube
We've got a good few updates rolling in on the Galaxy Note 10.1 front today. For starters, Samsung has announced that the S Pen equipped slate will available globally from August in WiFi and 3G varieties, with an LTE version coming later in the year. The press release and spec sheet after the break also confirm that the Note 10.1 will indeed possess a quad-core Exynos processor (alongside a 2GB dose of RAM), rather than the dual-core engine seen in our initial hands-on -- although we'd already gleaned that much from retailer listings. Finally, there's now an official video on YouTube showing off the tablet's interface, including a multi-screen function to make use of that stylus. Samsung's definitely pushing the productivity angle here, with the S Note / S Pen combo looking more like a publishing program than a doodle board. A sizeable and movable keyboard is also detailed, which should address the problem of landscape keys devouring screen space. Whether the UI runs on the new processor as swiftly and smoothly as the video suggests is unknown, but we'll sort the spin from the truth in our review coming very soon.%Gallery-161835%
Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 preview (video)
Mobile World Congress, a debutante ball of sorts for the wireless industry, is an oddity; set against a landscape more famous for its modernist accents and marathon nightlife than propensity for forward-facing gadgetry. Yet every year, despite this cultural contrast, mobile's best, brightest and even little known descend upon Barcelona to showcase the incoming tide of next-gen wares. It's a wonder, then, that for all the bombast and spectacle, Samsung, a titan in the cluttered Android field, chose to occupy a sizable swathe of the event's booth real estate with a glut of mid-range and less-than-fresh devices. Save for one notable product.Without the halo of its still secret unicorn, the Galaxy S III, to power the brand's visibility, the company turned the spotlight on its other flagship -- the Galaxy Note 10.1 -- as more of a rightful successor to its O.G. Galaxy Tab of the same size, not the recently debuted Tab 2 (10.1). Confused? That's understandable, but this broad-screened fella's outing marks a stark transition away from the Note as smartphone, established by its 5.3-inch forebear, to a concrete series of S-Pen equipped products. Its beefier dual-core 1.4GHz CPU and 1GB RAM notwithstanding, this is, for all intents and purposes, more of a gentle update than a full-on refresh, as most of the build, screen (1,280 x 800) and camera setup remains virtually unchanged.Solidifying the unit's place atop the industry's top-shelf mantel, is its inclusion of Google's latest ICS OS (4.0.3), slathered here in a TouchWiz skin, and the addition of two pre-installed S-Pen apps: Adobe PS Touch and Ideas. So, software improvements aside, why should this tablet, an admitted work-in-progress that's lacking the finishing touches of a final production model, occupy a space on your finely tuned tech radar? Why should you devote a portion of your gadget-lusting heart to the promise of a killer device currently lacking any known pricing or availability? Well, to answer those questions, Samsung let us spend some brief, albeit quality time with the Note's in-development next of kin. So follow on after the break as we explore its digitizer-optimized nooks and crannies and whet your appetites for what's to come.
Galaxy Note ICS upgrade pushed back to Q2, adds exclusive set of stylus-ready apps (video)
Unfortunately, Samsung's Galaxy Note won't join the Galaxy S II with its own upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich in Q1 as originally announced, since the company has now scheduled its arrival for Q2. It will however, arrive worldwide as part of a "Premium Suite" software upgrade packed with exclusive apps meant to highlight its S-Pen stylus. One of them is S Note, which combines notes and sketches with other apps like Shape Match and Formula Match which are also included to assist recognition of geometric shapes and hand drawn formulas. The final app packed in is My Story, designed to create personalized cards. We're not sure how much use you'll get out of those unless you're a math professor, project manager or just love sending e-cards, but there's one more treat in the form of an exclusive Angry Birds Space level and free access to 30 "Danger Zone" levels for a limited time. Press play on the video above for a peek at the apps -- and the Note's TouchWiz-styled flavor of Android 4.0 -- or check out the press release after the break.Update (4/12): Samsung has swapped out the video for a slightly longer one with "more features and detailed information". Your guess is as good as ours as to what's different, or exactly when the upgrade will arrive, but the new vid is now embedded above.
