Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 - Powerful Performance And Vivid Screen (Part 4)

Competitors

When we think of the Note 8.0, only three rivaling tablets come to mind: Apple’s iPad mini, Amazon's Kindle Fire HD and Google’s Nexus 7. Where you will spend your money on mainly depends on the ecosystem you would like to buy or have already had a heavy investment. Other than that, the specs are not much different from this tablet to another tablet; each of which provides the 1,280x800 resolution, except for 1,024x768 screen of the iPad mini.

Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 vs. Nexus 7

Also equally important is the price. The obvious advantages of the Note 8.0 are its quad-core CPU; double the RAM and the S Pen input. But at only $399 for a 16GB model with Wi-Fi-only (the only configuration delivered in the U.S.), it seems expensive to the customers who do not know which tablet is better, especially compared to the Kindle Fire HD and Nexus 7 that involves being pocket-friendly, both available with 16GB of storage for $199. That makes the Note 8.0 a $200 premium. Its price becomes more appealing when you compare it to the $329 iPad mini. Based on that, Samsung has to convince the customers that a dual digitizer with stylus support is commensurate with the high price. However, if it is indeed a stylus you are looking for, then you know where to find it.

Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 vs. iPad mini

Conclusion

Based on that the Note 8.0 sounds like the successful products of Samsung’s Galaxy on paper, you might expect it to be a triumph in design. And in an aspect it's true. With a lively 8-inch, 1,280x800 screen, strong Exynos 4 Quad processor and 2GB of RAM, the Note 8.0 soars. Its Jelly Bean OS does not have any software flaws that threaten to ruin the user experience. Of course, its rich suite of TouchWiz add-on offers additional value for customers who are willing to deeply seek out and explore the nooks and crannies of the system. It really is an exceptional second monitor for the family, representing a content center to video and TV control with WatchOn, as an electronic reading device optimized by Reading Mode and as a tool to increase productivity enhanced by dedicated S Pen applications, Polaris Office and Awesome Note. Actually, the battery life left something we felt regrettable about, but barring that, it seems that the Note 8.0 has it all, do it all and do it well.

With a lively 8-inch, 1,280x800 screen, strong Exynos 4 Quad processor and 2GB of RAM, the Note 8.0 soars.

Thus, what is the problem? There is really not the only one. We have already emphasized how crazy that $399 price tag may seem compared to today’s any other mid-sized tablets. But again, that is a comparison to pretty older, less powerful hardware. As we have said before, the Note 8.0 is competing in a separate tournament - at least this time. We might not be too fond of the S Pen anymore, but including it is a plus. All in all, the American Note 8.0 version is a stable product. In fact, it is almost the Swiss Army knife of Android tablets. Or it would be like that if Samsung left the HSPA + radios alone.

Info

·         Product name: Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0

·         Price: $399

Pros

·         Sturdy build quality

·         Powerful performance

·         Vivid screen

·         Pens can now be used to tap the capacitive soft keys

·         Not many of these sized tablets have stylus support

Cons

·         Battery life is disappointing.

·         There is no HSPA + option in the U.S.

Verdict

·         Even if you rarely use the S Pen, the Galaxy Note 8.0 is a stable tablet.

Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 specifications

General ·         2G Network: GSM 850 / 900 / 1,800 / 1,900 ·         3G Network: HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1,900 / 2,100 ·         4G Network: LTE (market dependent); LTE 700 MHz Class 17 / 850 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100 - for AT&T ·         SIM: Micro-SIM ·         Announced: 2013, February ·         Status: Available. Released 2013, April Body ·         Dimensions: 210.8 x 135.9 x 8 mm (8.30 x 5.35 x 0.31 in) ·         Weight: 338 g (11.92 oz) Display ·         Type: TFT capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors ·         Size: 800 x 1,280 pixels, 8.0 inches (~189 ppi pixel density) ·         Multitouch: Yes Sound ·         Alert types: Vibration, MP3 ringtones ·         Loudspeaker: Yes, with stereo speakers ·         3.5mm jack: Yes Memory ·         Card slot: microSD, up to 64 GB ·         Internal: 16/32 GB storage, 2 GB RAM Data ·         GPRS: Class 12 (4+1/3+2/2+3/1+4 slots), 32 - 48 kbps ·         EDGE: Class 12 ·         Speed: HSDPA, 21 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps ·         WLAN: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi hotspot, DLNA ·         Bluetooth: Yes, v4.0 with A2DP ·         Infrared port: Yes ·         USB: Yes, microUSB v2.0 (MHL), USB Host Camera ·         Primary: 5 MP, 2592х1944 pixels, autofocus ·         Features: Geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, image stabilization ·         Video: Yes, 720p@30fps ·         Secondary: Yes, 1.3 MP Features ·         OS: Android OS, v4.1.2 (Jelly Bean) ·         Chipset: Exynos 4,412 ·         CPU: Quad-core 1.6 GHz Cortex-A9 ·         GPU: Mali-400MP ·         Sensors: Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass ·         Messaging: SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM ·         Browser: HTML5 ·         Radio: No ·         GPS: Yes, with A-GPS support and GLONASS ·         Java: Yes, via Java MIDP emulator ·         Colors: Black, White/Silver Battery ·         Non-removable Li-Ion 4600 mAh battery ·         Stand-by   ·         Talk time: Up to 8 h (multimedia) ·         Music play: Up to 120 h