As with the original Samsung Galaxy Note,
the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 comes rocking an S-Pen, Samsung’s stylish name for
its stylus. And despite similarities with the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1, the
Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1’s spec sheet blows the Tab 2’s out of the water, with
a quad-core 1.4GHz processor and double the RAM. On the flip side, it will also
do your bank balance more damage.
There’s no doubt that
on first glance the Galaxy Note 10.1 and Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 appear almost
identical. The truth is that the Note’s dimensions are a little bit different,
at 262 x 180 x 8.9mm, and a tiny bit heavier at 597g.
Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1
Android action.
“The S-pen works just like a skinnier
more accurate finger”
There’s no Android 4.1
Jelly Bean action on the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1, we’re afraid – just a
heavily modified version of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The alteration
comes courtesy of Samsung’s TouchWiz UI, which will either delight or depress
you, depending on your viewpoint.
Personally, we like
Samsung’s Android overlay, and we were impressed with the raft of new tablet
features afforded to the Galaxy Note 10.1. The first of these is the snazzy
split-screen setup, which enables you to run two apps side by side when the
Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 is in landscape mode, or one on top of the other in
portrait mode. Not only does this enable you to get on with two things at once
(with speedy multitasking taken care of by the healthy 2GB of RAM), but there are
also a couple of funky actions onboard to make your life easier. You can drag
and drop media from one app to the other in a fancy Mac-like copy and paste
action, and you can switch the app positions around at any time. Currently,
only certain apps are afforded an invite to the split-screen party (S-Pen, the
web browser, video player, photo gallery and Samsung’s email client) but we’re
hoping the likes of Twitter and Gmail are added to the guest-list soon.
“The S-pen works just like a skinnier
more accurate finger”
Another multitasking
treat is the pop-out video player. This enables you to play back video in a
op-out, windowless player, so you also get on with other stuff. You can also
resize and move the viewing window, so it’s easy to position it appropriately
for whatever other apps you’re using.
In terms of the S-Pen,
it works just like your finger – albeit a skinnier, more accurate one. It’s
powered by stylus specialist Wacom, and Samsung states that it offered 1,024
degrees of pressure sensitivity. It’s not just for note-taking or drawing,
either – combine a long press with a tap of its side button, for example, and
you take a screenshot. Just removing the S-Pen from its slot brings up a
sidebar of S-Pen friendly apps.
The 5MP camera offer smartphone-style
options but on a tablet.
In order to get the
most out of your Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1, you’ll be making numerous visits to
Google Play. You can download and install APK files if you wish, but we’d
recommend keeping within Google’s app portfolio, or at least using reputable
third-party app stores.
Nobody in their right
mind would base their tablet buying decision on the quality of the camera
onboard; for a start you’ll look like a bit of an idiot if you use a 10-inch
slate as a camera when you’re out and about and the quality of the image and
videos captured is usually pretty atrocious. Saying that, the quality of the
5-megapixel camera (with LED flash) on the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 is good.
It’s no compact camera replacement, and nowhere near the brilliant level of the
top phones, but it’s a marked improvement on its tablet rivals. The usual noise
grain and blur associated with tablet photography is kept to a minimum and
there are plenty of shooting modes on the custom Samsung camera UI. We particularly
liked the Carton mode. Focusing is auto or macro; you can mess around with the
exposure, alter the white balance, and change the ISO, set the scene mode and
much more. In short, it’s a Samsung smartphone quality setup on a tablet, even
if the images aren’t quite up to the same level.
Videos on the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1
are shot in 720p HD, and aren’t as impressive as the stills.
Videos on the Samsung
Galaxy Note 10.1 are shot in 720p HD, and aren’t as impressive as the stills.
They suffer from ta haziness that all tablets seem susceptible to, and moving
images are a problem in terms of autofocusing. You do get an array of shooting
modes to choose from, though.
Interesting innovations
The Samsung Galaxy
Note 10.1 is not an iPad killer. Despite being priced similarly, Apple’s
10-inch tablet easily comes out top. But that’s not a decisive blow for the
Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1. Not everyone buys into Apple’s walled ecosystem –
many people want an Android adventure. And in this sense, the Note 10.1 doesn’t
disappoint. Its S-Pen is brilliantly intuitive, especially when combined with
arty apps such as Photoshop Touch, and Samsung has made some great alterations
to Google’s mobile OS. Split-screen app viewing works well, and the pop-out
video window is great for casual viewing when you need to also check your
emails or do stuff on the web.
The Galaxy Note 10.1 is a step up for
Samsung, and is the best tablet to land from the Korean giant since the
original Galaxy Tab 10.1 in 2011
Ultimately, the Galaxy
Note 10.1 is a step up for Samsung, and is the best tablet to land from the
Korean giant since the original Galaxy Tab 10.1 in 2011. It’s super-speedy
thanks to the quad-core CPU, and multitasking is a breeze thanks to the
generous memory. The price is perhaps a bit more than we’d have liked, and it’s
not the game-changer we were secretly hoping Samsung had up its sleeve, but
it’s still a great 10-inch tablet with a stylish-twist (or should that be
stylus – twist?)
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Details
·
Price: $671.95
·
Website: www.amazon.co.uk
Specification
·
Screen: 10.1-inch 1,280 x 800
·
Processor: 1.4GHz quad-core
·
RAM: 2GB
·
Storage: 16GB, 32GB, 64GB
·
Cameras: 9MP (front), 5MP (rear)
·
OS: Android 4.0
·
Wireless: 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
·
Battery: 7,000mAh
·
Connectivity: Micro USB, 3.5mm
The good
·
Split screen action, quad-core power,
intuitive S-Pen
The bad:
·
Average display, mediocre camera, plastic
chassis
Dimensions
·
Height: 175.3mm
·
Width: 257.8mm
·
Depth: 8.9mm
·
Screen size: 10.1-inch
·
Weight: 583g
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