Samsung’s latest tablet is certainly the biggest we’ve ever seen, but is
it the best?
With the rate that Samsung churns out tech,
you’d be forgiven for overlooking one of its multitude of mobile devices.
Samsung
Galaxy Note PRO 12.2 inches Hands-on
With the NotePro 12.2, you'd have to be
wearing a blindfold to miss it. Sporting a display oyer a foot long it's one of
the biggest tablets we've ever seen, easily getting itself apart from high-end
rivals and Samsung's own identikit white slabs.
Screen
With such an eye-catching display, it's a
good thing the NotePro 12.2 has the resolution to back it up: 2,560 x 1,600
pixels, which equates to a density of 255 pixels per inch. That might not sound
like a lot compared to your smartphone's display, but the new iPad Air's screen
is a whole 3.5 inches smaller and only packs in an extra 9ppi. The NotePro 12.2
looks very sharp and incredibly vibrant too - particularly with the backlight
cranked all the way up.
The huge display has other benefits besides
the increase in pixels. Its vast width means that when browsing websites via
Chrome, you get an almost desktop-like experience, with sites showing their
lull contents in original format and aspect ratio.
The
12.2” WQXGA (2560 x 1600) display means more of everything
It's also a fantastic way to watch video,
and if you have a long commute, then the NotePro 12.2 could make it a whole lot
more bearable. The same goes for games, although more processor-intensive,
fully 3D games see a noticeable drop in frame rate compared to on a smartphone.
This could be down to a number of factors, most likely poor optimization on the
part, of game developers to take into account such a large resolution. It could
also be-down to the NotePro 12.2's 'octo-core' processor.
Performance & Processor
See, the thing is that the NotePro 12.2
doesn't have a true octo-core processor; it actually combines two quad-core
processors. It's still an incredibly powerful device, as its 3GB of RAM shows,
and it breezes through most tasks - simpler games such as Jetpack Joyride run
perfectly. But don't be fooled into thinking its chipset will blow the
competition away.
It does, however, sit comfortably at the
top of the pile as one of the most powerful tablets out there.
Design & Build
This power does come at a price, though. As
you might have suspected, the NotePro 12.2 is not the most mobile of tablets.
Its giant screen, combined with all of its fancy innards, mean it weighs a superheavyweight
750g. That's 272g-more than a third -heavier than the iPad air and 88g' more
than the iPad with Retina Display. The fact that Apple decided to redesign its
tablet, which was already lighter than the NotePro 12.2, to reduce its weight, tells you just how heavy
this device is.
It’s not all bad, though. The sheer surface
area of the NotePro 12.2 means it’s impressively thin at 7.95mm, which is only
0.45mm deeper than the iPad Air. Its four-sided bezel isn’t too fat either, and
while it might look like most other Samsung devices, the faux leather backing
is a surprisingly nice touch. Just don’t expect to be able to use it one-handed
like you might be accustomed to; you’ll have to find a surface to rest it on,
or spend your time straining, hunched over your lap.
Samsung
Galaxy NotePRO has all you need for work and entertainment
Apps & Software
To some extent, that doesn’t really matter.
This is a tablet designed, first and foremost, with business in mind. There’s a
wealth of business-oriented apps and widgets pre-loaded including
Businessweek+, Cisco WebEx Meetings and Samsung e-Meeting. There’s even Hancom
Office, Samsung’s answer to Microsoft’s Office suite, meaning you can look over
your documents and presentations on the go. There’s also the infinitely useful
Remote PC application, which allows you to access your home computer via your
tablet wherever you have an internet connection, meaning no more forgotten
articles or missing presentation slides.
