Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 Preview

Introduction:

Wow, has it been six months already since the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 was officially announced? Boy, how time flies! Feels like it was yesterday when we checked out the tablet's initial variant at MWC 2012. We said initial since Samsung postponed the device's release so that it could alter its design and specifications, in case you've forgotten.

Instead of the dual-core processor that was initially planned, the Galaxy Note 10.1 now boasts a powerful quad-core Exynos chip, the main camera has been bumped up to 5 megapixels, and last but not least, a slot for the device's S Pen has been added. Yup, you read that right! The tablet is tailored to work with the S Pen, which looks and acts kind of like a stylus, but it is actually a bit more advanced than those obsolete toothpicks. But more on that later!

Now, before we begin our preview, allow us to stress that the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 that we have today is a prototype unit. Still, despite the kinks, it works well enough to give us a general idea as to how the finalized version of the tablet will behave, so without further ado, let us fire it up and see what it has to impress us with.

Design:

No surprises here, folks. Samsung has chosen to go with plastic for the construction of the Galaxy Note 10.1, which is why the device looks pretty ordinary and won't really make any jaws drop with its appearance. In fact, its design is more or less identical to that of the Galaxy Tab 2 (10.1), save for the addition of an LED flash for the camera on the unit's back and the slot for the S Pen, located on the device's bottom right hand corner.



On the top edge of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 we see the lock key and the 2-button volume rocker. They respond with a nice click when pressed, and since they are well exposed, one can effortlessly find them with a single finger. Also on top reside the 3.5-millimeter headphone jack and the slots for the microSD and SIM cards, both of which are protected by easily removable plastic covers. Not to be forgotten is the IR blaster, which allows the tablet to be used as a remote control for TV sets or other home appliances. On the bottom side we see a microphone and Samsung's own proprietary port, which is used for charging and transferring data between the tablet and a computer.

The stereo speakers are located on the front side of the tablet, which is a design choice we quite like. Their placement allows for sounds to be directed at the user, so the upper frequency range is not lost as it is with tablets that have their speakers on the sides or at the back.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 weighs 600 grams (21.6 oz) and has a thickness of 8.9 millimeters (0.35 inches), which are figures typical for today's 10-inch tablets. Still, due to its weight and dimensions, the device has to be held with two hands during prolonged use, unless you have something you can rest it against. Even in portrait mode, the strain on the wrist is a bit too much to bear for a long period of time, which can be annoying if you are on the go and need to write something down using the S Pen.

S Pen:

The S Pen is what makes the Galaxy Note 10.1 special – special in a good way, that is. As we mentioned above, the accessory seems to act as an old-school stylus, but it is actually sensitive to pressure. The harder the S Pen is pressed against the tablet's surface, the bolder the strokes will be when drawing or writing. It may not sound like much, but it makes your digitized handwriting or artwork look a bit more “human”. Besides, Draw Something is much more fun when you have pen-like input at your disposal! There is a button that resides on the side of the S Pen. Holding it down and touching the accessory to the tablet's display takes a screenshot, and double-tapping opens the S Note application.



Display:

Samsung has chosen to equip the Galaxy Note 10.1 with one of its very own Super PLS LCD displays. Theoretically, this display technology is superior to IPS LCD due to the increased viewing angles and brightness output, not to mention that the panels are cheaper for Samsung Display to produce.

The screen on the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 measures 10.1 inches in diagonal and has a resolution of 1280 by 800 pixels (149 ppi), which is nothing out of the ordinary, and far from what one would expect to see on a flagship device. In fact, it is somewhat underwhelming to have a tablet that is meant to suit the needs of digital graphics artists, among other niches of users, and yet sporting a screen with such low pixel density. Nevertheless, when the tablet is held at a sufficient distance, things look smooth enough for the average consumer to be satisfied.

Interface:

Running on the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 is Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich customized with the company's tailor-made TouchWiz UX interface. There are plenty of goodies to tweak the appearance of the tablet with, including live wallpapers and various widgets. On the bottom side is located a pop-up bar, which hosts shortcuts for various frequently used tools, like the calculator, music player, phone, and messaging apps. Four shortcuts are placed on the lock screen for convenience. Overall, the interface is simple enough for even tablet newbies to get used to quickly, yet still provides sufficient functionality to those who want a bit more out of their slate.



Multiscreen is an interesting interface feature that splits the screen in half displaying two separate applications on each side. The idea is that notes can be taken easily, without the need to switch back and forth between S Note, and the web browser, for example. Note, however, that not all apps can be viewed in Multiscreen mode. The functionality is limited to S Note, Polaris Office, the video player (not YouTube), and the web browser.



Samsung deserves a tip of the hat for including not one, not two, but three types of on-screen keyboards. First we have the standard one occupying the entire width of the unit's screen, which facilitates typing with more than just two fingers. There is a very practical, easy-to-use split keyboard as well should you prefer inputting those text messages using thumbs only while holding the unit with both hands. Alternatively, there is a floating keyboard that you should theoretically be able to move around, yet that doesn't seem to work yet on our prototype unit.



Software:

To no surprise, the S Note application comes pre-installed on the Galaxy Note 10.1. After spending quite some time with the app, we can confidently conclude that is a versatile piece of software that is good for note-taking, but can actually come in handy in a much wider range of scenarios.

In addition to all the basic necessities like multiple brushes, color palette, and a variety of backgrounds, there is also a whole bunch of templates that can be used, depending on whether you are making a presentation, writing down cooking recipes, taking notes in math class, or just drawing random scribbles. Graphics can be imported from the image library or from the web by capturing a screenshot and cropping the image you need.

To make your work look even better, the app supports shape recognition, which can automatically detect hand-drawn lines or geometrical shapes and straighten them out. The feature can be quite useful when drawing tables and charts, or visualizing math problems. Speaking of math, there's also the formula recognition feature that does exactly what you'd imagine. The Wolfram Alpha database is easily accessible should you need a particular formula that you can't remember, kind of like a built-in cheat sheet. It goes without saying that S Note is a pleasure to use with the S Pen. Thankfully, the app is smart enough to ignore when your wrist is resting against the display.



With Adobe Photoshop Touch, which comes pre-loaded on the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1, one can manipulate images in a way similar to what the desktop version of the popular application allows. Sure, the capabilities of the software are limited, but for an app that comes bundled with the tablet's purchase, it gets the job done well. Most importantly, the added precision of the S Pen facilitates the process of photo editing. If you want to know more about the application, check out our Photoshop Touch review.



Adobe Ideas also comes pre-loaded on the tablet. Think of it as a sketchpad that can be used when inspiration hits so that you can easily visualize your ideas with the help of the S Pen. It isn't as versatile as S Note, however, so having Adobe Ideas is kind of pointless, in our opinion.



As we mentioned earlier, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 has an IR blaster that can be used to control various home appliances, such as TV sets, set-top boxes, or home theater systems. The app necessary for the functionality to work is included, so we gave it a quick test. In just a few steps we got it to work with a modern HDTV – we could change channels, adjust the volume, and access other basic controls.



Processor and memory:

There is a 1.4GHz quad-core Exynos processor ticking inside the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 coupled with a whopping 2GB of RAM. Future-proof combination indeed, although we won't comment much about the tablet's performance since the unit on our hands is just a prototype. Still, we ran several benchmarks on it and got some pretty impressive scores.

	Quadrant Standard	AnTuTu	NenaMark 2
Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1	5010	10201	58.7
Asus PadFone	5017	6327	60.6
Toshiba Excite 10	4046	10675	47.7
Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (10.1)	2711	4995	18.7

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 comes with a microSD card slot, which can accommodate cards of up to 64GB in size. As far as native storage is concerned, the most affordable model has 16GB of built-in storage, while the priciest offers 64GB. Note that the actual user-available storage space will be less than that. We cannot omit mentioning that 50GB of free Dropbox storage for 2 years come with the purchase of a Galaxy Note 10.1, courtesy of Samsung.

Internet and connectivity:

10-inch tablets were made for surfing the web, and sure enough, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 delivers a rich web-browsing experience, with multiple tabs, smooth navigation, and fast page loading times. Desktop version of web pages can be viewed comfortably, without the need to zoom in on paragraphs. Interestingly, we noticed that the browser detects when the S Pen is near the screen and reacts as if you are hovering with a mouse cursor above an item. The only feature missing out of the box is Adobe Flash, but we had no troubles installing the software manually. Keep in mind, however, that Flash for Android is not supported anymore, so don't expect getting any software updates in the future.



The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 will be available as a Wi-Fi-only device, but a model with 4G HSPA+ connectivity at up to 21Mbps is coming as well. An LTE model will also be available later in the year.

Camera:

You can take photos and HD videos using the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 and its 5-megapixel auto-focus camera. There is even an LED flash for the times when the ambient lighting is simply not enough. On the tablet's front resides a 2-megapixel camera that is good for video chats or for taking self portraits. The camera interface comes loaded with several handy features, such as panorama mode and various color effects. We took a few samples with our prototype unit, including a 720p video, and below you can see the results. Don't make any conclusions yet, however, as the quality of photos taken with a finalized unit might differ.



Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 Sample Video:



Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 Indoor Sample Video:



Multimedia:

Although it isn't anything special, we are satisfied with the stock music player on the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1. It covers all the basic features a music player should have, supports the FLAC audio format, and has its own home screen widget. Music can be purchased straight from the tablet using Samsung's Music hub, powered by the 7digital online music store.



The volume output of the speakers is decent – not louder than your radio alarm clock by any means, but sufficient for comfortably enjoying a YouTube video or a song from your music library.

Watching videos on the Galaxy Note 10.1 is a pleasure for a number of reasons. Not only that the 10.1-inch screen with aspect ratio of 16:10 provides plenty of display real estate, but the stock video player supports a wide variety of codecs and resolutions, Our MPEG4, DivX and MKV video samples played back smoothly even at 1080p, with seamless rewinding and fast forwarding and without dropping a frame.

Watching videos

Expectations:

Folks, the return of the stylus is nothing to giggle about and make fun of. Take the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 as an example – having pen-like input on a tablet can be quite useful when the functionality is executed right and backed up by software that can take advantage of it.

There are more than a few types of users who will appreciate the accuracy of the S Pen, including students and business professionals who need an ultra portable notepad replacement. Digital artists might be interested in the tablet too since the accessory can be used as a pretty versatile paint brush.

But does the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 have anything else to make a name for itself? Well, those who don't care much about the S Pen get an Android tablet with future-proof hardware on the inside, namely a quad-core Exynos processor and 2GB of RAM.

However, it would have been so much better if the display's resolution was higher than oh-so-last-year's 1280 by 800 pixels. Not that the current pixel count does not get the job done, but 1080p tablet screens we've seen more than once already, and we expect to keep on seeing them fitted on high-end tablets from now on.

But anyway, the time to draw any conclusions about the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 by has not come yet. Sure, this prototype unit left us with a generally positive impression, but you'll read our final verdict once we get our hands on a finalized unit.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 Video Preview: