Overseas, it doubles as a phone. Here in the US, it's just a tablet with an S Pen onboard. For its stateside debut, Samsung's stripped the Galaxy Note 8.0 of the very HSPA+ radios that made it an 8-inch curiosity at this year's Mobile World Congress. Now, as it's primed to go on sale, the Note 8.0 has sobered up, combining a host of compelling TouchWiz software tricks lifted from its high-profile Galaxy mates into a more serious, along with a more pocketable size.
Its 8-inch form factor may be new, but the bits used within should be plenty familiar: Samsung's borrowed elements from previous products, including the Note 10.1's 1,280 x 800 TFT display (albeit with a higher pixel density of 189 ppi). Meanwhile, the Note 8.0 draws inspiration from some Samsung phones, too, with chrome accents, a bulging rear camera module and a build that manages to be reminiscent of both the Galaxy S III and Note II. What's more, it packs a 1.6GHz Exynos 4 Quad inside -- yep, just like its predecessor. It'd be easy to pass the Note 8.0 off as a comfortable retread; a Best of edition for the Note line. In a way, it is. But, Samsung's not so daft -- there's a cushy market for tablets as a second screen and the company knows this all too well. So, can it best the iPad mini as the go-to, do-everything couch companion? Or is this $399 tablet more of a supernova for the Galaxy line? Follow along to find out.
Filed under: Tablets, Samsung
Comments
After the nightmare that was the Galaxy Note 7, few people would've been surprised if Samsung killed the Note line entirely. But it didn't. As an insane number of leaks have suggested, the company still believes the world needs a high-end phablet wit...
After an embarrassing fiasco involving exploding batteries, recalls, apologies and assurances, Samsung is ready to re-introduce the Note line to the world. Thanks to the plethora of leaks, we have a pretty good idea of what the new device will look l...
If you've been eagerly awaiting the return of the Galaxy Note after the drama surrounding last year's model, today is the day. At 11AM ET, Samsung will reveal the Note 8 and perhaps a few other things during the festivities. We'll be there to cover a...
The nice thing about 8-inch Windows tablets, aside from how portable they are, is that they're often super inexpensive and come with Microsoft Office pre-installed. The challenge for big tech companies is getting consumers to actually want to use t...
