Live from Samsung's Galaxy Note 10.1 Launch
by Anand Lal Shimpi on August 15, 2012 10:56 AM EST- Posted in
- Tablets
- Samsung
- Mobile
- Galaxy Note 10.1
We just sat down at Samsung's Galaxy Note 10.1 US launch event. First announced at Mobile World Congress earlier this year, the Galaxy Note 10.1 brings Samsung's Note brand to a 10.1-inch tablet. The final version uses Samsung's 32nm Exynos 4 quad-core A9 SoC, combined with 2GB of RAM and all driving a 10.1-inch 1280 x 800 display.
Samsung got Moulin Rouge director Baz Luhrmann on stage to talk about his experience with the Galaxy Note 10.1. Ultimately Samsung is touching on a major issue with tablets today: the inability to enjoy the same level of productive multitasking we have on traditional PCs and notebooks.
The Note 10.1 brings multi-window support to Android courtesy of Samsung's own software customizations. The bundled S Pen helps on the creation side as well.
I do feel that Windows 8/RT based tablets will ultimately address a lot of what Samsung has been trying to do with Android over the past couple of years. The real question is whether or not Samsung will bring a lot of its Android experiments to Windows RT later this year.
The Galaxy Note 10.1 will be available for purchase starting tomorrow, priced at $499 for the 16GB WiFi model and $549 for the 32GB WiFi model (white and dark gray colors available). The tablet comes preloaded with Adobe's Photoshop Touch software that's optimized for use with the bundled S Pen.
| Android Tablet Specification Comparison | ||||||
| ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime | ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity | Google Nexus 7 | Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 | |||
| Dimensions | 263 x 180.8 x 8.3mm | 263 x 180.6 x 8.4mm | 198.5 x 120 x 10.45mm | 262 x 180 x 8.9mm | ||
| Chassis | Aluminum | Aluminum + Plastic RF Strip | Plastic | Plastic | ||
| Display | 10.1-inch 1280 x 800 Super IPS+ | 10.1-inch 1920 x 1200 Super IPS+ | 7-inch 1280 x 800 IPS | 10.1-inch 1280 x 800 | ||
| Weight | 586g | 594g | 340g | 597g | ||
| Processor | 1.3GHz NVIDIA Tegra 3 (T30 - 4 x Cortex A9) |
1.6GHz NVIDIA Tegra 3 (T33 - 4 x Cortex A9) |
1.3GHz NVIDIA Tegra 3 (T30L - 4 x Cortex A9) |
1.4GHz Exynos 4 (4 x Cortex A9) |
||
| Memory | 1GB | 1GB DDR3-1600 | 1GB | 2GB | ||
| Storage | 32GB/64GB + microSD slot | 32/64GB + microSD slot | 8/16GB | 16/32GB + microSD slot | ||
| Battery | 25Whr | 25Whr | 16Whr | 26Whr | ||
| OS | Android 4.0 | Android 4.0 | Android 4.1 | Android 4.0 | ||
| Pricing | $499/$599 | $499/$599 | $199/$249 | $499/$549 | ||
The Galaxy Note 10.1 ships with Ice Cream Sandwich, but a Jelly Bean (Android 4.1) upgrade is coming later this year.
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chucknelson - Wednesday, August 15, 2012 - link
I'm sure we're all following this announcement *very* closely. My opinion of Samsung is pretty low with all of their blatant Apple cloning, so I'm hoping this launch turns out to be the peak of this tablet's popularity...danjw - Wednesday, August 15, 2012 - link
Troll much? Samsung smart phones are out selling the iPhone. Apple has become a patent troll because they can't innovate fast enough to keep up. One of Apple's lawyers commented the other day that Apple can't keep up with Samsung, because they are releasing products so quickly. So, I don't think Samsung is going to mind too much what you think of them.chucknelson - Wednesday, August 15, 2012 - link
Apple can't innovate, but man, Samsung is at the top of their game: http://www.reddit.com/tb/kr14aStevoLincolnite - Wednesday, August 15, 2012 - link
Samsung sure are, they are dominating.But if you want to get nick picky... The basic interfaces for phones and computers havent changed THAT much in the past 20 or so years, it's all icons, except for Windows Phone.
The phones and tablets themselves are all rectangles, you cant deviate from that.
iOS and Android both use a Linux/Unix based OS, it's not 100% built from the ground up.
So please, stop having a whinge about how someone is copying your favorite device, no one sane really cares that much as it's an inanimate object that would have no reprecussions on you if a competitor copies someone else device.
So, move along, nothing to see here folks.
abhaxus - Wednesday, August 15, 2012 - link
I would go find a bunch of pictures of rectangles on the internet and say "man Apple sure can innovate, what would we have done without the rectangle they invented!" but I am too lazy. Pretend that I did, and look in the mirror and laugh at yourself.Latzara - Wednesday, August 15, 2012 - link
Copying appearance in a tech product is to me not even secondary but at the very bottom of the list - different tech, different hardware, different OS, and very little restrictions of use compared to Apple - all smartphones these days have a touchscreen interface, and neither is it an invention of Apple neither if it even was does it make any sense to halt someone else if he got the same functionality with their own tech ...That's what litterally pisses me of about Apple - they are patenting functionality and more and more general uses and concepts and the goverments are letting them do it even though it doesn't make any sense whatsoever...
Ammaross - Wednesday, August 15, 2012 - link
@chucknelson, regarding the Samsung store having "Apple" icons hanging on the wall...you might as well claim their aping Facebook or Gmail since those icons are on there too. Just because they're displaying a Safari icon? You can get that icon from the Windows desktop app. Samsung does sell PC hardware in addition to phones, mind you.steven75 - Wednesday, August 15, 2012 - link
Um, if a company came along and tried to KIRF your *entire company* down to your stores, your IDE, etc, I think you'd be singing a different tune.That this isn't obvious to everyone here just exposes how many Apple Haters there are. Logic goes right out the window when they're faced with the black and white of what Samsung has done.
It's not like Samsung hasn't had a history of this behavior. They did exactly the same thing to Sony when Sony was the company to beat in the CE industry.
KoolAidMan1 - Wednesday, August 15, 2012 - link
They also did it to RIM, Samsung were taken to court over copying the Blackberry before the iPhone even existed.Apple haters are so blinded though that they'll give Samsung, which has had a LONG history of copying and being sued as a result, a complete pass. Shameful.
abhaxus - Wednesday, August 15, 2012 - link
Definitely an Apple hater here. Apple sheep are the most ignorant, condescending, and hilarious of all fanbois. The way I feel about Apple is similar to my feelings for Dave Matthews Band... 'Dave" fans are the worst, but the music would be ok if it weren't for the obnoxious fanbase. Apple crossed the line from a product I wasn't interested in because I didn't want to be part of the stereotype, to a company that is straight up evil, the second they sued HTC for "copying" the data tapping patent.