Review: Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 is the brand's stylus-enabled version of the Galaxy Note smartphone.

Speaking at the South African launch of the Galaxy Note 10.1, Craige Fleischer, director for mobile communication at Samsung SA, described the device as having the functionality and precision of a pen and paper on a 10.1-inch display.

Samsung claims the tablet is the ideal tool for multitasking, as different applications are able to run simultaneously.

Xhead = Look and feel

The tablet version of the Galaxy Note smartphone, the plastic-bodied Galaxy Note 10.1, while attractive enough, somehow doesn't feel very sturdy. The back of the tablet actually feels like it warps slightly when you pick it up. Despite this, the tablet is comfortable to hold and easy to handle.

Looks-wise, it is very similar to Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1, but is a little bigger and heavier with a 10.1-inch LCD display and weighing in at 600g. The tablet has a 1280x800-pixel resolution display, which is good enough, but fails to match up to other tablets on the market. The tablet boasts Smart Stay technology, which makes use of the front-facing camera to tell whether the user is looking at the screen and keeps the backlight on or turns it off accordingly.

The Galaxy Note 10.1 runs on the Android 4.0.4 (Ice Cream Sandwich) operating system, with an update to Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) expected soon. Although it is quite intuitive, the Note 10.1 features Samsung's TouchWiz interface, which really affects performance, making it sluggish when moving between screens.

The pinch-to-zoom method of changing the keyboard is a little difficult to use, and if you type with all 10 fingers, you will find that the option to change the keyboard randomly pops up all the time. In fact, typing in general is rather a challenge, as I often accidentally touched the mini apps menu at the bottom, which I then needed to close before I could continue.

The Galaxy Note 10.1 houses a 1.4GHz quad-core processor combined with 2GB RAM. User memory is 32GB, and a microSD card slot supports up to 64GB. The Lithium-ion 7 000mAh battery is great and the device runs for several days before going flat, even with heavy use. The tablet comes in a WiFi-only and a WiFi and 3G version. As mentioned above, during general navigation, performance is adequate, opening normal apps just fine, but as soon as one attempts to open and use multiple apps, the device slows down.

Working in the split screen is in no way multitasking, as the apps just do not run simultaneously. The three hubs that come standard on the device - Media Hub, Game Hub and Music Hub - as well as the clock, also seem to really affect performance. That said, the Pop Up Play video player works remarkably well and enables the user to hover a video anywhere on the screen, while simultaneously performing other tasks.

The S Pen is good at imitating a real pen and very accurately gauges how hard you are pushing the stylus when doodling or taking notes. The S Pen fits into a slot on the bottom-right corner of the device, which works quite cleverly, as it automatically opens a quick launch menu with relevant stylus apps when the pen is removed from this slot.

The tip registers 1 024 levels of pressure and the stylus is based on Wacom technology, meaning it can be used with any Wacom-enabled device. Response wise, I found it a little slow at times. At present, the device lacks compelling stylus apps, and while it works pretty well in S Note, there is a noticeable lag when switching to another application.

Speaking of multitasking, working in the Galaxy Note 10.1's multi-screen mode is only possible with a specific selection of compatible Samsung apps. The problem with multi-screen mode is that the two apps are not actually running at exactly the same time and there is an obvious delay when switching between apps.

Many of the apps preinstalled on the tablet are not Google apps but Samsung variations of these apps. So you aren't really using Google Chrome, but Samsung's version of it, and the apps are not as good as the originals.

The device includes a 5MP auto-focus, rear-facing camera with LED flash, and a 1.9MP VT front-facing camera. The camera lacks any interesting features, and picture quality is average, at best. Chances are, users will have a better-performing camera on their smartphones and most will only take pictures so they can play around with Photoshop Touch. That's what I did.

The Photoshop Touch app is quite fun and will no doubt be a hit with Instagram lovers. Using the S Pen to edit images is easy and showcases the performance of the stylus.

The Note 10.1's Smart Remote makes use of the IR LED, which works like a remote control, allowing the user to control other devices using the tablet.

The Galaxy Note 10.1 is not NFC-enabled, which seems like a strange move by Samsung when most brands are pushing this technology.

A system bar at the bottom of the Galaxy Note automatically launches a menu with various mini apps. This menu is quite handy, as it opens the apps above whatever the user is busy with on the screen. The user can do some quick maths on the calculator while typing a message, or launch the media player using the mini apps menu, for example.

Split-screen and floating apps are an attempt by Samsung to make the dream of a tablet that has multifunctional capabilities a reality - however, there is still a long way to go before these features perform well enough to justify the sizable price tag. In concept, much of what the Galaxy Note 10.1 offers is exciting - multitasking, split screen, the S Pen - but with too few useful stylus apps available and shoddy build quality, the tablet fails to deliver on many of its promises.