SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE 8.0

The middle brother in size with the Samsung tablet line, the Galaxy Note 8.0 improves upon previous Galaxy Tab and Note models in several areas – mostly those having to do with size. But while maintaining the super convenient functionality of the S Pen feature, the Note 8.0 shows a surprising lack of performance in others.

Based on the success of its prior intriguing stylus-based Galaxy Note models in 5.5” and 10” formats, Samsung headed fully into the 8” size range of the iPad Mini, Amazon Kindle Fire and Google Nexus 7 tablets – and should prove a competitor to these big names indeed. In hindsight, one wonders how the folks at Samsung didn’t realize that their S Pen functionality was perfect for this size.

Most reviews of the Galaxy Note 8.0 have noted its light weight (a big contrast to the heavy Galaxy Tab) making the tablet ideal for one-handed use, yet allows easy-to-see use of the stylus (a nice upgrade from the wee screen of the original Note). The much-noted S Pen is made highly functionality with a long list of apps including graphic-creation programs (e.g. Hello Crayon, Omni Sketch, Zen Brush), stylus-based versions of Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Ideas, and the S Note note-taking app, among others.

The Galaxy Note 8.0 does have some drawbacks – a few of them surprising. Samsung already has something of a (justified) reputation for low battery life in its tablets, and this trend continues here. Quality of both camera and sound are simply not up to Samsung standards either. Most shockingly, the Note 8.0 is quite expensive, starting with a release price $70 higher than the Apple iPad Mini – Useful though the Galaxy Note 8.0 may be, each user will have to decide if the arts-based convenience of this tablet is worth the money.