Take Note of the future

Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 is the latest addition to the Galaxy Note series and features an 8-inch touch-screen, a multifunction stylus and slim profile.

Note 8.0 is only 7.95mm thin and its 8-inch touch-screen has 1280 x 800 pixel resolution at 189 ppi depth. The tablet runs on Google Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system.

It is a powerful tablet because it is powered by a quad-core 1.6 GHz processor and it has 2 GB RAM to support smooth multitasking. It has 16 GB storage, which is expandable by a microSD card of up to 64 GB.

Note 8.0 supports HSPA+ 3G connection at 850/900/1900/2100 MHz and Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n connection. The test was done on the Wi-Fi connection.

The test found that Note 8.0 has good performance. It played HD video smooth and beautifully. Graphics games also ran fast and smooth. Its music player also played songs with good quality sounds when I tested it with my Sony’s premium in-ear headphones.

And I love the e-book reader function of Note 8.0. The tablet comes with Reading Mode that optimises the gorgeous screen to provide perfect illumination and tone so that you can have a comfortable reading experience in all lighting conditions. And its stylus pen, which is called S pen, allows you to annotate your e-book directly.

I used the Readers Hub app to download e-pub books to try and really enjoyed the e-book reading on the Note 8. The screen size is good for reading e-books as it is not too large and too small and can be held in one held. The simulation of page turning is beautiful and gives you a feeling of turning real book pages. And when you pull out the S pen from its holding slot at the right bottom corner of the tablet, you can highlight text with marker of any colour, or copy text or even put a bookmark on the page you are reading. 

Note 8.0 also comes with eye-sensing technology that senses that your eye is reading what is on the screen so that the tablet will not go into sleep mode.

The S pen is an excellent tool of Note 8.0 for inscribing your ideas on the S Note app and you can use it as a tool for navigation and also a tool for interacting with the tablet.

The S Note is very useful app. It comes with ten templates, three of them new, for you to sketch or write down your ideas or create stunning presentations.

Note 8.0 also comes with S Planner app that allows you to write your notes and diary on a calendar.

The S pen comes with Air view technology that allows you to hold the stylus near the screen to see more information. It supports Quick Command function by allowing you to write a particular command for the tablet to perform.

You can also use the S pen to navigate back to the previous menu or screen or to open a menu, to capture screen, to cut out an image and to select text as well as opening the Quick Note app.

Like Note II and Note 10.0, Note 8.0 supports multitasking in two split windows. Now, it is easy to achieve the MultiWindow function. Note 8.0 provides a Multi window tray that can be easily shown or hidden. You simply put the “go back” button on the right side of the hardware home screen button and hold it to show or hide the multi window tray.

And to start multi window, you simply drag an application from the tray to the main window and then drag another application to the main window and you can use both applications at the same time. You can select which one will be on top and you can also adjust the size of widows by moving the split bar.

Among other things, the multi window function allows you to have a phone call while jotting down notes or looking up directions or checking emails or searching the Internet. This could make your life very convenient.

Note 8.0 also comes with an infrared port and an app that turns the tablet into a handy and universal remote control.

Note 8.0 comes with 5 megapixel camera that has good quality for a mobile phone albeit when the shots are made in well-lit environment.

It also has good battery life using 4600 mAh battery. I found that I could comfortably survive a day after one full charge of the battery.

Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 retails for Bt15,200.

 

 

 

 

        Key specs

 

_ Platform: Google Android Jelly bean 4.1

_ Network: HSPA + 21Mbps 850/900/1900/2100

_ Chipset: 1.6 GHz quad core processor (CP: XMM 6262; AP: Exynos 4412)

_ Memory: 2 GB RAM

_ Storage: 16 GB on-board, expandable with microSD (up to 64GB)

_ Display: 8-inch 1280 x 800, 189ppi TFT

_ Camera: 5MP rear, 1.3MP front

_ Connectivity: WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n (2.4 & 5GHz), WiFi Direct, AllShareCast, BT4.0, USB2.0

_ Connectors: 3.5mm Earjack, 11 pin MicroUSB

_ Battery: 4,600 mAh

_ Dimension: 210.8 x 135.9 x 7.95 mm

_ Weight: 345g