Bigger than the Note II, but smaller than the Note 10.1. This is the perfect way to describe Samsung’s new phablet that recently made its first appearance in the 2013 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain—the Galaxy Note 8.0.
Based on the size and specs of the device, it is clear that the Note 8.0 is the Korean company’s reaction to the iPad Mini. It measures a little over 8 inches in height, under 8mm in slimness, and 338g in weight. Think of it as a slightly shrunken Note 10.1.
Inside the Note 8.0 is a 1.6GHz Exynos 4 quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM. The device runs Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean as its OS and comes in 16GB and 32GB variants. The Note 8.0 features an 8-inch Full HD TFT touch screen with a pixel density of 189 ppi (notably higher than the iPad Mini’s 163ppi display).
The Note 8.0 comes with an updated S Pen functionality that allows users to use the S Pen to control physical buttons as well, eliminating the need to switch between the use of your fingers and the stylus. The Air View feature, where users can interact with the screen simply by hovering over it with S Pen, has also been upgraded and is now compatible with third-party apps. Pre-loaded in the Note 8.0 is Awesome Note, a note-taking app that was previously only available to iOS devices.
The device also has a built-in IR blaster. Users can utilize the Note 8.0 as a universal remote control for other electronic devices—TVs, media players, and the like—of different brands.
The Note 8.0 comes in 3G and 4G variations, which means that you’ll be able to text and make calls on it—no matter how ridiculous you may look holding up an 8-inch slate to your ear. Additionally, Samsung announced that the US will only have access to the Wi-Fi variant of the device.
Samsung’s Galaxy Note 8.0 is expected to hit the market worldwide in Q2.
Photo from IGN