Samsung Galaxy Note 800 Review

The Galaxy Note 800 stands out in the crowded tablet market. It is the first tab to come out with a stylus (and that stylus is called Samsung's S Pen). This stylus adds a new level of usability to the capacitive touchscreen device. Coming to the looks, this one is a masterpiece, its beautiful, complete with silver trim along the edges with thin, twin speakers that sit discretely on either side of its widescreen display. But When you hold it, you'll come to know that its plastic build and feels like a bit of letdown, especially when the competition is investing in unibody construction and premium materials like aluminium.

Something isn't right about the screen. Both videos and images look great but text appears jagged. The brighter display is betrayed by its under-par 1280x800 resolution. Wanna read a book with this, you better give up. But still the Note 800 makes up for its shortcomings with a top-notch hardware. The tablet responds perfectly to swipes, touches and taps without lag. Its more than equipped to handle any task that you want. Whether it be simple jobs like email and internet chat or processor hungry tasks such as 1080p FullHD videos, image editing and 3D gaming.

The true power of the Note 800's hardware is exhibited when you use its Multiscreen function. This feature allows you to split the display so you can use two apps (between SNote, Gallery, Email, Video, Gallery, Browser and Polaris Office) at a time. It easily plays FullHD videos in one window while browsing through YouTube in the other without a hitch. The Multiscreen feature also lets you work collaboratively between two windows. For example, you can copy an image in your browser on one window and paste it in your office document in the other window. But it doesn't allow for drag and drop.

Coming to the camera, just one word, its flawless. The front one is capable of capturing 1080p FullHD videos at 30fps. Photos, with the rear camera (5MP) are on par with that you would expect from any other 5MP camera on a tablet.

About the stylus

Slide the S Pen out of its slot and you are presented with a menu that lists the various preloaded apps (S Note, S Planner, Photoshop Touch, Polaris Office) that you can use with it. The stylus performs favorably when it came to jotting down notes. It performs pretty well.

If you're an artist and waiting for a tablet that lets you 'Sketch and Paint', then the Note 800 has got to be it. According to Samsung, the S Pen promises up to 1024 degrees pressure. As said before, the stylus works wonderfully. It is a huge improvement over any other tablet and third party stylus combinations.

Conclusion

Note 800 is a good tablet and on par with the current one of quad-core Android tablets. It is a decent investment for a first-time buyer looking for a Google powered slate. Still, it doesn't offer enough for someone to ditch their old tablet and dig into their wallets. But it still lags behind the Apple's iPad - the who and sole leader in the space.

However, it makes a compelling proposition to those who have been waiting for a tablet with a decent stylus support. In this area, this one exceeds expectations.

Samsung Galaxy Note 800 Specs

If you enjoyed this post and wish to be informed whenever a new post is published, then make sure you subscribe to my regular Email Updates. Subscribe Now!

Kindly Bookmark and Share it: