Sure looks pretty, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 which was unofficially announced by JK Shin the head of Samsung Mobile back in January has today been made official. The 8″ Tablet which features the same Wacom digitizer based S-Pen input of all the Note line will be released globally in Quarter 2 this year.
Samsung describes the Note 8 as something that will ‘re-ignite the mid-size tablet category’. Whilst the spec list is pretty decent I wouldn’t be calling it an insanely over-specced tablet. The Note 8 includes the ability to take phone calls on your tablet which is not much of a stretch for a 3G enabled tablets as it phone calls utilise the same radio component that delivers data.
Galaxy Note 8 Specs :
- 8″ 1280×800 resolution TFT display(189ppi)
- 1.6GHz Quad-Core Samsung Exynos 4 CPU
- 2GB of RAM
- 16GB or 32GB of internal storage with microSD Card support
- 5MP Rear Camera with 1.2MP Front Facing Camera
- Android 4.1.2(Touchwiz)
- 3G enabled HSPA+ 21 (850/900/1900/2100MHz)- With voice calls (LTE Also coming at some stage) – microSIM
- 4,600mAh battery
- 210.8mmx135.9mmx7.95mm @ 338grams
The emphasis for the Note 8 is on the software with the newest version of Touchwiz offering all the features we’ve seen in the Premium Suite rolled out to other Note models such as multi-window as well as all the S-Pen related software that Note owners love as well as for the first time on a Samsung Galaxy tablet Flipboard, and Awesome Note.
Samsung has also included Smart Remote which they describe as ‘a universal remote control and electronic programming guide allowing you to manage TV and video watching seamlessly’ which works with the in-built IR Blaster. I like the idea of the in-built IR Blaster and it’s great to see it coming back onto mobile devices, for naysayers out there I understand your point but until everyones current AV equipment has other options for controlling it then IR is a necessity.
Overall, the Note 8 looks pretty good I don’t think I need the S-Pen personally but owning a Nexus 7 has taught me that this form factor is definitely the right one for taking notes and being able to hold easily in one hand. Can’t wait for further information on the local release and you can bet we’ll be speaking with Samsung Australia as soon as we can.
Are you interested in the Galaxy Note 8?
