Following yesterday’s MWC 2013 leak, Samsung has officially unveiled the Galaxy Note 8.0, an Android-powered iPad mini rival with a stylus.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 fills-in the middle ground between the Galaxy Note 2 and the 10.1-inch Galaxy Note 10.1, while retaining the key feature of the series – the S-Pen.
This small tablet, or humungous smartphone, is likely to be Samsung’s key unveiling of MWC 2013, which starts officially on Monday 25 February.
Galaxy Note 8.0 Specs
Samsung has not yet announced a price for the 8-inch Android tablet, but its specs suggest the Galaxy Note 8.0 will be a reasonably affordable device. The most clearly budget-conscious part is the screen.
Using 1,280 x 800 pixel resolution, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 doesn’t have particularly high pixel density – most easily compared to the pixel-poor iPad mini. It uses standard TFT LCD tech too, so is a little less snazzy than the Super AMOLED display of last year’s Galaxy Note 7.7.
Other specs include a quad-core 1.6GHz Exynos 4 CPU, 2GB of RAM and either 16GB or 32GB of internal storage.
What we’re most glad to see in the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 is that is offers expandable storage using a microSD slot, a hole in which you can keep the S-Pen and full pressure sensitivity for the stylus. Using a Wacom digitiser layer, the S-Pen is much more advanced than a simple capacitive stylus.
Sure to attract a few jibes, the Galaxy Note 8.0 also has phone call capabilities – although most would agree this 8-inch device is well into tablet – rather than smartphone – territory.
The tablet offers two cameras. There’s a 5-megapixel sensor on the rear, which lacks a flash, and a 1.3MP front camera. Again, low to middle-weight specs show this is meant to be an accessible rather than cutting-edge tablet.
Galaxy Note Release Date
The Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 is the fourth device in the series. Other than the two “standard” Note phones, which had 5.3-inch and 5.5-inch screens, last year Samsung launched the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1, which brought S-Pen functionality to a larger screen.
Samsung has said the Galaxy Note 8.0 will be released internationally in Q2 2013, although no pricing or exact release dates are currently available.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 will be shown-off at this year’s MWC conference in Barcelona. Stay tuned for our hands-on with the tablet, which will be published within the next few days.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
