La galaxy 10.1 It was announced in August of last year, but it was during the IFA in Berlin, in September, when we really had the opportunity to get to know her in depth, since there she held her own presentation event, together with the Galaxy Note II. It is a 10,1 inch tablet manufactured by Samsung that although it could be considered the successor of the Galaxy Tab, incorporates something so characteristic of the Note range as is the Stylus, which makes it a category apart.
The device is, without a doubt, one of the best 10-inch tablets today, on a par with other popular equipment such as the iPad, the high-performance Asus Transformer or Nexus 10 and stands out, as we will show, for the options it offers the user when producing and editing content. We are not only referring to the S Pen, a magnificent tool, easy to use and intuitive, but also to the applications of Samsung collected in the package 'Premium Suite'that incorporates the tablet for such purposes.
Exterior appearance
The material from which the Galaxy Note 10.1 it is polycarbonate, which is the case with most of the Korean firm's equipment. Certainly. There have always been and will always be criticisms aimed at this aspect, however, it also offers very positive features, since plastic is more malleable than other materials, which makes it better absorb shocks. In addition, having the same color on the surface as in the internal area, if the equipment ends up having scratches, they are not noticeable at all.
Plastic is, for the moment, a firm bet of Samsung to get their teams to be practical above all else and they do not seem to intend to change in this regard. Of course, there are many users for whom it does not pose any problem, what is more, they prefer that type of material in the case and not another that requires, if we want to have the device pristine, buy a case to protect it.
The tablet is available in two colors: "pearl white" and "pearl gray".
Dimensions
Regarding the proportions, the Galaxy Note 10.1 Measures 26,2cm x 18cm x 8.9mm. Its weight is 597 grams. It has a really light construction if we compare it for example with the iPad-Retina, although it lags somewhat behind with respect to other subsequent teams, such as the Tablet Xperia Z.
External controls and components
The equipment is designed to be used especially in landscape mode although, simply by turning it, the accelerometer gives us the possibility of working also in portrait mode without any problem.
If we place the tablet horizontally, respecting the orientation of the logo of Samsung, at the top we have (from left to right) the on / off button, the control to regulate the volume, the micro SD card slot, an infrared emitter / receiver and a connection for headphones. At the bottom, there is simply the connection USB-Host 2.0 that can be used as an HDMI output with an adapter cable. On the sides, in the front and overlaid on a gray molding above the frame, there are two speakers that offer excellent sound quality, like that of a laptop or even better.
For the rest, the equipment has two cameras, front and rear, of which we will give details a little later.
S-Pen
One of the most important details of the tablet and that will greatly mark our user experience is the Stylus, whose slot we find in the lower right part of the tablet. It is an exclusive resource in the range Footnotes de Samsung It offers important possibilities. When we remove it from its "hiding place" we notice a small vibration and a menu appears on the right side of the screen with a series of applications specially designed to be used with the pointer.
The accessory is capable of identifying 1024 pressure levels (256 in the Notes 10.1) different on the screen, trying to emulate the writing on paper as faithfully as possible. Obviously, we notice differences, but the response when making strokes on the screen is very good and we recognize our handwriting perfectly.
Screen
The panel Gorilla Glass of this tablet is 10,1 inches, a figure that seems to have been established as standard in devices Android high-end, and a 16:10 aspect ratio.
Perhaps the most problematic point of the device is the resolution of its screen and is that with 1280 × 800 pixels do not have one of the highest density ratios of any equipment in its range, totaling just 149 dots per inch. The truth is that, as we say, it is at a clear disadvantage if we compare it with that of the Nexus 10, also manufactured by Samsung, but if we put ourselves at the optimal distance at which a tablet should be used, and not close to the face, the image it transmits is perfect.
Interface / Operating system
La Galaxy Note 10.1 comes with version Android 4.0 installed as standard, but can be upgraded immediately to Android 4.1 in a simple operation of half an hour (it depends on the speed of our connection). The user interface is marked by the TouchWiz environment of Samsung and due to some characteristics of the firm that we find in almost all its equipment in recent generations, such as gesture control. We can activate various functions of the tablet in a gestural way, the device itself will inform us of how to do it when it comes to the case.
The update to Android 4.1.2 also brings the application pack Premium Suite, a real gem for those who want a tablet to work with. The Notes 10.1 you will have valuable applications after downloading:
Notes, to keep diaries and take notes. Without a doubt, one of the star applications of the tablet. It has several models from which to create our compositions with photos, videos, screenshots of web pages, etc. it works perfectly with the split window that we will talk about a little later.
S Voice, a Siri-style personal assistant or Google Now from Samsung that works with many other applications such as calendar, music player, browser or Notes (to write to dictation), among others.
Polaris Office, an office suite that allows you to edit Microsoft documents Office, Excel y PowerPoint and save them on the tablet or in the cloud.
Paper Artist, to edit photos and apply up to 34 different filters.
Photoshop Touch, another of the stellar applications. PhotoShop is a very popular basic image editing tool on PC. The Note 10.1 incorporates its version optimized for tablets, and has several Tutorials that guide us in its operation.
Besides, we will have other options more focused on leisure such as Chaton, an instant messaging service, AllShare, to share content and play, at the same time, on different Samsung devices, CrayonPhysics, a fun physics logic game, MusicHub y GameHub, to fully enjoy, both in their individual and social dimension, games and music.
La Notes 10.1 It also has an infrared sensor and the application Smart Remote to interact with the TV. However, in Spain both are of little use since Samsung's television service is not yet operational.
Another important aspect of the customization layer of Samsung is the function multi-window that offers us the possibility of working with several applications at the same time. For example, we can be reading a newspaper and taking notes at the same time or have the gallery open and make a composition with our images.
Like the typical Android that is, the home screen is at our disposal to be able to fill it with the icons and widgets that we please. The Notes 10.1 It incorporates a toolbar in the lower area, its right part is reserved for notifications, while on the left we have access to the home screen and the multitaskFurthermore, we can also select 'back' and take screenshots.
To enter the application menu and widgets we have a button in the upper right, and on the left we find the google icon to launch some search.
Another interesting thing is the keyboard in three modes, qwerty, floating or divided, a way to customize the touch typing and configure it to our liking. In this video that they recorded on the Internet, you can see this characteristic.
Unlimited
The Galaxy Note 10.1 mounts a Cortex-A9 architecture processor, the Exynos 4412 quad-core with a clock frequency of 1,4 GHz, and a Mali 400-P GPU. The equipment behaves perfectly, very smoothly even working with several applications at the same time. The RAM of the tablet is 2 GB.
It is the same chip that assemble the Galaxy S III or Note II. Both, together with this tablet, have been a generation of devices Samsung truly glorious, with which the Korean company has established itself as one of the leading firms in the mobile device sector, and as a clear dominator of the Android ecosystem.
Insights
We have made in the Notes 10.1 a couple of performance tests and for this we use two of the most common tests. The first of them has been Quadrant where has scored 6.258 points and the second, AnTuTu, where you have marked 15.308 points, being above teams of enormous power, the Transformer Pad Infinity, For example.
Storage capacity
La Galaxy Note 10.1 has three different storage options, 16GB, 32GB o 64GB, we can choose one or the other depending on the price we can or want to pay. In addition, the equipment offers the possibility of expanding memory with a card slot Micro SD, which supports up to 64GB external storage.
When buying the Note 10.1, Samsung offers as a gift 48 GB free virtual storage in Dropbox during 2 years.
Connectivity
The tablet is available in two versions, only WiFi and WiFi + 3G. In addition, it has other types of connections: Bluetooth 4.0, the system AllShare de Samsung we talked about earlier, and Kies Air, to connect to the equipment through a computer and be able to access its contents when they are linked by the same WiFi network and thus be able to download, for example, photos directly to the tablet or take them from it.
With version 3G, just like the newly presented Galaxy Note 8.0We also have the possibility of making phone calls.
Battery
Battery Galaxy Note 10.1 it is 7.000 mAh. Using it sporadically to play, browse and watch videos, it has lasted several days without the biggest problem. The performance tests that have been carried out so far with the equipment, and even the data provided by the manufacturer itself, determine that the estimated time of continuous use is around 10h.
Cameras
The device is equipped with two cameras. The rear camera is obviously the main one and has 5 megapixels and some other interesting software details such as autofocus, which will help us to take good photos despite not being great experts in the field or smile shooting, a way in which the camera shoots automatically when the subject is smiling.
We also have different filters: no effects, black and white, sepia, and negative. As well as 'modes' depending on the type of photography we want to do: indoor, portrait, sports, sunset, sunrise, etc.
On the same screen of the application we can switch to photo to video and from the rear camera to the front.
The front camera is somewhat more rudimentary, with 1,9 MPx. Its main purpose is to be useful in video conferencing and to capture self-portraits. Although it does not have the flash or the modes to regulate the photo according to the environment, it has some other of the main camera options, including several of the effects and filters.
Final assessment
La Galaxy Note 10.1 it is a very powerful tablet. In terms of performance, one of the best of its generation. In addition, at the moment we can get it in its most basic version at a fairly reasonable price, in relation to the offer of the competition, just over 400 euros. Having behind Samsung As a manufacturer, it is also a sure asset when it comes to upgrades, so the team still has a long life ahead of it.
The most objectionable thing about the tablet, maybe it's your screen, at a clear disadvantage if we compare it with other equipment that in other sections it has little to envy, such as the iPad Retina or the Asus Transformer Infinity. The fact that it is made with plastic it can also be something that displeases more than one user. However, either of the two disadvantages has its positive side. As we say, the panel looks perfectly and projects images of great clarity and a nice brightness. The plastic construction provides us with a safer use against possible mishaps.
What we like the most of the Galaxy Note 10.1 is that it is a step forward when it comes to considering Android tablets as devices oriented to editing and creation content, and not just consumption. His magnificent repertoire of own applications, the possibility of working with multiple windows and the S Pen They will make working with the equipment comfortable and enjoyable, and that is something that most manufacturers have not yet been able to offer; or if they have, it has been with the reference of the PC and the physical keyboard, not seeking to take advantage of the virtues of the tablets.