Samsung 12-inch Galaxy NotePro Android Tablet Hands-on

[Guest]

If there is a screen-size arms race going on, then Samsung dropped the equivalent of a hydrogen bomb at CES when it announced a 12-inch tablet. We recently got a chance to go hands-on with this imposing piece of Android hardware.

Samsung 12-inch Galaxy NotePro Android Tablet Hands-on : Read more

 

[Yargnit]

The price point is up there with a Surface Pro. Why pay this much for an android tablet when you could get a system running a full desktop OS for the same price range that's also a great tablet? At $599-$649 maybe, $750-$850 no way.

 

[JD88]

Comparing this thing to a Surface PRO is really not realistic at all. For one, this is 2" larger yet still weighs a lot less. Next, the screen is much higher resolution and better quality. It has a totally fan-less design and silent operation while the Surface has been well known to get hot. Battery life on this should also be significantly better. The Wacom digitizer is also a huge plus. This all goes without mentioning the massive discrepancy in touch optimized applications. Honestly, when you think about what you're getting here and consider how some new Smartphones cost about the same or that the 64 GB ipad and Surface RT are just $150 less, this is a really good deal. Anyone who wants a Windows laptop is just going to get one of those. This is for people who want a very nice tablet.

 

[dwdesign]

They must be crazy. This is what happens when you try to rush something to market just to be the first there. I'll stick with my IPad and Mac. They talk to each other very well.

 

[aracheb]

JD88 what are you talking about.. I have a surface pro and a surface 2. non of which get hot as you said. Don't know here you get your information but i even use my surface 2 as a workstation with the docking station and never had any issue with it. Dwdesign.: this is for business.

 

[JD88]

JD88 what are you talking about.. I have a surface pro and a surface 2. non of which get hot as you said. Don't know here you get your information but i even use my surface 2 as a workstation with the docking station and never had any issue with it. Dwdesign.: this is for business.

Do a quick Google search and you'll find pages of talk about it. Not saying it's bad hardware or even unbearable, but it still gets hot. Microsoft has even acknowledged the problem.

 

[teh_chem]

Samsung's android tablets are so expensive. I use android for my phone and tablet, but I'd never pay this much for an android tablet, and price is generally no object if I want to buy a phone or tablet; but value is an important factor. I understand what JD88 is saying--it's true, with this, you get a lighter, fanless design. Being more touch-oriented is a bit irrelevant if you ignore the productivity-side of windows tablets (and where productivity on Android is very sad). I think the digitizer is more of a bragging-right gimmick than something most people use regularly (of course, some people use it a lot). But the biggest obstacle is still the absolute price point. I don't think any android tablet with 32GB storage is worth $750 (and for the tablet alone! Not even a dock at that price!). And no android tablet regardless of the storage size is worth $850 when factoring in value.

 

[therealduckofdeath]

The price point is up there with a Surface Pro. Why pay this much for an android tablet when you could get a system running a full desktop OS for the same price range that's also a great tablet? At $599-$649 maybe, $750-$850 no way.

I would have agreed with you, if it wasn't for the fact that the Surface Pro is still simply too thick and heavy. And besides that, this tablet has a more productive screen size than the Suface Pro, crammed into a much lighter and thinner frame. The choice isn't as obvious as you would like to think...

 

[gkvector]

<quote>At this year’s CES, Samsung surprised everyone with the announcement of its new Galaxy Pro series of tablets, with the Galaxy NotePro 12.2 being the star of the show</quote>Everyone, that is, except anyone with an interest in tablets and access to the internet.Seriously, rumors of a 12 inch Samsung tablet go back at least to September and were pretty much confirmed by December.If you were surprised at CES, you should probably find work in another field.

 

[duttyfoot]

I Love your review of the tablet. Very refreshing and a lot more professional than the video review over at theverge.com

 

[Niva]

The digitizer is NOT for bragging rights where artists are concerned, I'm seriously looking at the 10 and 12 inch tablets with sketchbook pro for Android as an alternative to the Surface Pro (which really needs to be refreshed by MS.)