14 DAY TRIAL // When, several hours ago, we got on the subway leading away from Messe Berlin, we didn't really expect to be surprised by Samsung to such a degree, and pleasantly too. Yet here we are.
Samsung held the Unpacked Episode 2 Event at the Tempodrome, where it revealed the three stars of its IFA 2013 exhibition: The Galaxy Note 3 smartphone, the new Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet, and the Galaxy Gear Android smartwatch.
We'll see to the phone and watch separately. Here we'll focus on the Galaxy Note 10.1 Reborn, as Samsung called it in its lively presentation.
The specs alone are amazing: a 10.1-inch 2560 x 1600 resolution LCD, 8/2 MP cameras, quad-core 1.9 GHz (3G/Wi-Fi) or octa-core 2.3 GHz CPU (for 4G LTE), GPS, GLONASS, accelerometer, Gyroscope, geo-magnetic sensor, 1080p video playback (@60Hz), 16/32 GB storage (64 GB more via microSD), and 3 GB RAM.
Yet they aren't the best part of the new product. The real best part is the Air Command Menu, a feature dubbed “Dot, Circle and Box.”
In a nutshell, it is a totally new and cool way of using the S-Pen stylus included with every new Galaxy Note 10.1.
By holding the S-Pen over the screen and pressing the button on it, the round Air Command menu will pop up.
That menu has several sections. One allows for making handwritten memos, or saving the handwritten information in another format (like, say, making a new contact), For future reference, the menu is saved along with the new entry, and can be called up later just by tapping it with the pen.
It's also possible to do a number of other things, like calling up Autodesk Sketchbook and, a favorite of many, using the Pen Window.
This is where the box comes in. By using Air Command and activating the option on the far right, you can draw a box on the screen. That action opens a menu, where you can select from a number of apps, like a calculator. Your selection is then opened in a new window as large as the box you drew.
This is the ultimate multitasking tool really. We were able to open four different menus this way, at the same time, on not just the Note 10.1, but the note 3 phone as well. And it's possible to drag and drop the windows too.
Add to that the Multi Window feature, which allows two apps to be opened side by side (even two of the same app, like a browser), and you definitely won't run out of things to try any time soon.
Feast your eyes on the picture gallery we put together.
Note: Sebastian Pop and fellow editor Ionut Arghire are on the floor at IFA 2013 and are bringing you pictures and live reports on the latest products and previews. Find them all here.
