14 DAY TRIAL // We've been singing the Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet song for weeks now, and the company has finally launched the device, complete with S-Pen stylus, priced at $499 / 479 Euro.
At first glance, and from some hands-on videos, the tablet seems to be a must-have, especially to professionals that work in graphics design or the like.
However, reviews aren't quite as generous in dispensing praise, even those written by people with little to no pro-Apple iPad bias.
The main problem found with the tablet is the really bizarre visual lag when swiping back and forth through different homescreens. We call it bizarre because the 1.4GHz quad-core Exynos processor and 2GB of RAM should not allow for anything of the sort.
The reason for this performance downside is the custom interface that Samsung has superimposed on the Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system, plus the many widgets that the company included by default.
The aforementioned price is the other issue. At $499 / 479 Euro, Galaxy Note 10.1 competed directly with Apple's iPad, which has a superior screen and strong developer support.
As for the rest of the Android on ARM tablet market, the S-Pen is really the only unique advantage to speak of, and it may not be enough on its own. The stylus works well when writing and drawing, but the number of apps that support it is small, at least for the moment.
Nevertheless, even if the Note 10.1 isn't a must buy, it is still a more than decent consumer electronics device, with a 10.1-inch 1280 x 720 LCD, 16 GB or 32 GB of storage, Wi-Fi, two cameras (5 MB back, 1.9 mp front) and split-screen multitasking.
Finally, the shape and bezel thickness could have been approached differently, but we suppose Samsung had to do something to avoid having this product sued by Apple as well.