As many Samsung watchers know by now, the Galaxy Note 8.0 tablet will be released on April 11 and retail for about $400. There's a significant price gap between the Galaxy Note 8.0 and the iPad mini, not to mention other, even cheaper tablets like the Kindle Fire and Nexus 7.
Still, the Galaxy Note 8.0 has plenty of features to make tablet shoppers interested. Amid all the iPad mini 2 release date rumors and whatnot, it can be hard to remember that. But Samsung has spruced up its Galaxy Note 8.0 and fixed problems apparent with its predecessor, making it worthy of consideration. Here are five features tablet shoppers should keep in mind about the Galaxy Note 8.0:
1. Multitasking
Let's face it; multitasking on a tablet, especially the iPad and iPad mini, is kind of a joke. What it essentially means is simply switching between one app and another. But with the Galaxy Note 8.0, multitasking comes to life, since Samsung allows users to split the Galaxy Note 8.0 screen between more than just one app for true multitasking capabilities. You can even resize each app to whatever size you like.
Alongside S Pen support, the Galaxy Note 8.0 lets you browse, watch videos, read and get things done; it's a combination the iPad mini and possibly the iPad mini 2 can't quite match up against.
2. S Pen Support
Easily the most noticeable feature of the Galaxy Note series is the S Pen stylus support. Sure, you can get one on the iPad, but it's not going to be outfitted with the kind of capabilities seen on the Note 8.0. There's AirView, of course, which lets you preview what's on the other side of a link or email without having to click and open it up. With a stylus, too, writing becomes a lot easier, especially in any design-oriented programs. Even Flipboard has created a Note-specific app to take advantage of the S Pen. If more developers follow that path, it could open up even more possibilities.
3. Smooth Processing And Power
As The Verge noted in its review, the Galaxy Note 10.1 suffered from numerous software problems, but luckily those have been nixed from the start on the Galaxy Note 8.0, which runs very smoothly and efficiently. It runs on a 1.6 GHz quad-core Samsung Exynos processor, features 2GB of RAM, and packs Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean out of the box.
4. Press Buttons Without Your Fingers
Samsung is continuing to usher in an era in which touch screens and phones don't actually need to be touched. AirView works on the screen, and the Galaxy S4's Floating Touch will take us further, but for the first time, the Galaxy Note 8 .0 lets users tap the tablet's capacitive buttons with the S Pen.
5. Screen Resolution
Unless the iPad mini 2 sports a new Retina display (not a sure thing at this point), the Galaxy Note 8.0's screen resolution should definitely do the trick. Its 1,280 x 800 display beats out the current iPad mini screen and offers more pixels per inch (189 compared to the iPad mini's 163). And it clocks it at a tiny bit bigger, since the Galaxy Note 8.0 features an 8-inch screen compared to Apple's 7.9-inch slate.
