The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 Edition) is the latest addition to the Samsung family. An update to the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 from a few years ago, the Korean company has added a few new bells and whistles, and packed some serious power into this tablet.
The Note 10.1 vital stats sit at 243.1 x 171.4 x 7.9mm, and it weighs in at 535g (WI-Fi version), so it's small and light enough for you to carry around and use quite freely without the ache in your hands.
A good sized 10.1 inch screen sits on the front with a beautiful 2560 x 1600 display. Around the edge of the screen on the thin grooved metal edge that sits around the device are the volume and power buttons, dual speakers, S-Pen, Micro SD and Micro USB slots. The S-Pen is a unique function that stems from the days when the Note line was more phablet than tablet, but still comes in handy as the accessory is far more precise than our digits. How much you use the S-Pen will come down to personal choice, and how you use the device as a whole.
The back of the Note 10.1 is a faux leather stitched effect that you will either love or hate. We can't decide if we're honest; it's good for keeping a grip on the tablet, but it's a bit plasticky . Again, it's personal choice.
One thing we are sure of is the power sitting underneath the crisp white veneer. Under the hood there is a 1.9GHz Quad-core Exynos 5, and 3GB of RAM. The tablet responds to all tasks in a speedy manner. Nothing is too much for it, and it takes all requests head on. We like it.
The OS for this device is Android Jellybean, and not the more recent 4.4 Kitkat. On top of Jellybean you have Touchwiz, which is the layer Samsung adds to Android. We've used 'standard' Android devices before and had no problem, but there's something about Touchwiz we just can't get to grips with. We also noticed a couple of issues of lag around the specific Samsung portals.
This additional layering is becoming more prevalent on Android devices, meaning that no two companies like HTC or Samsung have the same set up. While it's good for brand identity, it does make getting an Android device slightly daunting in that a certain amount of time has to be spent learning how each device works, rather than the pick-up-and-use style of the 'i ' devices.
The Google Play store is only matched by the App Store for the wealth of apps that you have access to; if it's an app then you'll likely find it here. The Note comes pre-loaded with a heap of Samsung apps, as well as access to the Samsung Hub which contains another cache of specific Samsung apps like media players.
In our time with the 10.1 we downloaded quite a few apps and games - all ran well. The new BBC Media Player was a bit buggy, but we put that down to it being new rather than the device it was on. Some of the apps like the How to Draw series and games like Scribble Racer made use of the S-Pen which made the accessory feel a bit more useful than just a gimmick. Games like Plague Inc., Reaper, and the epic Galaxy on Fire 2 all ran very well, and the overall experience of them was greatly improved by playing them on a large crisp screen.
The Note also comes with an 8 megapixel camera on the back, and a 2 megapixel camera on the front. Both work well, and take decent shots, but let's be honest, no one buys a tablet for the camera.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 is a good, strong, capable tablet. Its weaknesses are balanced out by what it does well. Overall, the device has a slightly more 'business' feel to it than a typical tablet, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but there are features that perhaps a basic consumer just wouldn't use.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 Edition) is available now from the Samsung Store.
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