Will the new Note tablet from Samsung be a potent competitor to Apple’s iPad Mini, Google’s Nexus 7 and Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD tablets?
Samsung officially took the wraps of its new 8-inch Note tablet earlier today. Being touted as a competitor to Apple iPad Mini, Note 8.0 brings in some pretty great specifications, but as we don’t know the pricing of the unit, we aren’t really sure if it is indeed a competitor to the Apple tablet. The previous rumour did reveal that the Wi-Fi version of Note 8.0 might be priced around $250 mark.
Note 8.0 will also be going against the Android tablets like Nexus 7 (even the upcoming successor) and Kindle Fire HD tablet.
Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 holds one advantage in the form of included S-Pen digitizer over the others, but apart from that it is a fair game.
Here are the pros and cons of each tablet and after that we will compare each of them on basis of their raw specs.
Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0
Pros: S-Pen, Software customisations like multi-window, 2GB RAM, microSD card slot, & both front and rear cameras
Cons: Unless there is weird pricing, Note 8.0 does seem like a pretty good device with no visible cons. Samsung has included everything you need in a tablet. It is also an untested device right now, so can’t really say much.
Apple iPad Mini
Pros: Best selection of tablet optimised apps, both front and rear cameras, wider availability of content
Cons: 32GB/64GB prices, no microSD card of cheaper memory expansion,
Google Nexus7
Pros: Pricing, latest Android version
Cons: No rear camera, no microSD card slot
Amazon Kindle Fire HD
Pros: Pricing, content availability, lots of free content for Prime members
Cons: Limited geographical availability of the device, no-so-great interface, no microSD card, no rear camera, no 3G version
| Tablet | Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 | Apple iPad Mini | Google Nexus 7 | Amazon Kindle Fire HD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price/ Availability | TBD | Starting $329 for Wi-Fi only 16GB version | Starting $199 for Wi-Fi only 16GB version | Starting $199 for Wi-Fi only 16GB version (with advts) |
| Display | 8-inch TFT capacitive display with 1280x800p resolution, 189 PPI | 7.9-inch LED-backlit IPS capacitive display with 1,024 x 768p resolution, 163 PPI | 7-inch IPS capacitive display with 1280x800p resolution, 216 PPI | 7-inch IPS capacitive display with 1280x800p resolution, 216 PPI |
| Processor | 1.6GHz Cortex-A9 quad-core processor | Dual-core Apple A5 processor | 1.2GHz NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core | 1.2GHz TI OMAP4 4460 dual-core processor |
| RAM | 2GB | 512MB | 1GB | 1GB |
| Internal storage | 16GB / 32GB | 16GB / 32GB /64GB | 16GB / 32GB | 16GB / 32GB |
| Expandable storage | Yes | No | No | No |
| Cellular Radio | Yes (Optional), Voice-calling | Yes (Optional) | Yes (Optional) | No |
| Cameras | 5MP rear/ 1.3MP front cameras | 5MP rear/ Facetime HD cameras | 1.2MP front camera | HD front camera |
| Battery | 4600 mAh | 4490 mAh | 4325 mAh | 4400 mAH |
| Dimensions | 210.8 X 135.9 x 7.95 mm, 338g (3G Version) | 200 X 134.7 X 7.2mm, 308 g | 198.5 X 120 X 10.45 mm, 340g | 193 X 137 X 10.3 mm, 395g |
| Ports/ Connectivity | micro USB, 3.5mm audio, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0, IR Blaster | Lightning connector, 3.5mm audio, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 | micro USB, 3.5mm audio, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0 | microSD, micro HDMI, 3.5mm audio, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0 |
| Variants | 3G, LTE, Wi-Fi only (Latter two are still to be announced) | Wi-Fi only, 3G, LTE | Wi-Fi only, 3G | Wi-Fi only |
Comment Link
Really Good S-pen 3G though ugly design but spec & features are good.