By Samsung had a bunch of great announcements at CES this year ranging from new washers, dryers, and cooktops to ultra clear big screen TVs with bendable displays. Of the new products showcased, several have Android, including four brand new “Pro” tablets dubbed the Samsung Galaxy TabPro and Samsung Galaxy NotePro.
All these new devices and so much to remember, let’s try and simplify things a bit. Of primary importance is the reason Samsung calls these devices “Pro”: they’re top of the line, cream of the crop devices with the premium specs targeting power users. All four of the new “Pro” devices have the following specs in common:
- WQXGA (2560 X 1600) Super clear LCD
- 8MP camera, 2MP front camera
- Android 4.4 KitKat
- IR Blaster
The four different devices are:
- Galaxy TabPRO 8.4
- Galaxy TabPRO 10.1
- Galaxy TabPRO 12.2
- Galaxy NotePRO 12.2
Sitting on top (for comparison purposes) is the 5.7-inch Galaxy Note 3.
The obvious difference is in the size, with specs also nudging upwards with each increase. The TabPRO 12.2 and NotePRO 12.2 are essentially the exact same device, except the NotePRO 12.2 includes the Samsung S-Pen Stylus, and will likely cost more for exactly that reason. Pricing and availability is still TBD.
The first reaction is to look at the 12.2 inch behemoth’s and be blown away, and for good reason. But first, note how small and compact the Galaxy TabPRO 8.4 is and consider its WQXGA (2560 X 1600) Super clear LCD display. As far as we know, that’s the most pixel dense display for a tablet in its class on the planet. It’s beautiful. It’s impressive. Its worth staring at for a few minutes.
Make no mistake, though, the 12.2 inch TabPRO and NotePRO are where the real “new’ stuff is found: we haven’t seen a mainstream tablet of this size, ever. And despite what other manufacturers may argue, “mainstream tablet” currently means iPads, Galaxy Tabs, Kindles, and Nexii.
It’s unashamedly humongous which, like any device, comes with ups and downs. On the bright side, the device is so humongous that typing on a full screen keyboard is like being in your office and 4-window multi-tasking is a thing of beauty. On the down side, laying in bed and watching a movie could cause a hernia. I kid, of course, and when put into perspective consider that the 12.2 inch pro devices are almost as light as the original Motorola XOOM which it has essentially lapped twice in the spec race (1.65 pounds).
As seen in the video above, some of the TabPRO and NotePRO features that are especially enjoyable are the 4-window multi-tasking, large keyboard layout, the Hold CTRL + A/X/C/V for select all, cut, copy, and paste (which surprisingly I haven’t seen on a tablet before). Then you’ve got the “Magazine Layout”.
Pick up your tablet for the first time and you’re immediately welcomed by a very “happening” layout filled with widgets of all types and sizes. One page is for personal “stuff”, one for entertainment, and one for productivity. The widgets can be moved and resized to fit your needs. Unfortunately, many users may feel their “needs” are to completely remove the magazine layout and stick with the traditional Android homescreen, which isn’t an option.
I’m a bit surprised Samsung included this Magazine View on their Pro devices for a couple reasons:
- As seen on many Galaxy S4 and Note 3 Reviews, the optional Flipboard magazine experience accessed by pressing the home screen from the home screen was disliked by many. Making it the default is a bit gutsy.
- I associate the word “Pro” with power user and productivity and magazine layouts seem more consumer oriented and entertainment focused
But I’m not one to judge. I had these devices in my hands for less than an hour and, especially for the 12.2-inch form factor, real world use for a week or two is paramount to pinpointing it’s pros and cons. Hopefully we’ll be able to do exactly that for you in a full review when the Galaxy TabPRO and Galaxy NotePRO become available.
Watch Samsung announce the devices at their CES 2014 press event in the video below:
Take a look at all the Galaxy TabPRO and Galaxy NotePRO spec comparisons here!
I’m thinking $749 for a 32GB NotePRO 12.2 is a fair price.
No even gold “super pupper pro” worth $500 – it’s A TOY! Advanced READER. What the heck creative/important you suppose to do on this flat spade? Mostly it will be finger-sliding browsing. Well, angrybirds too. Are you sure this cost 750??
I googled around and the price seems right. Maybe it will be 64GB. Any time I see a note product I immediately think about artists and people who like to draw. That extra space vs. a 10″ is really nice for that task. Yeah, I know what you mean about being a toy, but come on, I’d love to have that toy. I would just hate holding it all the time.
FWIW – You probably couldn’t resize those tiles because your homescreen already had the maximum number of tiles and it won’t resize the others any smaller.
(Also, that Old Spice “momsong” commercial WAS creepy as hell)
I was like wtf dude…Embarrassing, rob jackson
Lol I just posted same thing. Android 101
So, you can’t even download a 3rd party launcher? You’re stuck with that ugly Windows layout. I’m not a big fan of Windows 8, so that would be a deal breaker if I’m stuck with that UI, without the option to use a 3rd party launcher and get back to Android.
Pretty sure you can download a 3rd party launcher. I think what he meant is there’s no way with the stock out of the box setup to get the classic touchwiz home launcher
Oh, well if that’s the case, then wouldn’t mind that.
This is nice and all but I would totally be on board if one of those shiny new slates had an oled screen. I wonder if that will ever happen? Using the Note 8.0 and the screen is nice but is a real battery hog so battery life is meh. I’m really liking the 12.2 though I was considering the Note 10.1 2014 edition but these are very enticing.
In the video you said it had an 8mp camera on the front and 2mp camera on the back. I hope that’s backwards. Also I’m pretty sure the reason you couldn’t resize the widgets is because you need to make room for the resized widget first so if you had deleted a widget, then you could have resized a widget next to it into that empty space
Dear beloved Samsung, where the heck is my Galaxy Note 8.4 Pro (2014)??
Welcome to the windows world Android guys
We are talking pads and tabs here. And these are by default not productivity machines. You use them to experience content not making it. Making content you do in a PC.
Give us full Flash and Java support and I’ll buy it…
Love the hardware on that Note 12.1, but as usual with Samsung there are a ton of poorly thought out, buggy features stacked on each other in that UI.