Samsung Galaxy Note 8 with S-Pen

At Mobile World Congress 2013, Samsung announced the new Galaxy Note 8. Unlike many other Android slate tablets, Samsung has added an active digitizer pen called the S-Pen that uses Wacom technology. You can hover the pen off the display and the tablet will respond. If you've used older Windows Tablet PCs, you'll be familiar with the Wacom pen.

The Galaxy Note 8 joins the Galaxy Note II which is a 5.5" phablet (phone/tablet) and the Galaxy Note 10.1 which is a 10.1" Android slate tablet. The entire family of these Galaxy Note devices use the active digitizer S-Pen. The other Samsung Galaxy products like the Galaxy Tab, the Galaxy S, and other Galaxy mobile devices do NOT use the S-Pen.

I believe the international version of the Galaxy Note 8 will also function as a phone. But, who would want to hold an 8" tablet up to the ear?

I'm curious to see how Samsung will price the Galaxy Note 8. The smaller 5.5" Galaxy Note II is around $299 on most US wireless carriers. Will the Galaxy Note 8 be available as a Wi-Fi only version here in the United States? Or, will it only be available through wireless carriers?

Is that a phone, a tablet, or a "phablet"?

These days, the line separating a smartphone from a tablet seems blurry. For instance, the Samsung GALAXY Note has a 5.3” WXGA (1280 x 800) screen. The Pantech Vega R3 has a 5.3" display as well. There are rumors of a Google Nexus 5. Plus, I can't help but wonder if Dell will revive the Streak 5 (probably not, but you can't help but wonder...)

The upcoming Samsung GALAXY Note 2 will have a 5.55" HD display.

The small tablets like the Kindle Fire or the Nexus 7 have 7" screens, so these 5" phone/tablet or "phablet" crossover devices can be viewed as either being a really large smartphone or a small tablet. Plus, these larger smartphones often come with built-in stylus pens like the Samsung S Pen stylus.

For me, the perfect combination seems to be a regular smartphone and a 7" tablet. For a while, I was using an Android smartphone + iPad. These days, I'm doing the iPhone + Android tablet (although I've temporarily gone back to an Android smartphone because I'm recycling my iPhone 4S and waiting for the iPhone 5).

Samsung Galaxy Tab vs. Apple iPad

People are already comparing the Samsung Galaxy Tab to the Apple iPad. Given that the iPad is still a first generation product, we can expect that newer slate tablets released by the competition will include additional features such as cameras, USB ports, SD card readers, etc.

So, which is better? Samsung Galaxy Tab or the Apple iPad? Is this a fair comparison? Would you rather run iOS or Android? Do you need a 10" screen or a 7" screen?

Eventually, maybe we'll find people who use an iPhone will need an Android tablet so that they can run Android apps. Those who use a Droid will carry an iPad or iPod touch so that they can run iOS apps.  Someone needs to come up with a dual-boot, triple-boot, or quad-boot slate tablet that will run iOS, Android, webOS, and BlackBerry. When will we see someone hack a slate and make it quad-boot compatible?

Who will have the first 4G slate tablet?

Some are speculating that the Samsung Galaxy Tab will be on Sprint as a 4G slate tablet. Wouldn't that be nice? I'd actually line up for that one.

Will Apple be the first to come out with a 4G slate tablet? They weren't the first 4G smartphone. HTC was with the Evo 4G on Sprint. Now, Samsung has released the Epic 4G on Sprint. If history repeats itself, then either HTC or Samsung will be the first company to release a 4G slate. Given all the buzz around the Galaxy Tab, I'm guessing that Samsung will emerge as the winner in the 4G slate tablet market. Of course, it won't be long before we see others following with 4G devices.

Samsung Galaxy Tab coming to Verizon

I love to spread rumors. Right now, the biggest rumor about the Samsung Galaxy Tab (Android tablet) is that it's coming to Verizon Wireless. I don't know what's happening with the Verizon iPhone rumor, but if you're also waiting for a Verizon iPad, then you may be waiting a while.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab is a 7" Android tablet. Will 7" be enough? Maybe it's the ideal size for a mobile device that isn't a smartphone or a tablet PC. I think it's time to replace my Samsung Q1 Ultra (ultra-mobile PC). The Q1 Ultra has a 7" screen and it's currently running Windows 7. I'll have to compare these 2 devices side-by-side.

Preview the Samsung Galaxy Tab (Slate Tablet)

Here's a video of the upcoming 7" Samsung Galaxy Tab slate tablet. This device runs Google Android 2.2 (Froyo). I can't wait to try it out.

You can learn about this device here:
http://galaxytab.samsungmobile.com/