Hasta La Gadget!

Need a Jelly Bean surface to drag your S-Pen across? Worry not, while the Galaxy Note 10.1 won’t be packing Android 4.1 right out of the box, Samsung is assuring consumers that the tablet will be getting the OS upgrade later this year, a fact the company reiterated during today’s press conference. Until then, it’s TouchWized Ice Cream Sandwich for you early adopters.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 getting its Jelly Bean on later this year originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Aug 2012 12:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Consider it the fallout from a decade-plus of reality TV, but our made-by-the-masses approach has expanded into new territory: technology R&D. Or so Samsung’s very public handling of the Galaxy Note 10.1 would have us believe. Thrust into an American Idol-like spotlight at Mobile World Congress earlier this year, the still-unfinished slate, a follow-up to the pen-enabled Galaxy Note phone, was forced to perform for hordes of skeptical insiders. Sure, there was raw talent on display and we could see the promise of this 10-inch contender (we said as much in our exhaustive preview), but it was also clear the company was testing consumer waters, fishing for a vote of confidence before continuing down the development track.

Does this make Samsung’s latest flagship the Kelly Clarkson of the tablet category? It’s an apt analogy, if you think about it: Kelly wants to be country, the Note 10.1 wants to be a pro-designer tool, but neither are allowed. Why? Well, simply put, products sell better when they’re made more palatable for a wider range of tastes. Which is why the company used MWC to gauge popular opinion before molding its untested product into something wth a broader appeal. Ultimately, that meant a drastic makeover: since MWC, the Note 10.1 has received a slot for that S-Pen, streamlined software, a quad-core Exynos 4 chip and two storage configurations: 16GB / 32GB, priced at $499 and $549, respectively.

So it now has more horsepower under the hood, that much is assured, but is that chip enough to boost the Note 10.1’s mass appeal? Will savvy shoppers be able to forgive that relatively low-res 1,280 x 800 display? Will its Wacom digitizer elevate this slate past its more generic Android and iOS rivals? Or will that feature hamper its widespread appeal, attracting mainly creative professionals? Meet us after the break to see if the Note 10.1 can succeed as the multitasking everyman’s go-to tablet.

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 review

Filed under: Tablet PCs

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Aug 2012 11:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s just about time to “meet the new way.” Samsung’s sketch-heavy invitation clearly points to some type of pen-input device, and given the timing of the event and the fact that plenty of tablets have already been sold across the pond, we’re expecting the Galaxy Note 10.1 to be outed properly… again. Judging from reports earlier this month, there will be plenty of new features (and color options) to be demoed since our last in-depth look at the evolving device, so expect a fairly packed show, complete with the typical Samsung fanfare. The event kicks off at 11AM ET, so stay tuned right here for the play-by-play from NYC.

Filed under: Tablet PCs

Live from Samsung’s ‘Meet the new way’ event in New York City! originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Aug 2012 10:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What you see above is purportedly a bezel of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 (unlike the previous dud) , but it remains to be seen whether this is the real deal or not. After all, the device which snapped this particular photo did not seem to come with any kind of image stabilization, which is why the entire thing has its fair share of blur spots to make it look real authentic. It remains to be seen whether this is the real deal or not, so you might want to take it with a pinch of salt after digesting this particular image.

The hardware in the depicted image does seem to point to a rather unbecoming design that lacks the refinement and finesse of the Samsung Galaxy S3. Thanks to the ruler which is draped from corner-to-corner, it might very well come with a larger display compared to its predecessor, the original Samsung Galaxy Note, although this one will still be able to play nice with your S-Pen. Are you happy with the way phablets are being developed over time, and do you have your very own ideas to input in order to improve this niche market that is slowly but surely gaining traction?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Did Samsung hint at a Galaxy Note for Verizon subscribers?, Galaxy Note 2 photo shows up over at Samsung’s Facebook page, could be real or fake,

Verizon subscribers, if you’re a bit annoyed that the Samsung Galaxy Note was not launched on your carrier’s network, don’t feel bad as Samsung might have something in store for you guys. In a response to a Facebook comment about how the Galaxy Note was not on Verizon, Samsung Mobile USA responded by saying that they did not have any announcements to make just yet, and to check back later when they have more info. If Samsung did not have any plans to launch the Galaxy Note on Verizon in the first place, we would assume that they would have responded by saying something along the lines of how they have no plans for the Galaxy Note on Verizon just yet and etc.

This has led to some speculating that either the person managing Samsung’s Facebook page made a poor choice of wording, or if Samsung really does have plans to launch the Galaxy Note on Verizon. However given that the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is expected to be announced on the 29^th of August, it would not be a stretch of the imagination to think that Verizon customers could be greeted with the Galaxy Note 2 instead. Either way this is merely speculation at this point in time, but be sure to check back with us in the future for the details!

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Verizon customers are petitioning for the Samsung Galaxy Note, Galaxy Journal: Verizon and Sprint’s own Galaxy Note?,