Do you want an incredibly powerful and well-built device that is very well endowed in the features department? The Samsung Galaxy NotePro give you this and much more.
But before I proceed with the review, lets put things in proper perspective. Collosion Course is a CD/DVD set released on November 30, 2004 by rapper Jay-Z and rock band Linkin Park.
This masterpiece was greeted with mixed reactions. ‘The best of both world’ – probably the simplest way to describe the CD set.
One could enjoy the sleek word play and rhyme schemes which ‘hova’ dished out, and at same time get intoxicated by the deafening vocals of Chester Bennington, the band’s lead singer, as well as electric bass guitar and drums. Just like the Jay Z/ Linkin Park collabo, the Samsung Galaxy NotePro gives users the best of both worlds – a superb tablet experince with the power and functionality of a Personal Computer (PC).
The NotePro 12.2 is a huge and powerful tablet aimed at a those who want to do more than simply watch movies, play games and surf the web. On face value, the NotePro is a 12-inch Android 4.4 Kitkat tablet – modified with Samsung TouchWiz and Magazine UX – that comes with Samsung’s innovative pressure-sensitive S Pen, 32GB of internal memory, a microSD card, 3GB RAM and a spilt Octa-core processor on-board to manage both simple and heavy-duty tasks. This sleek and powerful device has a resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels. Priced at a retail value of N130, 000, there’s nothing else in the tablet market, in terms of competition, that is quite the same size as the NotePro. The device has not been formally launched in the Nigerian market.
Design
In terms of design it’s best to break up the Samsung Galaxy NotePro 12.2 into two separate parts. First of all we’ll look at its general build quality, and then focus on the dimensions and feel of the 12-inch tablet. Where Samsung has to be given huge credit is for sheer quality of the NotePro 12.2’s design. The now-familiar Note range’s faux-leather rear exquisite finish really helps this NotePro stand out, while giving it a pleasingly grippy yet sophisticated feel. There’s an acceptably thick bezel around the screen, with the physical home button, front-facing camera and sensor neatly sunk in. The aluminium rim however around the edge of the tablet adds to its beauty and sophistication.
There is a slight problem with the tablet’s overall size (295.5 x 204 x 8mm) and weight (739g), however. Having a 12-inch tablet is always going to be problematic to hold and Samsung hasn’t altered the design of the NotePro to compensate for this fact. Rather, it has opted for a traditional flat and evenly balanced device, which we imagine is a beauty-first policy from Samsung. This isn’t much of a problem if you are using the device on a desk, or on your lap, but trying to stand or use it with one hand is tricky and tiring to say the least. The NotePro oozes power. This fact is however better appreciated when performing sophisticated tasks on the tablet such as working on two complex PDF file. It is like stealing candy from a baby – just so easy.
Interface and screen
What’s really different about the Galaxy NotePro 12.2 interface is not the TouchWiz OS that Samsung dumps on all of its Galaxy smartphones and tablets, but the newly launched Magazine UX. This is Samsung’s attempt to put to use the massive screen on the NotePro 12.2, and it does so by dividing up the screen into multiple Windows 8-esquse tiles that are filled with content of your choosing – be that sport, business, news, email, weather or whatever. The Magazine UX is a nice little feature for the NotePro, it is nice bening able to flick one screen left of the home screen and see all of your interest present in bite size and quick view form, but it’s hardly ground breaking technology – it’s essentially a page of dolled up Samsung Widgets.
Samsung S Pen
Where the device really starts to make sense is when you start using it with the accompanying S Pen. The pressurised pen tip isn’t that noticeable itself – maybe that’s a good thing – but spend a short time familiarising yourself with the Air Command feature and you soon see its merits. The Galaxy NotePro 12.2 becomes a lot more fun and social when you master using the S Pen. Air Command comes with the usual five features. Action memo is handy for quickly scribbling down your thoughts without fully leaving an app, and is really easy to use on this big screen. Scrap booker lets you draw a box and take a focused screen shot of what is on screen.
Screen write is exactly as is sounds, and it more of a fun graffiti tool than anything else, likewise S finder is dull and as does what is says on the tin. The final feature, Pen Window, is great on this 12-inch screen, simply draw a box and then select a utility such as calculator, calendar, dictions or several more and you are presented with a multi-windowed device. The only downside to the S Pen is that it is a little on the thin and slippery side, which makes pressing the Air Command button especially tricky.
Screen
The 12.2-inch screen itself is pretty impressive, boasting 2560 x 1600 pixels at 247 ppi, looks incredible at an arm’s length. Images and videos look amazing on the NotePro 12.2, so if you’re looking for a big screened movie/gaming experience for your next train of plane journey, then this tablet will be like a portable cinema for you. Over the years of testing mobile device’s screens, we have found that perhaps the best way to judge a screen’s sharpness is by reading the text on display, and all we can (rather boringly) say about that here, is that this looks pin sharp too. The NotePro 12.2 offers pretty good viewing angles too, and although the screen is a bit glary at times, it still remained reasonably easy to view when used in broad daylight.
Camera
As you’d expect from a high-end Samsung device, the camera that is on-board the Galaxy NotePro 12.2 is a thing of real quality. The rear-facing camera boasts 8 Megapixels with autofocus, zero shutter lag and a LED flash, there is also a 2Mp front-facing camera which is primarily there for apps like Skype and Snapchat. The main camera also comes equipped with several mode that we have come to expect from top end tablets, features like Best face, Best photo, Drama which all rely on multiple photos being taken at once and and then you will be presented either automatically or manually with several images form which you can choose you favourite, and save.
Battery
Samsung has equipped the Galaxy NotePro 12.2 with its biggest tablet battery yet, which is hardly surprising given the sheer size of the tablet and seriousness of the specs. The on-board battery is a 9,500mAh beast, to put this into perspective, the Sony Xperia Tablet Z has a 6000mAh battery, and Samsung’s flagship smartphone the Galaxy S5 only has a 2800mAh battery, and this was thought to be impressive for a smartphone.
Verdict
The Galaxy NotePro 12.2 is a bit of a funny one, as it’s difficult to picture who will be buying this oversized tablet. The whole idea of tablets, and mobile technology for that matter, is that they are supposed to be portable and easy to use on the go and the Galaxy NotePro 12.2 simply isn’t. What has to be said for the Galaxy NotePro 12.2 is that it is a seriously impressive piece of technology that has raised the bar in terms of tablet power and specs.
Ben Uzor Jr
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