Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1: An Embarrassing, Lazy, Arrogant Money Grab

http://www.androidpolice.com/2012/08/21/samsung-galaxy-note-10-1-review-an-embarrassing-lazy-arrogant-money-grab/

by aaronbrethorst • 14 years ago

62 58 14 years ago

EwanG• 14 years ago

I suspect you may see more of these through the end of the year as folks who had big plans for Android tablets realize that the non-iPad market is about to be "owned" by Windows 8. While i have my issues with Win 8 the idea of a tablet where I can use real programs, and not just apps, for the same price as an Android tablet makes my next purchase a no-brainer (insert/insult joke here).

Samuel_Michon• 14 years ago

“While i have my issues with Win 8 the idea of a tablet where I can use real programs, and not just apps, for the same price as an Android tablet makes my next purchase a no-brainer (insert/insult joke here).”

According to Microsoft, its Intel tablets (the only ones capable of running regular Windows programs) are going to cost the same as ultrabooks [1]

I also have doubts about the usability of running regular Windows programs on a tablet. They're optimized for mouse+keyboard, not small touchscreens.

[1] http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9228292/FAQ_What_we_d...

phn• 14 years ago

That's why you'll have the keyboard smart cover, and possibly USB :P

I think no-one expects you to use visual studio/word/whatever in touch mode, unless you're in a really tight bind.

mindstab• 14 years ago

Except aren't most of these hypothetical tablets running on ARM so the actual software on the market now that will run on them is 0. Some stuff will get recompiled in ARM for them, but far from all of windows software out now. So we'll see.

And real apps aren't designed for tablet. So we'll see how much fun running desktop designed apps on a tablet really is.

I'm sceptical.

tmurray• 14 years ago

it's not just that you have to recompile for ARM; that would be too easy.

Third-party apps on Win8 ARM are Metro-only (or whatever Microsoft is calling Metro now). So okay, port to Metro, you think! Well, you can't use the Win32 API at all in Metro apps. It's simply not available. Instead, you have to use the Win32 replacement, WinRT, which is a somewhat-crippled version of Win32 (want to load a dynamic library at runtime? too bad! static libraries or bust!) which is very different from Win32 in terms of API design.

I can't see Win8 being a serious contender in the tablet space anytime soon. I get the impression that Metro and ARM are being used as an excuse to push WinRT because various groups at Microsoft don't like Win32, but the sudden total lack of applications or backwards compatibility is going to hurt them a lot.

wmf2• 14 years ago

Is the Galaxy Note 10.1 the same as the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1? I'm confused by the naming.

icegreentea2• 14 years ago

No, they are different. The Galaxy Note 10.1 is based on the Galaxy Note which was a humungo phone (or tiny tablet) that came with a stylus (so its like a notepad get it? eh eh?).

wmf2• 14 years ago

So is the difference just the stylus? Because they look the same.

lttlrck• 14 years ago

don't worry, it reflects Samsung's internal confusion.

notatoad• 14 years ago

i believe the Note branded products are supposed to be the premium line.

short_circut2• 14 years ago

I honestly stopped reading when I read "Terrible even by Samsung's low standards." I don't feel like the author was being objective and was looking for anything wrong. Fanboys are inherently unobjective

dustywusty• 14 years ago

I agree with your point, but I also feel as if the author was spot on with this assessment. I recently purchased a Galaxy Nexus, and one of my biggest hold-ups was the build quality versus the Nexus One.

It's really not acceptable that an expensive flagship phone, or tablet, is made out of this kind of cheap plastic.

To put it in perspective, the Nexus 7 is also made of only plastic, but the perceived quality is so different it's absurd.

short_circut2• 14 years ago

He probably was spot on with several things. I read a good bit of the rest. I have the galaxy note phone. The first time I saw the ad for this tablet all I could think of was how awesome it was. It is good to see negative opinions sometimes though

bookwormAT2• 14 years ago

I don't understand this cheap plastic argument. The plastic makes the device both lighter and more durable than other materials. If weight and durability do not define build quality for a mobile device, what does?

hammersend• 14 years ago

Like most people I put my Galaxy Nexus in a case shortly after purchase and never see the plastic.

ghshephard• 14 years ago

Well - in general - that's true. But this is an article written by an Android Fanboy. It's really well written - and clearly by someone who loves the Android platform.

His Bio: "Ron loves everything related to technology, design, and Google. He always wants to talk about "the big picture" and what's next for Android, and he's not afraid to get knee-deep in an APK for some details. Expect a good eye for detail, lots of research, and some lamenting about how something isn't designed well enough."

He starts off with:

"The big difference between a tablet and a phone should be the ability to multitask. As it turns out, Samsung gets it. The Galaxy Note 10.1 is actually trying to make tablets useful, productive tools. They've added split screen and floating apps. I've actually got my email and a web browser open side by side right now, and it's like a dream come true."

Other comments from the article:

  I *really* love the speakers.
  The Note is packing a 7000mAh battery, so the battery 
  life is fantastic.

He also seems to like other Samsung Products:

  The Series 9 laptop guys make beautiful, kick-ass 
  products out of aluminum every day.

It may be possible that this $500 Tablet really is kind of a clunker. Certainly useful to get multiple perspectives - and he really put his heart and soul into the review. Note - I agree that slamming Samsung as a whole was probably the weakest element of the whole review. Perhaps could have benefited from a bit of editing.

pooriaazimi• 14 years ago

If anything, he's an "Android" fanboy, so even if he's "unobjective", he's biased towards Samsung (as opposed to iPad, which is what he's clearly comparing this tablet to)!

rprasad• 14 years ago

Oddly enough, I've found that Samsung tablets really are quite crappy compared to their phones. They must be made by different internal groups, as the difference in quality is absolutely staggering.

nitrogen3• 14 years ago

Samsung didn't design this to look good, they designed it only to not look like something else, and it shows.

Or maybe they designed it to work well with a pen.

Wacom-style handwriting and drawing are two things I enjoy with my oldschool tablet PC that I've been waiting for someone to add to a tablet.

ricardobeat2• 14 years ago

http://adonit.net/product/jot-touch/

http://www.jajastylus.com/

nitrogen3• 14 years ago

Those both look very cool. The one thing they lack that Wacom has, however, is hovering.

Karunamon2• 14 years ago

>Or maybe they designed it to work well with a pen.

Which doesn't explain the horrendous build quality.

Or the weak screen.

Or the OEM shenanigans.

I really wish OEM's would stop trying to "differentiate" their product (People outside of company who care: 0) and ship the stock OS, maybe with some apps if they feel they need to.

The Android OS, unmolested, is a beautiful thing.

CrazedGeek2• 14 years ago

A more positive (and, IMO, more objective) review: http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/15/samsung-galaxy-note-10-1-...

thought_alarm• 14 years ago

That Engadget piece is the least objective review I've read.

The problem with general tech sites like Engadget is that they can't call a turd a turd because it will alienate half their readership and bring on accusations of being an Apple shill. A least The Verge had the guts to rate this turkey 5/10, although their review was still way too kind.

But no one will accuse androidpolice.com of shilling for Apple, so they're free to write an honest review, and not sugarcoat real and unacceptable flaws.

This device is priced like an iPad, but it is clearly and thoroughly outclassed by Apple's hardware and Apple's software. So what then are Samsung's strengths, exactly? Beside their ability to dupe people into overpaying for inferior "me too" products, I mean.

nitrogen3• 14 years ago

I have to ask, for those who shop by performance rather than build quality, what part of the iPad's guts is better than this tablet's guts?

CrazedGeek2• 14 years ago

"it is clearly and thoroughly outclassed by Apple's hardware and Apple's software"

Unless you want expandable storage, different connectivity options, a digitizer, a more customizable OS, actual file system access, etc. One size most certainly doesn't fit all.

jfb• 14 years ago

I like a good screed, and this was a good one. The best polemics come from a jilted lover, and this has that wonderfully venomous tone.

ricardobeat2• 14 years ago

> Loud, front-facing stereo speakers. These should be standard equipment on all phones and tablets.

Then you don't hear anything when your phone is lying screen down (which is very often). This was a major flaw in many older Android phones, I had a Dext and wouldn't hear the alarm in the morning - took me a while to figure it out.

The rest of the article is just full of mindless rehash of popular opinions. Tablets are supposed to be media consumption devices, but he praises multi-tasking split screens and a stylus. Seriously, browser and e-mail on a 10" screen? I can barely do it on 13".

> I'm monitoring my ram […]

What? You don't want a tablet, you want a miniature version of the computer you already have. You should be thankful you don't have to care about RAM usage anymore, leave it to the machine!

Karunamon2• 14 years ago

>You should be thankful you don't have to care about RAM usage anymore

Until such time as the machine cares about it in such a way that doesn't degrade performance (multiple seconds to launch apps vs tenths of second post killing some extras), I will continue to stay on top of RAM usage.

msh2• 14 years ago

the ipad handles this without slowing down...

pvidler• 14 years ago

I see less of this on ios devices, but that may be because I keep up–to-date with newer hardware. I guess devs are targeting the older devices that are still in use -- together with the restricted multitasking on ios, this probably side-steps most memory problems.

(Except for the odd memory hog that occasionally gets terminated while in use, like the Facebook app).

w1ntermute2• 14 years ago

Why are people paying so much attention to Samsung tablets? They're shit, multitasking aside.

Get the Asus Transformer Pad Infinity already. It's got a 1080p screen, is the 3rd iteration of a technically good (if not commercially successful) tablet line, has essentially stock Android, will receive quick software updates to new Android versions, and costs $500.

sciwiz• 14 years ago

Correction, the Infinity's screen is 1920x1200.

Stick to ASUS for Android tablets, great hardware at good prices. The $500 model is the 32GB version. Also, to reiterate the quick updates, ASUS updated the TF300 model to JellyBean this week (1 month turnaround from 4.1 code release)

w1ntermute2• 14 years ago

> The $500 model is the 32GB version.

That's more than enough. The tablet itself has a microSD card slot, and if you get the keyboard add-on, you'll have an SD card slot as well.

hyperbovine• 14 years ago

But 1080p == 1920x1200, yes?

drzaiusapelord• 14 years ago

The TF300 is $399, slightly slower, and already on JB. Save yourself $100. I updated to JB on the weekend. ASUS is doing this right. HTC/Samsung and the rest of the "our skins takes months to work out the bugs" are on the losing side of history.

habosa• 14 years ago

I love my TF300, especially with the dock. I'd like the extra screen res but since I only watch SD video and browse the web, 1200x800 is more than fine. Higher resolution would be useful with multitasking, but for full screen apps I'll keep my $100.

vitriolix3• 14 years ago

I've been watching this one Because my wife does a lot of illustration so the pen stuff might outweigh the other issues with it. I just don't see anything else on the horizon. Win8 seems DOA to me. Considering the reviews though I think we'll wait a few months and pickup one when they are dumping stock for cheap

nmridul• 14 years ago

I don't agree with the Aluminum body. I agree with Samsung's decision to go plastic because it reduces some more weight.

I've the 5.3 inch Notes and its light. Even though the back cover is plastic (its a thin plastic) its not so cheapo plastic. I feel it reduces extra couple of grams more from the device weight.

radicaldreamer• 14 years ago

Durability matters much more for portable devices than a few grams of difference in weight.

Not everyone treats electronics with kid gloves, especially portable devices.

vetinari• 14 years ago

One more reason to use plastic. It is not fragile and absorbs shocks from impact just fine.

bookwormAT2• 14 years ago

Plastic makes a portable device much more durable than aluminum. The impact is much smaller when it falls to the ground, because it is light. And the shock is not distributed to the glass screen that much, because plastic is more flexible than aluminum.

vitriolix3• 14 years ago

THIS:

So my message to Samsung is: If you can't do this correctly, stop skinning Android. You've been trying and failing for so many years and nothing good has come of it, so just stop. Even when you have a good idea, like split screen and floating apps, you don't control the right parts of Android to make it work. So just accept it and leave the OS development to the professionals. You can't add any worthwhile functionality at the layer you normally change, and you have no taste for design. Stock Android is so good now, messing with it is like getting a fully-cooked meal from a famous, 5 star chef, and then smothering it with ketchup. So stop.

tedunangst3• 14 years ago

When I read a review like this, I'm amazed Apple is bothering to sue Samsung. How could they be scared of this? But then I wonder if part of the motive is more like "you are sooo bad, you embarrass the entire world of tablets, and we are going to shut you down as a public service".

rimantas• 14 years ago

Probably. Something along the lines "if your product is crap but looks very much like our product, people will think that our product is crap".

taligent• 14 years ago

They also need to set a precedent Samsung has a LONG history of knocking off the competition's products in particular from Sony, Panasonic etc. And I guess Apple is just trying to make sure they don't end up being the next company to fall from the top.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1: An Embarrassing, Lazy, Arrogant Money Grab

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