Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nook Review

Barnes & Noble has officially gotten out of the tablet-making business, instead partnering with Samsung for the Galaxy Tab 4 Nook. This $199 ($179 with a $20 rebate) slate still hopes, however, to give you a best-in-class reading experience, thanks to extras such as a "read-and-record" mode for narrating stories to your kids, $200 worth of free content and in-store tech support. However, users who like Barnes & Noble's selection of eBooks have long been able to download a Nook reader app for any Android / iOS device. There are many powerful tablets in the same price range from the likes of Amazon, ASUS and Google. Read on to find out how the Galaxy Tab 4 Nook stacks up.

Sporting the familiar rectangular shape of previous Samsung Galaxy tablets, there's not much mystery or surprise to the Tab 4 Nook's design. Although it is worth noting it looks nothing like previous Nook tablets. Measuring 7.36 x 4.25 x 0.35 inches, this slate is a bit smaller than competitors, such as the Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 7-inch (7.3 x 5 x 0.35 inches), the Google Nexus 7 (7.9 x 4.5 x 0.34 inches) and the ASUS MeMO Pad 7 (7.7 x 4.7 x 0.4 inches). The 9.74 ounce Tab 4 Nook is also lighter than its 7-inch brethren, which weigh 10.7 ounces, 10.34 ounces and 11-ounces, respectively.

You can pick up the Nook tablet in black or white with a chrome-colored edging. The front greets you with a 7-inch display and a small bezel. The top houses a 1.3-MP camera that's oddly off center. Below the screen you'll find the familiar home button, as well as the back and menu buttons to either side.

The plastic backside feels almost like faux leather with its irregular bumps. In the center of the top backside is the 5-MP camera. On the bottom left you'll see two tiny cutouts for the speaker, which didn't give me much faith in its quality.

Along the edges is where you'll find all the ports and other buttons. On the left side sits the power, volume rocker and an IR blaster for turning the tablet into a universal remote. The top edge houses the headphone jack, while the bottom is home to the microUSB charging port--thankfully, Barnes & Noble abandoned its previous proprietary charging port.

Like the MeMO Pad 7, the Nook features a microSD card slot (supporting up to 32GB) beneath a port cover on the bottom right edge. The Kindle Fire HDX and Nexus 7 do not offer such expandable storage. You're going to need it on the Nook, since the tablet comes with only 8GB of onboard storage. And if you count all the preinstalled apps from Barnes & Noble, only 2.4GB of that is usable space. That's so little storage we were unable to download all of our benchmark tests at the same time.

The 7-inch display on the Tab 4 Nook offers a 1280 x 800-pixel display with a ppi of 216. While that matches the resolution of the Fire HD and the ASUS MeMO Pad 7, it's far short of the Kindle Fire HDX and the Nexus 7, which both have 1920 x 1200 pixel displays.

The new Nook tablet isn't the brightest tablet, either. At 429 lux, it's brighter than the 356 lux category average and the MeMO Pad 7 (358 lux), but a far cry from the 531 lux we measured on the Nexus 7, as well as the Fire HDX's 480 lux. The Fire HD came in at a comparable 436.

Color reproduction was nothing to write home about, with the Tab 4 Nook recreating just 69.3 percent of the sRGB spectrum. But the color accuracy was impressively good, with a Delta-E of 2.1 (the closer to zero the better). The average tablet is 5.8.

These scores bore out in the real world as we watched a meh-looking 1080p trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy. Nothing about the color looked out of this world, but was fairly accurate. The green on Zoe Saldana's skin, while not natural, seemed duller than on higher-resolution screens such as the Fire HDX 7's.

Sadly, reading or viewing any content in direct sunlight wasn't particularly easy. But that's not uncommon for a non-E Ink screen.

At least on the Laptop Mag Audio Test, the Nook and Kindle tablets are exactly in line. Both produced 77 decibels as measured from 13 inches away. That's plenty loud, but is just below the 79 average. The Nexus 7 was an even lower 73 dB.

As we suspected, audio was lackluster. Beyoncé's "Video Phone" lacked all bass. We found the same problem with the beat for "Rude by Magic!" The high-end vocals and guitar strings in "Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster the People came through clearly. Sadly, it was all too easy to muffle the sound with our hands since it comes from two tiny slits on the back of the device.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nook ships with Android 4.4.2 KitKat, but it also comes with Samsung's TouchWiz overlay on top. This is a shift from Barnes & Noble's previous approach of a complete overhaul of the operating system, but in this case, that's a good thing.

The TouchWiz overlay brings with it some Samsung-specific special features such as the multitasking mode, which allows you to split the screen between two apps at once and customize the size of each. There's also Samsung's S Voice, a Siri-like voice-controlled assistant. But you won't have access to the My Magazine social feed app that's found on some other Samsung Galaxy devices.

Barnes & Noble's unique touches are found on the home page. Nook Today suggests content based on your past interests. Here you'll find hundreds of Nook Channels that contain curated content based on interests or dispositions. Nook Search will search both the Nook Shop and the Tab 4 Nook device. The Nook Library is a swipeable carousel that shows your most recently accessed content from the Nook Shop.

The most useful B&N addition is the small book icon on the bottom left corner of the home screen, which opens the e-book you're reading to the spot you left off. You can also do this by touching that book in the Library, but if you've been playing with Nook apps or video content, this button could save you a swipe.

Some consumers may find the plethora of options for performing similar actions a bit confusing. For instance, at the top of the home page is a Google search bar and at the bottom is the Nook Search button. Google's search bar opens Google Now, but we could see a newbie not understanding the difference. Also, while we like that Barnes & Noble kept access to the full Google Play Store, it still leaves two stores on one page for similar content. Plus, you'll find Samsung's app store on the next home page to the right.

MORE: 25 Best Android Apps

We were also baffled that the device holds three separate Settings apps (Google Settings, Nook Settings and Settings). Granted, each has a separate focus, but we would prefer to see them consolidated.

The Nook features the standard Android keyboard, but, of course, users are free to switch it out with the many choices available from the Google Play store.

The duplicate settings and stores aren't the end of the confusing controls. Requiring parents to visit several different apps to add restrictions for their kids is no fun, either. The Nook Settings is where you'll find the ability to password protect a profile, but to add a profile you must go to the traditional Android Settings app > General > Users. Here you can pick what content a restricted profile can use. Then, from within the Nook Shop, you can click on the little head on the top right. That opens another controls panel that allows you to check off if that profile can only shop for kids' content or if purchases require a password. You can set maturity levels for books, movies and TV shows, if you so choose.

What you can't do on the Tab 4 Nook is set time restrictions. For that reason, we prefer the Amazon FreeTime model that can lock down a device after a few hours of playtime. Also, we like the Fuhu Nabi DreamTab approach that allows parents to incentivize kids to play with educational apps to earn more time with non-educational content.

In addition to the familiar Google Play store and Samsung's App Store, the Tab 4 Nook comes with a curated store of Nook-specific apps called the Nook Shop. This content is curated to be family-friendly. However, we found many of our favorite apps missing, even those we recommend for young children. For instance, in the Nook Shop you won't find Dr. Panda's Restaurant, Despicable Me: Minion Rush, Monument Valley, Spotify, WhatsApp and Facebook. Luckily, all these are available through the Google Play store.

With the purchase of a new Tab 4 Nook, Barnes & Noble throws in $200 worth of free content, including best-selling books, popular TV shows, top magazines and more. Plus, you'll get a $5 credit to your Barnes & Noble account to help get you buying stuff right out of the box. Tab 4 Nook owners will appreciate the company's Free Friday's program. That means you get a free Nook book, video or app each week.

Sadly, the e-tailer picks exactly what that free content will be. The books included are Freakonomics, The Wanderer and I Am Number Four. The TV shows include one episode each from HBO's Veep, NBC's Hannibal and BBC America's Orphan Black. For free magazines, you'll get up to four 14-day free trial subscriptions from a selection of 12 magazines, as well as the previous 12 issues. Those include Cosmopolitan, Sports Illustrated and US Weekly. We would have preferred the option to choose our own content, or a subscription service similar to Amazon Prime that would offer free access to content.

Barnes & Noble boasts a library of more than 3 million e-books, including more than 9,000 children's books. For those books where it is enabled, we particularly like the Read To Me Nook Books, which enable parents (or grandparents) to record themselves reading a child's favorites. The selection of books includes many Disney movie story books, including Frozen and Brave. We were also pleased to see classics such as Olivia Says Good Night and Lewis and Carroll's Alice in Wonderland.

The Nook Newsstand claims to be the world's largest digital collection of the top 100 bestselling U.S. magazines. Similarly, Nook Comics offers tons of titles from publishers such as Marvel, DC Comics, Dark Horse and others. Barnes & Noble also now offers Nook Video for popular movies and TV shows, which are available for purchase or rental.

We compared the prices of the 15 best-selling fiction e-books from the NYTimes. On average, you're likely to get a better price by going directly to the Google Play store. The average cost for Google's book store was $8.99, as compared to $10.53 on Barnes & Noble. On Amazon, the average is $9.41, and on Apple's iBooks it's $9.65.

Similarly, we compared Nielsen's list of most popular video prices for rentals and purchases. Google averaged $4.33 per rental and $13.89 for purchased videos. Barnes & Noble charges $5.37 for rentals and $15.88 to buy, on average. In between those two, Amazon averages $4.77 for rentals and $14.59 for purchases. The Apple iTunes store charges $5.32 for rentals and $16.99 to own movies.

The biggest piece of content missing from the Nook store is a Barnes & Noble music service. But, through the Play store you can access Google Music or any number of third-party apps.

I like that Barnes & Noble allows Nook readers to swap e-books with friends through the LendMe program. It's also nice that you can read e-books for free inside any Barnes & Noble brick-and-mortar store.

Barnes & Noble offers tons of e-books with a little something extra. Some of the interactive or enhanced e-books through Barnes & Noble, such as The Hobbit, allow you to hear J.R.R. Tolkien sing his elvish songs at the intro of chapters and more. There's video and audio for step-by-step cooking instructions in such e-books as The Good Housekeeping Cookbook. In artwork heavy stories, such as Antoine De Saint-Exupery's The Little Prince, Barnes & Noble adds its PagePerfect features that offers full-page images that faithfully recreate the original details and color.

Helpfully, the ArticleView of magazine articles allows the reader to remove ads and extra images to bring you right to the text. I also like the super-quick 3D-like page turns.

Barnes & Noble didn't exactly load the Tab 4 Nook with the best internal parts. Inside you'll find a 1.2-GHz quad-core Marvell PXA 1088 with 1.5GB of RAM. That pales when compared with the Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 7-inch and its 2.2 quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor with 2GB of RAM. The Nexus 7 has the same graphics chip and RAM as the Fire HDX, but it's paired with a slower 1.5-GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro. The ASUS MeMO Pad 7, however, sports just a 1.2-GHz quad-core MediaTek MT8125 CPU with 1GB of RAM.

On the Geekbench 3 general performance test, the Nook scored just 1,043. That's less than half the category average of 2,325, as well as the ASUS MeMO Pad 7 (2,431).

On Quadrant, which also measures overall performance, The Tab 4 Nook scored 4,443, which was higher than the MeMO Pad HD 7 (3,414), but lower than the Nexus 7 (4,949) and Fire HDX.

The Tab 4 Nook took 12 minutes and 14 seconds to transcode a 204MB 1080p video to 480p using VidTrim. That's 2:45 slower than the category average, as well as the MeMO Pad, which took only 6 minutes.

Not surprisingly, the device lagged a little when opening apps (Nook apps or not) and switching orientation. The keyboard often had trouble keeping up with my typing as well. Trying to play Dead Trigger 2 was truly painful. For starters, I had to delete all other third-party apps just to install the game, and I found controls to be sluggish and the details jagged.

The Tab 4 Nook performed pitifully on the 3DMark Ice Store Unlimited, scoring just 2,671 on the graphics test. The category average is 10,996, while the MeMO Pad 7 scored 13,625.

We were unable to run our app open time benchmark because there is not enough onboard memory to load N.O.V.A. 3. But it did take Despicable Me: Minion Rush an agonizingly long 30 seconds to open.

The Galaxy Tab 4 Nook features a 1.3-MP front camera and a 3-MP rear camera. A selfie taken in our offices automatically featured Samsung's Beauty Face feature, which smoothed out a splotchy and wrinkled face to create a slightly out-ofpfocus look. But the color and brightness appeared better than front cameras such as the 720p one on the Fire HDX 7.

Outside on a sunny New York City day, the green and brown shrubbery we photographed appeared washed out but very detailed. Small scratches in the leaves were highly visible. A red maple popped against a sunny sky.

We were impressed by the long battery life on the Galaxy Tab 4 Nook. Using our Laptop Mag Battery Test (Web surfing via Wi-Fi at 150 nits), the Nook lasted 10 hours and 42 minutes. That's better than the Amazon Kindle Fire HD (7:30), Kindle Fire HDX 7-inch (8:39), the ASUS MeMO Pad 7 (7:39) and the category average of 8:20, but all of those were tested at 40 percent brightness. The Tab 4 Nook was set to 44 percent in order to reach 150 nits.

MORE: 10 Tablets with the Longest Battery Life

There are only 660 Barnes & Noble bookstores still around these days. So, if in-store support is important to you and if you live near one of these stores, you may want to give the Galaxy Tab 4 Nook a look. With it comes free tech support from a live human. Of course, for Amazon customers, the MayDay button puts that same sort of support at the touch of a button -- no travel required.

The nearly 11 hours of battery life on the Galaxy Tab 4 Nook makes a pretty compelling reason to consider picking one up for the family. And for $179 you'll get the lightweight slate with $200 worth of Barnes & Noble content, as well as access to some fun Samsung extras such as multitasking. Sadly, the parental controls are painfully complicated and the performance is sub-par.

The Amazon Kindle Fire HD and ASUS MeMO Pad 7 are $40 less and offer identical display resolution, if shorter battery life. The Google Nexus 7 is just $20 more, and offers a 1920 x 1200-pixel display and double the storage. For our money, we'll continue to pick Amazon's Kindle Fire HDX 7-inch over the Nook and its $199 price tag. If you're locked into an existing B&N library, we recommend loading Nook's app onto an Amazon slate.

Top 10 Tablets Available NowTablet Buying Guide: 7 Essential TipsKids Tablets to Buy (or Avoid)Recommended by Author Bio Anna Attkisson, Managing EditorA lover of lists and deadlines, Anna Attkisson heads up features and special projects for Laptopmag.com, in addition to covering social networking and accessories. She joined the LAPTOP staff in 2007, after working at Time Inc. Content Solutions where she created custom publications for companies from American Express to National Parks Foundation. Anna Attkisson, Managing Editor on Ask a Question

From Laptopmagazine. Product reviews and advice for best reference

Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nook: Top 5 Features

Samsung and Barnes & Noble have teamed up for the bookseller’s latest tablet, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nook. Available today for $179, the new tablet will sport a 7-inch display, $200 in free content, and in-store customer support. But what else makes the Tab 4 Nook special? Here’s a look at the top five features of this new tablet. 

The Tab 4 Nook has a 7-inch, 1280 x 800-pixel display, which is typical for most tablets at this size, but well below the Amazon Kindle Fire HDX‘s 1920 x 1200-pixel panel. The Amazon Fire HD, which costs $139, has a 1280 x 800-pixel screen. At 9.74 ounces, the Tab 4 Nook is lighter than the 10.7-ounce Fire HDX and the 10.9-ounce Apple iPad Mini with Retina Display. 

MORE: Top 10 Tablets to Buy (or Avoid) Now

In addition to running Android 4.4 KitKat, the Tab 4 Nook will have Barnes & Noble’s Nook software. However, it will be in app form, rather than a whole interface. On the bottom right of the home screen of the tablet is a Resume Reading button. When this button is pressed, the tablet will open the book you were reading to the exact spot you left off. 

The Nook app will offer personalized recommendations based on your reading and viewing habits and preferences. Of course, B&N’s entire library of 3 million books, magazines and newspapers, and its TV and movie selections will also be available for Tab 4 Nook users.

In what could be the best feature for families, the Tab 4 Nook will support up to six accounts, so that parents can load content specific and appropriate to each of their children on separate interfaces. Interactive kids’ books features include Read to Me, Read and Play, and Read and Record to encourage learning. However, there was no mention of a FreeTime-like feature, which lets parents set time limits on the type of content their children are viewing. 

While Amazon has Mayday, Barnes & Noble is counting on its bricks and mortar stores to offer in-person customer support. Tab 4 Nook owners will be able to bring their tablets into any Barnes & Noble store and get free tech support and help setting up their tablet. 

Like other recent Samsung devices, such as the Galaxy Tab S 10.5 and the Galaxy S5, the Tab 4 Nook will have a multi-window mode, so users can have two apps open at once on the display. This could be useful when you’re reading a book and you want to look up a term or browse your email. 

The Tab 4 Nook will have a front 1.3-MP camera, which should suffice for video chats. While the Nook’s rear-facing 3-MP camera is pretty ho-hum, the Amazon HDX lacks a rear camera altogether.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nook doesn’t wow, but there are some reasons to consider it. The biggest selling points are the low $179 price and $200 of free content offered through Barnes & Noble. Plus, you’ll get access to the Google Play store, while Kindle tablets are limited to Amazon’s own store. Stay tuned for a full review.

From Laptopmagazine. Product reviews and advice for best reference

Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nook vs. Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 7-inch

 As the first device to come out of the Samsung and Barnes & Noble partnership, the Galaxy Tab 4 Nook promises to offer the best of both worlds: a great tablet and an industry-leading eReader. But that doesn’t mean this 7-inch tablet doesn’t face some serious competition from the Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 7-inch.

1.2-GHz quad-core Marvell PXA 1088

2.2-GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800

8GB (expandable to 32GB via microSD)

microSD card slot, microUSB charging port

 Amazon’s 7-inch slate costs $229, while Samsung’s costs just $179 (after a $20 rebate). The measurements of the two are comparable, with the 9.74 ounce Tab 4 Nook coming in a hair smaller at 7.36 x 4.25 x 0.35 inches vs. the 10.7-ounce Fire HDX’s 7.3 x 5 x 0.35 inches. But once you look at their features, Amazon provides more processing power, a higher-resolution screen, more processing power and more onboard storage. However, Barnes & Noble uniquely offers on-site tech support, multi-tasking goodness and a 3-MP rear-facing camera. 

MORE: Amazon Kindle Fire HDX vs. Google Nexus 7: Which Tablet Is Better?

The Fire HDX is powered by a 2.2-GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 CPU. We’ve not yet tested the new Tab 4 Nook, but we’re skeptical about how the 1.2-GHz quad-core Marvell PXA 1088 will stack up. For RAM, the Fire HDX offers 2GB, while the Nook has just 1.3GB. 

Both slates offer dedicated profiles and robust parental controls for a family-friendly experience. Both also offer their own content portals for books, TV shows, movies, apps and games. But Nook does pack in the Google Play store as well, which offers a wider selection of content. We also like that the Tab 4 Nook comes preloaded with the Chrome browser, rather than Amazon’s proprietary Silk browser. 

Barnes & Noble noticeably pulled back on its operating system overlay, leaving a traditional Android 4.4 experience that some will appreciate. Still, Amazon’s extras such as the Mayday button for on-screen tech support and X-Ray for additional info on books and music are pretty handy.

We’re looking forward to testing Barnes & Noble’s claims of 10 hours of endurance for its 400mAh battery. On our Laptop Mag Battery Test, we recorded 11 hours of battery life from the Fire HDX 7-inch. We also plan to update this comparison as soon as more test results are available. 

A lover of lists and deadlines, Anna Attkisson covers apps, social networking and accessories. She's proud to say she loves each and every one of her phablet, three tablets, three laptops and desktop. She joined the Laptop Mag staff in 2007, after working at Time Inc. Content Solutions where she created custom publications for companies from American Express to National Parks Foundation.

From Laptopmagazine. Product reviews and advice for best reference

Samsung Galaxy Note Pro review: Android's bid to replace Windows in the office

Samsung Galaxy Note Pro (Model SM-P900) $750.00 Spending $750 for an Android tablet seems exorbitant. But the Samsung Galaxy Note Pro offers a larger screen, excellent battery life, and access to the Android and Samsung app stores.

When one considers the wealth of inexpensive Android tablets available, the idea of paying $750 for a 12-inch Android tablet seems inconceivable. But if now isn’t the time for consumers to start thinking of large Android tablets as legitimate Windows laptop replacements, that day isn’t far off.

That’s right: a Windows laptop replacement. That’s the only way to consider the Samsung Galaxy Note Pro, a massive tablet that, like the Microsoft Surface, works best on a desk. Samsung’s 12.2-inch Galaxy Note Pro (7.95 mm thick, 1.65 pounds) is virtually identical to the Galaxy Tab Pro, save for the addition of an S-Pen stylus.

This is not a competitor to smaller tablets like the Nexus 7. Indeed, if last year’s Galaxy Note 3 smartphone doubles as a reporter’s notebook, then the new Galaxy Note Pro is something akin to an electronic legal pad. And with a surprisingly complete selection of productivity apps in both Google Play and Samsung’s own app store, this massive Android tablet can help you get real work done.

The Galaxy Note Pro lacks an integrated keyboard, and the cover, which does double duty as a stand, is a little flimsy.

The Note Pro is available for either $750 for a 32GB model, or $850 for 64GB of onboard storage. So far, Samsung has yet to announce the price for a model with an integrated LTE WLAN chip. According to Samsung, the Wi-Fi version of the Note Pro houses a 1.9GHz quad-core ARM Cortex A15 chip, powering Android 4.4 (KitKat). Our performance tests produced a Sunspider score of 0.97 seconds (which hits the upper echelons of the tablet market), and a PeaceKeeper score of 815. For the sake of comparison, the iPad 3 managed 516 in PeaceKeeper, and the Dell XPS 10 hit 324 (higher scores are better).

It’s not much of a stretch to consider the Note Pro as Samsung’s response to Microsoft’s Surface 2 Pro, which starts at $899 for 64GB of onboard storage. Both the Note Pro and the Surface Pro 2 ship with foldable keyboard covers; the Note Pro’s can be configured so that it wakes up and unlocks the tablet when flipped back. But while the Note Pro’s cover actually doubles as a stand, it’s not immediately obvious that it does so.

The Note Pro also lacks an integrated keyboard, such as the Surface’s Type and Touch Covers. In fact, to use it as a laptop replacement, you’ll need to buy a Bluetooth keyboard and possibly a mouse. That completely eliminates its use as a “lap top” computer.  

Physically, the Note Pro looks like a Note 3, flipped on its edge. The tablet is designed to be held in landscape mode, with the physical home button mounted between the back and applications buttons. Near the top sits the 2-megapixel front-facing camera, with an 8-megapixel camera at the back. (Unfortunately, the cover lacks a rear camera cutout, so when thumbing the camera button, you’ll have to awkwardly hold up the cover.) Volume and power switches sit on the top, while an all-important microSD card slot sits on the side. 

Like the Note 3, the Note Pro uses the new USB 3.0 connector, collecting juice through a high-output charging plug. Charging the Note Pro takes about three to four hours, but battery life is excellent: You’ll see two, possibly even three days or so of casual use from its integrated 9,500 mAh battery, and our looping video test ran down the battery in 8 hours, 37 minutes. That’s on par with the Dell XPS 10 tablet.

Unfortunately, you won’t be able to use the Note Pro on long flights. The tablet, its stand and a Bluetooth keyboard will take up too much room on a seat-back tray. But you can still use the tablet for mid-flight video playback in your hands. The 12.2-inch display boasts a 2560x1600 resolution and 247 ppi pixel density, and you can even hook up an external monitor care of an optional external HDMI dongle for $39.99.

One of the problems with Samsung’s latest devices, beginning with the Galaxy S4 smartphone, is their overwhelming number of largely extraneous features, such as the “smart pause” feature that supposedly pauses video playback when you look away. You’ll see a number of these still hidden deep within the Note Pro’s settings menus—but thankfully turned off.

Mark Hachman

Feel free to mix and match entertainment and work apps—the Note Pro can handle both.

The default home screen contains a giant reminder widget for S Note, so that you don’t forget the S Pen. Equally useless New York Times and Twitter widgets can be tossed out. And, fortunately, a collection of news and entertainment apps, such as WatchON and a version of Samsung’s Flipboard-like My Magazine app, are confined on the peripheral screens. 

Mark Hachman

You can use the pen to draw your own windows, as I did, using the S Pen.

As with the Note phones, pulling out the S Pen triggers several options, including an Action Memo; the ability to save content into a Scrapbook; and my favorite, the Pen Window. The Pen Window lets you run a second app inside a window, providing Android with a desktop-like multitasking environment. You simply draw a box, and when it’s done, select the app you want to fill the space.

Samsung, however, now has a better option: Multi Window mode, which Samsung has made available on only the largest Galaxy Tab and Note tablets. To trigger Multi Window mode, you swipe in from the right-hand side, via a list of supported apps. (YouTube is supported, for example, but Angry Birds is not. And, inexplicably, Chrome is not supported by Pen Window mode, but it is under the Multi Window view.)  Dragging one app to the main screen fills it. Dragging a second  “snaps” the screen into two halves—and so on, up to a total of four screens. On a smaller tablet, this is a gimmick, but on a larger tablet like the Note Pro, it’s surprisingly useful.

Mark Hachman Mark Hachman

Multi Window can show four apps at once, or you can snap two. This is amazingly useful.

More impressive are the numerous productivity apps that are either available via the Note Pro itself or via Samsung’s own app store. Apps such as Cisco’s WebEx, a Samsung Remote PC app (an alternative to Microsoft’s own Android app, Microsoft Remote Desktop), and the Hancom Viewer are all included. On Google Play, Hancom’s Hanword, a word processor, cost over $17 at press time, but on the Note Pro, it’s free, as are similar apps to view and edit PowerPoint and Excel documents. 

The Hancom apps ship in both “viewer” and editable versions, and the Note Pro tends to open files in the “viewer” version first without an option to choose the editing app, which is annoying. Google’s own Quickoffice is also installed. Aside from some possible font compatibility issues, the Hancom apps seemed to work surprisingly well.

Keep in mind one thing: With the Note Pro, these productivity apps are free. If you purchase a Surface Pro 2, you’ll also need to pay for a subscription to Office 365 or a standalone copy of Office 2013. That pushes the long-term cost up.

Hancom’s app suite makes the Note Pro a viable productivity tablet.

Samsung inexplicably omitted the VPN app that it included on the Note 3, meaning that you’ll need to search out an Android version, such as Cisco’s Easy Connect, on the Play Store. In all, though, I found Android versions of virtually every productivity app I wanted from either the Samsung or Google Play, giving me a PC-like experience on an Android tablet.

This is the bottom line. Windows PCs and Macs represent the power-user extremes of the computing experience, owning everything from Adobe Photoshop to the latest first-person shooters. But tablets are for centrist users: Android tablets and iPads dominate casual gaming, and more and more light-productivity apps are being written for those platforms.

The sum of its parts—a large screen, excellent fantastic battery life, multi-app windows, and equivalent PC software—not only make the Note Pro a viable choice for a tablet enthusiast, but a jumping-off point for an adventuresome road warrior to leave the Windows world entirely. If only Samsung could knock another $150 or so off the price.

From PC World. Electronics product reviews and advice for best reference

Rumored Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 7.0, 8.0 and 10.1 Specs Leak

It looks like Samsung is gearing up to refresh its family of Galaxy Tab tablets. Specs for the tech giant’s new entry-level tablet line, which includes the Galaxy Tab 4 7.0, 8.0 and 10.1, have reportedly leaked online, and it looks to offer some modest improvements over its predecessor.

According to MySamsungPhones, which got its hands on a the leaked specs, the Galaxy Tab 4 7.0 will include a 7-inch 1280 x 800 TFT LCD display . That’s up from the 1024 x 600 screen found on the Galaxy Tab 3 7.0. Inside the Tab 4 7.0 gets a 1.2-GHz quad-core processor, compared to the 1.7-GHz dual-core chip found in its predecessor.

MORE: Top 10 Tablets Available Now

RAM stays the same at 1GB, as does internal storage. Cameras on the Tab 4 7.0 also remain the same with a 1.3-megapixel shooter front shooter paired with a 3-megapixel out back. The leaks also indicate that the Tab 4 7.0 will come loaded with Android KitKat 4.4.

The Tab 4 8.0 is also getting some upgrades. Though the 8-inch slate’s display resolution remains unchanged from the Tab 3 8.0's 1280 x 800 pixels, the tablet’s processor does get a boost from the 1.5-GHz dual-core CPU found in the Tab 3 8.0 to a more powerful 1.2-GHz quad-core chip. Interestingly, RAM appears to dip slightly from the 1.5GB used in the Tab 3 8.0 to just 1GB.

That said, the RAM in the newer slate likely offers a faster clock speed, which would negate the drop in size. Curiously, the rear camera on the Tab 4 8.0 is listed at just 3-megapixels, a reduction from the 5-megapixel shooter on the Tab 3 8.0 while the front camera remains the same. Battery life on the new tablet should see a significant jump thanks to its 6,800 mAh battery, an improvement over the Tab 3 8.0's a 4,450 mAh unit.

Like the Galaxy Tab 4 8.0, the Galaxy Tab 4 10.1, the big daddy of the group, gets a 1280 x 800 resolution display. The processor improves from a 1.6-GHz dual-core chip with 1GB of RAM to a 1.2-GHz quad-core unit with 1.5GB of RAM. Cameras also improve to an 8-MP rear shooter paired with a 2-MP front-facing partner. The Tab 3 10.1 had just a 3-MP rear camera and 1.3-MP front shooter.

With such a specific list of leaks hitting the web, it would seem that the three Tab 4s are just about ready for prime time. And with Samsung set to host its Unpacked 5 event at Mobile World Congress at the end of the month, we could see these slates make their debut in relatively shorter order.

via: MySamsungPhones

A newspaper man at heart, Dan Howley wrote for Greater Media Newspapers before joining Laptopmag.com. He also served as a news editor with ALM Media’s Law Technology News, and he holds a B.A. in English from The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey.

From Laptopmagazine. Product reviews and advice for best reference

Samsung Phone With Bended Display May Come This Year

Samsung debuted the first smartphone with a curved display last year, and now it’s got its sights set on launching bent phone in 2014. A new report from The Korea Herald suggests that this angled smartphone will be part of the Samsung Galaxy line as well.

This aligns with plans that Samsung revealed during its Analyst Day event in Novemeber 2013. Samsung’s chart shows that it will begin introducing bended displays in 2014 and 2015, while fully foldable phones are expected to debut in the 2016-2017 timeframe.

MORE: Best Smartphones 2014

There’s no telling whether or not this technology will appear on a Galaxy flagship or a new Galaxy line (i.e. the Galaxy Round), but a report from Bloomberg hints we may see a bended display on the Note 4.

“Samsung’s next Galaxy Note handset may use a three-sided display so that messages can be read from an angle,” the Bloomberg report read. The Note 3 successor is said to be released in the second half of 2014.

Samsung has been showcasing this technology over the past several years, but we have yet to see it in any major products. Bloomberg’s report seems to describe Samsung’s YOUM bendable displays, which can curve over the edge of a smartphone to display information such as notifications along its side.

Bloomberg refers to this as a “wraparound” display, which sounds similar to an Apple design patent published last year. Apple’s patented technology would wrap a display around the entire body of an iPhone or iPod, allowing images to be displayed around the entire handset rather than just the front.

Samsung has posted concept videos that illustrate how rollable, foldable displays can be used to bring technology to your everyday household objects. The video imagines a world where cutting boards can display information on the food you just chopped and your coffee mug can bring you news headlines and health information in the morning.

Lisa has been reporting on all things mobile for Laptopmag.com since early 2013. When she’s not reviewing gadgets, she’s usually browsing patent databases or interviewing experts to track down the hottest tech trends before they even happen. Lisa holds a B.A. in Journalism from SUNY Purchase and has contributed to The International Business Times, The New York Daily News and Guitar World Magazine.

From Laptopmagazine. Product reviews and advice for best reference

Samsung Galaxy S5 Rumors: Specs, Features and More

The Samsung Galaxy S4 launched in the spring of 2013, which means that it’s time to start dreaming up what could be next for the tech giant’s flagship phone. The S4 continues to dominate the mobile market alongside Apple’s iPhone 5s, but what can we expect from the sequel? If some of the rumors are true, the Galaxy S5 may bring the more premium, durable design Samsung fans have been waiting for alongside some noteworthy performance enhancements. Here’s a look at what we think we know about the Galaxy S5 so far.

MORE: Smartphone Buying Guide 2014: 7 Things You Need to Know

Samsung recently sent out invitations for an Unpacked event at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, leading many to believe its next-gen flagship will debut this month. Samsung hasn’t confirmed that its upcoming press conference will focus on the S5, but the “5? on the invite certainly adds fuel to the rumor mill.

Although a Samsung unveil seems early, it does line up with previous rumors. Bloomberg reported in January that Samsung plans to launch its Galaxy S5 by April, which would make Mobile World Congress an ideal venue to build hype before its release. Samsung sent out a similar invitation for its Galaxy S4 launch last March that played up the “4? theme.

Apple’s iPhone 5s became the world’s first smartphone to launch with a 64-bit processor, but it certainly won’t be the last. Samsung’s mobile business chief JK Shin recently confirmed to Korea Times that the company plans to launch smartphones with such technology.

“Not in the shortest time,” he said. “But yes, our next smartphones will have 64-bit processing functionality.”

Samsung also made a point to mention its upcoming 64-bit processing technology at its recent Analyst Day, saying that the company will start by using ARM cores and will eventually develop its own. This doesn’t guarantee that the Galaxy S5 will debut with 64-bit processing, but since the company has been publicly acknowledging its plans, it certainly seems plausible. And Samsung would be wise to do so if it truly wants the S5 to be a 5s killer.

Samsung  released two models with different processors when it launched the U.S. and international versions of  the Galaxy S4 last year, and it may follow suit with the Galaxy S5. According to SamMobile, one unit will include a 64-bit Samsung Exynos 6 processor while another variant will run on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 805 CPU. The Exynos 6 chip is likely to be found in a more premium metal version of the S5, while the newest Snapdragon processor will power the lower-end plastic Galaxy S5.

The Galaxy S4 comes with eye tracking technology, but its successor may be able to actually scan your eye. ZDNet Korea quoted industry sources saying that Samsung’s “next big thing” could be the first phone to come with such technology. The scanner is said to offer functionality similar to Apple’s TouchID fingerprint sensor in the iPhone 5s, meaning it will primarily be used to unlock the phone.

ZDNet Korea also reports that the Galaxy handset maker will launch a phone with a 2,560 x 1,440 resolution display at Mobile World Congress in February. This is believed to be the Galaxy S5, although the company has not confirmed this information. Rumors from SamMobile also suggest that the S5 will sport a 5.25-inch display, which coincides with new information from Russian blogger Eldar Murtazin who reports the same.

We wouldn’t be surprised to see Samsung attempt to beat LG to the punch again as it did with its Galaxy Round curved display smartphone. LG Display has already announced that it’s developed a 5.5-inch QHD screen for smartphones, but the company hasn’t mentioned any plans to implement this tech in a particular device. The China-based Vivo Xplay 3S also boasts this display resolution, although there’s no word on when it will launch.

MORE: The Biggest Smartphones in the World

Smart home tech isn’t a new frontier for Samsung, but this may be the first time we see it integrated directly into Galaxy smartphones. Blogger Eldar Murtazin, who accurately leaked that the Galaxy S4 would debut on March 14 last year, said that the S5 will come equipped with smart home functionality. Murtazin didn’t elaborate on specifics, but tweeted that the next Samsung flagship come with “a lot of software for smart home.”

If there’s one thing we learned from this year’s CES, it’s that smart home tech is expected to be a larger trend moving forward in 2014. Samsung showcased its own smart home setup with Galaxy Gear integration at the annual tech conference, so we wouldn’t be surprised to see this become a running theme with Samsung Mobile products.

Samsung toutes the Galaxy S4 as a “life companion” thanks to its suite of health apps, and the company may reiterate that notion with its successor. Murtazin also tweeted that Samsung will launch a new version of the S Band fitness bracelet, updated S Health apps and new accessories.

The Twitter post follows previous rumors that Samsung’s next wearable device will be a fitness tracker dubbed the Galaxy Band.The wristband would feature sensors for motion, pressure and humidity and may be able to sync with other Samsung Galaxy products, Korean publication Digital News Daily reports. If Samsung does decide to jump back into the fitness tracker game, it will be facing some fierce competition from the likes of Sony’s SmartBand, LG’s LifeBand Touch and Razer’s Nabu among others attempting to steal the spotlight from Fitbit and Nike.

Samsung is expected to ditch its signature plastic form factor for a more sturdy and attractive design. An “inside source” reportedly told Android Geeks that the Galaxy S5 will sport a fully aluminum chassis, and another report from Korea soon followed reporting the same information. At the same time, Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S5 model could adopt some of the rugged features we’ve seen on the Galaxy S4 Active and Sony Xperia Z1. Korean news outlet ETNews reports that the S5 will be water and dust resistant.

MORE: 10 Biggest Gadget Design Fails

Samsung recently revealed that its future smartphones launching in 2014 will use ISOCELL technology, which allows for clearer low-light photography and more accurate color reproduction. This would be a welcome addition to the Galaxy line, considering the S4 fared miserably in the low-light test during our Smartphone Camera Shootout. Meanwhile, TechRadar is reporting that Samsung will bump the megapixel count from 13 to 16 for the S5’s camera sensor. Tech blogger Eldar Murtazin also reports that the S5 will feature a 16-MP camera and a 3.2-MP front facing shooter.

Recent reports suggest that the Galaxy S5 will ship with Android 4.4 KitKat. This doesn’t come as too much of a surprise, considering Google is likely to roll out its latest Android OS more widely over the next few months. Android 4.4 brings some notable improvements to the Android ecosystem, including faster multitasking, a new immersive mode that hides toolbars and on-screen buttons, a streamlined contacts app, built-in printing and Emoji support. You’ll also be able to perform voice searches from the home screen by saying “Ok, Google.”

Samsung has a knack for releasing its devices in multiple flavors, and the Galaxy S5 is expected to be no different. SamMobile reports that a Galaxy S5 Mini is on tap for a June release, while the Galaxy S5 Zoom is expected to be unveiled in May with a 4.8-inch 960 x 540 resolution display.

Lisa has been reporting on all things mobile for Laptopmag.com since early 2013. When she’s not reviewing gadgets, she’s usually browsing patent databases or interviewing experts to track down the hottest tech trends before they even happen. Lisa holds a B.A. in Journalism from SUNY Purchase and has contributed to The International Business Times, The New York Daily News and Guitar World Magazine.

From Laptopmagazine. Product reviews and advice for best reference

Samsung Galaxy Note Pro vs iPad Air: Worth $150 More?

Samsung has made the pricing of the Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 official: $749 for 32GB and $849 for 64GB. That’s the most expensive Android tablet ever. But Samsung is pitching this device as much more than a tablet. It’s designed to be a productivity dynamo, offering not just pen input but the ability to run four apps at once on its giant 12.2-inch screen.

The Note Pro goes on sale February 13, but you can pre-order one now. But should you get the Pro or opt for the iPad Air (starting at $499, $599 for 32GB)? Here’s a quick spec and feature breakdown to help you decide.

The Galaxy Note Pro is jam-packed with high-end specs, including an octa-core Exynos proessor, 3GB of RAM and a 2560 x 1600-pixel display. The tablet runs Android 4.4 KitKat with 32GB of internal storage to start. You can add an additional 64GB via a microSD Card slot.

MORE: Face-Off: Apple iPad Air vs. Microsoft Surface 2

Apple’s iPad Air has a smaller 9.7-inch screen with a resolution that’s not as sharp: 2048 x 1536. The 64-bit A7 CPU on the inside offered very fast performance. This is paired with reportedly just 1GB of RAM (though Apple doesn’t specify). You can order the Air with 16GB, 32GB, 64GB or 128GB of storage, but it doesn’t offer expansion.

The iPad Air weighs about 1 pound and measures just .29 inches thick, versus 1.6 pounds and .31 inches thick for the Galaxy Note Pro. However, the Note Pro sports a much larger display.

Here’s where the the Note Pro and iPad Air seriously diverge. Samsung has revamped Google’s homescreen with its own Magazine UX, which uses a Flipboard-like interface to present everything from your favorite apps and news headlines to business tools and social feeds. iOS 7 is more simple and straightforward, but not nearly as customizable.

MORE: iPad Pro: 5 Killer Features We Want

The Galaxy Note Pro also takes multitasking to the next level with Multi Window. Now you can run four apps on the screen at one time, and you can drag and drop content between Windows. Samsung even says you’ll be able to quickly launch your frequently used Multi Window app configurations. The iPad can’t run more than one app at a time, although iOS 7 at least makes it simple to switch between apps.

Google has reportedly asked Samsung to tone down its Magazine UX and remove some of its homegrown apps, but it doesn’t look like Samsung has any plans to change the Note Pro’s user experience anytime soon.

The Galaxy Note Pro brings Samsung’s S Pen to the party, offering the ability to take notes, draw and use convenient features like Air Command for quickly getting things done with the stylus. But in order to position this slate as a true laptop replacement, Samsung is also including Remote PC software for accessing your desktop while on the go and Hancom Office for working on office docs. 

For aiding text entry, Samsung has revamped its on-screen touch keyboard to closely mirror a traditional laptop, complete with arrow keys and familiar shortcuts like cut and paste. Not good enough? Samsung has partnered with Logitech, Belkin and Zagg to create Bluetooth keyboard cases for this large tablet. 

MORE: Best Tablets 2014

The iPad Air has plenty of business-friendly software, too, including the free and improved iWork suite, which benefits from iCloud integration. In addition, the App Store stocks dozens and dozens of productivity apps, although the lack of a central file system irks some owners. Android doesn’t have this drawback.

You certainly won’t be lacking for accessories with the Air, as there are several keyboard cases and third-party pens available. However, none of these options are as tightly integrated as Samsung’s S Pen.

Samsung knows that Apple is the reigning champ when it comes to apps and content, so it’s not surprise that the company is taking matters into its own hands. The Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 will ship with $800 in so-called Galaxy Perks. This includes a $25 Google Play credit, three months of Hulu Plus, a one-year Bloomberg Businessweek subscription, six months of WebEx Premium and 50GB of Dropbox storage for two years. 

Nevertheless, the iPad Air offers more than 375,000 apps that are specifically designed for tablet use, while many Android apps are mere supersized smartphone apps.

In some ways the Galaxy Note 12.2 is in a class by itself, because of its price but also its size. Jumping from 9.7 to 12.2 inches is a big leap, but some may be willing to make it if it means potentially ditching the laptop. The new Note certainly has the iPad Air beat when it comes to multitasking and pen integration. On the other hand, the iPad Air is more portable and may prove faster, especially since it doesn’t have the overhead of TouchWiz and Samsung’s new Magazine UX. The Air also leads in terms of tablet apps, though Samsung’s value-added bundle helps.

Apple could very well be working on a premium iPad Pro of its own, but for now the Air remains a good value for work and play. We won’t know how well the Galaxy Note Pro works as an everyday productivity companion until we’ve had a chance to fully test it, but for now this supersized slate shows promise. 

Responsible for the editorial vision for Laptopmag.com, Mark Spoonauer has been Editor in Chief of LAPTOP since 2003 and has covered technology for nearly 15 years. Mark speaks at key tech industry events and makes regular media appearances on CNBC, Fox and CNN. Mark was previously reviews editor at Mobile Computing, and his work has appeared in Wired, Popular Science and Inc.

From Laptopmagazine. Product reviews and advice for best reference

Leaked Samsung App Wants to Track Everything You Do

Samsung calls the Galaxy S4 your “life companion,” but it could take that idea one step further with its next smartphone release. Newly leaked screenshots from an unnamed Samsung phone showcase an app that creates a virtual diary based on your activity.

The app, which is said to be called Life Times, collects information from other apps and services on your phone including call logs, messages, photos and social networks. It then presents your recent activity in one centralized location, which Samsung appears to be touting as a digital diary. With the tagline “Every time is your episodes,” it’s clear Samsung is attempting to build on the suite of personalized apps it introduced with the Galaxy S4.

MORE: Samsung Galaxy S5 Rumors: Specs, Features and More

Judging by the leaked screenshots, which were exclusively obtained by Sam Mobile, users will be able to choose which services integrate with Life Times. The app is likely to be compatible with Foursquare, Facebook, Google+ and LinkedIn since they’re listed in the interface, but we’ll have to wait to hear from Samsung to know for sure.

The Samsung news blog also claims the screenshots were taken on a phone with the model number SM-G900H, which is rumored to be a variant of the Galaxy S5. The website couldn’t confirm that the screens were taken from Samsung’s next flagship, however.

Life Times sounds suspiciously similar to Sony’s LifeLog app, which was unveiled at CES 2014. Sony’s virtual assistant does exactly as its name implies- it obtains data from your phone to create a timeline of your day that you can playback in chronological order. This means that if you snapped a photo on your way to work, it’ll show up on your timeline for that day. Sony’s offering is meant to work with its SmartBand fitness tracker as well, which is expected to cost around $135 when it launches.

The leak also suggests Samsung is making a bigger push to create its own app ecosystem and decrease its reliance on Google. Samsung is expected to make some fairly significant announcements regarding its work with Tizen at next month’s Mobile World Congress, further hinting that a Samsung-branded OS could be in the works.

Lisa has been reporting on all things mobile for Laptopmag.com since early 2013. When she’s not reviewing gadgets, she’s usually browsing patent databases or interviewing experts to track down the hottest tech trends before they even happen. Lisa holds a B.A. in Journalism from SUNY Purchase and has contributed to The International Business Times, The New York Daily News and Guitar World Magazine.

From Laptopmagazine. Product reviews and advice for best reference