Mobile Technology

Quick look: Samsung Galaxy NotePro

Quick look: Samsung Galaxy NotePro
The NotePRO comes only with a 12.2-inch display
The NotePRO comes only with a 12.2-inch display
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The NotePRO features the new 'Magazine UX'
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The NotePRO features the new 'Magazine UX'
The home screen resembles Windows 8
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The home screen resembles Windows 8
The trademark Samsung metallic side bezel
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The trademark Samsung metallic side bezel
The display packs in 4 million pixels
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The display packs in 4 million pixels
The NotePRO back panel
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The NotePRO back panel
The NotePRO comes only with a 12.2-inch display
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The NotePRO comes only with a 12.2-inch display
The device is expected to go on sale this quarter
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The device is expected to go on sale this quarter
Several features are designed with the S Pen stylus in mind
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Several features are designed with the S Pen stylus in mind
The NotePRO was a popular product at CES 2014
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The NotePRO was a popular product at CES 2014
The app tray is still there
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The app tray is still there
The NotePRO launched alongside a Galaxy TabPro in three sizes
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The NotePRO launched alongside a Galaxy TabPro in three sizes
View gallery - 11 images

At CES 2014, Samsung unveiled a business-centered version of its Galaxy Tabs, the Galaxy TabPRO, which is available in three sizes. But the new slate the company seemed most amped to promote is the companion Galaxy NotePRO, which comes only with a 12.2-inch display. The Samsung S Pen stylus is also included, along with a suite of productivity apps and features designed to take advantage of the combination of a stylus and the NotePRO's 2560 x 1600 resolution screen.

I spent some hands-on time with the TabPRO and NotePRO on the CES floor, and both certainly pack a pixel density on the screen that is of noticeable quality. Samsung's new "Magazine UX" design for the home screen bears a resemblance to a combination of the Windows 8 home screen with a little bit of Google Now thrown in.

12.2-inches is big for a tablet, and I found it easy to use the stylus when the tablet was mounted on its display pedestal, but it seems awkward to me to hold this large of a device in one hand and use the S Pen on it using the other. It works just fine when it's on a table or counter top, but then, so does a laptop.

Several features are designed with the S Pen stylus in mind
Several features are designed with the S Pen stylus in mind

Nonetheless, for uses suited to a large touch screen and a stylus, the NotePRO could be the best thing going. It also has the ability to split the screen between four apps at once for serious multitasking. This feature is also part of the TabPRO, but the NotePRO with its S Pen seems much better suited to take advantage of this feature.

Other S Pen features provide handy shortcuts, like the ability to take notes on the fly, write on screenshots, and quickly save content in a scrapbook.

Also included in the package are pre-loaded meeting apps like WebEx and prepaid subscriptions to premium business apps like Bloomberg BusinessWeek+ and NY Times.

No word yet on how much the NotePRO will cost, but Samsung says to expect it sometime this quarter.

Source: Samsung

View gallery - 11 images
2 comments
2 comments
EH
Does it have a pressure-sensitive stylus or just capacitive? The Wacom- compatible styluses available on some tablets allow using them like a much more expensive Cintiq, drawing directly on the screen with nuanced shading. Is the screen IPS? How's the color at different angles? Other than the screen size and resolution, did they give out any specs at all? This article has almost no actual information.
Bruce H. Anderson
I hope that they consider the business use and the need for good battery life. It probably won't make it through a day.