Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 Review
by Anand Lal Shimpi on April 17, 2013 11:29 PM EST- Posted in
- Tablets
- Samsung
- Android
- Mobile
- Galaxy Note 8.0
Multi Window Support
I first played with Samsung’s multi window support with the Galaxy Note 10.1. The idea behind it is simple, and honestly it’s something Google should have done the minute Microsoft demonstrated multi-window support on Windows 8. For a predefined list of apps (18 altogether), you can run any combination of two of them on the screen at the same time. The two applications can split the screen vertically or horizontally, and you can control how much of the screen is dedicated to each app. On the Note 10.1 you could launch all multi-window apps in cascade or split screen modes, while only the latter is available on the Note 8.0.
A big change since the original Note 10.1 implementation is the fact that there’s no delay when switching focus between the two apps. Just tap on whichever side of the screen you want to interact with and you’re off, there’s no hesitation or delay.
Here’s where having four cores actually can make a difference. Regardless of which application you’re actively using, both apps running in multi-window mode continue to animate and work. Thanks to the quad-core Cortex A9 SoC and having a full 2GB of RAM, the perceivable performance impact from running in multi-window mode is limited. To quantify my seat of the pants feel I fired up Browser.apk and Chrome, ran them side by side and had each one run an instance of Kraken. I compared the results to each browser running Kraken alone:
Samsun Galaxy Note 8.0 Multi-Window Performance - Kraken Benchmark | ||||
Chrome | Browser | |||
Single Tasking | 13357.1 ms | 15075.8 ms | ||
Multi Window (Both Apps Running Simultaneously) | 14452.2 ms | 16125.4 ms |
Note that Kraken is a fairly well threaded benchmark, but scaling beyond 2 cores still provides limited benefit - making it an excellent benchmark to showcase exactly what I’m talking about here since most Android applications don’t do a great job of showing huge performance gains beyond 2 cores.
This isn’t to say that there’s no degradation of performance when running in multi-window mode, just that it’s acceptable.
The bigger problem in multi-window mode is a simple lack of real estate. As I mentioned earlier, given the size of the TouchWiz UI elements and 1280 x 800 display resolution of the Galaxy Note 8.0 there isn’t a ton of excess space. Some combinations of apps work well (e.g. browser + video player in portrait mode, browser + talk, etc...) while others aren’t as nice as you’d expect (e.g. browser + gmail in portrait mode).
Samsung’s multi-window does have some intelligence to it. If you’re running two apps, switch away and then switch back to either of the apps you’ll return to the two-window layout just the way you left it. You can also maximize one of the windows, swap positions or close whenever you interact with either window for the first time.
You can debate about the usefulness of Samsung’s other features, but it’s obvious that Google needs a real multi-window solution for Android. I don’t know that Samsung has it perfect, but it’s a decent attempt.
Watch On & Awesome Note HD
One of the flagship features of the Galaxy Note 8.0 is its IR emitter and accompanying Watch On software. You can use the two to control your TV and/or cable box as a lightweight universal remote (you only get basic channel/volume control and the ability to navigate menus/inputs). Watch On is Samsung’s new content aggregation portal, allowing you to rent and buy content for use on your device from Samsung's own service or Blockbuster (no Netflix support yet). If you have a supported 2013 model Samsung TV you’re apparently able to wirelessly stream video content from your TV to your tablet and vice versa. I didn’t have a compatible TV on hand to test this out unfortunately.
I’m happy to see IR integration on modern smartphones and tablets, but I do wish someone would take the next step and really pursue true Home Theater integration. I’m talking about the ability to control more than just a TV + set top box. The ability to create macros, drive other IR blasters/repeaters, etc... I want to see someone turn their tablet/smartphone platform into a real Harmony competitor.
Samsung also secured the rights to the Android version of Awesome Note HD, which ships preloaded on the Galaxy Note 8.0. Awesome Note is a very powerful integrated organizer that gained popularity on iOS. The Android version is exclusive to the Galaxy Note 8.0.
95 Comments
View All Comments
Ashley1989 - Thursday, April 18, 2013 - link
Hi, I'm awaiting for the launch of this machine in India, expected somewhere in the end of April. I'm inclined towards its sleek design and its task switcher feature. Its available on S3 too if you update your software. Can't wait to install One browser to it, download and surf at lightening speed. Its gonna be a deadly combo.superflex - Thursday, April 18, 2013 - link
No Editors Choice award?Enjoy the wrath of the Samsung Fanbois.
herts_joatmon - Thursday, April 18, 2013 - link
This is the first review i've read to date on this that talks about the s-pen as a drawing tool and compares it to a similar product (the surface in this case). The main reason I wanted this was to use as a mobile sketchpad. I have concerns now having read that its not upto the standard of the surface pro. Saying that, I cant afford the Surface pro so I may have no other choice than this. Was it the pen itself that was the issue? Have your tried it with other Wacom pens? I've already gone out and bought the seperate s pen with erraser for the improved ergonomics and functionality assuming it would be a better experience than the standard pen supplied.Arbie - Thursday, April 18, 2013 - link
This is a real prospect for me. The screen size is just large enough to enjoy videos, while still being portable.What I really appreciate is the SD card slot. On a device so capable of media playback, it's a no-brainer to include a tiny, low-cost way of instantly swapping libraries of content in and out. The size of the internal storage is irrelevant to this - nothing beats micro/SD for loading and unloading media sets. The companies that omit SD in order to force higher prices for internal storage (!) will never get my business.
nerd1 - Thursday, April 18, 2013 - link
Still some company is charging $100 for extra 16GB while you can get 32GB card at $20.antef - Thursday, April 18, 2013 - link
lol, a menu button on a tablet??? Users will probably never even notice it's there. Imagine such a thing on an iPad or Nexus 10.Samsung just doesn't get it.
nerd1 - Thursday, April 18, 2013 - link
It actually helps a lot to have external buttons on tablet, as it won't eat up screen real estate.I hate permanent on-screen buttons.
Calista - Thursday, April 18, 2013 - link
Fully agree, have always found the onscreen buttons of HC and ICS a bit akward, to easy to hit by mistake. But I guess real buttons would hinder the idea that the tablet should be able to be turned any way the user please. Unfortunately it still won't work that way since we always have the power and volume button and the speakers in fixed positions.antef - Thursday, April 18, 2013 - link
The problem with real buttons is flexibility. If you include a hardware menu key (Samsung), it creates a bad, disjointed UI experience and a button that sometimes does nothing depending on the app you're in. An app's functionality should be fully contained with the app's UI and a button off-screen to pull up some functions is not smart design. It's also completely inconsistent ith 10" tablets and thus hard for new users to learn which is why Google axed it. However, if you don't include a hardware menu key (HTC), you're stuck with a full-row black menu bar for legacy apps that expect an off-screen menu key. On-screen keys eliminate this issue and let you have the best of both worlds.HanakoIkezawa - Thursday, April 18, 2013 - link
Im sorry but I fail to see how having dedicated buttons off screen create a broken experience in any way, shape or form. I for one cannot stand having wasted pixels on screen or having no dedicated