WiFi, GPS

The Galaxy Note 8.0 will be available in both cellular and WiFi only versions, the latter being what we get in the US for now and what I’m reviewing. Broadcom’s ever popular BCM4334 handles all WiFi duties. The Note 8.0 supports 2.4GHz 802.11b/g and 2.4GHz/5GHz 802.11n.

iPerf WiFi Performance - 2.4GHz 802.11n

iPerf WiFi Performance - 5GHz 802.11n

WiFi performance was on par with similar tablets.

I had no issues with acquiring GPS lock outdoors or in cars. Indoor performance was understandably worse.

Camera Battery Life and Charging
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  • 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

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