Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is Good!

iPad 3 side by side with Note 8

I had the chance to use this new Samsung tablet and I was quite impressed by it. It felt slick, literally, from the box.

I'm not going to go back and discuss the technical details of this gadget, there are lots of websites that do that already. Let's just list the things that I like about it.

Oh, Amazon.com's service needs to be mentioned too. I placed the order on May 25, and it arrived on May 31! If I was from the US, that's too slow, but I live in Hong Kong and that is awesome speed!

Why Amazon and not Hong Kong's famous gadget shops? It's solely because of the price. The Wi-Fi version of Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is cheaper by about 500HKD after adding the shipping cost. I said before that it is expensive, but the offer from Amazon was a good one that made the decision to buy easier.

Size difference with iPad is not too big, I think.

Note 8 is light and easy to handle, it doesn't make your hands tired holding it for longer periods. The screen is so clear and bright even with the brightness set at half the brightest it can be. We've learned not to set it that way as the brighter it goes, the more power it uses. Just set it to the brightness level you're comfortable with.

Response to touch is so quick, there's almost no lag. Well, I set the animation settings from 1x to 0.5x and I know that setting helps. However when you do so, you're sacrificing some silkiness in screen presentation. Again, this is a personal preference: I prefer speed. If you set the animation settings to 0, it's faster but a bit jerky already. That is why 0.5x is a good compromise.

I suggested to my wife not buy a folding case for it as it really feels good without anything covering the device. But then again, she's right that a beautifull piece like this needs some protection especially if you're prone to dropping stuff!

Everything else is fine: It connects to Wi-Fi and therefore the internet very well, it takes fine photos and renders them well, plays music and video, yadayada...Tablets are everywhere, makers must be juggling their engineers' brains a lot on how to create stuff that is different from others. The Samsung Galaxy Note, as mentioned, is a fine tablet that is enjoyable to use. I recommend it.

Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is Expensive

I've been anticipating the arrival of the Galaxy Note 8 but now that it's here (unofficially in Hong Kong), I'm not going to get one! The deal breaker was the price. I'm not going to pay HKD 4,200.00 for the 3g/Cellular version nor HK$ 3,700 for the Wi-Fi-only version! It just feels overpriced, and makes me think of getting (what horror!) an iPad Mini!

I was going to use the Note 8 for reading eBooks, sending messages, viewing photos and watching videos, and if the S Note was any good, I was going to use it in, well, note taking. But the steep price makes it an impractical buy.

Whatever is under the hood of this new gadget will not (at least for me) make it worth buying. I'll definitely pass on this one.