Amid patent war, Samsung sets NZ launch date, pricing for Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet

UPDATE: At a launch event in Auckland last night, Samsung has set an NZ release date for its Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet - "the end of August" - and confirmed pricing leaked earler (see below): $999 (3G/Wi-Fi) and $799 (Wi-Fi).

The Note has escaped a list of eight Google Android-based Samsung mobiles that Apple is trying to get pulled from shelves following its $US1 billion patent win on Friday (Saturday NZ time). Apple is also trying to get the 4G bersion of a second Samsung tablet, the Tab 10.1 pulled from retail in a separate action.

Harsh reviews as pen-based Galaxy Note unveiled in New York

Aug 16 Updated with confirmed tech specs following the official launch in New York this morning; NZ pricing leaks; first hands-on reviewer reaction]

Samsung has set a date for the NZ launch of its new Galaxy Note - August 29.

However, it has yet to release any pricing (in the US the base model starts from $US499, matching the iPad), or say how soon a commercial launch will follow; on past form, it should be days or a couple of weeks rather than months. US release is Thursday (Friday NZ time).

But the NZ branch of global distributor Ingram Micro has posted local pricing: $799 incl GST for the 16GB Wi-Fi model, and $999 for a 16GB Wi-Fi + 3G model (equivalent models of Apple's iPad cost $729 and $929).

The first generation Galaxy Note had a 5.3-inch screen, pitching it half way between a smartphone and a tablet - or a "phablet" as it was dubbed. A key feature was its stylus for notetaking and drawing.

Tech bloggers picked next off the bocks would be the Galaxy Note 2 (rumoured to have a 5.5-inch display). But Samsung surprised by announcing the supersize Galaxy Note 10.1 - whose 10.1-inch display is the same size as Samsung's Galaxy Tab that is already on the market (and one of the devices at the centre of a major patent case in the US with Apple).

ABOVE: Samsung's Galaxy Note 10.1 teaser video.

A key difference with the Tab - based on the limited information released by Samsung so far - is that the Note retains its signature pen-stylus friendly features.

The Galaxy Note can also be used as a regular Android tablet - giving Samsung a sevice in the market if Apple does succeed in its attempt to injuct its rival's device.

A slam
One of the first hands-on reviews is a bad-tempered piece by influencial New York Times writer David Pogue.

Mr Pogue finds positives, including the SD card slot (a memory expansion and file transfer option conspicously absent from the tightly buttoned-down iPad) and the front-facing speakers, which he says sound much better than those on Apple's tablet.

He also likes the infrared blaster (for controlling a TV), and a Samsung twist on Android 4.0 that lets six apps be run in a unique side-by-side mode. It allows you to have a web page and a page of notes on each side of the screen, and drag-and-drop or copy-and-paste between them, for example.

But he slams the build quality, and the Note's signature S Pen stylus. "The handwriting recognition is so half-baked, the oven must not even be warm," Mr Pogue says. There was often no space between words in converted text, and no easy way to edit the text.

Adobe's Photoshop Touch is bundled free with the Note 10.1 and the stylus can be used to annotate images, but Mr Pogue found the interface confusing.

Gathering steam, Mr Pogue rages, "Samsung’s software designers must be former Hollywood art directors who fabricated alien spacecraft. Apps are festooned with bizarre icons. None of them have identifying text labels, and their logos are frequently so unhelpful they may as well be random Cyrillic letters. Would you guess, for example, that to turn on handwriting recognition, you tap an icon that shows a circle in front of a mountain?"

Computerworld's JR Raphael was also unimpressed.

"In a nutshell, it's basically a reworked version of the Galaxy Tab 2 with an added stylus," he wrote. The 1200 x 800 display was "nothing special."

WSJ: battery life much lower than iPad
After using the Note 10.2 for four days, The Wall Street Journal's Walter Mossberg said he liked the split screen and ability to handwrite and sketch, which worked smoothly.

But he qualified, "However, I found its battery life to be much lower than the iPad's, and some of Samsung's software to be overly complicated. Plus, even Samsung concedes that the key differentiator, the pen, isn't likely to be used by most people most of the time."

Pricing
There are three onboard memory options, matching Apple's iPad in specs and pricing: 16GB ($US499), 32GB ($599) and 64GB ($US699).

All models are wi-fi-only. Samsung says a cellular model supporting HSPA+ (for mobile downloads to a theoretical speed limit of 21Mbit/s) will follow by year's end.

Tech specs
The Galaxy Note 10 runs on Android 4.0 (aka Ice Cream Sandwich).

Its display resolution is 1280 x 800.

It has 2GB of RAM (twice as much as the iPad) and a 1.4GHz quadcore processor (the iPad is dualcore).

Other specs incllude a 5 megapixel rear camera and 2mP front camera.

The weight is 598g - the same as the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and lighter than the new iPad (which weighs from 680g, depending on model).

The dimensions are 262 x 180 x 8.9mm - marginally thicker than the Tab 10.1 but thinner than the 9.4mm new iPad.

See full specs on Samsung's US website here.