Hi
I been looking for a note taking tablet with pen function, is the best vale the current Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0 with S Pen for around $300 ?
Is there better value in chinease import for pen function?
If cost was no issue i would go surface pro but i want keep it under $300
https://au.webuy.com/product.php?sku=STABSAMSMP60016GB#.Vm3Z…
Galaxy note 10.1 2014
this is a used tablet as they are not being sold new anymore. but ive bought this very tablet but 4G from them before. they have 12 months warrenty also.
Great tablet i have one and i bought one off ebay for my mother aswell to replace her older Note 10.1
Ok thanks so yeah looks like a 2nd hand
Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 is good if get good price.
So the stylus is better on this then on the new Galaxy A tab?
I disagree. Tab A with stylus is a great product. comes with free MS Office too, and great to use with MS OneNote. probably better to write with the larger version (9.7") due to screen real estate.
Tab A is their entry to mid product.
Tab S2 is high end - but no stylus unfortunately.
Note2014 you can get new online still ie B&H last time I checked. Luckily the version I bought from them early this year has just been upgraded to lollipop over the air so thats a positive. Better resolution than Tab A, but more expensive and getting a bit old now.
Samsung uses Wacom too, and their products with stylus have been well refined over the many years they have been offering them.
So would Note 10.1 2014, quoting MS Word App page:
The free Microsoft Word app provides a core experience for viewing, creating and editing docs on devices with a screen size of 10.1 inches or smaller. You can unlock the full Word experience with an Office 365 subscription.
Also, I've mentioned that S Pen technology is Wacom EMS technology.
The most used one probably would be Wacom EMS (S Pen uses this technology).
Tab A has awful resolution, awful SoC. It is pretty much a rehashed version of Tab 4. Comparing Tab A to Note 10.1 2014 is similar to comparing Galaxy Note series to Galaxy S Mini series or Galaxy J series.
While Note 10.1 2014 is old, hardware wise, it's better than most of the Samsung Android tablets available now. Other than Tab S2, just comparing screen resolution (don't want to go into LCD vs AMOLED), SoC and RAM, nothing in Samsung range is better than Note 10.1 2014, QHD + Exynos 5420/Snapdragon 800 (Wifi/LTE) + 3GB RAM is same as Tab S1.
I do see your point about 4:3 vs 16:10, 16:10 are more suitable for movies while 4:3 is more suitable for books as they are closer to A4 paper ratio. That said, if you look at this, the screen size difference isn't massive.
Is samsung likley to come out with an updated note 10.1 tab?
Yes and no? There are rumours of Samsung Core M Windows tablet with S pen but it will be way way out of your budget. I'd expect over $1,000 on release.
bargrin you never stated what you needed it for drawing or note taking?
Yeah not drawing just general note taking for studies.
thanks, sounds like those android tablets are better for that(pricewise) then the windows one(of which I'm trying to use for drawing)
Tab A is a budget tablet with a horrible spec that is worse than Tab 4. I personally don't recommend it.
Before I start listing tablets, I will mention this. There are many stylus technologies out there. The most used one probably would be Wacom EMS (S Pen uses this technology). The main difference between Wacom EMS and other styluses is, Wacom EMS doesn't require batteries like other stylus technology. I personally think it's better than many of the stylus technologies out there, and it probably would show in how I describe things.
Anyways, the ones that pop into my mind right now are:
In your budget, from the list I've given you, the best you could go for probably is 2nd hand Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 imo. Synaptics active stylus is known to be bad. I've heard that the revised version have gotten better, but the general gist I've got from people's reaction was, it's not Wacom. Though it's just the gist I've gotten from reading forums and stuff, so it might not be as bad as they were making it out to be.
If you are fine with risking bad services, Cube i7 stylus would probably blow all the options I've given you in terms of performance, bang for the buck etc. Core M is better than Baytrail CPU in terms of performance; it's basically somewhere between Surface 3 and Surface Pro series in terms of performance. I personally think it's a more tablet-y version of Surface Pro 1 or 2. That said, you're buying it from China, if it breaks, you probably would have problems with getting fixed.
The list I've given you probably is inconclusive at best, I have stopped looking at the tablet with stylus market (MS replaced my old SP1 with SP3, so I lost my reason to search for one). There might be better options out there; Wacom has introduced different technology, Wacom AES, and I've heard new tablets would be released using that technology (though most of them were Core M tablets, which would be above your budget). You might be able to find cheaper one that uses Cherry Trail CPU, I'd look up ASUS and see what they've released since I think I've heard them releasing one (not in Australia as far as I remember though).
TL;DR Tab A, I think, is awful. I probably am biased in terms of preferences on stylus technology. I've given you a list of tablets I think is near your budget. I recommend getting a second hand Note 10.1 2014 or Cube i7 Stylus in the list. There probably are more options out there, look into newer ASUS tablets because I vaguely remember them releasing a tablet with a stylus that might be within your budget.