pircenus

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 is a tablet like no other but instead of making a big splash its busy making up for lost time. With its launch pushed back shortly after the unveiling, Samsungs top-of-the-line tablet returns to a market that isnt what it used to be.

Voice call support, memory expansion and the brilliant S Pen seemed like the right cards to play against the new iPad but it was soon clear that Acer and Asus were a threat that Samsung mayve underplayed. And as if the Iconias and Transformers werent enough of a headache already, the Nexus 7 popped up right when Samsung was getting ready to give their finest tablet the reboot it deserves.

Fierce competition to meet ever-increasing user demands has produced a fine selection of premium tablets and, to stay in the game, Samsung had to throw everything its got at the Galaxy Note 10.1. Yes, it was sent back to the shop but we can think of a lot worse reasons than an engine upgrade.

So, a quad-core Exynos 4412 chipset coupled with 2GB of RAM is no joke but theres more to the Note than just raw power.

Key features

10.1" 16M-color PLS TFT capacitive touchscreen of WXGA resolution (1280 x 800 pixels)
1.4 GHz quad-core Cortex-A9 CPU, Mali-400MP GPU, Exynos 4 Quad chipset, 2GB of RAM
Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich with TouchWiz UX UI
S Pen input with well-designed gestures
One of a kind split-screen multitasking and pop-up mini apps
Quad-band GPRS/EDGE and quad-band 3G with HSPA connectivity (HSDPA, 21 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps)
Voice calls
16/32/64 GB of built-in memory
5 MP autofocus camera, 2048x1536 pixels, geotagging
1.9 MP front-facing camera; native video calls
720p HD video recording @ 30 fps with stereo audio
Front-mounted stereo speakers
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi Direct, dual-band, Wi-Fi hotspot
Stereo Bluetooth v3.0
HDMI TV-out (adapter required), USB host (adapter required)
microSD card slot
Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
Infrared port
Adobe Photoshop Touch and Adobe Ideas come pre-installed
GPS with A-GPS support; digital compass
1080p DivX/XviD/MKV video support with subtitles
Accelerometer and proximity sensor; three-axis Gyroscope sensor
Polaris office document editor preinstalled
7,000 mAh Li-Po battery
Main disadvantages

Below-par screen resolution for the class
Proprietary 30-pin connector for charging and connectivity
No Full-HD and poor 720p video recording
Poor outdoors visibility
Theres horsepower to spare but, frankly, Samsung is not going to focus on Android power users only. The quad-core processor will mostly see to it that the tablet is future-proof and covered against the main competition.

On the other hand, that very same competition has moved on to Full-HD screens and Samsung is seriously disadvantaged here. The display may do a fine job but just hasnt got the numbers to back it up. And even though the sub-par screen resolution does the device no justice, the Note is a good looking slate, especially in white.

Its running Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich, with an official commitment to a Jelly Bean update. The Galaxy Note 10.1 comes chock-full of useful features and a fantastic selection of home-brewed and third-party apps to get the best out of the S Pen stylus.

So, in the end, there could be a lot of appeal to users who insist on the latest in gear, but also artists and other professionals who know what to do with a proper graphics tablet. But lets not get ahead of ourselves. Were about to have another go on the design and build quality, before moving on to the software and equipment of the Galaxy Note 10.1.

After hearing about the Galaxy Xcover 2 for quite sometime now, the smartphone has finally been announced by Samsung. The pricing and availability details are yet to be made official by the company. But a previous roadmap leak suggested that the XCover 2 will be available in February 2013.

Lets run you by the specs once again. Measuring 130.5x67.7x12 mm and weighing 148.5 grams, the Xcover 2 runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean sporting a 4-inch WVGA TFT LCD display with the companys TouchWiz UI atop. The device comes with a 5-megapixel rear camera and a VGA front camera as well.

The rugged smartphone is dust and sand proof and even water resistant to a depth of one meter for up to 30 minutes (IP67 Certified). Users can take under water pictures with the help of a dedicated camera button. Theres a strap holder as well that helps you avoid dropping the phone along with a battery cover lock as well.

Underneath its shell, the smartphone packs in a 1GHz dual-core processor with 1GB RAM and comes with 4GB of on-board storage with external expansion support up to 32GB. The smartphone has a standard Li-ion 1,700mAh battery.

Connectivity wise, the Xcover 2 boasts WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth 4.0, USB 2.0, A-GPS and Glonass. The device also features the intuitive Motion UI that enables users to shake and update or turn over the device to mute.

The Korean manufacturer claims that the Galaxy Xcover 2 is "the ideal smartphone for active explorers who are enjoying outdoor lifestyles and seeking a durable mobile device with essential smartphone capabilities."

The smartphone also comes pre-installed with various proprietary apps like ChatON messenger, S-Cloud, S Voice, Best Shot, Smart Stay and apps from the Samsung Hub like Readers Hub, Video Hub, Game Hub and Music Hub.

The company has also added the Cardio Trainer Pro workout app to help users achieve their fitness goals by creating a personalised training program, checking their progress and recording their track and speed.

Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2 key specifications

• 4-inch WVGA TFT LCD display
• 1GHz dual-core processor
• 1GB RAM
• 4GB of on-board storage expandable upto 32GB
• 5-megapixel rear camera
• VGA front camera
• WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth 4.0, USB 2.0, A-GPS, Glonass
• Li-ion 1,700mAh battery
• Android 4.1
• 130.5x67.7x12 mm
• Weighs 148.5 grams

General Info
2G network : GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G network : HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100
Announced : 2012, February
Status : Coming soon. Exp. release 2012, Q2

Body
Dimensions : 256.7 x 175.3 x 8.9 mm
Weight : 583 g
Others : Touch-sensitive controls

Display
Type : PLS TFT capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Size : 800 x 1280 pixels, 10.1 inches (~149 ppi pixel density)
Multitouch : Yes

Sound
Alert types : Vibration, MP3 ringtones
Loudspeaker : Yes, with stereo speakers
3.5 mm Jack : Yes

Memory
Card slot : microSD, up to 32 GB
Internal : 16/32/64 GB storage, 1GB RAM

Data
GPRS : Class 12 (4+1/3+2/2+3/1+4 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
EDGE : Class 12
Speed : HSDPA, 21 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps
WLAN : Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, dual-band, Wi-Fi hotspot
Bluetooth : Yes, v3.0 with A2DP
USB : Yes, v2.0

Camera
Primary : 3.15 MP, 2048x1536 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
Features : Geo-tagging
Video : Yes, 1080p@30fps
Secondary : Yes, 2 MP

Features
OS : Android OS, v4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
CPU : Dual-core 1.4 GHz
Sensors : Accelerometer, gyro, compass
Messaging : SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM
Browser : HTML, Adobe Flash
Radio : No
GPS : Yes, with A-GPS / S-GPS (WiFi version) support
Java : Yes, via Java MIDP emulator
Colors : Black
Others : SNS integration, MP4/DivX/Xvid/FLV/MKV/H.264/H.263 player, MP3/WAV/eAAC+/Flac player, Organizer, Image/video editor, Photoshop Touch app, Document editor/viewer, Google Search, Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Calendar, Google Talk, Picasa integration, Voice memo/dial, Predictive text input (Swype)

Battery
Type : Standard battery, Li-Ion 7000 mAh