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BARCELONA, Spain—Consumer electronics giant and Apple rival Samsung officially took the wraps off its 8-inch tablet, the Galaxy Note 8.0, which features multi-window options to split the portable screen and allow access to a number of live applications.
Also included is a new generation of Samsung’s intelligent S Pen with advanced usability, access to a suite of S Note templates and tools that allow users to create, edit, manage and share everyday documents, and a “reading mode” technology to enjoy e-books with optimized resolution, video and voice calls.
The tablet is also pre-loaded with content and apps, including upgraded Chat-On, which provides instant messaging and group chatting in multiple formats, including images, video, voice and contacts. Awesome Note, an integrated application introduced in an Android tablet for the first time with Note 8.0, is capable of unlimited note-taking uses including Memo, Diary and Must-remember lists.
With Flipboard, news, social network and other feeds come together in a flippable format. Flipboard developed a customized version of its application exclusively for Samsung that allows users to take the S Pen’s hover feature and preview article headers beneath Flipboard’s main screen tiles. Finally, Smart Remote gives users a universal remote control and electronic programming guide allowing users to manage TV and video watching.
The Dual View feature gives users two multi-window options that allow the user to facilitate multi-screen usage. Dual View’s split screen accommodates operation of different applications, such as launching the S Note on the Web browser screen and allowing content to be resized, dragged and dropped as required. In addition, Pop Up Note allows users to access S Note at any time to keep track of actions, while Pop Up Video lets users can keep surfing the web whilst chatting; content windows can be easily by pinching to enlarge or reduce size.
The S Pen has also evolved to increase everyday usability. Embedded within the tablet, the S Pen is an extension of the Note 8.0. Removing the S Pen from the device will automatically launch features such as Pen Detection that suggest adapted menus that it thinks users will need and Page Buddy, a feature that will activate the most recently adapted S Note home screen.The S Pen technology has evolved so that it doesn’t even have to touch the screen. With Air View, the S Pen only needs to hover over the screen to see previews of videos, emails, photos and appointments on SPlanner without opening the file or application in full. The S Pen Gesture feature allows images and content to be edited and cropped, whilst Paper Artist and Photo Note allow photos to be artistically personalized.
“Back in 2010 the launch of the first Galaxy Tab with a 7-inch screen opened a new chapter in the mobile industry. Now almost three years later, Samsung continues to evolve the sector that meets the demands of modern life,” JK Shin, president of the IT and mobile communications division at Samsung Electronics, said in a statement. “The Galaxy Note 8.0 breaths fresh life into the category as it delivers the perfect fusion of portability and everyday productivity – the result is a pioneering, pocket-sized solution that enhances and enriches our everyday lives, whether at work or play.”