The Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 is Samsung's latest attempt to grab your attention, and after going through the spec sheet, there is a fair bit here worth talking about. Announced in 2013, February. Released 2013, April, it arrives at a time when the competition is as tight as ever.
Design & Display
The Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 comes with a 8.0 inches, 185.6 cm 2 (~64.8% screen-to-body ratio) display, pushing a resolution of 800 x 1280 pixels, 16:10 ratio (~189 ppi density). Colours look punchy and text stays clean, so you will not have much to complain about here. It is not trying to reinvent the wheel with its design, but it does look the part. You can pick it up in a few finishes, including Black.
Performance & Software
At the heart of it sits the Exynos 4412 Quad (32 nm), paired with 2GB of RAM. That combination should handle day-to-day multitasking and most games without breaking a sweat. It runs Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean), upgradable to 4.4 (KitKat) out of the box, so the software experience feels current.
Camera
The camera setup is one of the talking points here, with a 5 MP sensor doing the heavy lifting. Point-and-shoot results are reliable, and that is exactly what most buyers want.
Battery
Keeping the lights on is a Li-Ion 4600 mAh, non-removable cell. With moderate use you can expect to end the day with charge to spare.
Our Opinion
After spending time with the spec sheet and what Samsung is promising, here is where we land. Samsung has clearly gone for substance over gimmicks here, and we respect that approach. It gets the basics right, offering strong battery life, a dependable main camera, a crisp display, which is exactly what most buyers are really after. For someone who simply wants a dependable daily driver that will not let them down halfway through the day, this ticks a lot of boxes. You could nitpick a few things, as you can with any phone in this bracket. Overall though, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 is easy to recommend to the right buyer. If you have used this device or are planning to pick one up, do let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
