Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 sports a proven, sensible design, a bevy of useful features, and fast performance. The S Pen Stylus is a unique additionSoftware features

The Note 10.1 ships with Android 4.0.4, the latest version of the OS before Jelly Bean (version 4.1). Samsung says the tablet will be upgraded to the new OS in 2012, however. If you're familiar with Samsung tablets, the inclusion of the company's custom UI, TouchWiz, on the Note 10.1 will probably not shock you. Thankfully, Samsung toned down the oppressively Fisher-Price-ian look, giving a more natural, quieter aesthetic. Along with TouchWiz comes the only reason for the UI to exist, in my opinion: the mini apps tray, now upgraded to support limited customization. You can now swap apps (chosen from an increased, but still very small pool) in and out from the tray, and the Task Manager, which lets you kill apps and clear the RAM, is still the most useful app in the tray.

The only other notable included apps are the ones most compatible with the S Pen: S Note and Photoshop Touch. However, while these apps reward those willing to deal with learning how to use them, jumping right into it feels like the equivalent of diving 30 feet off a cliff into an ocean only to find a bed of jagged rocks, just under the water's surface, waiting for you. Figuratively speaking, of course..samsung galaxy note10.1