Considering Galaxy Note 10.1 - Need Feedback

[rick1574]

Hello all - I'm strongly considering a Galaxy Note 10.1, largely because of the S-Pen. I don't currently own any tablets and have always liked Apple's iPad, but never thought I would use it (or any tablet) enough to justify such a high price tag.

All that changed when I picked up the S-Pen and started writing notes, freehand, on the screen. I'm a student and an auditor, so all day I'm taking notes. I burn through notebooks and often get frustrated having to look through past notes to find information on a meeting I had months earlier.

I'm all about value, and my only complaint about the GN 10.1 is the price tag. I've recently been researching all tablets and have narrowed my choices down to the Nexus 10 or the GN 10.1. I like the HD Display and am slightly disappointed the screen on the GN is a little lackluster. I've read other threads on here, and it seems like most users don't seem to mind. Although it's not a deal breaker for me, it's definitely something that counts against it.

This would not only be my first tablet, but also my first Android device. I currently have an iPhone 4S. Although I can't say anything negative about my Apple experience, I'm bored with iOS. It seems very basic and doesn't do a whole lot. Besides, the only thing I do on my phone is email, texting, and a few games. I'm really looking for something to help with productivity and not so much a cool gadget to show off.

With that said, I have several questions I was hoping you all could comment on. I have searched the internet and talked to several sales reps at my local Best Buy, but not a lot of people have experience using this tablet the way I'm looking for.

1. I've read you can buy a USB adapter to hook up thumb drives to the device. Can I transfer documents from the USB to the Samsung hard drive? And vica versa? Can I edit documents while leaving them on the USB?

2. I have a Western Digital external hard drive - Would this work via USB adapter, and allow me to open, play, and transfer media from my external to the device?

3. I do majority of my work in Excel. My documents usually consist of heavy formatting and lots of functions/formulas and a few basic macros. Is this something Polaris Office could handle? If not, are there other MS Office apps that work well?

4. I have a decent size media collection of music and movies. Some where downloaded, while others were purchased from the Apple store. Will my iTunes music work on the Samsung? What movie formats can play on the Samsung?

5. How do you like the S-Note app? As I mentioned above, this is the app I would most likely use more than any other. Any issues taking a storing large amounts of notes? Any page limits? Can I export my notes to PDF? Transfer them onto a USB device to view/print on a laptop?

That's it for now. If anyone else has any comments to add based on their experiences in using the GN 10.1 in the business world, I would love to hear them.

Thanks in advance for taking the time to respond.

Rick

 

[Aimar_69]

Hello

I personally strongly recommend this note for you and will answer you about the question that I'm fimlier with


3. I do majority of my work in Excel. My documents usually consist of heavy formatting and lots of functions/formulas and a few basic macros. Is this something Polaris Office could handle? If not, are there other MS Office apps that work well?

I'm a student and i use it to take notes in the lecture to do home works and to write papers .. and yes Polaris office is very strong in regard to office work and still you can buy a MS app if you want !


4. I have a decent size media collection of music and movies. Some where downloaded, while others were purchased from the Apple store. Will my iTunes music work on the Samsung? What movie formats can play on the Samsung?

You can add what ever media you have either into you're internal hard drive or the external memory card that you can add .. and iTunes music would work yes after all it is .mp3 so it works fine

5. How do you like the S-Note app? As I mentioned above, this is the app I would most likely use more than any other. Any issues taking a storing large amounts of notes? Any page limits? Can I export my notes to PDF? Transfer them onto a USB device to view/print on a laptop?

you can do everything you mentioned , the only imporatant thing you need to get used to using the s-pen .. as you will be a new user to the note you will find a bit "strange" and maybe you'd think its a game .. but trust me once you use enough to get used to it you will never consider any other tab .. i have my friends selling their iPads to get the note after seeing it with me


in conclusion it is all up to you after all but personally and i think i speak of most of folks here , you could never find a better tab for what use you need for (work - internet suffering - entertainment - games - Media )

the only thing that "would" bother you as it does big time for is the lack of accessories so far ..


good luck

 

[LegalAmerican]

I would highly recommend the Note 10.1 to anyone who takes large amounts of notes. I bought mine the weekend before this semester started in late August, and I use it primarily for note taking in the S-Note app and I also use "Kno Textbooks" for my school texts. I love this thing. There are a few minor frustrations that I have, but most of them are because the Note can do so freaking much that the learning curve is a little steep. It's very difficult to master all of the little capabilities that this thing has. Sometimes I do look at that as a positive as well, because I anticipate keeping this thing for years and years and I imagine that I will be learning something new almost on a weekly basis.

Just keep in mind that you might get a little frustrated at times as you try to figure out the best way to organize your notes on this device. I have seen people who have it all figured out and it's like a miracle with how perfectly organized they are because of it. I for some reason have yet to pick it up as quickly as others.

The thing to be aware of when it comes to iTunes, is that they DRM protected all their files that were purchased before 2009. So I have almost 200 songs that I cannot seem to get that DRM protection removed. I cannot use those files on any non-Apple device. And therein lies the #1 reason that I will never again give Apple one cent out of my pocket. I do not support a company who steals money from me and does not allow me to use the items that I purchased unless I constantly upgrade within their ecosystem. The reason I cannot get those 200 songs on my Note, is 100% Apple's fault and in no way reflects upon Samsung or the Note 10.1

I have yet to find a great App that will do an amazing job at Excel, but A) I haven't looked too hard and B) Rumor has it that Microsoft will be releasing Android and iOS versions of their Office software in January. If this Note 10.1 got a complete version of Microsoft Office, there's simply nothing out there that I feel would compete with it in the business world.

 

[rick1574]

Thanks for the feedback!

I've accepted the fact that's there's going to be a particularly steep learning curve, not only because it's a new technology, but also because it's a new operating system. But I love learning new things, and look forward to that challenge. I would just find myself with buyers remorse if the tablet could not do the primary functions I wanted to use it for.

LegalAmercian...with your text book app, are you able to copy charts/graphs/paragraphs out of the text book and into a note page? I could see that being a powerful tool for creating study guides and presentations.

Please keep the feedback coming! Thanks!

 

[DAS]

It is my opinion that the Note 10.1 is for people who have a need to be productive.
Most tablets, or dare I say all, except the Note 10.1 are primarily for media consumption. Which is why the emphasis by most reviewers is on screen resolution. After all, if your primary need for a tablet is watching movies, playing games, reading books, or shooting video and still shots then screen resolution is very important.

However, if your primary purpose for a tablet is for productivity tasks like making handwritten notes, organizing files, recording notes at meetings and conferences, or researching information on the Internet, while screen resolution is important, it's not the deciding factor.

The Note 10.1 can do everything in the productivity group, and more, and in the media consumption group as well, which sets it apart from anything on the market.

The combination of the s-pen, and s-Note app make this the ultimate productivity tablet.

But remember to manage your expectations somewhat. The Note 10.1 as great as it is, is still a tablet and not a full fledged laptop or desktop computer, so please don't expect it to perform like one. Some tasks and functions will still require a laptop or desktop to produce top notch results. But that being said, the Note 10.1 is the tablet that best fits your needs based on your post.

I own both the Note 10.1, and Note 2 phone. They are the ultimate companion devices in my opinion. At work in meetings and conferences I take handwritten notes on my tablet and organize them into folders and sub-folders for easy reference later. I can sync my notes between the tablet and phone using wifi direct, or in the cloud via Dropbox.

It is my opinion that is you actually use the s-pen and master the note taking capabilities of the Note 10.1, you will never even consider another tablet that can't do the same.



Sent from my SPH-L900 using Android Central Forums

 

[rick1574]

But remember to manage your expectations somewhat. The Note 10.1 as great as it is, is still a tablet and not a full fledged laptop or desktop computer, so please don't expect it to perform like one. Some tasks and functions will still require a laptop or desktop to produce top notch results. But that being said, the Note 10.1 is the tablet that best fits your needs based on your post.

I think that's where I'm getting a little caught up. I have zero tablet experience and I want the device to perform on par with my laptop. I need to scale back the kinds of things I'm looking for, understanding that it won't do EVERYTHING. Thanks for the good point.

That's also an interesting comment regarding the Note 2 phone. I just recently got my iPhone 4S (wasn't impressed with the 5 and was upgrading from the 3GS so I got the 4S at $100 off...all about value), but I'm strongly considering switching my phone as well. But that will be a decision to make 16 months from now when I'm due for an upgrade.

 

[LegalAmerican]

Thanks for the feedback!

I've accepted the fact that's there's going to be a particularly steep learning curve, not only because it's a new technology, but also because it's a new operating system. But I love learning new things, and look forward to that challenge. I would just find myself with buyers remorse if the tablet could not do the primary functions I wanted to use it for.

LegalAmercian...with your text book app, are you able to copy charts/graphs/paragraphs out of the text book and into a note page? I could see that being a powerful tool for creating study guides and presentations.

Please keep the feedback coming! Thanks!

To be honest I am not certain if you can copy from Kno to paste in S Note. I will attempt it tonight and let you know. The cool thing about Kno Textbook, is that you can notate, highlight, and click hyperlinks all within the book. It saves your notes so you can always go back in and review things.

 

[ddavtian]

if direct copying from Kno is not working (I don't use that app), you could always take a snapshot of the screen when in Kno, then crop/copy any part of the screenshot to any other place.

 

[ChuckeeDroid]

1. I've read you can buy a USB adapter to hook up thumb drives to the device. Can I transfer documents from the USB to the Samsung hard drive? And vica versa? Can I edit documents while leaving them on the USB

Rick

I have a USB to go adapter for my gs3 but it doesn't work with the Note 10.1. Reason is that it uses a proprietary connector...
I don't know if the adapters are available but I would think a quick search on eBay will tell.

I want to point out that Samsung is about to release a "Premium Suite" for the Note 10.1. Check YouTube for it. It looks to make this tablet even better.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

[J HighNote]

I think that's where I'm getting a little caught up. I have zero tablet experience and I want the device to perform on par with my laptop. I need to scale back the kinds of things I'm looking for, understanding that it won't do EVERYTHING. Thanks for the good point.

That's also an interesting comment regarding the Note 2 phone. I just recently got my iPhone 4S (wasn't impressed with the 5 and was upgrading from the 3GS so I got the 4S at $100 off...all about value), but I'm strongly considering switching my phone as well. But that will be a decision to make 16 months from now when I'm due for an upgrade.

Rick, I had NO android or any experience with apps before I got my Note phone. I always had "smart phones" but strictly used it as a phone and internet browser. I never worried about what the operating system was. I kept my previous phone for four years because I kept waiting for a large screen. I had a STEEP learning curve to figure out tap tap, tap hold, slide, and zoom! It was all new to me! The first day I got my Note phone, I couldn't answer it when it rang even though I was tapping away, I didn't know the dots meant to slide! Trust me, it won't be as much of a change for you as you might think!

I'm not as experienced with polaris office, but I had downloaded QuickOffice for my Note phone and found both to be quite compatible with all my microsoft oriented things including spreadsheets but the sheets didn't have really complex formulas in them. If you'd like to send me a spreadsheet with a sample, I'd be glad to try it and let you know how it works. Regardless of which tablet you might get, the most important thing you can do is make copies of files that are important. I've erased and deleted things accidentally and once it's gone, it's really gone. As for the external hard drive, that was mentioned in the past, maybe a few months ago. You might want to search the threads and see if anyone else has already tried it. While I have both Notes, phone and tablet, I wouldn't want you to think that if you have both, you can swap S notes back and forth between the two and write on a single 'document' with each. While that would seem to be an intuitive function if the Note family of devices, Samsung never made that possible. If you transfer one Snote in any way from one device to another, the minute you open it you can read it, if you touch it, even just to move the 'paper' to scroll down, it activates it like you're going to write on it and all the information on it becomes ERASED. Very frustrating. Also, a friend of mine has a Note and we've tried emailing notes to each other and our devices won't read an Snote from an email. We can send it as a jpg or pdf and that opens fine. Just wouldn't want that to be a killer surprise. I've spent hours trying to get it to work every way imaginable and hours on phone and chat with Samsung support and finally concluded that there's no current way to do it. Maybe by the time you can upgrade the Note 3 will be out and it'll be a breeze to swap Snotes to our heart's content. In the meantime, if anybody out there figures out a way, PUHLEEZE holler!

 

[rick1574]

J HighNote - I'll throw together a quick spreadsheet with some of the most common functions and formulas I use and send it to your via Private Message - Thanks for testing that out!

I have another questions - Could I take notes directly on PDF documents, and then export the document with my notes to another PDF? Or would that be another situation where I would need to take a screen shot of the document and reassemble with my notes.

Thanks again to everyone whose provided feedback. I'm getting more and more comfortable with the idea of getting the GN 10.1 based on everyone's response as well as the other threads I have read here. I really appreciate it!

 

[LegalAmerican]

As an update, I was not able to figure out how to copy from Kno into S-Note, but it should be noted that when I highlight text or a photo within a textbook, there's about 4 different options of what you can do including saving the text to "My Journal" among a few other options. I took a screenshot that I will upload tonight to the site so that you can see all the options within that app. I am certain that adding the screenshot into the S-Note app would work flawlessly because there are all sorts of cropping tools available when you take a screenshot.

 

[jcp007]

The Note 10.1 is awesome. Office Suite Pro is better than Polaris.

Sent From My Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 Tablet

 

[frd8897]

I own 4 tablets and the Galaxy note phone. I got the 10.1 yesterday. I like it, especially the s pen. The keyboard is not as good as the ipad orvthe galaxy tab 2 7.0. I also have the Asus vivo RT tab and love it!

 

[Andy847]

I just downloaded OfficeSuite Pro and Kingsoft Office the other night. Kingsoft Office is free and does some things well, but I'm really liking OfficeSuite Pro. Paid 99 cents for it. The Only problem I see with OfficeSuite right now, is that I can't Print .docx files on it. Kingsoft Office does this no problem, but I contacted OfficeSuite support and they know of the problem, and are working on a fix in the next update. I haven't dabbled into the spreadsheet part yet on either of them, but I did use the Word processor in both and OfficeSuite I think gives more options. That being that you can save to SD card and cloud services like Dropbox and such. If I remember Kingsoft Office will not let you save to SD card only internal storage.

 

[LegalAmerican]

Here's the screenshot of the Kno Textbook App. Just some of the settings. Also, i'm not sure why this loaded in such poor quality. It looks perfect in my gallery.

Sent from my Galaxy Note 10.1