Nexus 7 vs Samsung Note 8

[AldousSnow]

I've been using the Nexus 7 for a few months and loved it from day one. I recently gave it to my wife to replace her broken Ipad. I used the opportunity to check out the Note 8, because I'm a fan of Samsung products. I own a Note 3, Samsung Smart TV, and a Note 10.1. I'm also heavily invested in the Samsung Media Hub, with over $300 in movies purchased. So, I figure the Note 8 would be perfect. I was wrong.

8 inches is NOT the sweet spot. My hands are considered large and yet, I struggled to hold it with one hand. You have to stretch and use your pinky finger to balance the device, and this would just strain my finger. The Nexus 7, I would be able to hold in one hand comfortably.

The display. I could end my review on this point alone. The resolution is sub-par on every level. I shouldn't have been surprised..... Every review states the same thing, but I was. Again, Nexus wins hands down.

Lo and behold..... Samsung Media Hub is not compatible with this device. After almost a year of being released...... ridiculous.

After calling Samsung, I felt even more frustrated.... And I'm pretty sure this thing will never see 4.4.

Case selection is a joke. The official book cover an even bigger joke.

It's only been 5 days, I wanted to give it a full week. Back to Best Buy, it goes and for the price I paid, I can get the 32 gb Nexus 7 with LTE and 200mb free data a month with T-mobile.

Your mileage may vary.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Darth Mo]

Re: Nexus 7 .vs Samsung Note 8

Since you made no mention of the S Pen, the Note 8 simply is not for you...

Though the price has come down because of the age of the tab which seemingly puts it closely in the category of other tabs, you're still paying a premium for the digitizer/active pen functionality, not for the extra bit of display size over 7" tablets. It seems you're more interested in the multi-media capabilities so I don't think many would argue that there are better options out there.

But just as a side note as far as holding it with one hand, I hold it like a clipboard as the side bezel is wide enough to place your thumb on it without interfering with the touch screen. I don't think there are too many people out there that could securely lay the tab flat in his or her hand. But I think the overall dimension is designed more for handwriting than watching movies or touch gaming.

 

[reaperman]

Re: Nexus 7 .vs Samsung Note 8

It sounds like you made your mind up, so why bother posting your dislike? To me a nexus 7 looks only slightly larger than a smart phone. I would never own a tablet that small. The extra 1 inch larger note 8 is night and day difference. I find the resolution note 8 awesome, I've read reviews that say opposite but I just dont see it. And on the other hand I've read reviews on the nexus gloating about the resolution. I've tried them out, to me they dont look any better or worse than any other tablet out there. People over think everything these days.

 

[eshropshire]

I don't really get this review. As others have pointed out the reason to the the Galaxy Note 8 is the S Pen. If you don't care about the S Pen then get the Galaxy Tab 8 if you want a Samsung tablet. I also hear great things about the LG 8.3 Play Store model.

While I agree with you the screen should be better on the Note 8, knowing the quality of the screen before you buy is pretty easy. I bought my Wife the Nexus 7 2013 for her birthday last year and it has a great screen. For my needs the Note 8 screen works fine. Agreed that it is pretty poor of Samsung to put a lower quality screen on their tablet than their phones, but that Samsung. If the Note 8 had just a full HD screen I think it sales would have been substantially higher.

All that said, I did a lot of research before buying the Note 8. I tried the Note 10.1 2014 and the Note 8. I liked the 2014, but I did not need another 10 inch Android tablet. I wanted a smaller tablet to take notes in my meetings and create quite to do lists at work. I have had the Note 8 for two weeks and find that it is perfect for my needs. I have not used paper for meeting notes for two weeks. I use MS OneNote and I take notes in my meetings and they are immediately synced to my laptop, Surface Pro and phone. I also can easily create to do lists and hand them out to the team. I tried to use the Surface Pro for this, but the Windows Pen interface is pretty clunky. Samsung has done a great job with the S Pen.

I have no doubt that Samsung will be coming out with a Pro Note 8 later this Spring, but for what I need the Note 8 is great. I have it with a 64 GB micro SD card. I don't need LTE version, can tether with no problems from my phone. I also find the Note 8 very easy to hold in one hand. Also, don't know the problem with case selection, Amazon had a lot of choices for cases. I did not expect to have tons because at the end of the day the Note 8 is a specialized device, not one that is going to have great mass appeal. The Note 8 is a good choice for those who find the need, but pretty blah if you don't. Every review I read said the same thing, if you don't need the S Pen there are better tablet choices on the market. Looks like you fit that category perfectly.

 

[Darth Mo]

While I agree with you the screen should be better on the Note 8, knowing the quality of the screen before you buy is pretty easy. I bought my Wife the Nexus 7 2013 for her birthday last year and it has a great screen. For my needs the Note 8 screen works fine. Agreed that it is pretty poor of Samsung to put a lower quality screen on their tablet than their phones, but that Samsung. If the Note 8 had just a full HD screen I think it sales would have been substantially higher.

The screen resolution is tied to that of the digitizer so that's why they went with it. I imagine if they tried to pair an HD screen with the comparable digitizer at the time of release the price point would have been pushed up to $500+ at the time of release which would have made it a tougher sell.

I think they should have pushed the Note series of tabs into their own category. I remember doing research before buying mine and there were several reviews from normally reputable sites that basically glanced over the S Pen and went on to recommend the Nexus or iPad Mini at that price.

Not sure how you would classify it... Maybe "Pen Tab" or something, but the Note 8 got an unfair shake because it was often lumped in with media-centric tablets. Personally I consider it a work tool so I agree with you that many of the specifications are being other contemporary tabs, but the active pen puts it in a class of it's own.

 

[jlongrc]

I love mine -- but I needed the S Pen. It makes browsing more fun (no smudgy screen!) and I can take handwritten notes in my meetings that are synced to the cloud via Papyrus. I've never liked Samsung's build materials, but their book cover (which I purchased for $20 on eBay) is much nicer, adds no girth, and works for me as a stand when I need it. I don't really understand the gripes about screen resolution, but it is indeed true that other devices have higher resolution...I just can barely see the difference, especially now that I'm not holding them side by side. I'm very fond of how the screen looks. I never would have considered the Nexus 7, I don't think, because the screen looks so dinky and it still has massive bezels like the Note 8.

If you want 8 inches, want resolution, don't need an active digitizer, and like vanilla android, get the G Pad 8.3 Google Play Edition.

 

[Nychotxxx]

I tbought the n7 2013 was great until i got the note 8 and thd lg gpad. That additional inch makes a HUGE difference. Plus the n7 battery is terrible but mainly the screen is too small. The note screen is briliant bright and on a par with the n7.