Computers & Electronics

Samsung Note 8" vs Note 10.1" 2014 Edition

  • Last Updated:
  • Nov 15th, 2013 8:07 pm
Jr. Member
Nov 30, 2010
122 posts
13 upvotes
Vancouver

Samsung Note 8" vs Note 10.1" 2014 Edition

Hello everyone,

I have a few best buy reward zone certificates coming up to their expiration date and was wondering if it is worth getting the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0" for $379.99 www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/samsung-sa ... 175f93en02

I see there is the new Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1" 2014 edition available now, but its going for $599.99. I don't know if it is worth paying that much for the new 10.1 but i guess its price may drop a little in a few months (after my reward zone certificates expire).

I see the note 10.1" 2014 edition has the way nicer screen, more memory, better cpu, better battery, newer os, etc.... but its at a premium price.

I couldn't find too much info in this forum for the Note 8" but was hoping to get some feedback if it is worth to get the 8.0 at its current price for $379.99 or bit the bullet and go for the 10.1" 2014 edition.

The reason why i prefer getting a note is due to the spen feature as I prefer a tablet with a stylus. I did consider the surface pro but its battery life isn't greatest as its running an i5.

Thanks!
5 replies
Deal Addict
Feb 18, 2011
1703 posts
814 upvotes
Mississauga
The Note 8 is a fantastic tablet. While text is definitely not as sharp as a retina display, its not as bad as other non-retina tablets (iPad 2, mini, 1280x800 on 10" screenetc). Also, while the screen is not retina, the colors on it are fantastic (see youtube for mobiletechreview's comparison of Note 8 and Nexus 7 FHD). I've found 8" tablets to be ideal. Not so narrow that browsing websites in portrait is challenging (Nexus 7/FHD), and more portable than 10" ones.

The other downside that I've seen mentioned about the Note 10 2014 is lag. I haven't had any lag on the Note 8 so that might be something you'd want to try out in store? In day to day use, the Note 8 has zero issues.. it is very fast and smooth, with a good amount of ram.

One factor in favor of the Note 10.. It should be fantastic for multi tasking. Samsung's MultiWindow feature is useful on 8", I think it would be close to ideal on a 10" high-res display. Another factor in favor of the Note 10 is the newer OS and air command, which hasn't made its way to the Note 8 yet. It really depends on what you're doing; if you don't need the higher res screen, air command, more horsepower etc then you can save some money with the older Note 8.
Deal Fanatic
User avatar
Nov 4, 2008
7675 posts
10978 upvotes
Scarbs
The Note 10 is dreadfully overpriced, but there's no much you can do when its the performance king of droid tablets, with very few competitors in the Tier 1 bracket. Given your situation, Id go for the Note 10 over the 8 for the following reasons:

1) gorgeous screen
2) specs - the 5420 is roughly 2x more powerful than the 4412 in the note 8, and the 3GB ram will be a godsend in multitasking.
3) eventual implementation of HMP

As for the lag in the Note 10, it will (I'd wager) eventually be minimized via optimized, debloated roms and kernels.
When given enough time, all threads on RFD can and will go off on a tangent.
Jr. Member
Nov 30, 2010
122 posts
13 upvotes
Vancouver
Thank you so much for the great feedback!

Yeah I would like if they actually had a note 8.0 2014 edition available but looks like that one is still months away...

I guess it makes sense to go with the note 10.1 2014 edition due to the better specs and bigger screen size. I heard that lots of the slowness issues have been resolved with a update recently but i cannot confirm that.

With the note 8.0 I hear that the 16gb on board is almost maxed out right out of the box so you will be limited as to how many apps you can install onto it. I don't even thing you can install them to the SD card.

Just called best buy and none of the stores here have it in stock and no eta when more will be coming....great...
Sr. Member
Mar 7, 2010
705 posts
35 upvotes
I have a note 10.1 2014, bought it about 2 weeks ago from BB when they first got stock. It's great and it's stupidly fast. The newest firmware does improve the lag issues, but there's still some tweaking to be done. Also the firmware you may have to flash manually as the newest one wasn't out in Canada, so I just downloaded it and flashed it manually. If you're into rooting and all that, be aware that Samsung has recently put in a security measure into all their recent devices called Knox. If you do root, there's a counter that get's tripped that will void your warrantly. There is no way to undo it as of now, but there are ways which people have found to root the device and get around the Knox counter from tripping that works on the LTE version currently and the Galaxy Note 3. Sadly nothing yet for the WiFi only version. I can answer any other questions if you want.
Jr. Member
Nov 30, 2010
122 posts
13 upvotes
Vancouver
Thank you so much for that info, I am defiantly leaning towards the note 10.1 now. Just sucks no Best Buy in the lower mainland has it in stock, I don't even think Futureshop has it either...

I am going to NYC next week, I will see if they have it at the best buy there (but can't use my reward zone certs in US...). I wonder If I was to buy it there hook it up to wifi and be able to get the US update to fix the lag?

I will be getting the wifi version not LTE as i can just tether it to my S4 if i need to use it on the road.

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