Would You Ditch Your Laptop for a 12.2-Inch Tablet?

Brandon Dimmel's picture

Samsung thinks it's got a winner with the newly released Galaxy NotePRO tablet, a massive slate that some experts are calling a "tray-blet".

Boasting a gargantuan 12.2-inch display, these huge tablets are being touted as a possible replacement for laptop computers.

The 12.2-inch Galaxy NotePRO is visibly larger than Apple's popular iPad Air and Microsoft's Surface, both of which feature 10-inch displays. The larger Samsung slate is also heavier -- 1.65 pounds versus exactly one pound for the new iPad Air and 1.49 pounds for the Surface 2.

Early reviews suggest the NotePRO feels substantially heavier than its smaller rivals, but is actually a lot lighter than similarly-sized tablets -- such as the 2.2-pound 13-inch Toshiba Excite 13, which was released a couple years ago.

Samsung Optimizes Stylus Integration

So, what's the benefit of a much larger screen?

Early reviews, such as a recent write-up from CNET, suggest the bigger display makes using a stylus a breeze.

"While previous entries in the series have featured great stylus integration ... writing on them always felt a little cramped, even on the [10.1-inch models]," CNET notes. "Now with a full 12.2 inches to work with, the awkwardness is nearly gone". (Source: cnet.com)

Galaxy NotePRO: Hardware Specs and Pricing

The NotePRO is powered by a quad-core 1.9GHz ARM-based Exynos 5420 processor -- which can also be found in the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition. Both devices also feature 3GB RAM and run the Google Android operating system.

Storage-wise, the NotePRO comes with 32GB or 64GB of disk space. It's also got a 2,560 x 1,600 resolution screen and is available in both black and white.

In other words, it's a surprisingly powerful tablet packed into a very small form factor. Experts believe Samsung is hoping that both home and business users will opt for the very portable NotePRO over a 13- or 14-inch laptop computer. (Source: stuff.tv)

As for pricing, Best Buy lists the 32GB version of the NotePRO for $749, with the 64GB version selling for $849. That's on par with most notebook computers. (Source: bestbuy.com)

Galaxy NotePRO: Powerful Enough to Replace a Notebook or Laptop?

But, the question remains: is the NotePRO powerful enough to replace a Windows-based notebook, and will users opt for it?

These days most laptop computers ship with more storage, more RAM, and a more powerful processor than the one available in the NotePRO. That said, the NotePRO runs on an entirely different operating system (Android), so comparing it to a notebook / laptop running Microsoft Windows is somewhat like comparing apples to oranges.

What's Your Opinion?

Would you trade in your an ailing Windows laptop or PC for a shiny new tablet, just like the NotePRO that runs on the Android operating system? Do you think tablets are the way of the future or are they simply a fad?

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Comments

xena's picture

After using a touch screen for more than half an hour my fingertip starts hurting. Also, I use my workstation and laptops for more than just consuming information. I want a full sized keyboard for creating (blog posts, spreadsheets, data entry). While some people can get away with just using a tablet, it will never replace a computer for me.

wjonesbill's picture

Until we come up with a better form of data input the tablet is poor at its very best and terrible otherwise. A tablet is great for searching and finding out information. But somewhere down/up the line that data does have to be entered. Input on a tablet is slow and error-prone, even with the new "smart" input it required much too much effort to enter anything of substantial length.

And games, for simple games not so bad but anything with lots of control methods (WOW, Guild Wars, etc), you do not have enough fingers, even if you count your toes! :-)

So replace, not a chance. Augment certainly. Not every problem is a nail and not every solution is a hammer.

dalelb's picture

Nope ! Will stick with this >

http://www.asus.com/Notebooks_Ultrabooks/ASUS_Transformer_Book_T100/

V8powered944's picture

No, I can't live without my desktop. I use my laptop rarely and all I use my tablet for is watching movies after my wife goes to sleep so I don't bother her and reading when I am on vacation so I don't need to lug books and magazines.

I don't use the cloud for any storage, (I can't feel enough trust with my data and photos) so a tablet--even with a large screen wouldn't do. I also don't like typing on the screen. I prefer a real keyboard and mouse on a desk with my 26" LCD monitor. I can't work on work with a split screen on my tablet or laptop. They are too small. But on my 26" on my desktop it is very easy.