Question about the S-pen and Galaxy Note

[sgtrobo]

So my wife got a Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0

One of her primary driving reasons for getting a Tablet is that she wanted to be able to do a lot of note taking with a stylus. Well, neither of us knew better, and we bought it, and as you can imagine, she is very displeased with it.

Now, I love the thing, because I couldn't give a rats a$$ about a stylus. But she wants a stylus to take notes and whatnot.

So are all Galaxy Notes created equal when it comes to S-pen "performance"? I'm so doggone confused between what is a Note, what is a Tab, and what is a phone. Ultimately, the "s-stylus" performance is what is driving this decision for her, it's the classic "killer app" (hardware?) for her.

I thought there was a larger smartphone Galaxy Note that had very good S-pen performance, or am I confused? Is it just the new Galaxy Note 10.1 that has the really good stylus response? The faster I get a solid answer, the faster I can get her this darn stylus writing thing, and the faster I can lay claim to her Galaxy Tab2-7 so i can get rid of all her girlie stuff and I can put Gladiator on there to watch while I do the stepmill at my gym, and hte faster I can download all my stuff for school so i can do homework in the parking lot waiting for my daughter to finish off her soccer practice, etc.

Help please!

P.S. I assume that I can't just buy an s-stylus or s-pen or whatever and use it with the Tab-2 7.0, right?

 

[ChronoReverse]

The Notes have a Wacom pressure sensitive stylus the offers a thousand levels of sensitivity and pin-point precision.

The Tab is just a regular tablet so any stylus is limited to the precision of the touchscreen (i.e., terrible).

 

[sgtrobo]

So do all of the notes have the same stylus ability or is there a big generational difference? I.e. does the note have the same sensitivity as the note 2 and the note 10.1 and whatever?

 

[ChronoReverse]

The sensitivity varies from 512 to 1024 levels of sensitivity but the pen is the same across the board (just physical shape is different).

You can even buy Wacom pens for TabletPCs or drawing pads and use those.

 

[s44]

I believe the Note 2 is somewhat more refined as far as pen sensitivity vs the original Note -- the rest of the experience is sufficiently improved anyway that it's definitely worth the difference. The 10.1 got some poor reviews when it was originally released with ICS, but now that it's on the backported version of the Note 2 software, it's essentially a blown-up Note 2, which is a good thing.

The Note 8 will be a slightly smaller 10.1, with call capability in some markets (but not the US).

 

[Chocu1a]

Note 2- 5.5"(phone)
Note 8- 8"(tablet/phone capabilities in some markets)
Note 10.1- 10.1"(tablet)

I have both the Note 2 & 10.1. Stylus works identical across the devices. Extremely precise & accurate. It is like writing on paper. Tracking is superb.

The Tab series is just a tablet, no wacom digitizer. So only a standard capacitive stylus will work. Tracking is not so great & accuracy is sub-par.

 

[sgtrobo]

fantastic information gents.

so essentially, the Note 2 is a smaller phone version of a Note 10.1

or the Note 10.1 is a tablet version of the Note 2. Same thing, but one's bigger and doesn't make phone calls?

 

[s44]

Yeah, the 10.1 came out a little bit earlier, so it's actually clocked somewhat lower than the phone version. Besides that the main difference is form factor: at this point the firmwares are nearly identical.

 

[swanysto]

I will add a +1 to Chocu1a's post. So far the 10.1 is the nicest tablet/pen combo I have used. My wife does all her class lectures on them for her students, and then puts them up for download.

 

[jacktesterson]

You would want either a Note 2 or Note 10.1

 

[Chocu1a]

Newegg has the Note 10.1 refurb for $370, which is a steal! If you are a new Newegg customer, you can get an extra $10 off.

 

[sgtrobo]

great stuff Chocu1a, thanks!

 

[darkswordsman17]

I was meaning to see what options for better than capacitive screen stylus input there was, as the only I could think of was the Surface Pro and the higher end Samsung tablet that's like the Surface Pro.

Anyone have input on how well this works for sketching? I don't really need extensive photoshop capability, although a decent sketch/paint program that works well would be ideal.

Amazon has it new for ~$425 too. That might be a better option for something like this than a Newegg refurb.

 

[Chocu1a]

Anyone have input on how well this works for sketching? I don't really need extensive photoshop capability, although a decent sketch/paint program that works well would be ideal.

Amazon has it new for ~$425 too. That might be a better option for something like this than a Newegg refurb.

That is a good price, too. But the refurb has the same 1year warranty that the new one has, & its $50 cheaper.
I draw & sketch all the time on mine. Works like drawing on paper. There are ton of videos on YouTube showing off the drawing abilities.

 

[darkswordsman17]

That is a good price, too. But the refurb has the same 1year warranty that the new one has, & its $50 cheaper.
I draw & sketch all the time on mine. Works like drawing on paper. There are ton of videos on YouTube showing off the drawing abilities.

Does the S pen require hovering like capacitive stylus on other tablets? I forget what the call it but palm rejection or something (where it will just focus on detecting the stylus input and not your hand against the display).

 

[ChronoReverse]

Palm-rejection is there. The S-pen uses the same technology used in the TabletPC for over a decade so they've mostly figured out these problems.

 

[s44]

Does the S pen require hovering like capacitive stylus on other tablets? I forget what the call it but palm rejection or something (where it will just focus on detecting the stylus input and not your hand against the display).

From all accounts, the Notes have really good palm rejection.

 

[swanysto]

I was meaning to see what options for better than capacitive screen stylus input there was, as the only I could think of was the Surface Pro and the higher end Samsung tablet that's like the Surface Pro.

Anyone have input on how well this works for sketching? I don't really need extensive photoshop capability, although a decent sketch/paint program that works well would be ideal.

Amazon has it new for ~$425 too. That might be a better option for something like this than a Newegg refurb.

I will be honest. My wife's school got in a couple different tablets to try with their overhead software. The only Surface Pro I got to play with was a thinkpad. I was not impressed at all. The pen was not as fluid as the one with the Note. It almost felt like it was not calibrated, even though it was. Maybe a different brand will be better.

 

[McWatt]

I will be honest. My wife's school got in a couple different tablets to try with their overhead software. The only Surface Pro I got to play with was a thinkpad. I was not impressed at all. The pen was not as fluid as the one with the Note. It almost felt like it was not calibrated, even though it was. Maybe a different brand will be better.

There's no such thing as a Thinkpad Surface Pro, just like there's no such thing as a Playstation Xbox or a Corvette Altima.

 

[swanysto]

There's no such thing as a Thinkpad Surface Pro, just like there's no such thing as a Playstation Xbox or a Corvette Altima.

Sorry, I guess it isn't a surface pro. It was the thinkpad tablet 2.

 

[darkswordsman17]

I checked out several tablets yesterday but unfortunately wasn't able to try out a stylus on any of them.

I'm really on the fence. The Note has gotten good reviews and is good all around (not great though, but then there doesn't seem to be a great all around tablet yet) with the main feature of it being the pen (which is a big draw for me). Main hangup is the screen res and the fact that there might be an improved one before too long (Exynos 5 and 1080p would be nice). But then it might just be a better move to get one that is out now and solid and then wait until there's a nice Haswell/WinBlue convertible.

That is a good price, too. But the refurb has the same 1year warranty that the new one has, & its $50 cheaper.
I draw & sketch all the time on mine. Works like drawing on paper. There are ton of videos on YouTube showing off the drawing abilities.

Ah didn't notice the warranty (assumed it being a refurb it would be only like 30-90 days).

Palm-rejection is there. The S-pen uses the same technology used in the TabletPC for over a decade so they've mostly figured out these problems.

I've used several tablet PCs and their input quality has been all over the place and often not very good, plus a lot of them didn't have non-stylus touch input. I know touch and display has improved but with them now heavy on normal touch as well palm rejection is really important.

From all accounts, the Notes have really good palm rejection.

Ok, that's my main concern. I'm a lefty and get ham-fisted when doing more detailed drawing (relying on my fingers to do most of the motion) so its the biggest issue for me on touch input.

 

[Chocu1a]

I checked out several tablets yesterday but unfortunately wasn't able to try out a stylus on any of them.

I'm really on the fence. The Note has gotten good reviews and is good all around (not great though, but then there doesn't seem to be a great all around tablet yet) with the main feature of it being the pen (which is a big draw for me). Main hangup is the screen res and the fact that there might be an improved one before too long (Exynos 5 and 1080p would be nice). But then it might just be a better move to get one that is out now and solid and then wait until there's a nice Haswell/WinBlue convertible.



Ah didn't notice the warranty (assumed it being a refurb it would be only like 30-90 days).



I've used several tablet PCs and their input quality has been all over the place and often not very good, plus a lot of them didn't have non-stylus touch input. I know touch and display has improved but with them now heavy on normal touch as well palm rejection is really important.



Ok, that's my main concern. I'm a lefty and get ham-fisted when doing more detailed drawing (relying on my fingers to do most of the motion) so its the biggest issue for me on touch input.

Go to a Verizon & try one out there.
The resolution does not bother me. It still looks good enough.
Sketchbook Pro has excellent palm rejection, too.

 

[ChronoReverse]

I've used several tablet PCs and their input quality has been all over the place and often not very good, plus a lot of them didn't have non-stylus touch input. I know touch and display has improved but with them now heavy on normal touch as well palm rejection is really important.

True TabletPC's with a Wacom digitizer are very good. It's unfortunate that the alternatives that manufacturers sometimes use to skimp on cost can't compare most of the time.

The Notes all use Wacom digitizers too for a reason.