Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 becomes official

It’s not a surprise any more that Samsung will be making a mid-sized version of their popular Galaxy Note phablet. The Galaxy Note started with a 5.3-inch, then a 5.5, then skipped to a 10.1, and now, the 8-inch version becomes official as it was announced at the 2013 Mobile World Congress.

Many believe that the Galaxy Note 8.0 is Samsung’s answer to the iPad mini, but with a lot more features you can do with it. Aside from the included multi-function S-Pen stylus, the Note 8.0 works as a fully-functional phone and a IR-based remote control, something it inherited from the Note 10.1.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 has the same build of the original Galaxy Note (and most Samsung handsets we’ve seen). That white plasticky shell with the chrome siding.

The 8-inch display on this Note uses a 1280 x 800 resolution for a 189 ppi pixel density which is just a tad higher than the iPad mini’s 163 ppi display. The side bezels are thicker than the iPad mini though so you’ll get a much larger device overall. Still, it’s narrower than the iPad mini so one-handed usage is very possible.

Inside the Galaxy Note 8.0 is Samsung’s 1.6GHz Exynos quad-core processor with 2GB RAM. You’ll also get 32GB internal storage plus a microSD slot for storage expansion. Rear camera is at 5-megapixel with no flash but still capable of Full HD recording and front camera is at 1.3-megapixel. Battery is rated at 4600 mAh.

A clear advantage of the Note 8.0 over the iPad mini is that you can make phone calls with it. The global version doesn’t support LTE but you do get HSPA+ instead.

No info on pricing and availability for this Note yet but we’ll sure to keep you posted.

So will the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 be your phone, E-book reader, remote control, media tablet, and what not in one convenient package?