First Look: Samsung Galaxy TabPRO 8.4″ Tablet

A few weeks ago, Samsung Canada loaned me the latest edition of their Android-based tablet, the Galaxy TabPRO. At 8.4 inches, it’s priced and equipped to directly compete with Apple’s iPad Mini. Both start at $419.

The TabPRO, as you can see below, is slightly taller but narrower than the iPad Mini.

When I first picked up the TabPro, it felt very solid and yet was quite light. I’ve long thought that many of the Android tablets were quite bulky compared to iPads that definitely isn’t the case with this one. The back of the tablet features the same faux leather back as the Note line but doesn’t appear to be removable. I like that it’s quite grippy and feels nice to hold.

The brilliant display, running at a resolution of 2560×1600 is incredibly detailed and vibrant.

A new Multi Window mode allows you to run two apps, side by side without having to switch between them. The Magazine UX is a new mode that has been added to allow you to customize all your work, personal and social media into a quick view screen that can be accessed easily.

Samsung, with this new PRO line, is promoting productivity and content creation on the tablet, rather than simply displaying content made elsewhere. They’ve included (for free), the full version of the Hancom Office suite along with some common apps such as WebEx and Remote PC, which lets users find and transfer data remotely from their PC to their tablet whenever and wherever they need it.

I was a little surprised to see the TabPRO has a micro-USB connector rather than the USB3 connector that the Note 3 has. But it may be due to the new accessories that allow you to use these tablets as an external battery for your other devices and connect the tablets to various displays and projectors, all using the micro-USB port. There is also a line of bluetooth keyboards and even a mouse that can be used.

In addition to the 8.4″ TabPro, which has a quad-core processor, they have also unveiled a huge 12.2″ TabPro and 10.1″ edition with octo-cores – screaming fast. For the first time, Samsung also has added the same S-Pen functionality in it’s popular Note smartphone to the new NotePRO lineup of tablets in a 12.2″ and 10.1″ edition which I’m looking forward to checking out soon.

These new models will be available on Friday, February 28th.