[Galaxy Note 10.1 General] Nakel:
+1 I wouldn't pay attention to anything Gizmodo says, ever. These are the same idiots that reported on the "Man flying like a bird scam" a couple of months ago. They steadfastly insisted it was real, in spite of it being an obvious fake. Even after many experts wrote in pointing out the many, many flaws in the video and the impossibility of the mechanism working, they stuck to their guns that it was probably real. Finally, even after the guy in the video admitted it was a fake they refused to admit their mistake. They are well and truly idiots there. I would not be surprised at all if the author of the review never even tried the Note hands on. Such is their lack of journalistic integrity.

I've seen the videos showing lag and stutter on the homescreens, but I don't understand where they came from. Mine has been as smooth as my wife's Ipad.

I guess the feel of "cheapness" is a subjective thing. Yes, it's plastic, but it feels substantial and sturdy to me. If you press in the center of the back you can see some flex, that's true. Unless I'm looking at the back at the time I never notice it though. I don't imagine there are many users who are looking at the back when they are using it??? I can't argue that it feels cheaper to you, that's what you feel. However I will say that it does not feel cheap to me at all, rather the reverse. The new Boeing 787 uses far less aluminum than previous airplanes; it's mostly made of composites. Does that make it cheap? So, I will argue that the build quality of the Note seems to be quite high, but I will not argue what it "feels" like for any individual.

The negative reviews continue to mystify me. Something is wrong, and I don't pretend to know what it is. But I do know that my experience so far with the Note 10.1 flys in the face of those reviews. I am immensely happy with it. It is the first mobile device that I've used that has a better browsing experience than a PC. It's just as fast, just as reliable, hover menus work with the pen. Add all that to the touch screen and it's a better experience, for me at least. And yes, much better for me than my wife's Ipad. BTW, she prefers the Note 10.1 and is now badgering me to sell her Ipad and get her a Note 10.1. As far as the reviews claiming poor battery life: Yesterday I flew from Portland to Tokyo. I watched a 2 hour movie and read for six hours, both on the Note 10.1. 8 hours screen on time. I had 50% battery left. Sure, I had the screen dimmed down most of the time. I had to for comfort in the darkened interior. I did have it as bright as was comfortable to watch. And I was not in "Power Saving" mode. BTW, I read black text on a white background which is not optimal for battery life.

There are those that are fixated on the higher resolution of the Asus Infinity and the Ipad3. There is no arguing that those tablets have a higher resolution. Some people apparently can see the difference and it bothers them. That's great, they should go with their personal preference. Myself, side by side with both the Infinity and Ipad3, I can not see the difference in actual use. Sure, if I look close at tiny fonts I can see the difference. But I never do that in actual use. I zoom in and read larger fonts. That's one of the beauties of pinch zoom... Watching a movie, I can not tell the difference. (Again, maybe if I put it very close to my face...) I can certainly hear the difference though. The speakers make movie watching a superior experience to the Asus and the Apple. (Plus the Apple's 4:3 screen results in a much smaller movie...) For the first time, I can watch a movie in my hotel room without headphones or lugging around external speakers. (I travel a lot.)

Is the Note 10.1 perfect? Of course not. The SD slot is too recessed and the power and volume buttons are not recessed enough. The stock browser does not reflow text, though Opera does a great job of it. WiFi reception, though great, is worse than my Lenovo Thinkpad x220. A dedicated HDMI out would be nice. You can't argue that a docking option like the Infinity wouldn't be nice as well. But tablets that have those options have their own problems. The Infinity's abysmal performance handling large PDF files eliminates it as an option for me, so the dock remains out of my reach... In the end it comes down to preference. I need function over form, others may choose form over function. I need a tablet that works, and works well. The Note 10.1 just plain works.

I'm still in the 30 day return window. I'd return this tablet in a heartbeat if I thought there was a better tablet for my needs out there. As of yet, I am unaware of any tablet from any manufacturer that would meet my needs as well as this gem.