[Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 Edition) Q&A, Help & Troubl] manhattan212:
It's thin and light enough, with a screen that's big enough. you were on an iPad, so you understand tablet reading -it is what it is... Never quite the same as the real thing, but an acceptable compromise.

This really depends on what you've got running. If you let it idle, it will survive until day four. If you play some games watch some movies, browse some sites, it's possible to drain the battery in 5 hours. Generally speaking, on moderate to heavy use, you can get by on a charge per day.

Somewhere between a gimmick and a handy tool. There are some apps that will let you take some advantage of the S-Pen's functionality, and Samsung has a few, especially if you're thinking of it as an alternate interface/input method (in which case it's superb). But if you're thinking this will replace your paper and pen; meh, I wouldn't throw away my notebooks and pencils just yet. The truth is the current technology (Wacom, N-Trig, etc.) will always lag behind your hand writing, and there will always be a glitch here and there (no matter how beastly the hardware you're using is). There will be people who swear by it. They are lying; most likely to themselves. This can be a tolerable compromise, but it will never match a [hardware] keyboard or a pen and paper -and it's not exactly the perfect amalgamation either. In a pinch it will certainly do, and for annotating PDFs and whatnot, it's tough to beat -but a real book and a real pen is just orders of magnitude superior. Where this compromise takes lead is in the fact that one book weighs several of these, while one of these can be multitudes of books, the internet, a gaming console, and so much more (which by now you understand -based on your iPad Mini experience).

Honestly? I really want to say yes, but the answer is no. Two reasons: 1 It's a Samsung. Samsung is shoddy workmanship backed by worse customer support. 2 At this price you're starting to encroach on surface pro price range, and the Fujitsu Stylistic Q584. Yes, these machines do cost a little more -but they also do everything you expect from a computer. And if you're thinking of the pen -OneNote is king among all. A [non-Windows] tablet is a consumption device with some communication and minimal productivity capabilities. At the price Samsung is asking, it's not worth it.

So for question five [Do you recommend/would you do again]

I have a love-hate relation with android (especially Samsung). It promises so much, and the kicker is that it often does deliver... just not quite the way you'd expect. It's a little like "Bedazzled " where the devil grants your wish, but in a way that nearly renders it moot. I dislike iOS because of its limited functionality, general interface (lack of buttons and setting menus on apps themselves) -and quite frankly the active digitizer is a great tool. But iOS is consistent, robust and reliable. So, I will be forfeiting my Note 10.1 2014 in to an iPad Air [but I'll be forfeiting my iPhone 5s for a note 3 (or 4)].

If ever I do get another Android tablet -it will never cost this much again, because they're not worth it. I regret getting my note 10.1. You got to take that with a grain of salt, given my personal experience which is unlikely [yet possible] to be yours.

How do I reconcile paying nearly as much for a note phone? they're nearly everything the tablet ought to be in a much more wield-able form factor with an actual [good] usable camera. Who is going to tote around their tablet all day every day? Who is going to pull that behemoth out to snap a quick shot? Not I. But the Phablet? For me, it's just the right size to take everywhere every time; and it's smaller than most real cameras (or close enough).

How would I reconcile paying nearly as much for an iPad. Apple's customer service is a little more robust than Samsung. And limited though these devices are -they do what they are designed to do -far more reliably and consistently than most of the android devices I have owned. And like it or not, an Apple product is an Apple product. You take that out, and people around you know what's the deal. But when you unleash your Samsung Note 10.1 2014 people look at it, and know it's a tablet that wishes it could bear the prestige of an Apple product. True nerds will think "wow cool!" Everyone else will think "cheap knock-off wanna-be iPad". Who cares? You shouldn't. But I now realize, I do (a little), because for that price I prefer the prestigious ice-breaker, than trying to justify the awesomeness of my [now defunct, probably still working had it been an iPad] device. Last but not least, I was an early adopter of the Windows 8 tablets and I have a Sony Vaio 11 [regrettably -now that Q584 and Surface Pro 3 are viable options]; and thus it's going to have to be a while before I get another Windows tablet. (I'm inclined to wait until at least Windows 9+).

Maybe this is a little (or a lot) more than you asked for. But I wish someone would have warned me.

Lastly, on the note 8. Unless it's less than 1/3 the cost of the note 10.1 2014 -it's a bad move. Note 8 has all the shortcomings of the 10.1 plus the fact that it's inferior hardware (not least of which is the screen quality), thus amplifying all the pangs. Not to mention you just got done complaining about the iPad mini for being too small.

TLDR;

No. Don't get it. I'm sure there are tons of people who will tell you that it's a good get. I'm sure they have favorable experiences -and there is a lot to love there. But in the end it's not worth the price because it's Samsung and it's Android. At that price point you might as well spend a few bucks more and get Windows (but not RT!) especially if you're serious about it as a study tool: OneNote crushes everything that does and does not exists in the multi-universe. Otherwise pay less and get something else.