Note, the New Way: Samsung Officially Launches GALAXY Note 10.1 in Malaysia

Wednesday, September 5, 2012 – Samsung Malaysia Electronics (SME) today officially launched the highly-anticipated Samsung GALAXY Note 10.1 in Malaysia. The tablet device is available for purchase via all Samsung retail partners and all major telcos – Maxis, Digi, Celcom and U Mobile.

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The launch event was held at the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Center, a popular outlet for creativity and arts. Attended by major media publications, bloggers, partners and special guests, the special event was hosted by well-known model and emcee Bernie Chan.

SME Managing Director, Mr Kwon Jae Hoon kicked off the event with a short introduction speech followed by product demonstrations by SME Product Managers, Victor Ng and Colin Hew.

A Whole New Note
The GALAXY Note 10.1 extends the GALAXY Note category, building on the success of last year’s unexpected smash hit ‘phablet’. The GALAXY Note re-popularised the stylus, delivering functionality and precision of pen and paper. With the GALAXY Note 10.1, more productivity is unleashed combining the S Pen with a larger 10.1-inch display.

Unlike the GALAXY Tab which is mostly a content consumption device, the GALAXY Note is positioned as a ‘content creation’ device, thanks to the innovative S Pen and S Pen-specific apps and features.

Note the New Hardware
The GALAXY Note 10.1 is powered by Samsung’s Exynos quad-core processor running at 1.4Ghz, bundled with a generous 2GB RAM and runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. A Samsung representative announced that Android 4.1 Jelly Bean will be rolled-out once that’s ready some time in Q4. Blazing fast and multitasking the device also includes a 5MP main camera and a 1.9MP front-facing camera for HD video conferencing and stills.

The GALAXY Note 10.1 borrows a few nifty features from the GALAXY S III including Share Shot, Smart Stay, AllShare Play and Group Cast.

Multi-talented Extras
With the game-changing Multiscreen feature, never before seen on any tablet, users can operate two different apps side-by-side simultaneously, on the same screen. Apps supported for Multiscreen are S Note, Internet Browser, Video Player, Email, Gallery and Polaris Office .

First introduced in the GALAXY S III, the GALAXY Note 10.1 also supports Pop up Play which lets users playback videos in a ‘floating’ window that can be overlaid anywhere on the screen.

In addition, GALAXY Note 10.1 offers a mini-apps tray that can launch a selection of mini-apps on top of others apps and freely moves around the screen. These include Alarm, S Note, Music Player, Email, Calculator, World Clock.

S stands for Super Special
The S Pen, first introduced with the GALAXY Note, offers 1,024 levels of sensitivity. The S Pen is embedded in the rear of the tablet and when removed, automatically activates a taskbar with quick access to S Pen apps like S Note, Adobe Photoshop Touch and Polaris Office.

Samsung has added plenty of new features to the S Note app which was designed to combine notes and sketches. Shape Match converts hand-drawn geometric shapes like squares and lines into clean, perfect versions. Formula Match recognises and solves hand-written formulas. Pretty neat.

S Note is also integrated with knowledge search engines so that users can search for content, obtain information, and easily drag and drop content onto S Note without having to switch between screens.

Touching Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop Touch is preloaded on all GALAXY Note 10.1 tablets. Familiar tools like layers, selection tools, adjustments, and filters are optimised for the S Pen. US consumers get Adobe Creative Cloud integration, providing 2GB of storage space for file sharing and storage. Files can be synched to the Creative Cloud and opened in Photoshop on the desktop or laptop. No mention of this in the specs for the Malaysian version, so we presume this is not available locally.

Drop Me fifty
GALAXY Note 10.1 get 50GB of cloud storage with DropBox – preloaded and free. Nice.

Note for Learning
The GALAXY Note 10.1 is optimised for Samsung’s Learning Hub, an extensive library of multimedia educational content for all ages. This will be available only in selected countries and will be downloadable via Samsung Apps in Malaysia by end of 2012.

Pricing & Availability
Samsung is currently only offering the 3G+WiFi version, available now in choice of white or dark gray, and in 16 GB memory configuration for RM2,199 ($649).

Specifications at a Glance

View the Launch Gallery:
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