Samsung's tablet growing on us

Unlike its similarly named sibling, however, Samsung’s latest creation is designed to be used as a tablet, not a telephone.

Hold its 8-inch screen to your face and you can be assured people will laugh at you (though, if you’re lucky, it may obscure your face).

Samsung’s new tablet is the perfect size for everyday carriage, however, as it’s smaller than an A5 notebook, as slender as some smartphones, and as light as a camera, at 340g.

Plus, Samsung has packed in plenty of its innovations to make this tablet stand out.

From the outside, the Galaxy Note 8.0 looks like other Samsung tablets, and even some Galaxy phones, with a glossy plastic exterior, rounded corners and chrome edges. It features a mechanical Home button, space for a MicroSD memory card to boost its 16GB memory and, peculiarly, an infra-red blaster on its side.

Cameras also feature front and back, with the rear lens capable of capturing 5-megapixel photos that look crisp even on an 8-inch screen.

That screen boasts a resolution of 189 pixels per inch, making it easy to read even small text in its web browser, and making it sharper than the screen of the iPad Mini (163ppi). This Note screen can also be filled with Samsung widgets, from a handy, full-screen calendar widget to email inboxes, to-do lists and commonly used settings.

Being a Note device, Samsung has also added a stylus to this tablet and it’s even handier on such a large screen. The Wacom-created S-Pen slots into the bottom right corner of the tablet and instantly brings up a note-scribbling app when removed.

This stylus is surprisingly sensitive and accurate on the screen, and is helped by software that ignores your palm should it touch the screen.

In addition to notes, the S-Pen can also be used for AirView — a feature that appears when you hover the pen over the screen. Doing this in the calendar or the gallery app, for example, reveals a preview of its contents without opening the app.

Samsung has also preloaded handy apps to this tablet, including Peel Smart Remote to control a TV with that infra-red blaster, Readers Hub for books, Learning Hub for online courses, and Channel 7 apps including Plus 7 that lets users stream TV shows to the small screen. The Note 8.0 does have some factors working against it.

This tablet is only available as a wi-fi product, it’s slightly thicker and heavier than its iPad Mini rival, and its speakers are small. Its battery life is also rated at eight hours, rather than 10, and it’s $90 more expensive than the Apple alternative.

Those who prefer Google Android’s ecosystem, with added Samsung gloss, should appreciate this miniature tablet, particularly if they plan to carry it daily.