Samsung GALAXY NotePRO Pro Reviews

With the 12” NotePRO, Samsung created a niche productivity-oriented pad, while Sony's slate is exactly what a media and web consumption device should be – an extremely thin and light tablet, with the waterproof certification added for extra measure. Both tablets feature high resolution displays and fast processors, but after you've lugged around the NotePRO, you'd think twice whether to pay its significant price premium - $700 vs $500 – over the Z2 Tablet. It offers more productivity options than the Sony tablet, thanks to features like the Multi Window mode, and the S Pen stylus, plus a much longer battery life. The minute you grab the thinnest, lightest 10” tablet out there, however, most other slates in the Android world starts to pale, including a certain huge and expensive 12-incher.

It's far more difficult to recommend one tablet over the other than it is to recommend one phone over the other. With Samsung, the trouble is generally telling one Galaxy Tab apart from the next - even generationally they look very, very similar. But here Samsung opens a new door - this tablet is wholly unique. With the processing power to get every kind of Android-based task done and an S Pen that allows you to do top-notch artwork, notes, and every kind of stylus-based work you can think of, there's really no equal to the Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 in the market today. Certainly as far as displays and abilities go, this is easily the finest tablet Verizon has to offer right this minute - if you want to go big, that is.

A big, powerful Android tablet that's packed with features, but isn't all that practical

Powerful, with a gorgeous screen, but it’s much too expensive

Spending $750 for an Android tablet seems exorbitant. But the Samsung Galaxy Note Pro offers a larger screen, excellent battery life, and access to the Android and Samsung app stores.

At $750, the question of whether you should you buy the Note Pro comes down to your own individual needs. There are plenty of great, but much cheaper, tablets available if all you're looking for is something to stream movies on while you lay in bed. The Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 7 and 8.9 -- $229 and $379, respectively -- and the $229 Google Nexus 7 are made for that kind of thing. For something larger, the iPad Air and Asus Transformer Pad TF701T should satisfy your needs. For those looking to replace a workstation, there are a few viable options. There's been a rash of cheap full-Windows 8.1 tablets from the likes of Asus and Dell recently. These tablets give you the full Windows experience -- along with keyboard, touch pad, and usually a full-size USB port -- for a decent price. A price less than the Note Pro's starting price. The Note Pro beats the Windows RT-based Surface 2 on software options, but right now Microsoft's tablet has the best keyboard on any tablet and its multitasking implementation makes less of a performance hit. However, I'll be sure to revisit the Note Pro after I've used it with the Logitech case for a while. The Note Pro starts at $750 for 32GB of storage. That's a lot, even for a quality tablet, and even at that price it won't replace your workstation. There are just too many performance and interface issues. Right now, there are no tablets I'd trade in for my MacBook Air. Tablets can be effective alternatives, but just aren't ready to use for all your workstation needs.