Samsung takes aim at iPad mini with new Galaxy Note 8.0

It looks like the rumors were true. Samsung had sent out a press release announcing the launch of its new Galaxy Note 8.0. The 8-inch tablet is clearly aimed right at the iPad mini, which has done very well thus far for Apple.

And it certainly came prepared to play. As expected, the slate features a 

• 1280×800 (720p) display, just a hair better than the mini, 
• a quad core processor, 2GB of RAM, and oh yeah, it makes phone calls. 

In addition to the specs listed above, the Note 8.0 will also come with Samsung’s signature ‘S-Pen’ stylus, and a Micro-SD card slot for added storage. It won’t, however, support LTE only HSPA+ and it’s running a 5-month old software.

Samsung hasn’t named a launch date for the new tablet yet, or a price tag. And that last detail is particularly important because it will tell us exactly what market it’s going after. From afar all signs point to an entry below the $300 mark.

It’ll be really interesting to see how it performs against the iPad mini. Will the Note’s S-Pen and phone capabilities be able to throw some cold water on Apple’s hot tablet?

I don’t think so. Though Android is getting better in the tablet space, I think the iPad still wins on ease-of-use and app selection, which are probably two of the most important factors for mainstream consumers, outside of what it costs.

What do you think of this Samsung’s new tablet? with the ability to make phone calls?