Galaxy Note 10.1 Secrets Revealed

Samsung has revealed more details about the Galaxy Note 10.1, the version of its stylus-equipped tablet that's perhaps the biggest threat to Apple's iPad yet. Galaxy Note 10.1 is due to begin shipping this month.

Nearly twice the size of its 5.3-inch Galaxy Note predecessor, the 10.1-inch Galaxy Note will be built around an Exynos quad-core system-on-chip running at 1.4GHz with 2 GB of system RAM, but it will include neither NFC nor cell phone radios.

Samsung's new tablet will run an all-new version of TouchWiz, the company's custom interface overlay for Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, which can run and operate multiple applications simultaneously. For note-taking, Samsung includes a proprietary handwriting recognition engine along with palm-rejection technology for natural hand positioning.

[Related: Samsung Announces 10.1-Inch Galaxy Note ]

Also still present are Samsung's mini-apps, which pop up within other apps and provide calculator, calendar and other targeted functionality. The new TouchWiz adds more mini-apps and lets users decide which ones pop up by default. Also new, video can be played back inside a resizable window that can be positioned anywhere on the screen.

Galaxy Note 10.1 also will come with Adobe Photoshop Touch, a version of the popular image editing software that's optimized for S-Pen, Samsung's pressure-sensitive stylus. It works with the same touch-sensitive grid technology found in Wacom tablets. There are about 40 S-Pen optimized apps available now in the Google Play marketplace, with more coming.

Galaxy Note 10.1 will be available in 16-GB and 32-GB models. Both will include Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, front (5 MP) and rear (1.9 MP) cameras with LED flash, GPS, Bluetooth 4.0, USB 2.0 support (optional adapter), stereo speakers, microSD card slot (32 GB max.) and a 30-pin multipurpose interface connector.

PUBLISHED AUG. 7, 2012