Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2: hands-on and first impressions

Another recent addition to the Verizon tablet lineup is the 12.2-inch Samsung Galaxy Note Pro. This one is sporting the faux stitching and leather first seen on the Galaxy Note 3. And then there is the obvious — this is a BIG tablet. While only having unboxed the tablet a bit earlier in the day, we are a bit conflicted in terms of the overall size.

Hardware

First things first though, as we just did with the Verizon LG G Pad 8.3, we are offering a first look at the Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 with the promise of a full review coming once we spend more time with the device. For now we are talking some first impression thoughts and some images. As mentioned — the tablet is big.

More important though is how the tablet feels solid. We have been fans of the faux leather since the Note 3 and the Note Pro 12.2 isn’t any different. The back, along with the silver bezel and trim means a good looking device. The tablet is set for landscape and the front has two capacitive buttons with a hardware home button in the center. These are centered along the bottom.

The front also has a Samsung logo sitting up by the 2MP camera. The back sports an 8MP camera (with flash) and logos for Verizon, 4G LTE and Samsung. While the back does seems to have quite a bit of branding, we are happy with the texture and grip provided by the faux leather. The tablet also has a pair of speakers. Specifically, there is a speaker on the left and right sides — both towards the top.

Otherwise, the headphone jack is on the left side with the power button, volume rocker, microphone and IR sitting along the top. Over on the right hand side you’ll find the SIM card slot, microSD memory card slot and charging port. The charing port, and charging cable, will look familiar to those using a Galaxy Note 3. The S Pen is also tucked in on the upper right hand corner.

Aside from the overall large size, which is natural given the 12.2-inch display — Samsung has this tablet on the thin side. It measures in at 0.31-inches thick. Remaining specs include a display resolution of 2560 x 1440 (at 247 ppi), quad-core 2.3GHz processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage and a 9500 mAh battery.

Naturally, as this is branded with Verizon 4G LTE — there is cellular coverage for when you are outside of a WiFi zone. We are more than happy with the speed results we are seeing, but as always, these will vary from market to market.

Software

Samsung has the Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 running Android 4.4 with the Magazine user interface. There is no mistaken this is a Verizon branded Samsung device. Not only will you find the overall style familiar to Samsung devices, but there is also plenty of Verizon. The Verizon pre-installed apps are what we have been seeing and include items such as Mobile Hotspot, Verizon Messages, My Verizon Mobile and more.

Some will simply call these bloatware, but we can find some value here. For example, with a 9500 mAh battery — the Galaxy Note Pro should have some appeal as a hotspot. We also cannot argue about being able to check our account using the My Verizon Mobile app. Then on the Samsung side you have S Voice, SketchBook, Scrapbook, S Note and others. The catch with the Samsung side is the S Pen integration.

Just like the Verizon pre-installed apps, we can find plenty of value in the Samsung apps. We look forward to seeing how both will fit in with our usage as we play with the device working towards a full featured review.

More To Follow

We cannot say this enough — the tablet is big. On one hand it looks great and we want to use it for everything. But on the other hand, the size does have us wondering just how well this will fit in with our personal usage habits. We should clarify here, we tend to gravitate towards the smaller tablets so they can be used while out and about. But again, the Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 looks great and is screaming to be put to the test. Make sure to keep an eye out for the full review.