Samsung Galaxy TabPRO and NotePRO tablets support multiple profiles and encourage productivity

Vlastimir Lalovic calls Samsung’s new PRO line of tablets “professional, productive, progressive”. The director of product realization for Samsung Canada told the Straight that the new devices come out of Samsung research that looked at how people are using tablets and computers. 

In an interview and product briefing on Thursday (February 13), Lalovic said that consumers tend to be using computers and tablets equally for entertainment, browsing, and communications tasks, but people are not using tablets for productivity tasks such as ediitng, drafting, and creating content. 

The new Galaxy PRO series of devices, which become available in late February, come in four configurations:

• 8.4-inch Galaxy TabPRO, with 16 GB of storage and 2 GB of RAM: $419.99
• 10.1-inch Galaxy TabPRO, with 16 GB of storage and 2 GB of RAM: $519.99
• 12.2-inch Galaxy TabPRO, with 32 GB of storage and 3 GB of RAM: $669.99
• 12.2-inch Galaxy NotePRO, with 32 GB of storage and 3 GB of RAM: $769.99

They all have 2,560 by 1,600 pixel displays and run Google’s Android operating system (4.4, KitKat). 

In demonstrating the Galaxy NotePRO, Samsung Canada tablet product manager Amir Gorgan said that the PRO devices are not simply computers in a tablet form but that they “retain more of the Android and Galaxy experiences”. 

“We don’t want to re-create the computer,” he explained. 

All PRO devices have improved screen mirroring and media streaming to other PRO tablets and Samsung’s 2014 line of televisions. 

And they’ll be able to support multiple profiles, whether they are from more than one user or a single user with multiple logins. The profiles will be tied to Google identities, said Lalovic.

But a key benefit of the PRO tablets is the addition of productivity software, designed for users who may want to move exclusively to a tablet but who still use a laptop of desktop for some tasks. 

Built into each of the PRO devices are the following programs:

• Samsung Meeting: a program that allows tablet users to view and even edit presentations and take notes communally
• Excel, Powerpoint, and Word analogues Hancell, Hanshow, and Hanword, from Korean software developer Hancom provide up to 85 percent compatibility with the Microsoft programs, good for all but extreme power users, according to Gorgan
• Remote PC built in to make it easier to connect to a Windows computer running the software
• Side Sync, which provides a screen that emulates a Samsung mobile phone, was available for computers, and is now available on PRO tablets 
• Samsung Knox, the software that allows a user to have business and personal profiles running on a single device that can be independently managed
• The 12.2-inch TabPRO and NotePRO can run four applications on the screen at the same time (the smaller TabPROs can run two)

The NotePRO is distinguished from the TabPRO devices by including Samsung’s proprietary S Pen, which is a multifunction input device. Also available is a keyboard accessory that can act as a stand for the NotePRO. 

Wielding the NotePRO, Gorgan showed how a video can float on top of all the other activity on the screen. The slick picture-in-picture can be resized with a pinch and can be repositioned on the screen with a fingertip.

With drag-and-drop and S Pen functionality, some things seem easier to do on the NotePRO than they would be on a computer. When Gorgan was creating a presentation, for example, he was able to use the pen to draw a circle around an image he wanted to use, and simply dragged it to his presentation. The selection automatically placed itself. 

And the massive 9500 mAh battery, which is good for more than 10 hours on a charge, means that the NotePRO can even power and recharge other gadgets with a micro USB connection using an accessory cable.