Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 Release Date: Device Launches In US April 11 For $399

Among all of the anticipation surrounding Samsung's many products, including the Galaxy S4, Note 3, Tab 3 and Galaxy Mega, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 may find itself competing among a number of unreleased family members when it debuts in the U.S. on April 11.

The Galaxy Note 8.0 is Samsung's first 8-inch tablet, which has already seen its release in the UK on Friday, where it sells for £339. The Note 8.0 has reportedly sold out in presale for some U.S. retailers; however, as prerelease buzz for the tablet did not seem to have as much fervor as it has for other Samsung devices, it remains uncertain how U.S. customers will receive the device. But Samsung seems confident with its product, having given it a hefty $399 price tag. According to the South Korean electronics giant, the Galaxy Note 8.0 includes $200 worth of pre-loaded content and services, including 50GB of Dropbox storage for two years, one month free of unlimited music streaming in Samsung’s Music Hub and a “limited time” $25 Google Play credit, among many others, which essentially slices its price in half.

We will see a 16GB Wi-Fi variant upon release. Currently, there is no news about the 3G version that can make phone calls, which was tested at the Mobile World Congress in February, but its specs include a 1.6GHz Exynos 4 quad-core processor, an 8-inch 1280×800 display, 2GB RAM, a 5-megapixel rear camera and 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera, IR blaster, S Pen support and 4600mAh battery. The Galaxy Note 8.0 will ship with the Android 4.1.2 operating system.

We will see a number of special features in the Galaxy Note 8 that were initially unveiled in the Galaxy S4 smartphone, including WatchON, which allows for TV viewing integrated onto a phone or tablet, and Group Play, which allows enabled devices to stream music from one to the other. Other software upgrades coming to the Note 8.0 are Smart Stay, Air View, Multi-window and Allshare Play.

Upon release, the Galaxy Note 8.0 will be available at Amazon, BestBuy/Best Buy Mobile, h.h. gregg, Newegg, P.C. Richard & Son, Staples and TigerDirect.com. Despite reports that Office Depit sold out its preorders for the Galaxy Note 8.0, Samsung did not list the retailer as one of its launch partners.

Even with a few interesting new features, the Galaxy Note 8.0, which is said to rival Apple’s $329 iPad mini Wi-Fi, may be one of the few devices able to upgrade to Android 5.0 later this year, thanks to its quad-core processor. Perhaps these mysterious on-board features Samsung is bragging about will make the device a bit more enticing. We will find out in just 48 hours.