SamMobile reports that Samsung plans to release an 8-inch version of its Galaxy Note tablet this year to rival Apple's just-release iPad Mini. It will arrive in two flavors: a Wi-Fi only version and a Wi-Fi/3G combo model for computing on the go. The company plans to introduce the tablet during Mobile World Congress 2013 in Barcelona next month.
According to a list of specs, the 8-inch Galaxy Note (codenamed Kona) will sport a 1280 x 800 TFT (Super Clear LCD) display, a 5MP camera mounted on the back, a 1.3MP camera on the front, and a 4600 mAh battery. It will also have 2 GB or RAM, and either 16 or 32 GB of internal storage, depending on your wallet. A microSD card slot will expand storage up to an additional 32 GB.
On the connectivity front, the 8-inch Galaxy Note will offer Bluetooth 4.0, USB 2.0, 802.11 b/g/b/n and A-GPS. GSM network coverage will include EDGE (850/900/1800/1900) HSPA+21.1 Mbps, and HSUPA 5.76 Mbps (850/900/1900/2100). The operating system of choice will be Google's Android 4.2 "Jelly Bean".
SamMobile adds that the dimensions of the Galaxy Note 8.0 will be 211.3 × 136.3 × 7.95-mm, and the weight will be around the 330g.
In addition to the Galaxy Note 8.0, Samsung is gearing up to launch the 6.3-inch Galaxy Note III "phablet" featuring an 8-core SoC using the company's big.Little architecture. The company is slated to reveal this 28-nm chip next month during the International Solid-State Circuits Conference on February 19.
But don't let the 8-core description fool you. The chip will consist of four 1.2 GHz ARM Cortex-A15 cores that will handle the heavy tasks like gaming and video playback while the four 1.2 GHz Cortex-A7 cores will handle the normal stuff like web browsing and Facebook lurking.
For more information about Samsung's big.LITTLE architecture, check out this PDF here.