Samsung Note Pro 12.2

[DogNo1]

Has any TV forum member bought one of these yet? I've gone to look at it several times and like it better and better each time I see it. One thing that has held me back from trying it as a substitute for my Lenovo notebook is the problem of not having a mouse if I buy it with a Bluetooth keyboard. I understand that the pen is supposed to act as a mouse and to read gestures. I could, of course, use my wireless Logitech keyboard and trackpad with it but the trackpad is so sensitive that It interprets the slightest touch as a click. That makes it very difficult to scroll through webpage selections such as on YouTube. I've so far resisted whipping out my credit card and saying, "Give it to me! " If anyone has experienced using this machine, I'd like to hear about it.

[Carmine6]

Is there a reason you couldn't use a bluetooth mouse with it as well? I have a Win 8 tablet and use a bluetooth keyboard and bluetooth mouse with it at the same time, as well as an active stylus. It's a 6 or 7 year old mouse and I just happened to keep it. MS Wireless Notebook Presenter Mouse 8000. I'd expect newer bluetooth mice would be better since the old one will go through batteries fast if I don't turn it off when not in use.

I actually use the bluetooth mouse more than the bluetooth keyboard.

For me, the stylus is good if I'm holding it like a notepad, or since I have it in a case that stands on my desk, sometimes I need to do something that takes more precision than using my finger and it gives slightly more reach. But it is not so great a mouse replacement. More like a precision finger replacement.

When doing serious stuff the mouse is a must have. Scrolling around, placing the cursor, highlighting for copy and paste, that kind of stuff. If you're doing a lot of physical keyboard stuff, it is easier going to a mouse than picking up the stylus to do something. If you're doing mainly internet, reading emails, etc. then the mouse is pretty good. Onscreen keyboard when you need, but mouse for just getting around.

[DogNo1]

Thanks a lot for the detailed and helpful comments. I noticed that the Samsung has a very nice and large on-screen keyboard so perhaps the mouse would be the only input addition that I will need.

[Shurup]

As with many other Samsung devices it probably supports USB host with which you can use any USB mouse or / and a keyboard.

Sent from my mobile, whatever mobile it is.

[Digitalbanana]

The main thing that held me back on buying one was the high price, so I bought the 10 inch model which does pretty much the same with a smaller screen. I have never needed a mouse or external keyboard as it is primarily designed to be used without. It will NEVER replace my laptop which I need for core productivity, even the tablet Hancom office suite runs slow on complex documents - and really complex ones don't open at all, but I still find it useful for emails, documents review and simple web surfing - kids stuff you can do with your fingers.

[DogNo1]

Don't know about the Note Pro but I have successfully connected both a wired and wireless mouse via an OTG connector plugged into the micro USB port of my Nexus 10. There are wireless keyboard and mouse sets that connect via one USB radio, so that's an option. In the past, I've had a lot of trouble connecting Bluetooth devices to my computers. Maybe 4.0 is an improvement (I hope!)

[DogNo1]

BTW, I bought Office Suite Pro for my Nexus 10 and other Android devices. It's pretty fast and includes a PDF editor. I think it cost me about $15. It seems faster and more capable than Kingsoft and the other freebies.

[Carmine6]

Don't know about the Note Pro but I have successfully connected both a wired and wireless mouse via an OTG connector plugged into the micro USB port of my Nexus 10. There are wireless keyboard and mouse sets that connect via one USB radio, so that's an option. In the past, I've had a lot of trouble connecting Bluetooth devices to my computers. Maybe 4.0 is an improvement (I hope!)

Bluetooth seems fine on Android compared to PCs. Mainly I think because they had to make it work with headsets. My bluetooth mouse had a noticeable lag on XP which is why I ditched it, though on Win 8, I have no issues. Not sure if that is due to Win 8 or the newer bluetooth hardware. Never had built in Bluetooth before the tablet. Dongles always seemed to suck.

On my Galaxy S3, I can use the bluetooth mouse and it works just fine, though is ridiculous for a phone. Bluetooth keyboard also works.

Samsung sells an accessory mouse for this tablet, S Mouse ET-MP900D.

[DogNo1]

Thanks! I will look for that Bluetooth mouse at Phantip today. I'll probably try a generic Bluetooth if I can't find the Samsung one. I'll see if it works with one of the Note Pro tablets on display there.

[DogNo1]

Bought a Microsoft Bluetooth mouse at IT City today. The mouse works fine with my Nexus 10 but when it is connected, the onscreen keyboard won't work! I'll have to Google the problem later and see if I can find a fix.

[Shurup]

My wireless USB mouse works fine together with on screen keyboard.

[DogNo1]

My wireless mouse works fine with the on-screen keyboard too. It is the Bluetooth mouse that is the problem. I bought the Bluetooth mouse so I wouldn't have to use the micro-USB OTG adapter but apparently the tablet is expecting a Bluetooth mouse AND keyboard - or something like that.

[Carmine6]

My wireless mouse works fine with the on-screen keyboard too. It is the Bluetooth mouse that is the problem. I bought the Bluetooth mouse so I wouldn't have to use the micro-USB OTG adapter but apparently the tablet is expecting a Bluetooth mouse AND keyboard - or something like that.

Yikes, that's a problem. I tried my bluetooth mouse on my S3 and the onscreen keyboard works fine with it.

Found this other user with the same problem on the Nexus 10. The first response here:

http://www.amazon.com/Will-work-nexus-10-tablet/forum/Fx1ZB6UXZYSLIDP/Tx2NCJCK9MBXJZ8/1?_encoding=UTF8&asin=B008OEHPPM

...I did not find any options for the mouse on Nexus 10. Things like the 4-way touch scrolling do not appear to work. Also I found the mouse cursor to lag sometimes. But the big problem is that when I brought up the chrome browser, the mouse would work fine. But the touch screen keyboard would not come up so that I could type. To me that does not sound like a MS Sculpt Touch Mouse issue as much as a Nexus 10 Android issue...

[DogNo1]

I can't get the mouse to pair with either of my notebooks - a Sony VAIO and a Lenovo S410P. It paired once with my Nexus 10 yesterday but now won't pair with it or my Nexus 7. I took it to Power Buy at Central yesterday and it paired up with the Note Pro just fine but then the on-screen keyboard wouldn't work. On the Windows computers, I've tried updating the Bluetooth drivers and running wireless troubleshooting without any success. I put fresh batteries in the mouse but that didn't help. At least at Power Buy, I got the red and green alternating flashing lights when pairing with the Note Pro. Here at home, after pushing the pairing button, the blue light on the bottom of the mouse flickers but no red and green "pairing in progress" flashing lights appear at the back of the mouse. The mouse was quite expensive (1,390) and, seeing that it is useless to me, I'd like to take it back to IT City for a refund. Technically speaking, the mouse does work just not with any of my machines. I think that I'll take it in and talk with them about it. Thanks for the link to Amazon. I didn't have much luck with Bluetooth speakers three years ago and now I'm having problems with this mouse. Maybe it's Bluetooth that's the problem. I remember having similar problems with SCSI many years ago and wasting a lot of money trying to get multi-device SCSI chains to work. It was quite a relief when SATA was developed. Any words of wisdom concerning Bluetooth will be appreciated!

[DogNo1]

I took the mouse back to IT City this afternoon and got a full refund. Thanks, IT City!

[Carmine6]

I took the mouse back to IT City this afternoon and got a full refund. Thanks, IT City!

Good to hear.

I haven't had a problem with bluetooth since XP. On Android, IOS, and Win 8, zero issues. Headsets, a wireless speaker, keyboard, and mouse. Though bluetooth dongles always gave me problems and everything since then has been built in. I had one dongle I had to use the MS driver for if doing certain things, and the manufacturer's driver for other things. And it never worked quite right anyway, such as never allowed me to use a bluetooth headset for Skype.

Microsoft also is hit and miss with hardware. Some of their stuff works fine and some seems to suck. I have used their corded keyboards and mice before with no problems. But had a usb wifi adapter that was awful. Presenter mouse has worked fine, though was $60, so not a cheap product. Other wireless mice were 1/3 as much at the same time, though not bluetooth.

[DogNo1]

Thanks for the comments about Bluetooth. Several years ago using the small dongles I was able to connect intermittently with some Bluetooth speakers but the connection was often dropped and trying to re-pair was a hit or miss proposition so I gave up an Bluetooth for a while. I think that the spec of Bluetooth is a problem. Certainly Bluetooth devices don't work as well as wireless. My wireless devices work perfectly every time. For that degree of reliability, I don't mind having an OTG cable sticking out of my micro USB port! If in the future, I see Bluetooth working reliably I may pick it up again.

[WorriedNoodle]

So you are not getting a Note Pro 12.2 then?

[DogNo1]

Not going to get the Note Pro right now. Considering that many Windows tablets of equal size cost half as much (eg. the Surface Pro at 14,500) I'm going to see if some other makers come out with 12-13 inch Android tablets at a better price. They're probably in the works now!

[DogNo1]

I'd like to add that one factor leading to my deciding not to buy the Note Pro was the lack of helpfulness of the phone and tablet salespeople in the computer department of a department store at Chidlom. Two days ago, when I first went to look at the Note Pro, a knowledgeable young man showed my the various features of the tablet. I told him that I was going to think about purchasing the tablet while I had coffee in the food court at the top of the store. I had pretty much decided to buy it when I went back to the computer department but I wanted to check out how the the tablet worked with a Bluetooth mouse. I had my mouse which had paired with the tablet a little earlier so I attempted to turn the tablet's Bluetooth on. Someone had changed the language back to Thai and when I turned the Bluetooth to on, a window popped up prompting me to choose one of two buttons on which several words were written Thai. There were three salespeople standing around in the phone and tablet area so I asked for someone to help me. They just looked to the back of the store where I suppose that the knowledgeable young man was busy with another customer. I waited five, then ten minutes, then told one of the salesmen (in Thai) that I couldn't read what was on the screen and asked him to read it for me. He wouldn't move to help me but just stood there idly. I then asked a young woman standing nearby for help but she wouldn't move either. I waited another few minutes, then asked them for help again but they just stood around. I'm afraid that I lost my temper and started to demand help, now, in a loud voice. Finally the young woman came over, and before I could explain that I just wanted to know which button to select, just started flipping through various screens, obviously not understanding anything about the tablet. After about seventeen minutes, the young man came running up and helped me to find out whether the onscreen keyboard would work with the Bluetooth mouse connected. It wouldn't. I'm sure that the salespeople didn't appreciate my losing my temper. I know that it's best to be pleasant and patient but I wasn't. After I left the store, I realized they probably didn't understand anything about the products they were selling. I won't be soon going back to that computer department and they probably don't want to see me either. It was quite different than Phantip where the salespeople have been very helpful.

[AgentSmith]

I'm seriously considering to buy this tablet. However as I will be using it as a laptop replacement I also need a keyboard cover. For this the Logitech Pro 12.2 keyboard seems perfect. Does anyone know where to find it in Bangkok?

http://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/pro?WT.ac=ps%7C11199%7CPro#

Edited June 5, 2014 by AgentSmith

[DogNo1]

It City in Phantip has the tablet and a Logitech Bluetooth keyboard, though not the one that serves as a cover for the tablet. I ordered one from Amazon.com (I am now back in Tokyo) to go with the Note Pro that I bought here and it should arrive in a day or two. I'll post how it works out. I successfully paired my Microsoft sculpt mouse with the Note Pro and hope to also be able to pair the keyboard so that they will both work. Perhaps Phantip could order the correct keyboard for you. Be aware that it will cost over 3,000! By the way, I love the tablet!

[AgentSmith]

I completely forgot about the Thai letters on the keys. I rather buy a US international version. Since I'm only in Thailand for 2 weeks I have to look elsewhere. I live in Indonesia and importing stuff there is ten times the pain as in Thailand. Unfortunately I won't buy the tablet without knowing where to buy the keyboard. Too bad.

IT City wasn't able to order it by the way. It's all Ipad keyboards like at most other places.

[DogNo1]

Sorry that they can't get you the keyboard. Another possibility is Lazada. I know that they have a branch in Indonesia. Good luck in getting what you want. I'm writing this on my Note Pro 12.2. The keyboard is much easier to type on than my Nexus 10. It's really a beautiful tablet!

[AgentSmith]

No worries. Thanks for the advice anyway.

I checked lazada.co.id and even some Chinese online shops. It seems as if the keyboard is only available in the US and Europe. This is not the first product I want to buy that isn't mainstream. Same for the Galaxy Tab Pro by the way. Not even the Samsung shops in Bangkok sell it. I don't really need the pen so I'd rather save 100 dollars and use a mouse for precision work but they simply don't have it.

The only thing I don't like about the Note Pro is all that software on it. I would probably root the device immediately and freeze or delete some or most of the software, the launcher included. I need the screen space for productive work and movies and series, not for the user interface which I like simple and clean. My Windows desktop also used to be empty except for the occasional temporary folder and the recycle bin. Anything to speed up the device with only the functionality I need.

[DogNo1]

FYI, I received the case-keyboard today and after charging it up, put the Note Pro in it and very easily paired it with the tablet. The keyboard has special Android keys where the function keys usually are so that's really nice. I think that if you search the Internet, you may find a few sellers who are willing to ship internationally from the USA. Another option might be to buy the Vaio Tap 11 which comes with a detachable bluetooth keyboard/cover from Lazada. The screen is really beautiful but it is 0.6 inches smaller than the Note Pro. I got a Tap 11 (the Pentium 3560Y version) pretty cheaply. I guess they are selling it cheap ($600) because most people probably want the i5 version. I find the 3560Y plenty speedy though. It streams content well. Stay away from the Vaio Fit 13 though. Bad wireless problems with it. I have found some ebay sellers who are willing to ship internationally so you might try there. Good Luck.