The tablet market is tough and tablet makers do everything to differentiate their products. Apple does this through quality, experience and brand.

Amazon subsidizes its inexpensive tablets with a media store, a video chat "helper" and proprietary app. Samsung uses the "spray and pray" approach that works well for bug, 800 pound gorilla companies. Samsung differentiates through input, screen size and price. In the case of the Samsung Galaxy Note, it is the S-Pen. If you are considering to buy the Samsung Galaxy Note 8, here are some things you need to know:

- The S-Pen is quite finicky, uneasy to use and it takes time to get used to. The S-Pen is small, short, skinny and narrow at 5.5 millimeters and using it may feel like writing with a kid's broken pencil. You can use the S-Pen only on apps designed to work with it so it cannot be used on Microsoft OneNote or Standardized on Evernote. It can, however, be used on aNote HD, S Note and Paper Artist apps.

- The design feels outdated with a brown packaging that has wood grain on it, a brown pen and a screen background with a brown feather.

- Although most tablets are plastic made, many don't feel like it but the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 definitely feels plasticky. Rubberized coatings make devices less slippery, resistant to fingerprints and don't feel cheap. iPads are even made from machined aluminum to make it feel like the premium product that it is.

- Most Android devices have back buttons on the left side and Samsung Galaxy Note has it on the right, making it difficult to get used to.

- The Galaxy Note has an 8-inch screen like the iPad Mini, larger than both the Nexus 7 (7-inch) and Tegra Note (7-inch), giving it 37% more viewing area.

- While the Nexus 7 has a screen resolution of 1,920x1,280 and the iPad Mini has a 2,048x1,536 Retina, the Samsung Galaxy Note operates at 1,280x800.

- The Samsung Galaxy Note has a good camera that may not be as great as the iPad but certainly better than the Nexus 7.

- The Samsung Galaxy Note has cool features like the Wi-Fi Direct, allowing you to connect to other Wi0F0 Direct device even without a router. It also has Miracast screen sharing that let's you show the tablet screen on a TV that has Miracast. The Note has "Smart Screen" that remains the screen turned on as long as you look at it. You can even take a picture by saying "capture," "cheese," "shoot" and "smile."

- The Galaxy Note 8 has a poor, slow Samsung chip - the Exynos 4412, which uses an ARM cortex A9 used in mid-range phones.

- The Note can have a short battery life, particularly when using 3D functions found in games.

- The Galaxy Note costs $349 to $399 while the iPad Mini goes for $299 to $399 (with Retina).