Tech: Is Ssamsung's Newest Note "Worthy" of its hefty price tag?

The short answer is a qualified yes.

We'll address the price more directly later, but first, what exactly has Samsung given us this time around?

After the successful launch and subsequent disastrous recall and discontinuation of the Note 7, which still gets namechecked on some airlines as a banned object, you’d have forgiven Samsung for dropping the Note name and starting again.

The Note 8, then, is supposed to be Samsung’s humble return to the phablet market – plus a big rival to the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus – and in many ways this phone is a huge success. With a gorgeous design, incredible 6.3-inch screen, great software and excellent stylus, there’s very little not to like here.

Good news. Samsung has amped up its safety testing and reduced the Note 8's battery size to avoid repeating last year's fatal battery mistake, though we won't know if it's truly safe until weeks have gone by without a reported incident.

Buyers of the Galaxy Note 7 -- who had to relinquish their flame-prone phones -- and 2015's Galaxy Note 5 -- until now, the "best" Note phone you could buy -- will find the Note 8 to be the high-end handset they should have gotten last year, and then some. It largely merges the Note 7 with the S8 and S8 Plus. 

Featurewise, the dual camera setup on the Note 8's back. Samsung's first twin-lens phone, creates pretty depth-effect hi-res portraits that finally catch it up to the hottest trend in phones. There's also the Note 8's vibrant 6.3-inch OLED screen, and a tall, slim design that goes lean on bezels, and delivers truly excellent ergonomics. This is truly a big instrument that doesn't feel overwhelmingly big in the palm. Its edges are squarer than the S-line phones, but the overall aesthetic is of a first-class business machine that can also entertain you quite well.

We didn't have the demo unit in hand for too long, but it had been on for a while before we got there, so Battery life here definitely gets a tick.  That aside,you'll find the Note incorporates all the welcome virtues of the Galaxy S8's top-of-the-line processor, water resistance, expandable storage and wireless charging, plus fun ways to create animated GIFs that belong to the Note 8 alone. The S Pen stylus has some real efficiencies you simply don't get on any other phone.

Of course, dual-lens cameras already exist on the Huawei P9, and Apple debuted them on its X model, but the camera set up on the Note 8 is definitely a top performer. 

So, to that price. In Jamaican retail, you're paying roughly the equivalent of US$1600 (It'll be somewhat less if you're o a post-paid, or billing arrangement). This is, as stated earlier, a business machine, a laptop replacement that also takes great pictures and viideo and allows professionals (like this writer) to accomplish more than one might with a lesser phone.

If you're using a Note 5, feel good taking the Note 8 plunge. If you've never owned a Note but can truly make the S Pen part of your daily life, you won't find any other phone that goes as far.

Thanks to the Samsung sales/promo team inside the Digicel flagship store in Downtown Kingston for the demo.