Samsung officially took the wraps off its Galaxy Note 8.0, which offers some exclusive features to entice both tablet and smartphone owners.

You heard that right, smartphone owners. The tablet will have phone functionality in all markets in the cellular-equipped models except in the U.S. Samsung says it will ship the tablet with phone functionality disabled in the U.S. cellular versions of the tablet: users will only be able to use the cellular radio for data. It sounds like U.S. wireless carriers might have urged Samsung to ship the device with phone functionality disabled.

Samsung's design of the Galaxy Note 8.0 looks like a larger Galaxy Note 2. Samsung is playing up the fact that just like the iPad mini, it can be held with one hand. Its dimensions are 210.8mm x 135.9mm x 7.95mm (8.3 x 5.4 x 0.31 inches) and it weighs 338 grams. The Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 features an 8-inch 189 ppi (pixels per inch) 1,280 x 800 TFT display, 1.6 GHz Exynos quad-core processor, Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean, 16GB or 32GB of internal storage, 2GB of RAM, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, 4G LTE (in Wi-Fi + LTE model), HSPA+ radio 21 (850/900/1900/2100MHz) (in WiFi + 3G model), Blutooth 4.0, A-GPS, microSD slot, 4,600 mAh battery and Samsung S-Pen.

Samsung has some exclusive apps and features built into the Galaxy Note 8.0. It will ship with the suite of S-Pen apps currently found on current Galaxy Note devices. The tablet includes support for Samsung's Smart Stay, Multi-Window and Air View functionality, Popup video and S Memo.

Samsung is offering two exclusive apps with the Galaxy Note 8.0, and they're pre-installed: Flipboard (customized to take advantage of the S Pen's hover and preview capabilities for headlines) and Awesome Note, which is a one-year exclusive deal for Samsung.

Samsung has added remote control functionality into the Galaxy Note 8.0. It has partnered with Peel for its Smart Remote app, which features a visual programming guide with remote control functions. The S-Pen functionality has been greatly improved. Samsung has also built in support to use the S-Pen to control the Android navigation keys on the tablet (something that users requested). The tablet will have physical navigation keys. Samsung has not revealed any pricing yet and says the Galaxy Note 8.0 will be available in the second quarter of 2013.