Been through iPad 1st gen and my daughter has the 3rd gen iPad, and yes they are both good tablets, yet they just don't work for me. The 10.1 Note is a very different beast, it meets my work and multimedia needs. Speakers are fine for such a "thin" device of course the audio benefits considerably being forward facing and true stereo. Note 10.1 Bluetooth supports Apt-X Codec, so you are getting near wired fidelity over the air, something i now really look for in a mobile device.
Construction is a no issue being rigid, yet lightweight definitely not flimsy, no creaks or squeaks. Fit and finish typically high-end Samsung, which is very nice. Performance is stunning UI is super fluid and so far the 10.1 has run everything i have thrown at it with ease. The 1.4GHz Exynos Quad-Core Processor and 2Gb of RAM really make their presence known. The addition of multitasking even for a limited number of apps is more than welcome bringing a new dimension to tablet productivity, combined with the S pen nothing comes close, short of a full blown notebook.
Display is sharp and bright, touch is equally accurate, it may lack the ultra resolution of the iPad, however don't fooled that this is some Pixelated low-end poor performer it`s far from it, my own benchmark is my 15" Retina MacBook Pro. The Note 10.1 display is more than adequate given it also has a Wacom digitizer, with 1024 levels of sensitivity. the display is typically Samsung which in general equals extremely good as displays go.
Battery life is reasonable for my needs and i also appreciated that Samsung didn't overly load up the 10.1 with endless apps that you don't need or want. A 64Gb micro SD Card natively formatted to ExFat and the on board 16Gb of flash, takes care of storage, all in all a great package.
For me the 10.1 Note is the first of a new generation of tablets that can comfortably produce and consume. I can do far more, faster with the Note 10.1 than i ever could do with other tablets i have used.