Once upon a time, there was a world without iPads and tablets. A time when people didn't need anything to fill the gap between phone and computer. Those two industries were way over saturated to incorporate a third option. Never the less, the iPad and then the rise of the tablets came and ushered in a new era of the third device. These tablets usually fill that aforementioned gap with a size of 5-10 inches. Well, Samsung decided that it wasn't good enough so instead, they slapped a phone into a 5.3 inch tablet. Or did they slap a 5.3 inch tablet into a phone? This is the Android 2.3 based Samsung Galaxy Note. Samsung have added this behemoth to their very successful Galaxy range of smartphones but the Note is bigger, faster, and tablet-ier so how well does it stack up to normal sized phones?
VIDEO REVIEW
HARDWARE & SPECS
Despite the "I'm a smartphone in a tiny box" message you get from the Notes packaging. It's lying to you from the get go. The phone is not tiny. Yes it's pocketable but you're either insane or in denial if you feel comfortable when you're sat down and have a huge rectangle sticking out of your upper leg. The phone is 5.7 inches tall and 3.2 inches wide with a 5.3 Super AMOLED display in between. It's around 0.38 inches thick and weighs around 0.39 pounds. I'm putting emphasis on the height and weight because although its big and wide. It's quite honestly not that thick or bulky. So apart from the high res display the Note comes with a 1.4 dual core processor, 1 GB RAM, 16 or 32GB storage and a micro SD card slot. The cameras are kept the same as the Galaxy S2 which gives you an 8 megapixel snapper with auto focus, LED flash and 1080p HD video recording. There's also a 2 megapixel front facing camera. Bluetooth 3.0 and Wi-fi are on board as usual, while the Americans also get LTE. The device is designed to a similar standard to the Galaxy S2. The power/standby key is on the right and the volume rocker on the left. At the top of the phone you'll find the headphone jack and second mic. At the bottom, you have the micro USB charging port and stylus housing. It's a rigid frame, finished in chrome and available in white, black, pink or blue. The home key sits below the display with the other 2 Android keys as is the norm with the Galaxy range. On the back of the phone, you'll find Samsung's trademark paper thin battery covers which attaches the casing with small latches. Although there is a tiny bit of creaking when holding the phone tightly, its generally solid and well put together.
The BIG display is also the biggest faeture. Contrast on the Notes display is simply incredible, with deep and menacing blacks juxtaposed against strong, vibrant colours. Watching a movie or playing a game is a great experience with a screen like this. The display has a 1280 x 800 resolution leading to a 285ppi pixel density, essentially making single pixels discernible. The high resolution brings many benefits: The browser, email, calendar, messaging and maps applications are loaded with much more info, while 720p movies can be enjoyed at their full quality.
SOFTWARE AND PERFORMANCE
The Note comes packed with Android 2.3 Gingerbread and Samsung have been coy regarding the upgrade date to 4.0. So for now Samsung's TouchWiz interface dominates the layout and general use of the phone. Receiving a call on the Note is a feast for the eyes thanks to the display (call quality is also excellent) and the large touch friendly graphics. There are software tweaks everywhere, many of them quite useful: you can swipe the side of your hand across the screen to take a screenshot, or drag your finger along the notification bar to quickly change the screens brightness. Samsung have added a few of these nice graphical flourishes that really exploit the underlying hardware well.
There is also a new unlocking method which works in the same way as previous Galaxy phones by swiping away your screen saver but with the Note, although you still swipe, you swipe from a circle outwards but without the visual cue for how to do this. It might take a bit of getting used to. A far bigger issue is the time it takes for the phone to wake up. I noticed that whether I pressed the power key or the home button, there would be over a full seconds delay before the display switched on for me to unlock it. The same issue is present during a call too. The device is very responsive in everything else it does so I'm putting the blame on Samsung's software team. Overall, general navigation of the Note is quick and snappy with hardly any lag or slow down. There were the occasional stutters that most Android devices are accustomed to, but a generally good experience. Gaming is also a great pleasure on the Note due to the stunning display and power under the hood. Every game I tried was buttery smooth and with no sign of any frame rate problems. In fact, the Notes processor feels kind of wasted on the current Google Play market. The web browser is also quick and snappy. Rich web pages look fantastic on the display and pinching and zooming is smooth even on the heaviest of pages. It's a shame that the 4.0 update is not here yet as the Google Chrome browser for Android would make the experience so much better. Battery life is a bit of a worry, as I managed 4 and a half hours on the first run through. Considering the huge screen and processor, I would definitely recommend having a charger with you at all times.
The rear 8 megapixel camera works and performs very much like its Galaxy S2 sibling. As with any camera, the best results will be in well lit conditions but the Note doesn't do a bad job in low light either. The camera can get it wrong on odd occasions meaning some pictures are left slightly over saturated but on the whole, most pictures were crisp and clear. The Notes video recording is also very impressive and recording at 30 frames per second, the results are fantastic. The only downside is that the device is highly sensitive to hand motion meaning you'll get a lot of shakiness if your shooting on the move.
S-PEN Samsung didn't want to stop at merging a tablet and phone, they wanted to bring back the stylus and they did. Although they called it the S-Pen. Hidden away discreetly in the bottom right corner of the Note, the Stylus can be pulled out easily and tucked back away when not in use. The pen allows for quick memos, screenshots, annotations and general UI navigation, while also serving as a precise text input and drawing tool. The pen itself isn't actually capacitive meaning although you can navigate and do anything on the screen that your fingers can do, you won't be able to use the capacitive Android keys with the pen. Accuracy from the pen itself is very good, however Samsung's handwriting software is a disappointment. It produces errors that shouldn't slip even a rudimentary autocorrection algorithm.
Maybe it's different for other languages but it certainly didn't work very well for English. The general unreliability of handwritten text on the Note is under whelming and my bet is that the majority of the people who use the Note will use fingers over stylus almost every time. Samsung are working with developers to create Apps specifically to be used with the S-Pen but the website still shows 'coming soon' on most announced apps and Samsung haven't come out to clarify any release dates. The stylus does have another use: games. Fruit ninja was great to play with the pen, as was Draw Something which really let's you create some crazy stuff now that you can fine tune your scrawling with a stylus.
VERDICT I'm really not sure where to start. In the video review you see me using the phone against my ear and I look like a fool. I really think that 5.3 inches is a ridiculous size for a phone and I can't imagine the kind of person who would want one. In fact, I don't think even Samsung know who their target market is. It feels like the Galaxy Note is a concept device, just put out there so Samsung could get a feel of what the reaction to big phones would be. The size lets that phone down. That being said, it is actually a great phone in its own right and the display is just amazing. Yes it's a shame its so big, just one inch smaller and this would be the best Android phone out right now. So, if you're looking for a huge phone or just don't want a tablet but want the benefits of having one, the Galaxy Note is the best (and probably only) choice. Otherwise, if you're amazed by the specs and that display, wait for the Galaxy S3 or HTC One X. They will be just as powerful, have just as a beautiful display and they won't make you look like an idiot when your using one.
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I have to say i am very impressed with the way you efficiently blog and your posts are so informative. You have really have managed to catch the attention of many it seems keep it up!
free cell phone
Some days ago my friend has bought the galaxy note, and as we expected from it, it is a super cool gadget. Really awesome product and powerful processor and android made it a complete smart gadget.
HARDWARE & SPECS
SOFTWARE AND PERFORMANCE
2 comments:
I have to say i am very impressed with the way you efficiently blog and your posts are so informative. You have really have managed to catch the attention of many it seems keep it up!
free cell phone
Some days ago my friend has bought the galaxy note, and as we expected from it, it is a super cool gadget. Really awesome product and powerful processor and android made it a complete smart gadget.
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