"A tablet or a phone?" That is what I thought (quite like what they point out in the ads) when I fist held the device in my hands. After I got the answer to the first question (it's a smartphone), another question immediately popped up: Will this massive phone fit into my pocket? Yes, it does. I was quite surprised to find that the phone not only fit into my jeans but I was also comfortable sitting and walking around with it in my pocket. Only that most heads turned in my direction noticing me speaking on this giant phone. But the phone is comfortable to hold and carry.
Hardware
The phone's large screen was the first thing that attracted me. Though its big screen might turn off some, but it did please me a lot. The phone may have a huge screen, but is 9.65 mm slim. It is only a wee-bit thicker than the Samsung Galaxy SII which measures 8.49mm. Weighing 178g, the Galaxy Note is (obviously) significantly heavier than Galaxy SII that weighs 116g.
Borrowing its looks from the other Samsung Galaxy devices, the Galaxy Note looks graceful. It has a hardware home key and two backlit buttons - home and menu - in the front. There is a 2 megapixel front facing camera, proximity and light sensors on the front side. It has a 3.5mm jack on the top of the phone and a multifunction micro USB interface on the bottom. The left side has a volume rocker while the power/reset/lock key is placed on the right side (standard Samsung style). The back has a texture panel. There is an 8 megapixel auto focus camera with LED flash and a speaker on the rear.
To make the most of the large screen and the things that users can do with it, Samsung has added, what it calls the S Pen. Something I found quite intriguing. The S pen is not merely a stylus. More about the S Pen later in this review.
When you open the back of the phone, there is a microSD card slot that can support memory card up to 16GB.
Some of you might find it unusual and unpleasant to hold this giant device up to your ear. Well, I won't mind taking it up to my ear and talking for long.
Display
The phone has a 5.3-inch HD super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen with 1280x800 pixel resolution (it is the largest smartphone around). Its display is as gorgeous as it is enormous. Though its display is not a part of Samsung's PLUS family, but its HD screen is vibrant and sharp. Thanks to its 285 ppi (pixels per inch) resolution. However, this phone does not have the highest pixel density as phones such as the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and iPhone 4S do a little better on this front.
The screen offers beautiful colours and good viewing angles. Reading books and magazines on this screen is quite a treat. Newspapers though, are a little difficult to read.
Camera
Undoubtedly, the 8 megapixel camera delivers excellent and sharp images – just like the Galaxy SII. It offers scores of options to customise images like self portrait mode, shooting modes, effects, white balance, timer, exposure value and more. But the image quality in low light conditions did not always live upto my expectations.
Also, the zoom in and zoom out were not smooth. There are some minor jerks that are easily visible when you zoom in and out. But on the whole, the camera lets you take crisp snaps and is more than satisfying.
In video mode too, the camera performed quite well. The phone can shoot 1080p full HD video at 30 frames per seconds. Again the jerky zoom can be an irritant.
Barring the zoom smoothness, Samsung has loaded an effective camera on the Galaxy Note.
OS and user interface
When you power on the phone, it takes very less time to boot. The phone runs Android 2.3 operating system on which Samsung has applied its TouchWiz UI layer. The phone's touch is quite responsive, and the interface is pretty intuitive and engaging.
I am eagerly waiting for the Galaxy Note on Android Ice Cream Sandwich.
S Pen
The company has packed the Galaxy Note with the S Pen. This S Pen, apart from its huge screen, is the USP of the Galaxy Note. The S Pen is more than stylus and includes a button on the side of the pen. The S Pen can do much more than what we can not expect from a standard stylus.
The S Pen has the ability to take screen shots which can be edited and shared online in real-time. The user just needs to tap and hold to capture a screenshot, which instantly gets opened in an image editor. One can make any changes there like circling some elements, adding annotations and other marks. From there the document can be saved or shared on social networking sites or mailed to any email address. There is a button on the side of the pen which needs to be pressed while capturing a screen shot.
Because the button's colour is the same as the S Pen, it is often difficult to locate it. Samsung should have thought about giving the button a different shade of grey.
The elephantine display and the S pen here make a great combo. With the added S Pen, the phone (supported by its handwriting recognition software) lets you make notes on the fly and eliminates the need of having a separate notepad.
Samsung has also designed some unique apps especially for this device for users to take advantage of the S Pen. The S Memo app is one of them and comes pre-loaded. There is an S Choice app store that includes apps specifically designed for the S Pen.
Miscellaneous
The phone's 2500 mAh battery offers a fairly good battery back up. Powered by a 1.4 Ghz dual-core processor, the phone is quite fast. The Note's speaker is loud and delivers good audio, but may not be good enough when things are not so quiet around. Calling quality is quite good, but not of the highest quality in noisy areas. However, it's quite acceptable and satisfactory. The phone comes with an earphone, USB cable and a charger. I wish Samsung had packed in black earphones, the white ones just don't blend with the look of the device.
Judgement
It is safe to say that if you are planning to buy a Galaxy Note then you are going to make a good deal (but you may wish to wait a little for the prices - Rs 34990 - to drop a bit). Its jumbo HD Super AMOLED display is what should please you the most, particularly people who don't want to lug a tablet around but want a tablet-like experience with the portability of a smartphone. Watching videos on this phone is also quite amazing. The Samsung Galaxy Note does indeed bridge the gap between a phone and tablet.
It is very possible that the Galaxy Note revives the smartphone-tablet section and depending on its success other manufacturers may very soon come up with their own 5" phone-tablet combos.
Pros
Stunning jumbo display
Great performance
Useful S Pen
Large but portable
Cons
Jerky zoom
Expensive
Run-of-the-mill Samsung looks
Rating: 4/5
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