Dubai: The Samsung Galaxy Note is definitely a handset worth considering if you are a media and internet fanatic. Recently many reports have announced that users do more browsing and watching videos than calling on phones and if you are one of them, then this could be a perfect choice. It's fast, intuitive and although there are compromises, I found them acceptable for a device like this.
I had laughed a year ago when some people tried to use the Galaxy Tab (7-inch) as a phone with a Bluetooth headset, but it's not altogether that ridiculous to do so on the Note. Almost all the major vendors are going for bigger screens.
Fairly light
It is a phone/tablet hybrid that doesn't really sit in any category — I've reviewed it as a smartphone simply due to the fact it can make calls. The 5.3-inch screen uses Super HD Amoled technology with 1,280x800-pixel resolution.
It's fairly light, at 178 grams, considering how heavy it could have been.
To look at the new LTE-enabled Note, it looks just like a larger version of the Galaxy S2.
Under the hood, you'll find a dual-core 1.4GHz processor powering this beast and either 16GB or 32GB of internal storage which can be expanded by another 32GB with removable memory.
It runs on Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) and has Samsung's own excellent TouchWiz skin living on top.
The front facing camera is 2MP and the rear camera is 8MP camera with LED flash. Samsung has, once again, chosen to have the actual glass covering of the lens protruding. Shutter lag can be a slight issue if you are trying to take a picture of a moving object in dim light.
The Samsung Galaxy Note boasts 30fps 1080p Full HD video recording. Again the jerky zoom can be an irritant.
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. Sadly there's no shutter button, which is a real drag considering the size of the handset. It's not as if the Galaxy Note doesn't have room for one.
The Galaxy Note sports a number of Samsung apps. Social Hub puts your emails, texts and social network updates (limited currently to Twitter, Face-book and LinkedIn) in a single app.
S Planner is a tidy planner and calendar app which looks the part on the Note's large screen. It can be synced with Google Calendar, Microsoft Exchange and Facebook and FM radio app.
Amending photos
The ‘S-Pen' has been the main focus of the marketing drive. It's a touch-sensitive pen which can feel a bit weird after years of capacitive screens using the fingers.
It is good if you want to draw on your Galaxy or if you'd like to amend a photo and put a bit of writing on. If you are an artist, you can draw cartoons on the Note.
Samsung has its own app store, but it's not worth the memory it takes up with nowhere even close to a fraction of the offerings on the Android Market.
It does also include fantastic photo and video editing apps to play with your content which are intuitive and fun and a full version of Polaris Office is bundled with it.
A 2,500mAh battery gives you plenty of juice — considering the size of the screen, which is always the biggest drainer. But it is better and lasts almost two days of intense use.
If you are not a heavy user, then it will last more than two days if you make only calls and check mails. It comes with a price tag of Dh2,999 and Dh3,099 for full white.
Pros
- Big and beautiful Super HD Amoled screen
- Fills the space between a tablet and a phone
- Thin and light, given its size
- Useful ‘S-Pen'
- Decent battery performance
Cons
- Slightly expensive
- Size may be too much for some
- Jerky zoom
- No dedicated camera key
- Not using Android 4 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
