When Dell introduced the Streak 5-inch tablet in 2010, it completely bombed. Since then, phone screens have been inching their way back toward the Streak and now Samsung has unveiled a version of the 5.3-inch Galaxy Note that’s bound for the US market. It’s huge and it may not fit in your pocket, but it’s coming to AT&T. My first impressions are below.
Half smartphone, half tablet
The Galaxy Note is an odd beast of a device. It’s technically a smartphone, but I’d wager that a healthy portion of the American population will find it too large to hold like a phone. It’s pretty much a tablet in terms of size, but you really don’t see much benefit from the screen real estate since it still runs Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), a version of Android built for smartphones, not tablets. I found it awkward to hold and use.
Like a work tablet, the Note comes with a leather screen protector that closes over it like a book cover as well as a stylus that has its own little holding place, much like Windows Mobile and Palm smartphones used to have in the days before the iPhone revolution. Samsung claims that this stylus has “256 levels of pressure sensitivity,” making it the most responsive writing device yet for a smartphone or tablet and the “first device to capture the artistry of true pen and paper.” We don’t think pen and paper have anything to worry about just yet, but the Note’s stylus is pretty good. It still lags behind a bit, but it’s a fairly accurate way to take notes, if you like to hand write.
The Note comes with a built in app called S Memo, which is mostly a note-taking app. You can easily open it by tapping the screen twice with the stylus. Holding a button and pressing on the screen with the stylus will take a picture of whatever’s on your Galaxy Note screen and let you doodle on it before saving. These features are somewhat useful in certain circumstances, but we’re doubtful there are many of you who will spend your days doodling on screenshots of your phone’s homescreen. It gets old after a while. The phone also has a custom calendar that has stylus-specific gestures and better utilizes the Note’s massive screen.
Specs
I’ll keep this brief. The Note has specs similar to most new tablets and smartphones. It runs Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), has a 1280×800 pixel Super AMOLED screen, runs on a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, and has an 8MP rear camera and 2MP front camera. Oh, and it will be an AT&T exclusive and run on the wireless carrier’s brand new (and currently slow) 4G LTE network.
A great phone if you’re a basketball player
If you have huge hands, this phone is the coolest. You’ll love it, though the stylus may be a bit small for your tastes. For the rest of us, Samsung may have pushed the bar on size a little too high. I found the Note to be quite compelling as an idea, but difficult to handle. I’m not even sure it would fit in my pocket at all, and it definitely wouldn’t be comfortable if it did. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a fat device. It’s quite thin. Samsung’s TouchWiz interface is also quite pretty and usable. I just question whether this has crossed that invisible line where a device goes from being super convenient to a bit of a burden.
I can think of no appropriate way to end this, so I will just say that the Galaxy Note is more tablet now than phone, for better and for worse. After my initial experience using it, I’d opt for a smaller phone. Are you ready for a 5.3-inch phone?
I bought this phone in Hong Kong two weeks ago and am replacing my iPhone 4S with it. It is an amazing device. The CPU screams, the screen is gorgeous, battery life is excellent, and the s-pen is a surprisingly useful addition. I am dead on average for US size at 5’9″ and typical build. The phone fits fine in my hand and in my pocket, thanks to how think it is. But it, you won’t be disappointed.
Jeffrey Van Camp from digitaltrends.com said:
Yeah, AT&T is trying to snag up a lot of LTE devices. Unfortunately, from my early experience with their LTE network, I’m not impressed. Been getting slower speeds than HSPA+
There’s nothing assey (is that even a word? In the UK we extend “arse” to “arsey”) about disagreeing. Especially as I was wrong – the processor (according to GSMArena: http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_note_i717-4374.php) is the Qualcomm MSM8660 Snapdragon which is 1.5 GHz dual-core. However it’s still a lot slower than the Cortex in the standard Note and it’s a different chipset without the ARM instruction set. Anyone in the US who wants this phone with a custom OS should consider importing.
I do find the size debate interesting though. It’s only about the same volume as a normal wallet, and thinner too, so it’s more discrete than a wallet to carry around. But people don’t feel the need to have smaller and smaller wallets!
It is definitely bigger than my wallet. I haven’t done measurements, but the US version did seem a bit heftier than the international version, which I have only seen briefly. The International version has more of a curved back as well. I might concur on importing it, though I’m not sure if an imported version would be able to connect up to AT&T’s LTE network, so that might give the local version a leg up. I would believe the chipset downgrade, likely at the request of AT&T.
The AT&T Note coming to the US is *not* the same as the Note currently being sold elsewhere. It does *not* have a dual-core processor as stated in this article. It has a single-core Snapdragon processor, a totally different chipset which renders it useless for custom ROMs, and many other hardware differences.
That’s the facts out of the way. On the subjective side of things, I’m pretty sure that people who can make use of the extra screen space and stylus (hint: business users) will not be spending their time taking screenshots of the home screen. If that’s all you can think to do with it, then clearly it’s not the device for you, but that’s not really a criticism of the device, is it?
I don’t mean to sound like an ass, but you are wrong. I was at the booth and I have a picture of the specs for this exact AT&T model and it runs on a “1.5GHz Dual Core Processor”. The chipset may be switched up, as Samsung is remaining vague, but it is 1.5GHz and dual-core. I found it to be a bit too snappy and responsive to be a single-core handset running Android. If you have a link to news (this week) saying that Samsung has changed its mind, I’d be happy to edit the article.
I agree on your subjective comments. Samsung really didn’t come up with enough compelling use cases.
I’d like to add 2 points: First you din’t include the battery. It’s 2500 mAh make it finally possible to use the device heavily for a full day without being stranded in the evening, being unable to navigate home in a foreign city or being unable to call a cab.
Second that coverflap is kind of disturbing, it makes it less easy to handle. I’m using a kind of bumper made of rigid silicone that even protects it better when accidentially dropped do the floor.
Yeah, I realize it has a larger battery, but it’s hard to say how much the larger screen will impact that. Completely agree on the flap.
I have the note for almost 2 months now after using a Samsung Galaxy S for 1.5 years. The SGS (1500 mAh, 4″ AMOLED) worked for 7 to 10 hrs while the Note (2500 mAh, 5,3″ AMOLED) is good for 10 to 16 hrs under the same stress. The bigger screen has some influence but far less than the increase of 75% leads to expect. Even less if you consider, that with the increased size I use the device even more frequently. But with the better view and the more potent hardware I get to the point faster than before so maybe that decreases the actual time I have it lit up per use.
Why do you need a screen that big? Do you use it as your phone too? To me it’s ridiculously large. Sorry.
The screen resolution is NOT 720P, it’s 800×1280 just like your average 10.1″ tablet.
I wish there’s a Wi-Fi only version of this. AT&T phones are useless to me.
Ah. My mistake. It is the equivalent of 720p. Just a different aspect ratio. I will correct.
From a country that likes everything bigger and better than the rest of the world, I am surprised you have made this a negative of this product :p What’s interesting is that the Note has been here in the UK for a few months and the reviews sort of indicated the same at first … until people started to actually use the device day to day.
As an owner of one of these amazing devices, I can assure anyone who is adult sized will not find the device too big. It will fit in your pocket and surprisingly comfortably at that (unless you wear skin tight jeans!) You won’t be hearing comments about how you look holding it to your ear on a call, just gasps of WOW from envious onlookers (even iPhone users!) You won’t be going back to a regular sized phone once you realise how wonderful web browsing is, video screening and game playing. The S-Pen also is an advantage in games where fat fingers are plain clumsy.
You need to have this device for a day or two before making any judgement. Google some reviews of this truly stunning device and you’ll see that it gets a predominantly and resounding thumbs up!
Couldn’t agree more. A phone with a 5.3 inc screen may sound like it’s going to be too big but in reality it isn’t. It fits comfortably in my pretty average hand and once you start using the Note on a day to day basis you will soon find you can’t be without it. Samsung have hit the sweet spot with this phone and I strongly urge anyone who may have been put off by the somewhat negative review to ignore it and go check it out for yourself. As GADGETONOMY has said, we have had the Note in the UK for a few months already and it’s been a resounding success :)
I’m glad you like it. This is definitely a first impressions piece. I concede that once I get the Note in for review, it may win me over in time. There’s no way I can say how I’m going to feel about something after using it from a CES show floor demo. But I do think that there is a limit to the size that a regular phone can be while still being usable and comfortable and the Galaxy Note may have crossed that line. I guess we’ll find out in the coming months.