The Samsung Galaxy Note is perfect for data centric consumers (review) By Matthew Miller

The Samsung Galaxy Note is perfect for data centric consumers (review)

By Matthew Miller | April 2, 2012, 7:01am PDT

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Summary: The Samsung Galaxy Note is either a large phone or a small tablet, but whatever you want to call it I think it is fantastic for the data centric consumer.

Last week I reported that the Samsung Galaxy Note passed 5 million in sales and Samsung later confirmed that this was sales to consumers and not just shipments out from their factory. I briefly saw the Note at CES, but was now very intrigued to get more time with one so Samsung sent an eval unit to me the next day. After just three days I was so impressed that I ordered my own Galaxy Note on Saturday.

I didn’t put this review on my Smartphones & Cell Phones blog because I consider this device more of a data-centric tablet than a phone. Then again, AT&T sells it with a phone contract and people are using it as their phone. If I considered it a phone then it would have been in at least my top five of 10 best smartphones to kick off 2012. However, I don’t plan to use the phone functionality much and see it taking the place of my 7 inch Android tablets so am considering it a small tablet. People have started using the term “Phablet” for this device as it is a phone-tablet hybrid. You can check out a few photos of the Samsung Galaxy Note, screenshots of the device, and pictures taken with it in my image gallery.
Image Gallery: Check out photos and screenshots of the Samsung Galaxy Note and a couple sample photos I took with it. Image Gallery: Galaxy Note retail package Image Gallery: Galaxy Note and the S Pen
In the box and first impressions

The Galaxy Note comes in a typical AT&T package and the box really doesn’t seem that big. When you open the lid you will see the Galaxy Note taking up nearly the entire length and width of the box. AT&T and Samsung include a Quick Start Guide, the Note, a USB cable, and USB charger/adapter. The eval unit is the Carbon Blue one with a back that is nearly black with very subtle dark blue color to it. Samsung sent along a brown Note Flip Case and that is what I have been using since I pulled the Galaxy Note out of the box.

The Galaxy Note is definitely a big phone, but after turning it on and seeing the display I soon forgot about the size. The HD Super AMOLED display is gorgeous and for those who use their devices for email, browsing, media, games, and more the size is desirable and beneficial. Samsung makes some excellent hardware and the Galaxy Note reminds me a bit of their latest Tab devices.

Specifications

Specifications for the Samsung Galaxy Note include the following:

5.3 inch HD Super AMOLED display at 1280 x 800 pixels resolution with Corning Gorilla Glass
1.5GHz dual core processor
Android 2.3.6 Gingerbread
GSM Quad-band: 850/900/1800/1900MHz
UMTS; Tri-band: 850/1900/2100MHz. Supports up to 21 Mbps HSPA+
LTE; Dual Band: Band 4 & Band 17
16GB internal memory, microSD card expansion capability
1GB RAM
8 megapixel camera with LED flash and 1080p video recording capability
2 megapixel front facing camera
Bluetooth 3.0, WiFi, GPS, barometer, and compass
TV out via MHL adapter
2500mAh battery with stated 10 hour talk time
Dimensions: 5.78 x 3.27 x 0.38 inches and 6.28 ounces

I understand that NFC is in the device, but that AT&T has not enabled the functionality. I enjoy using Google Wallet with NFC on my Galaxy Nexus to buy things and also use NFC to scan my Orca transit card to see how much I have left on the card. I hope AT&T eventually enables this, maybe with the ICS update, but think that developers will probably enable this if it doesn’t get the update officially.

I was very pleased to see that Samsung put a good camera in the Galaxy Note since they dropped the ball with the Galaxy Nexus, especially after the Galaxy S II already had a great camera. I also love that there is a microSD card slot for up to 32GB more memory capability as I plan to load this up with lots of content.
Walk around the hardware

The defining feature of the Samsung Galaxy Note is obviously the large 5.3 inch display that dominates the front. You will also find a good quality 2 megapixel front facing camera above the display and four Android capacitive buttons below the display (Menu, Home, Back, and Search).

The volume button is on the left side, the power button is on the right side, the microUSB port is on the bottom, and the 3.5mm headset jack is on the top.

The 8 megapixel camera and LED flash are found on the upper back of the Note with the mono speaker and S Pen silo on the bottom left of the back. The speaker blows away the crappy quiet one on my GSM Galaxy Nexus and is good enough to even allow me to listen to podcasts in my car. The back cover is similar to the Galaxy Nexus and made of rather flimsy plastic material where many snaps are required to place it on the back. Under the cover you will find the SIM card slot, microSD slot, and 2500 mAh battery.

The edges are rounded and the device is quite thin at 0.38 inches. While it is wider than just about every other smartphone out there, if you use it more as a tablet replacement you may find it is just about perfect for portability and usefulness.

The Galaxy Note supports LTE on AT&T, but unfortunately LTE is not yet available where I live and work. Thus, I see the 4G indicator that means I am connected to AT&T’s HSPA+ network. I am regularly seeing download speeds in the range of 5.6 to 8.4 Mbps, which is plenty fast for most activities. I look forward to seeing LTE roll out soon though.
Walk around the software

The Galaxy Note currently has Android 2.3.6 Gingerbread loaded on it, but an update to Ice Cream Sandwich (known as the Premium Suite update) is promised to take place in the 2nd quarter. I hope that AT&T doesn’t hold this back too much since I am really looking forward to the advanced S Pen functions that are being added. Gingerbread works well though and it is still a great device with this version of Android.

Unfortunately, AT&T went a bit crazy (don’t they always) and loaded up a bunch of bloatware on the Galaxy Note. However, I quickly found out that you are allowed to uninstall these apps so it is really only a minor inconvenience and there does look to be a couple of useful utilities, such as AT&T Code Scanner. You will find most of these apps on one home screen and they include AT&T Messages, AT&T Code Scanner, AT&T U-verse Live TV (be careful here, you only get 7 days free and then it is $9.99/month), AT&T FamilyMap (again, this is a $9.99/month service), myAT&T, AT&T Navigator (once again, this is $9.99/month, but there is a free limited version available), AT&T Ready2Go, mSpot Movies (I prefer Google Movies), and YPmobile.

Samsung includes utilities and apps such as AllShare, Crayon Physics game (S Pen optimized), Kies Air, Samsung Media Hub, Mini Diary, Polaris Office, Qik Lite, Social Hub, Task Manager, Voice Talk, and Voice Recorder. Kies Air is a pretty slick utility that lets you manage your device and transfer media via a web browser on your computer when you have your Note connected to the same WiFi network. Voice Talk is a service provided by Vlingo and is an excellent service that enables you to use your voice to perform tasks such as voice dial, send a text message, navigate, create a memo, play music, update your social network, open an app, record your voice, and more.

For those readers who are considering the Galaxy Note for work, you will be pleased to hear it is SAFE (Samsung Approved for Enterprise). This means that the device includes support for Mobile Device Management (MDM), on-device encryption (ODE), Exchange ActiveSync for corporate email/calendar/contacts (EAS) and Virtual Private Networks (VPN). It also comes with Polaris Office so you can view, edit, and create Office and Google documents on the go.