Samsung has long been considered a major contender in the mobile-phone making business. Its success has been largely in part due to its ability to create products that imitate many of Apple’s most popular devices. But now, Samsung seems to be steering itself into another direction, along a road less traveled, if you will – by taking risks with original products and ideas. First of Samsung’s attempt at this creative ingenuity is the Galaxy Note. While most other phones on the market seem at battle to become the slimmest, slightest device on the face of the planet, Samsung takes the Note in the opposite direction: succinctly, the Note is massive.
With a whopping 5.3-inch screen, the Note is so big, nobody but Bigfoot will be able to use this phone single-handedly. In fact, caveat small-handed people: attempting to use this gadget with one paw will undoubtedly result in dropping it. But don’t stop reading this review just yet. Because the Note is a darned good device – particularly if you use it as you would a tablet. Reading e-books, browsing the Web and watching movies are pleasant experiences on the Note. Plus, it comes with a neat add-on known as S-Pen software, a built-it feature that allows users to double-tap the huge screen to jot down some notes in a jiffy, or doodle on an image for fun with its accompanying stylus.
The Note features hardware that mimics its substantial proportions with a 1.4Hz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, a 32-GB storage capacity, and its mammoth Super AMOLED screen boasts 800 X 1280 pixels for a spectacular viewing experience. On a disappointing “note”, however, is this phone’s operating system. Its TouchWiz user interface is pleasant to the eye, but that it runs on Gingerbread (Android 2.3) makes it feel a bit antiquated. The Note sports decent built-in apps like S-Memo, My Files, and Social Hub, as well as an adequate 8-megapixel rear camera and 2-megapixel front camera – but the camera’s autofocus is not up to par.
Samsung’s courageous move in manufacturing a hefty phone amidst a market of its waifish cousins is certainly worth checking out. Should you decide to trod along the unbeaten path in today’s digital world, be sure to secure your Galaxy Note with an adequate Droid warranty from CPS.