Samsung Galaxy Note Review – Overview
Ok, the size of the screen is huge! and then it’s surprising how lightweight and thin this beautiful device is.
Samsung have entered the tablet market (doing a pretty god job with the Samsung Tab) and trying to create a whole new category by introducing a product that fits between mobiles and tablets.
That results in a phone with a 5.3 inch screen that pretty much exceeds the performance, features, and goodness of most smartphones and dare to say some computers.
The Samsung Galaxy Note is a powerful device that will not fail to impress, but like all consumer electronics, you have to ask yourself if this is the device for you.
Many Note lovers will tell you not to look any further, but for the price tag you may want to do a bit of research first.
Samsung Galaxy Note Review – Screen
Yep, you guessed it, big screen. 5.3 inches and this is really something.
The colours are vibrant, there is good contrast and although it’s probably not as impressive as a retina display, we can’t get that greedy when we have a super AMOLED HD. It’s also corning gorilla glass which offers good protection for this precious screen.
If you’re still concerned, you know there are plenty of neat covers in the market to choose from.
With a larger screen it also means that the browsing experience is above smartphones. Reading news, viewing documents, watching videos and even reading books is simply much better than standard smart mobile phones.
It means less scrolling, pinching and going back and forth. It’s much closer to the experience you get on a tablet.
Samsung Galaxy Note Review – Form factor
This phone is huge, but it’s all screen. Thin, lightweight and although it does not necessarily feel like a premium product (mainly made of plastic), the build is just fine.
Again, because of its size, you need one hand to hold the device and the other to use it. I know it sounds a bit funny, but coming from using an iPhone this was something I had had to get used to.
Also, putting the note in your pocket is not always that convenient. And you better have some big pockets! This is all minor stuff, but important to some people. The reality is that you quickly forget about it when you look at the screen.
Samsung Galaxy Note Review – S pen
The Note comes with a stylus that allows you to navigate and use the pen in a variety of ways.
This is most useful for taking notes and it’s been received well by creative people who like to sketch and prototype. It’s also a winner for keeping kids entertained with drawing and games.
The pen is really optional; some people love it whereas others leave it alone.
Samsung Galaxy Note Review – Camera
8 megapixels with HD video and a 2 megapixel camera at the front. Not only takes great photos, but you know the viewing experience is going to be great in the 5.3 inch screen.
I tend to take a lot of photos with my iPhone 4S and although it comes with a fantastic retina display, the screen is just not all that suited for the typical show and tell experience.
Instead, I just email photos or leave them in the album and eventually forget about it. The point is, with such a nice screen on the Samsung Galaxy Note, you’ll be able to show off some photos to friends and family right there and then. Easy.
Samsung Galaxy Note Review – Summing Up
This is a beautiful device and one our friends over at Samsung must be pretty happy with. I thought this was going to be quite a niche product in a fairly new product category that hasn’t really taken off.
However, it seems Samsung is really onto something here when you hear Note users and follow how well this phone has done in terms of sales.
We really enjoyed using this phone over at Whatphone and got a pretty good impression. If you decided to go for one, please drop us a line and let us know what you think!
Samsung Galaxy Note Review – Compare the Note to other devices
Check out this article if you would like to compare the Samsung Galaxy Note to other devices in the Whatphone top 7.