A large screen that makes you question if the
device is a phone? That would certainly be contrary to Steve Jobs’s minimalistic
approach to the iPhone. The newly released Samsung
Galaxy Note defies conventions by sporting the largest smartphone
screen dimensions on the market, a 5.3” screen. The Note
breaks another rule in featuring a stylus, a device which was made fun of when
Steve Jobs ignited the touchscreen smartphone revolution in 2007. The Note’s large screen and
stylus are not meant to better competitors by simply adding useless features.
Rather, the Note is betting that there is a sizable market
of people who like the size of tablets, but don’t want to spend their money on buying
a separate smartphone and tablet.
The Samsung Galaxy Note began
selling internationally in October of 2011 and sold 1 million units in 2
months. The large smartphone will be coming to the US sometime in 2012 and
Samsung hopes that its release on AT&T’s 4G network will yield similar
sales figures. The international version is priced at $759.00 while the US
AT&T subsidized version may be in the range of $400, making it a potential iPad
competitor.
Some reviewers of the Note say
that it is too large to be a smartphone and is essentially a tablet, unless you
are a player in the NBA. The stylus is accurate and makes the Note
seem like a cool smartphone/tablet hybrid. At the same time, the stylus is
unlikely to be of much use in everyday life. However, if you’re on the artistic
side, Note’s included drawing app takes advantage of the
screen’s 250 points of pressure, allowing you to create the most detailed
drawings ever seen on a smartphone.
The internal
specification are on par with other high-end smartphones: 1.4GHz Dual Core
Processor, HD Super AMOLED, 1080p HD Video, 16GB of memory, and 8 MP camera. Reviewers
on Amazon give the device an average rating of 5 stars, with most people
admiring its performance and claiming that the size of the screen is not the
only good thing about it.
You’re either going to love or hate this device due
to the large screen. For some, it’s a godsend because it’s essentially two
products in one. For others, it’s a useless product that tries to do too much.
Take a ruler and see how much 5.3” is. If you feel that you can handle a phone
measuring 5.3” in diameter and are considering getting a tablet, a one-time
purchase of the Samsung Galaxy Note may be just what you
need.
