Galaxy Note

Galaxy Note

Note: Our original review was of the unlocked, £499.99 ($784) GSM Galaxy Note. We've updated the review to reflect our impressions and tests of the $299 (with contract) AT&T model as well. Check out the Connectivity and Software sections, in particular, to see the biggest differences between the two devices.
There once was a time, commonly referred to as the pre-iPad era, when people questioned if there really was a gap between laptops and smartphones for tablets to fill. The two established device categories seemed to have too many overlaps in functionality to permit a separate product type to exist between them. Today, that question has been answered emphatically by the wildly popular tablet market, but the challenge of trailblazing new form factors remains and has been taken up by Samsung with the 5.3-inch Galaxy Note. Too small to be considered a tablet and too large to be deemed a phone, this new Android device seeks to demonstrate the value of its unconventional size as well as its own credentials.
Samsung has built the Note atop its extremely successful Galaxy S II platform, though much as it did with the Galaxy Nexus, the company has added some significant upgrades. The Galaxy Note has a higher-resolution display, a much larger battery, and a new S Pen stylus, making it more potent and versatile than a simple oversized GSII handset. So it’s bigger, badder, and carries a small stick — does that make it Samsung’s next great mobile device?

Hardware

Is it a tablet or a phone?

Arriving in a white, smartphone-sized box, the Galaxy Note goes to great efforts to convince you that it really is as portable as a phone. It’s not. The bezel around the display is minimal and the 9.65mm thickness is practically the same as on the latest iPhone, but there’s just no way to shrink that 5.3-inch display. Pocketing the Note is an exercise in either frustration or denial. Oh, it will fit inside your pants pocket, but try walking around with it there and you’ll see that fitting inside a space is only half the battle. You’ll need to either take to wearing blazers every time you go out or accept that you won’t be able to comfortably transport the Note somewhere around your body.

Samsung Galaxy Note size comparison

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On the flip side, the thin, bump-free profile of the Note makes it extremely easy to slip into a handbag, backpack or briefcase. If you’re thinking that the same can be said of the slimmer tablets on the market, you’d be right. I don’t consider the Galaxy Note to be much of a portability upgrade over Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 7.7, which was introduced alongside the Note at IFA 2011. That being the case, you probably won’t be surprised to hear that I consider the Note more of a shrunken-down tablet than an outsized phone, in spite of its ability to take calls.

The experience of carrying out a call on the Note is actually surprisingly good. I’d contrast it against the 4.7-inch Titan from HTC, which feels awkward and a bit clunky, whereas Samsung’s tabletphone can be held up and used more comfortably. That doesn’t mean it’s any competition for a regular phone, however: like most smartphones, the Note warms up during a long call, heating half of your face in the process, and there’s the social aspect to consider. Human society has yet to evolve to the point where it can witness a person holding up a massive slate of technology to his ear without attempting to make a bad joke about it.