GALAXY Note..It.Is Fast
Bigger is better
The Galaxy Note’s most obvious positive is the 5.3″ super AMOLED
screen. It’s uncharacteristically massive and flies in the face of
mobile phone logic. According to Samsung, the Galaxy Note falls between
tablets and smartphones and is a “new category of device”. It’s also
hard to argue with Samsung’s logic as the Note is too big to be a
conventional smartphone and too small to be considered a tablet.
The Galaxy Note fits comfortably in my hands but for teens or the
petite, it may be too large. It is also possibly too large to be used
for GSM calls when the phone takes over your face, leaving you feeling
like a bit of an idiot. Despite its size it is light and slips in and
out of most pockets with ease.
The 800×1280, screen is a showstopper. As with the Samsung Galaxy S
II (its, smaller “light” family member), the Gorilla Glass screen
protects the glorious display from harm as the colours simply explode
off the phone. This is how content, be it film, TV, or still shots was
meant to be viewed.
Back to the Future
It’s funny how technology works, seemingly always in cycles. A device is
built and then scrapped when popularity wanes. The S-Pen, the stylus
embedded within the Galaxy Note is a brave step back into the past for
Samsung but works deliriously well with the phone. The S-Pen (don’t call
it a stylus!) is a touch small but over time, works as well as any
other interface option. Hell, the phone practically begs to be your
replacement electronic diary.
Applications designed specifically for the S-Pen are remarkably easy
to access, such as the instant note taking function (hold the button on
the S-pen and tap the screen twice). Note taking is fast, mimics paper
and allows multiple virtual pen selection. After a full day of using the
S-Pen, I can see why I lost interest in handwriting, but designers and
those blessed with beautiful writing skills will benefit the most from
it.
Hidden on the side of the S-Pen is a button which adds navigational
and app-specific functions to the Galaxy Note and it must be said that
holding down the button and using the S-Pen is a bit of a chore. When
you’re done with the S-Pen, it neatly slides into the bottom of the
Galaxy Note. Unobtrusive, well-constructed and a pleasure to use, the
S-Pen is a successful addition to this magnanimous mobile phone.
Gingerbread Men
The Galaxy Note runs Gingerbread 2.3.5, a fast, hassle-free operating
system. Initially, the OS overwhelmed me thanks to the number of
interface options Samsung was able to cram onto the Galaxy Note’s
screens. After fiddling with the display (which is fully customisable to
the nth degree), however, I managed to find a comfortable middle ground
which suited my iPhone tendencies.
Between iOS and Android, the latter is clearly the better OS. I’ve
used iOS for years now and have become complacent within my walled
environment. iTunes especially ate into my life and being forced to
upload and manage content through one of the worst interfaces of all
time (patent pending) grated excessively on my soul.
Then I found Android. It’s customisable, fast, allows direct file
access and so much more. Without gushing, let’s just say that it has
never appeared better and sleeker than on the Galaxy Note.
There is hope that the Galaxy Note will be upgradable to Ice Cream
Sandwich, an OS which will potentially turn the phone from great to
greatest. Again, much like with the Galaxy S II, Android becomes a
literal plaything in the right hands, a springboard to a unique
experience.
It’s full of stars
The Galaxy Note, echoing its Galaxy Tab 10.1 legacy comes with an array
of software options. Polaris Office is an outstanding mobile clone of
Office 2011 and the enormous screen is ideal for documentation editing.
YouTube defaults all content to HD and on the Galaxy Note the experience
is akin to a miniature LCD TV display.
The social media options are front and present with Twitter and
Facebook integration. Depending on what social media apps you have
installed, content can be shared on any software platform, from Picasa
to WhatsApp.
If you want it, you can download it. The Android App Store is
brimming with applications for the Galaxy Note, but due to the size of
the screen not every app will function correctly. I only encountered a
few errors with random games, but most others ran smoothly.
The preinstalled apps will keep users content for a few hours, but
the Android store holds the key to a fuller Galaxy Note experience.
Speed Freak
In terms of data and CPU speed, the Galaxy Note rules the roost. HSDPA+
is supported and the reported 21Mbp speeds are not far off. In an area
with decent signal, Speedtest.net reported 8Mbps downloads and 4Mbps uploads.
The dual-core 1.4GHZ processor, combined with 1GB Ram is unstoppable, as shown by the independent benchmarking
reports. Users don’t need arbitrary scores to see how fast the Galaxy
Note operates, they simply need to swipe at the display and enjoy the
instant, lag-free feedback. Browsing the web, watching HD content,
playing games, chatting with the Samsung’s BBM like Chaton service or doing anything else is a pleasure.
Peter Parker would be proud
The 8MP camera is a leading class imaging device. With autofocus and LED
flash combined with image stabilisation, pictures come out sharp and
clear. Video is also top-notch and shoots in 1080p. Thanks to the phones
16GB/32GB (model dependant) storage, you will rarely run out of memory
but in the likelihood that you do, 32GB SD cards can be inserted into
the phone.
We love it
The full list of specifications can be found here.
Discussing every aspect of the Galaxy Note is a pointless affair, but
there is no doubt in my mind that this is one of the most feature rich
smartphones in existence. The screen is huge, the S-Pen is an excellent
addition to the hardware and the Gingerbread OS ties it all together
nicely.
The only possible downfall is the price and from between ZAR7000
(US$880) to ZAR9000 (US$1 132), it may be too costly for some. For
everyone else, the Samsung Galaxy Note is the phone to get and the
current champion of mobile handsets. Everything else just seems small by
comparison, especially iPhones.
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