Samsung Galaxy Note
The new release from Samsung is an intriguing offering that is perhaps a category defining new mobile device, here is why:
Samsung Galaxy Note Review:
With Samsung emerging as an industry leading manufacturer of mobile devices, albeit with a string of law suits related to the technology that is contained within them. It has to be handed to the South Korean electronics powerhouse that they are still pushing the boundaries with devices they release competing hard in their own existing categories defined by the likes of Apple’s iPhone and iPad in the case of the Samsung S2 and Galaxy tablet or in the case of the new Samsung Galaxy Note, perhaps even defining a new category.
The new smartphone/tablet is touting itself as a mid-sized tablet with smartphone capabilities and is pitched as a pen and paper replacement. Coming with a pressure sensitive “S-Pen” attachment the device allows users to write in a more traditional manner, perhaps an improvement on their “Swype” technology which has totally replaced my method of writing texts, articles, etc on my Samsung S2. The new “S-pen” is able to write, draw and edit/annotate a multitude of applications including photos. So could this kind of device prove to be a kind of “Wacom tablet” replacement for designers if Adobe were ever to enter the app market properly and release a full blown Photoshop application and creative suite? While it may be some time that demand and technology are the right fit for software houses such as Adobe to enter fully just yet I personally expect tablets to become the go to choice for creatives in the not too distant future, fully replacing a traditional PC for functionality, portability and power. The new Samsung Galaxy Note is a device which shows what can be done with some creative ideas and a little forethought and usability.
While the stylus pen option has been done before (as a costly option) for the HTC flyer, this is the first time that a device has been given a pen as a default option.
Galaxy Note built on Android:
With the Note being built on the somewhat controversial Android O/S, it’s screen dimension is set at 5.3in, this is smaller than they Flyer, and weighs in at 178g. A larger version of this model will be arriving later, simply called the Galaxy tab 7.7, with you guessed it, a 7.7 inch screen.
The note will feature a 8mp camera on the back and a 2mp camera on the front, with LTE and HSPA+ flavours for 3G connectivity.
Head of account for Samsung Europe, Andrew Coughlin says this about the stylus pen offering:
“Any screen can be captured and annotated with detailed commentary in your own handwriting,”
Perfect tablet/smartphone for students?
Now I am not sure how large the writers market is but the student market must be pretty huge so perhaps this has its place as a paper and pen replacement for students as well as general writers and people who like to jot stuff down (myself included).
With the release of the developers SDK for third party development opportunity via the pen and stylus, it will surely only be a matter of time before various cool and hopefully useful applications enter the market to take advantage of a fairly unique method of interacting with your tablet.
Super AMOLED Screen:
The larger version of the Galaxy note we mentioned above, coming in with a 7.7 inch screen will feature the Super AMOLED screen that is present in the Samsung S2 smartphone. This allows for wide viewing angles, they will both feature a 1.4Ghz dual core processor, so will have 400Mhz more processing power than the iPad 2.
It will be pitched as a tablet and smartphone replacement by Samsung, though I am unsure as it is perhaps a bit too large for pockets and a bit too small for serious functionality, with the 7.7 inch being perfect for screen size for functionlaity but definitely too big for the pocket.
Bada O/S – Samsung’s iOS and Android O/S competitor:
With the South Korean government keen to foster a working partnership with LG and Samsung to develop a mobile device operating system independent of the likes of Google’s Android O/S which has come into serious question legally in recent months, Samsung have also released their new Wave 3 handset running their own Bada operating system. Samsung also made a point of stating that they intend the O/S to be a fully blown competitor to smartphone and mobile specific operating systems such as Apples iOS, Android and the Blackberry O/S.
Are Tablet/Smartphone hybrids the future?
So what are your thoughts on the space saving mini tablets and the function packing smartphones that a hybrid such as the Samsung Note offers, is it a little bit to betwixt and between to be really called either or does it sit in a niche that allows a range of users something functional and neat?
Anthony Munns