Should you buy Samsung Galaxy Note ?

Since 2007, I was using Blackberry and was a big fan of BBM till I found how Samsung Galaxy tab helped one of my friends to do various official works.

Recent Update : Samsung has announced a quarterly profit of around £4.59 billion, this figure is double that of last year and is in part down to the huge success of their Galaxy smartphones including the Galaxy S3 and the Galaxy Note 2.

It’s just a powerful toy for him. He used it for taking notes, taking photos, video shooting and for video chats with his team or family.  I liked how he played angry bird as a stress buster after a stressful meeting, but I was apprehensive of its size and voice quality.

I was thinking of buying an iPhone and an iPad, but their high cost was prohibiting me from buying it together. I couldn’t delay the purchase much because I required a quality smartphone at least for my daily office work.

At that time, I saw an ad of the Samsung Galaxy note on TV. This 5.3-inch smartphone with stylus was the latest player in the world of connected devices.

I decided to purchase this model because Samsung has shown some amazing innovation in their products, their technology and their concepts in terms of consumer electronics recently. I went to the Samsung store for a demo. I liked the demo and purchased it.  I also took a 3G connection of Vodafone to use this phone.
Here is my review on the Samsung Galaxy Note after using it for one month.

Samsung has already declared it a success, reporting more than one million units shipped worldwide. Actually this model blurs the line between phone and tablet.

Top 12 Features of Samsung Galaxy Note  

1. Samsung galaxy note iPhone has a quick settings toolbar, which is handy for quickly accessing GPS, Wi-Fi and Profile options.

2. The display is super AMOLED (Super Active-Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode)and has a dense 1280 x 800 pixel resolution. I personally appreciate the hybrid nature of the device.

• Super AMOLED differs from other display technologies in that the layer which detects touch is integrated into the screen rather than being overlaid on top. 

• AMOLED display do not need backlights because they emit light itself when electricity is applied.

• If  you held the Super AMOLED display at eye level, you could still see the images on the screen without any blurring or distortion because it provides 180 degree viewing angle.

3. The device includes Android Gingerbread 2.3 and an 8-megapixel/2-megapixel camera combo.

4. It comes with an 8 MP camera on the back and a 2 Mp camera on the front which is great for Video Chat. The phone is a perfect fit for video calling apps, using the Note's 2MP front-facing camera.

5. Tucked in the lower right corner of the Note's frame is the S Pen input device. It probably seems strange that Samsung have introduced the stylus again, but it works well and is accurate to work with. It is perfect for those who like a big screen and with the stylus feature it makes taking notes, writing shopping lists etc a very easy thing to do.  It’s important to note that you can completely ignore it (or lose it) and still use the Galaxy Note just fine.

The S Pen uses Wacom technology and works with the digitizer in the Note's display to allow users to draw and activate things on the screen with the pen-like tip. The tip has 256 levels of pressure sensitivity, so apps that support the S Pen's capabilities can allow the user to draw thick or thin lines depending on how much pressure they put on the screen.

6. Belonging to the Android family, I got access to the many Android applications that are available and grow by the day. The Android Market contains over 400,000 apps, which users can draw from to get the most out of their device and many of the apps are free-of-charge, which is not to be sniffed at.

7. This model is Bluetooth capable so it’s great with a Bluetooth headset.

8. My favourite personal use of this note is for reading e-books and the 1280 x 800 screen makes this a comfortable thing to achieve. It is a similar experience when I decide I need to chill out and just play a game or two.

9. For email, you get the standard Android Gmail client which is always excellent, and Samsung's own Mail app, which can also pull in all manner of POP3/IMAP and Exchange accounts you may use. It also makes full use of the large screen, offering a split, two-pane view of your messages, when put in landscape orientation.

10. All the usual Google apps are on-board, including Maps, Talk, Latitude and Places and you get easy access to the Android Market app store for grabbing new software too. Voice control comes courtesy of a premium version of V-lingo; it's not quite as fully featured as Apple's Siri, but you can quickly train it to navigate media and jump to contacts with the power of your voice alone.


11. I just love the media playback and gaming features. I frequently travel to Pune and I use this device to see movies, TV etc.  There's even a setting that pushes the brightness levels of the screen even further for viewing in direct sunlight, though be prepared to take a noticeable knock to your battery level as a result.
What I love about the Samsung Galaxy Note is that it gives me the perfect capability of both business and personal use, meaning I can take it anywhere and use it for any purpose.

12. Lotus traveler or Microsoft outlook can help you be in touch with my office whereas,  gmail and facebook will  help you to be touch with my friend & family.

Here is a brief summary of pros and cons of this device based on my experience

Pros

• Excellent screen with high resolution 1280x800. This means that you get better viewing fields

• Outstanding camera

• Battery life is a plus. Manage to last a full day and that’s with heavy use.

• Build quality is impressive. Samsung is known for using plastic, which makes some of their devices seem cheap by today’s standards but not the galaxy note. The only plastic you will find here would be the battery back plate and it doesn't look or feel cheap at all.

Cons

• Speakers are weak for a device of this size. 
• Does not support dual SIM
• Camera lens easily scratched

In summary, Samsung’s Galaxy Note is a robust but lightweight device crafted largely of plastics that is very comfortable to use but this phone is not intended for the masses. Not everyone would be comfortable with carrying or holding a device of this size. Overall if you’re looking for something that can function both as a phone and a mini tablet, then this is the device for you.

I still have to do "Icecream" OS update.

OK ! let me also tell you why I wrote this review on Samsung Galaxy Note ?

I consulted few people and everybody told me not to buy it. Consensus was to buy a ipad2 or wait a few months for ipad3. One of them also lend me his ipad for using it, just to convince me that to buy a Samsung device is a wrong decision.

At the end, I must thank Vodafone for having good 3G coverage at least to the places where I frequently visit.


I’m happy that I took this bold decision not to buy iPad.

Interesting reading and additional information: 

1. Apple and Samsung patent cases dismissed
2.How well does Super AMOLED perform next to AMOLED and LCD screens in sunlight by Blake Stimac
3.Is this the next generation of portable devices? Samsung Galaxy Note review by techradar