A Look at the Samsung Galaxy Note : Size Matters

Samsung Galaxy Note – Review. There are countless gizmos and gadgets out there designed to help us improve our productivity and to get more done in a short space of time. Of these smartphones are perhaps one of the most ubiquitous lasses of device and one of the most potentially liberating – we are always carrying them with us and their combination of technologies (GPS, cell phone signal, 3G, compass etc.) enables them to accomplish a range of different tasks.

One of the most recent and perhaps interestingly different entries into this popular market now is the Samsung Galaxy Note. Immediately upon looking at this device you know it’s something unique – the large screen gives it away, as does the stylus. But does it deliver and can it help you to up your productivity?

Samsung Galaxy Note Features

This is no doubt a premium phone and it will cost you about the same as an iPhone. For that heavy asking price you’re going to be expecting some pretty impressive performance no doubt, so what do you get?

Well of course the large screen is one of the big selling points here. It’s incredibly crisp and high def so the best games will look beautiful on it, and it will be ideal for watching films and videos. At the same time it’s also great for browsing the web, and if you’ve ever found surfing on a phone to be a fiddly affair then this can help make going online enjoyable once again. I have a Dell Streak before the Galaxy Note, so I’m a little spoiled when it comes to large screens – however I will say now that I wouldn’t want to go back to a measly iPhone screen which I now find to be far too fiddly and eye-strain inducing to use.

Large phone screens have drastically increased my productivity and I hope that when I pick up my next phone in two years there’s something else around that’s this big. (The size may be a bit of a downside for women as it’s a tad large for women’s pockets – but for men it sits snuggly and the fairer sex always have the option of a bag).

The other big feature is the stylus, which to be honest falls slightly into the category of ‘gimmick’. The idea is nice: it’s supposed to let you capture images from the screen and use the pen to cut them out around outlines or write notes before sending them or saving them. The question is though – how often are you really going to do this? Once or twice I’ve sent an amusing picture to someone I’ve found online, and screen capture is nice and quick with the added software. However the pen isn’t quite as accurate as it could be (and has even seemed a little glitch to me on occasion) so it’s probably not going to revolutionize the way you do… anything.

Then finally there’s the sheer power of this bad boy. Make no mistake – this is a powerful phone and powerful enough to play glorious 3D HD Tesla 2 games (though you will have to crack the phone in order to do this). If you enjoy showing off high end graphics and functionality to your friends, then this phone is for you.

Downsides of Samsung Galaxy Note

As mentioned the large size of the phone might be a downside to some, but for the right user – i.e. webmasters and bloggers – it is absolutely a Godsend. There are slight other downsides however, such as the way it performs as an actual phone. While it is perfectly functional and serviceable, it can be a little slow when adjusting to your orientation so that you’re jabbing at a blank screen trying to hang up (it turns off when you lift it to your ear to prevent dialing with your ears). The signal isn’t perhaps the strongest in the world (though the speaker is nice and loud) and I’ve had a few frustrating moments with it.

Finally this phone does come with a lot of bloatware from both Google and Samsung, and my latest update was kind enough to shovel more on me as well. That said, overall I have greatly enjoyed this phone both as a toy and as a highly effective productivity enhancer. For the right user who is looking for a mini-computer rather than a phone, this phone-slash-tablet is a very good option.