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Welcome to the 2012 Samsung Galaxy Note (GT-N7000) review. This is the first ever Galaxy Note model made by the company with its amazing 5.3 inch AMOLED screen! - and it is a fantastic piece of mobile phone technology! Some seemingly reputable BLOGs and other reviews websites - you know who we're talking about dismiss it as a novelty or a stupid idea. We say you people are so out of touch or perhaps you are trying to stay in Apple's good books? Hmm regardless we think the Note is an excellent phone and perfect size for those wanting a very portable tablet and phone in one package.
We even asked one lady owner while in Singapore why she bought one and answer was exactly what we expected - she said it was perfect size to use for a long time without getting eye strain like on her pervious iPhone. She was a petite lady and the Galaxy Note didn't look bulky at all! We agree and hence on our shopping list for our next phone purchase. When we told her that infra-red was on option on other Samsung models she that it would be perfect and started searching Google!
Anyway we are digressing slightly... The construction of the Galaxy Note is pretty good, better than the Galaxy SII. It also looks good in Grey or Blue if you can find one. We were impressed by its lightness which makes it easy to hold for a long time. However we wished that Samsung would start making cool looking phones with equally cool materials like Nokia and now HTC. In terms of size everyone (incluing various so called reputable websites) initially thought the iPhone was way too big, now the same people dismiss any other screen size which we think is so pathetic. Incidentally the same people who said that getting rid of infra-red was the way to go. On the other hand we have and will always be disappointed at the lack of infra-red in any phone.
The Galaxy Note's touch screen has also been optimised with software for use with a S-pen or stylus.We don't think that finger pointing or stylus use exclusively is not the answer to everything and that is why the Galaxy Note succeeds - it works great using both methods. University students will find this phone perfect for their daily lives as pen input is so much faster and neater than typing and all in one device. Older people and those with bi focal glasses will find the larger buttons and text easier to deal with as well. It even has changeable batteries which is a rarity these days.
In terms of performance and use the Galaxy Note is quick and very responsive. There are slight micro second lags despite the fast 1.4 Ghz CPU, every so often as with all Android based phones, we believe it is caused by genuine multi-tasking of apps and poorly programmed and usually 3rd party widgets that require faster data connections rather than anything faulty with the OS. The updated widgets are cool too, along with the animated backgrounds. The calendar, email and news widget for example are live and are much more convenient than having to push different buttons to run apps all the time. It honestly makes the iPhone OS look dated. No wonder Apple is suing Samsung.
To conclude, we like the Galaxy Note very much. It is an excellent phone and one that many people including those with regular sized hands like us will appreciate. It does everything you could want and more except for infrared! We still refer the 7 inch version purely due to the larger screen ie. used as an e-book reader but the Note is yet another model we can serious consider and so should you.
We leave you with our final thought after putting down the Galaxy Note - anyone who claims that the Galaxy Note is too large has a really small mind and hands!
Specifications
- Samsung Galaxy Note
- Network
Quad-band GSM 850/900/1800/1900
Quad-band 3G 850/900/1900/2100
Single band 4G LTE
- Design
Touch screen
- L146.5 x W82.95 x D9.65 mm
- Weight 178 grams
- Display/s
5.3 inch 1,280 x 800 AMOLED
- Camera
8MP auto-focus
LED Flash
2nd forward facing video call camera 2MP
- Video Camera
1080p high definition 30FPS main video camera
- Connectivity
Wi-Fi
Bluetooth V3
GSM and 3G networks
- CPU
1.4 Ghz
Separate Graphic CPU
- Memory
1Gig RAM
16 Gig for user
Up to 32Gig micro-SD expansion
- Features
A-GPS
FM Radio with RDS
Ring tones: MIDI, MP3, Video, vibration and others
AndroidApp store
Samsung App store
Free Google Navigator (requires data plan)
Compass
Accelerometer
Proximity
Ambient Light
Dolby Digital
Music and Media player
MS-Word, Excel and Powerpoint, PDF, ZIP compatible
Organiser/Calendar
SMS, MMS, IM, Email
Speaker Phone/Hands free
Li-Po 2,500 mAh battery
Up to xxx hours Standby
Up to xx hours Talk Time
- Price history
Under $800 AUD late 2012 (Outright)
