To say that Samsung is hot right now as a consumer electronics device manufacturer in general, and a smartphone manufacturer in particular, would be the understatement of the year. With over 50 million Galaxy S and Galaxy S II devices sold as of the second quarter of this year, the company is continually reporting record profits and earnings with each new financials announcement. Of course, it certainly doesn’t hurt Samsung that their Galaxy Note 4G tablet/phone blew away analysts’ expectations and has sold 7 to 10 million units itself. Many industry experts proclaimed that the 4G Galaxy Note smartphone was too large, and would not catch on with the general buying public.
But even the experts can be wrong every once in a while, and that handset has been a runaway hit for AT&T and their 4G LTE wireless network. Delivering tablet-like features and 4G smartphone connectivity with the largest mobile handset display found on any smartphone, the Galaxy Note 4G also delivers a unique handwriting recognition technology and integrated smart stylus, called the S Pen. And while the 5.3 inch touchscreen approaches the size of the smaller 7 inch tablets like the Amazon Kindle Fire, Samsung has done a great job in keeping the device as slim and small as possible. It is very manageable, capable of being held in one hand and navigated with the other.
The poster child of the new “phablet” definition, part smartphone, part tablet, the Samsung Galaxy Note 4G offers Near Field Communications (NFC) wireless support out-of-the-box, and has recently received an over the air operating system update to Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) 4.0. Immediate sales on the device were strong when it launched in the US in February, and the Galaxy Note has held up well since, continuing to show strong sales support and popularity. The 5.3 inch display mentioned earlier delivers 800 x 1,280 pixel resolution, and offers a scratch resistant layer of Corning Gorilla Glass for screen protection and glare reduction.
Visuals are rendered in more than 16 million separate colors, and the Galaxy Note delivers 10 hours of talk time from a single charge, roughly 25% better than the average 4G smartphone. Slim at 0.3 inches (10 mm), the handset contains a speedy Qualcomm MSM8660 Snapdragon microchip package. That centers around a dual core 1.5 GHz Scorpion CPU and graphics dedicated Adreno 220 chip. The handset delivers 16 GB of built-in storage, and 1.0 GB of RAM system memory. The rear mounted 8.0 megapixel camcorder provides video capture at 1,080P HD resolution, and there is a 2.0 megapixel chat cam up front. You can buy the AT&T Samsung Galaxy Note 4G at a reduced price at select online retailers.
August 12, 2012 at 12:43 pm
To all those reviewers who said it was a laughable monstrosity and only for a small niche market, I’d say 10 million users is quite a niche. I’m laughing at their loss of credibility. The success of the Galaxy Note is not a surprise to me! I kept waiting for a large screen smart phone for YEARS. I used my various phones over the years for mainly web browsing. I signed up for the US Note as soon as it could be pre-ordered. I’ve had months to explore it’s various features and still have more to learn. I can web surf and watch video without eye strain. The S pen and the apps that use it are wonderful. I have running notes on various projects. I can make a quick sketch to describe layout or shape of something and email and/or print it. Three cheers for Samsung for having the vision to give this niche the perfect device. It’s way more than a smart phone, tablet, or phablet. It’s the perfect pocket computer that also makes calls.