Samsung Galaxy Note: 2 Devices in 1

The Samsung Galaxy Note has been advertised as a stylist input device predominantly, with little focus on the handset’s 4G smartphone capabilities. However, for those smartphone and tablet shoppers who don’t want to carry two devices or pay for two different devices for that matter, but like the larger screen size of a tablet and the 4G speeds of an LTE wireless mobile network, the Samsung Galaxy Note attempts to bridge the gap between those two needs. Exclusive to the AT&T 4G LTE wireless network at a retail price of $249 with a new two-year activation, the Samsung Galaxy Note places a large 5.3 inch high-resolution, 1280 x 800 pixel display on an Android smartphone.

Buy the Samsung Galaxy Note starting at $249.

The handset is built around Android’s Gingerbread operating system, with a promise to upgrade the handset to the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) OS “in the near future.” The S Pen (smart pen) stylus that has been integrated into the handset delivers unique handwriting recognition features, and note taking capabilities. After recording video from the 8.0 megapixel rear mounted camcorder or portrait shots with the front facing 2.0 megapixel chat cam, the Galaxy Note user can add personal Notes, handwriting and original artwork. The 5.3 inch capacitive touchscreen also allows Galaxy Note users to use their own free-form handwriting when texting or e-mailing, allowing for a much quicker and more error-free experience.

Of course the capacitive screen accepts standard multitouch navigation from your hand, and uses more than 16 million different colors to visualize a display on the Super AMOLED screen. Only about 2.0 ounces heavier than the average 4G smartphone, with much of that weight coming from the larger size and 2,500 mAh battery, the Galaxy Note is much lighter than most tablets with 7 inch screens, and obviously delivers 4G LTE mobile phone capabilities. That battery offers an above average 10.0 hours of talk time from a single charge, and the handset delivers the largest display in the 4G smartphone marketplace, while still keeping the Android smartphone small enough to slip into your pocket.

Samsung has designed the Galaxy Note with Near Field Communications (NFC) support out-of-the-box, and has pre-installed popular online destinations Facebook, YouTube, Picasa and Twitter. The Qualcomm MSM8660 microchip package on board includes a dual core Scorpion central processor that has been clocked at 1.5 GHz, and a separate Adreno 220 chip which concentrates only on graphics processing. 1.0 GB of RAM memory and 16 GB of built-in storage round out the impressive hardware package.  Buy the Samsung Galaxy Note starting at $249, which is a nice $50 savings over the AT&T asking price.