To start things off, The Samsung Galaxy Note (currently at 25k to 31k Philippine Pesos) is a pretty big phone for most people, at least that is until they get to use it. Packed with a 5.3 inch amoled display, and backed with a dual core 1.4 Ghz Cpu Processor, Full touch Screen with a pull out S Pen (Advanced Smart Pen), 8 Megapixel AutoFocus Camera and a 2Megapixel secondary camera, 1080p Video Recording and Playback, Android 2.3 Gingerbread Platform, and 16GB Internal Memory with a microSD expansion slot of upto 32GB. With all that pointed out the Samsung Galaxy Note is a pretty tightly packed device.
First thing one would think is this still a phone or a mini tablet? To put it frankly, it is still generally a SmartPhone as it still somehow fits into any user's pocket(back pockets are counted), but due to its size Samsung has been coining the word Phablet, showing how this is a result of a marriage of a regular sized smartphone and a tablet pc. With that aside, the next question people would ask is who would buy such a massive device? Frankly speaking, millions of people already have and based on user feedback it is mostly bought by people that want a full blown tablet experience without the hassle of the size and yet still manage to pass as a phone. From my experience, mostly people in the business community have taken a liking to this phone as they are able to fully utilize it in their business meetings and presentations while incorporating it into their personal needs in life such as social networks and social media.
My experience with the Samsung Galaxy Note has been both positive and negative, but thankfully more on the positive side which I shall be enumerating a little bit further. Currently, the model that I have at hand and have been using is the White Version of the Samsung Galaxy Note that is still in it's Android Software Version. I am currently waiting for the ICS update that was promised for the note which hopefully will help iron out some the quirks that I have noticed along the way.
The Samsung Galaxy Note isn't a difficult phone to use if ever you have already gotten used to the other smartphones around. But if you are a beginner to smartphones, or if you are coming from the iPhone, I noticed that friends had a difficult time going around and getting accustomed to the User Interface. New Users will definitely have to spend a day to explore and play around with the Samsung Galaxy Note, especially with the functionalities that are included in the use of the S Pen. Once you get a hang of things, using the S Pen and going around the Samsung Galaxy Note becomes a breeze.
The first thing that I myself was impressed with and had been able to incorporate into my daily life is the usage of the S Pen. From, making quick notes for shopping, the grocery list, to jotting down meeting notes and reminders, the S Pen and Samsung's Patented S Memo have become a very important part of my daily routine. I can take a Photo, Use the S Pen to do a screen capture then crop to be included into the S Memo and take down notes then share them with friends right after. If you are an artist like one of my friends you can even create digital masterpieces to be shared just as easily to everyone. How one can use the S Pen and S Memo, S Planner, and more is left entirely to the users creative mind.
In terms of using the Samsung Galaxy Note as Phone, call quality is quite good, but noise cancellation still needs a bit of work but isn't so bad. Music playback is also just as good, though not something I have used a lot. Navigating around the different applications that have been installed is also a breeze cause of the dual core processor chip that the Samsung Galaxy Note is equipped with. The main User Interface where the widgets are also just as easy to go through and the selection of widgets that are available for the users can choose from are numerous and highly intuitive. With the coming Ice Cream Sandwhich update and the Jelly Bean which hopefully will come to the Samsung Galaxy Note the end user experience should be greatly improved.
Camera and Video quality is very good but is not the best in the market. Compared to the iPhone 4S, Samsung Galaxy S3, and HTC One X, the Samsung Galaxy Note still has a lot it can improve on. Thankfully there are camera applications in the Android Market that can compensate on those points such as Camera360 Ultimate. I am also expecting that once the software has been updated from Gingerbread to ICS and Jelly Bean there should be a marked improvement on the user interface and user experience with regards to taking Photos and Videos.
Everything that Samsung Galaxy Note has promised to deliver on has been accomplished with just minor quirks. These are things that hopefully will be improved if not with the software upgrade with the new and Upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note 2 which is being rumored to be running a Quad Core Chipset.
There are really only a few things that bothered me about the Samsung Galaxy Note. The first thing was the lag I would experience as I scroll through the windows that contained widgets, but when i get into the applications view everything just runs so smoothly. I suspect it might have something to do with the task management and allotment of ram space for certain tasks. I also was puzzled with the lag with certain games that should be running smoothly like Temple Run, though it might be a coding issue due to the screen size that the program has to compensate for but it might also be due to the Gingerbread software. So these things I am hoping to see a marked improvement once I get the ICS or Jelly Bean on the Samsung Galaxy Note.
In terms of aesthetics, the Samsung Galaxy Note does leave a subjective taste on a lot of people's palate. Irregardless of size the Samsung Galaxy Note feels a little plasticky on touch which I remedied by replacing the back case with a case I bought from the local phone shops here in MegaMall that doubles up as a cover for front panel like a folder giving it a more sophisticated look and feel.
Transferring data from the Samsung Galaxy Note to the Mac PCs we have weren't as straight forward as one would expect either. It isn't your straight plug and play as you have to go first to the wireless networks, select USB setting and select connect to pc before you can actually plug the phone's cable to the Mac. Once Connected you have to select Connect to PC again for the Mac to identify the SD cards to transfer data and photos. With the HTC One X its all just plug and play, Same with the iPhones. Hoping that the Upgrades can fix this process which is something I would doubt as even my Samsung Galaxy Y has to go through the same process.
Overall I would most likely recommend this phone to friends but only to those that would need something to carry that is lighter than a tablet and still be useful in presentations and/or Office work or for those that just wants something different and have a need to really stand out as placing this phone in your pocket is doable but uncomfortable especially in tight jeans. Battery life of the Samsung Galaxy Note is amazingly good and lasts pretty much throughout the day with out the need to recharge. With the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 just around the corner, is this still going to be a good buy? I would say pretty much yes as you should expect that the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 to be in the Upper $/Php Price range, and aside from the fact that its most probable only advantage to the current note would be a slightly bigger screen and a bigger cpu, the one's who already own a Samsung Galaxy Note would most likely not care much to purchase the Upcoming Samsung Note 2 just yet. But that is just a matter of opinion and who knows I just might purchase one myself once it comes out ;)
Till Next Time
-Metz-
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