In the present day technology market, tablets & smartphones dominate. It seems like companies are announcing new and improved versions of their flagship phone or tablet, but that is about it. Devices nowadays are classified into categories and the lines are never blurred. Now, however, that system has been changed thanks to Samsung’s new Galaxy Note, the device that can be used to take the place of your tablet & smartphone.

What Comes In the Box :
The Samsung Galaxy Note is quite a large device, and the box is fairly large as well. Included in the box:
  • Samsung Galaxy Note with integrated S Pen
  • Lithium ion battery
  • Wall charger
  • USB cable
  • Health & Safety and Warranty Guide
  • Quick Start manual
Hardware

 
 
External:
The Galaxy Note is obviously a very large device, which means there is a lot of space to put features. The first thing you notice when taking the device out of the box is the large 5.3” HD Super AMOLED display with a 1280×800 screen resolution. Directly above the display, you will find the earpiece, and the 2MP front-facing camera optimized for video calls, etc. Directly below the screen, you will find the Samsung logo and the 4 standard Android buttons (because this phone runs on Android 2.3, it still uses the 4 button format instead of the 3 button format introduced with Android 4.0). On the right sight of the device, you will find the power/lock button, and on the left side you will find the volume control (which can double as the camera/camcorder zoom). Another small detail, the Galaxy Note is available in two colors: black (labeled as carbon blue) & white (labeled as ceramic white).
On the back of the device, you will immediately notice the 8MP camera in the center, with an LED flash directly to the right. Below the camera, you will find a Galaxy Note logo. On the top of the phone, you will find the 3.5mm headset jack (the standard size for headphones). Near the bottom on the back, you will find a speaker. On the bottom of the device, you will find three things; the first is the S Pen (read more about the S Pen below) slot, the second is the microphone, and the third is the Micro USB port used for charging/syncing.
I believe that Samsung always does really well when it comes to designing their devices, and the Galaxy Note is no different. It is very sleek and stylish, and it only weighs 6.3 ounces. The device is extremely large, and one thing I have found is that finding a comfortable way to hold it can take a little while. The way you hold the Note can change depending on what you need to do.

Internal:
As mentioned many times, the Galaxy Note is massive, and to power the beast, you need very powerful internal components.  The Galaxy Note features a blazing fast 1.4GHz dual-core processor that allows the device to function rapidly.
The Note comes in 2 different storage capacities: 16GB & 32GB. Also included is a microSD card slot capable of handling up to 32GB, which give you a maximum storage capacity of 48GB if you have the 16GB model or 64GB if you have the 32GB model.
For connectivity, the Galaxy Note is HSPA+ 21Mbps capable, along with being EDGE/GPRS capable. It also features Bluetooth 3.0, and can run on Wi-Fi 802.11 networks.
Although NFC (near field communication) can technically be a software feature, I am going to include it here in the internal hardware section because it is more of a technology that is installed inside the device. The Galaxy Note features NFC (near field communication; if the carrier allows), which allows the user to pay for things just by swiping their device over a receiver. NFC has been gaining traction recently, however most devices still are not NFC-capable, so with the Galaxy Note being NFC-capable, it means that the technology is going to be put in the hands of many more people.


Software
The Samsung Galaxy Note runs on Android 2.3.6 Gingerbread, however Samsung have announced that the Note will be updated to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) sometime during Q2 2012. On top of 2.3 Gingerbread, Samsung has laid down their TouchWiz software, giving a new flavor to Android. TouchWiz is Samsung’s extra software added to Android to give the user a slightly modified user interface. TouchWiz changes the layout of most Android components including the applications menu, the home screens, and even the responsiveness of the device.
Usually, I’m not a fan of skinned OSs, and although I was fairly impressed with TouchWiz, there are still some TouchWiz features that I do not like. First off, however, certain software tweaks that affect notifications are truly beautiful, and make using the device much simpler and far more elegant. These tweaks include the notifications received when receiving text messages, calls, etc. You can also find these types of tweaks in the alarm & clock apps. TouchWiz also features a couple of subtle, hidden tweaks. If you slide the side of your hand across the screen of the device, you can take a screenshot. Another tweak can be found if you swipe your finger back and forth across the notification bar at the top of the screen. By doing this, you are able to quickly & easily modify the screen brightness. TouchWiz, however, does have its cons. I didn’t like how limited I felt when using the device, and I often felt like that limitation was caused by TouchWiz. Just some minor things bugged me, like the lock screen animation being quite an interesting task due to the lack of instruction. TouchWiz also does not allow for much customization. Stock Android devices are built on the basis that users should be able to customize their devices as they wish, however TouchWiz takes away most of that opportunity. Simple things like trying to change the icons in the dock was quite a challenging task. After I spent around 15 minutes trying to figure out how to change the, I took to the Internet to figure it out. After reading through several support forums, I did find a fix that worked, however after that, it did change the layout of my applications page.
Overall, I am a fan of Android 2.3 Gingerbread, however I wasn’t 100% sold on TouchWiz (or the idea of any skinned version of Android). With the launch of Android 4.0 ICS coming to the Galaxy Note soon, ICS is very appealing to the eye and I hope that Samsung decides to keep TouchWiz off of the updated version, or allow for more customization options.
We have included a few screenshots for you, so you can check them out in the gallery below.
(To work the gallery, click on the title, and then scroll back down to where this gallery was. You will now see individual pictures displayed instead of the gallery name, and you can view them as a slideshow or click-to-enter them individually. Once done, click on the back arrow in your web browser to return to the review for the ability to activate other galleries.) 

Camera

Lately, Samsung has been very good about putting good optics into their devices, and that trend has not stopped with the Galaxy Note. The Galaxy Note features an 8MP camera that performs extremely well. Accompanying the camera is the built-in LED flash that works extremely well when in poor lighting conditions.
Like every other camera, the Note’s camera operates at its maximum potential when it is in good lighting, however as noted above, the camera works well in union with the flash to create above average photos for poor lighting conditions.
The built-in camera app is not the stock Android app, but it is not too terribly difficult to figure out. It features the shutter button in prominence at the bottom, in the middle, as well as a switch to change from camera to camcorder and a shortcut to your gallery. At the top, you will find the settings panel that allows you to change the exposure, effects, resolution, white balance, ISO, etc. You will also find the flash settings (the Galaxy Note allows for off, on, and auto), and the “flip camera” button. That is it for the camera app, so check out the gallery below with some test shots that I took with the Galaxy Note (photos are a mixture of good & bad lighting conditions).
(Again, to work the gallery, click on the title, and then scroll back down to where this gallery was. You will now see individual pictures displayed instead of the gallery name, and you can view them as a slideshow or click-to-enter them individually. Once done, click on the back arrow in your web browser to return to the review for the ability to activate other galleries.)


The S Pen

 If you are not content with you using your finger to navigate through the Note, there is another option. Included with the Galaxy Note is the S Pen, a stylus with a very hard to find button. Essentially, the S Pen is designed to help the average user use the device. It works via induction, so the S Pen requires no battery. In laymen’s terms, the S Pen is a very precise capacitive touch stylus that only works on the Galaxy Note’s screen. It does not work on the capacitive buttons directly below the 5.3” screen.
When using the pen, I did find it to be extremely accurate, and drawing/doodling on the device using S Memos (the built-in app for the S Pen) is very addictive. The Note is capable of reading 256 pressure levels, so you are able to determine how thick or thin you want your input to be.
The S Pen also features a very small, very hard to find button near the tip that allows for some extra functions. There are really only two other things that it allows the S Pen & Galaxy Note to do. The first is the ability to quickly open up the S Memo app. To do that, press the button and then quickly double-tap the screen. The only other major function that the button has is the ability to take screenshots. Taking screenshots with the S Pen is simple; just hold down the button and then hold down on the screen for a little while. Eventually, the screen will flash and then it will bring up a photo editor that allows you to doodle on top of screenshots, or just proceed without any editing.
Overall, the S Pen is definitely a great concept, and works well when trying to get into intricate apps and while being very delicate. Personally, I found using the S Pen fun at times, however I can’t see myself using it on a daily basis. I would most likely just keep it in its slot on the back of the device, but I can definitely see the stylus being useful for people with shaky hands, people wanting to take notes, and more.