Samsung's new smartphone/tablet hybrid

Samsung Galaxy Note

Rating: 

8

Price*: 

$750 AUD

From: 

Samsung

Verdict: 

Combines smartphone and tablet into a reasonably compelling — if large — device.

Samsung's Galaxy Note defies easy categorisation and really begs the question: just how big is too big? This Android 2.3-powered device packs a 5.3in screen, but it’s a little too large to really be called a phone and a little too small to be called a tablet. Samsung itself describes it using the slightly cringeworthy moniker of ‘phablet’. It’s not all bad, however, and in both design and use the Note actually fills its unusual niche quite effectively. It’s got a very sharp 1,280 x 800-pixel screen, is physically relatively slim and does pass the jeans pocket test, so it’s portable enough for those who want a device of this size.

It excels at certain entertainment tasks — that big, high-definition AMOLED screen makes it great for ebooks (giving you lots of sharply-rendered onscreen text), plus games (where your thumbs or fingers don’t obscure too much of the action) and richly colourful movies, too. The included stylus and note-taking app work well if you’re keen on making handwritten notes or just sketching out the odd picture. And while it’s undeniably big — it’s considerably larger than even the 4.65in screen Galaxy Nexus we reviewed last month — it’s still comfortable to hold in one hand, with a comparatively low 176g weight.

We were also surprised by how good the Note’s battery life was. In testing, we managed to get at least a day out of its removable 2,500mAh cell with moderate use (around 4.5 hours of screen time, mixed between web browsing, email, streaming videos and gaming) over a 24-hour period. All but the most intensive users should easily get a full day’s use here.

The Note isn’t devoid of issues, however; for example, its size sometimes makes it hard to use one-handed (human thumbs just aren’t designed to stretch that far) and its Android 2.3 operating system means it leans more towards a phone than a tablet at present (Samsung’s stated that Android 4.0, which is more flexible, will be released as an update in Q1 2012).

Ultimately, it’s hard to deny that the Note does sit rather comfortably between a big phone and small tablet. There’s no official local release date for the device yet, but imports (like our test unit, which was kindly supplied by MobiCity) run around the $700-750 mark — that’s reasonably good value considering the hardware on offer.

In short, if you’re after a phone that offers some tablet advantages, but still fits in your pocket (just), this one’s a reasonably compelling choice.