Skip to main content

Much larger than any traditional smartphone, the Galaxy Note is still smaller than even the most diminutive devices we've come to call tablets over the last couple of years

Open this photo in gallery:

The Galaxy Note’s has a 5.3-inch 1280-by-800-pixel high-definition Super AMOLED screen – the total area of which is bigger than two iPhone screens placed side-by-side. Many have taken to calling the Galaxy Note a “phablet” – a melding of the terms “phone” and “tablet.” It’s a crude but apt mash-up, given that the device’s raison d'être is to satisfy both roles.

1 of 4
Open this photo in gallery:

Like many other current Android handsets, it’s extremely speedy, has an excellent (at least by phone standards) eight-megapixel point-and-shoot camera and all the firmware goodies that come with Google’s Gingerbread operating system.

2 of 4
Open this photo in gallery:

Its stylus is a little gimmicky: meant to make drawings, memos, and annotations easier, its small and a little too laggy for true precision. However, Samsung and its partners are churning out plenty of supporting apps, and some – like the S Memo note-taking app – can be genuinely useful.

3 of 4
Open this photo in gallery:

According to a recent Forbes report, Samsung has sold two million Galaxy Notes since the device’s U.S. launch last fall and expects to move another 10 million through 2012.

4 of 4

Interact with The Globe