Some time ago in the near past, our mobile phones had small displays that cannot even fit a phone number, a long text message, or a name of a contact. Those days are gone with the newer smartphones with big and bright LCD displays. But don’t you wish sometimes that the screen even gets bigger?

The mobile phone gods might have heard our prayers as Samsung launches the GT-N7000 Galaxy Note. It is thin like the Galaxy S II, really fast, and the HD Super AMOLED 5.3-inch display can make anyone drool. The resolution of 1280×800 pixels is the kind that we only see in laptops before but now you can see and enjoy on your palm. It is actually a good replacement for a notepad and aptly Samsung issues a pen stylus with the Galaxy Note.

Hardware

The Samsung Galaxy Note can be placed in between a smartphone and your table. It is a combo of a massive handset running on Android with a tablet like high resolution screen that can fit in your pocket. You can do a lot with the Galaxy note from doodling, take notes, and of course make phone calls. You can call using the phone’s mic and earpiece or you can opt for a Bluetooth headset (which might make the act look more “normal”).

The design of the Galaxy Note is similar to its sibling the Galaxy S II. The Galaxy Note though is larger at 146.86 mm x 82.95 mm x9.65 mm. It is also heavier at 6.3 ounces. This smartphone also comes with an 8 megapixel camera on the back paired with LED flash. In front, you get a 2 MP camera. It is also capable of recording HD videos at 1080/30x resolution. Internal memory is at 16GB which you can expand to around 32 GB when you use a microSD.

The 5.3 inch screen is really impressive as the colors are very vibrant. A bit of vibrancy is lost though when you look at the screen from the sides. You might notice though a tinge of green though because of the PenTile display. The bigger screen also paves the way for a bigger keyboard which gives you no reason for inaccurate typing.

Software

The Galaxy Note makes use of the Android Gingerbread but the real focus of function will be how the stylus, erm S Pen as Samsung wants to put it, works. The interface works smoothly especially for those who are used to using a stylus. It will be a world of tap, hold, and gestures to capture screen shots, write stuff, and everything else.

You can also grab a sticky pad if you want to make a quick note. There are some preloaded apps plus you can download more from the S Choice store.

Verdict

You will either hate or love the Samsung Galaxy Note. You will either hate it for its big size or love it for its functionality that is very close to a tablet with an excellent display.

The Samsung Galaxy Indulge was designed to be used with carriers that don’t require contracts. As the result of this the price of the phone is pretty high. This can be a bit of a problem since the standard of the phone isn’t really up to the same level as other phones of a similar price. That being said it is by far the best option available that doesn’t come with a contract.

The Samsung Galaxy Indulge is a fairly big phone which can be bit of pain when you have to put it in your pocket. The black color does give it a smooth look however the plastic look and feel may not be for everybody. That being said it does feel quite comfortable in your hand.

The screen on the Indulge is fairly good with a crisp bright image. However it is a step down from the screen on the higher priced Galaxy phones. Nevertheless the screen is very responsive. The Android operating system is well known so people should know what to expect from that. The Hummingbird processor is quite quick as well so that is a definite plus as well.

The navigation buttons are of a good size and there is click when you press them so that you know that you have pressed the key. Some people like that others don’t, I would be in former camp. There is a slide out QWERTY keyboard that is quite large, in fact it might be too large for people with small hands. The keys themselves are little bit of hassle to use because they are fairly flat.

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