Samsung Galaxy Note review
Is it a very big phone or a very small tablet? Julian Prokaza takes a look at the unusual Galaxy Note in our review.
Samsung may think it bridges the gap between two different mobile devices, but the Galaxy Note GT-N7000 ends up being neither one thing nor the other as a result. The big screen certainly looks great, but the overall size makes it awkward to use and it’s just not as practical as either a more traditionally proportioned smartphone or tablet.
Steve Jobs once questioned the need for a smartphone stylus when people have five such tools attached to each hand, but Samsung has still decided to supply one with the Galaxy Note GT-N7000. It slots into a hole at the bottom right of the case and is about the size of a ballpoint pen. On a smartphone with a capacitive multi-touch screen, it's about as useful, too.
The thinking no doubt is that a screen this size offers almost the same surface area as a notepad and so can be used as such. Indeed, the only stylus-specific app the Galaxy Note comes with is the template-based S Memo app (which still works with a fingertip), but while this offers the usual options for creating colourful scribbles, the screen response is too laggy to make it effective for note-taking and there's no handwriting recognition. It's also tricky to write on the screen in portrait mode without the hand holding the stylus making contact with the two touch-sensitive buttons below the screen, which interrupts the scribbling somewhat.
Sign up today and you will receive a free copy of our Future Focus 2025 report - the leading guidance on AI, cybersecurity and other IT challenges as per 700+ senior executives
-
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei claimed AI would be writing 90% of code by this point – we're still a long way off
News In March, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei claimed up to 90% of code would be written by AI within six months – his prediction hasn't quite come to fruition.
By Ross Kelly Published
-
Veracode bolsters leadership team for next growth chapter
News The application security vendor has named Anthony Barkley as chief strategy officer and Diana Bushard as general counsel
By Daniel Todd Published
-
UK government programmers trialed AI coding assistants from Microsoft, GitHub, and Google, reporting huge time savings and productivity gains – but questions remain over security and code quality
News Developers participating in a trial of AI coding tools from Google, Microsoft, and GitHub reported big time savings, with 58% saying they now couldn't work without them.
By Emma Woollacott Published