Home > Articles > Home & Office Computing > Entertainment/Gaming/Gadgets

Meeting the Samsung Galaxy Note

The Samsung Galaxy Note is a hybrid device that combines many features of smartphones and tablets. The Note is larger than a smartphone, smaller than the smallest Galaxy Tab, and includes the “S Pen” stylus for writing and drawing on the screen. Eric Butow, author ofMy Samsung Galaxy Tab, walks you through the various features of the Note.
Like this article? We recommend

Like this article? We recommend

Samsung introduced its Galaxy Note with a splashy television ad that aired during Super Bowl XLVI. The Note, which has been described as a “tweener,” a “mini-tablet,” and a “phablet” is larger than Samsung’s line of Galaxy smartphones and smaller than the smallest Galaxy Tab tablet but has features of both. With a 5.3-inch screen and a pen stylus that Samsung calls an “S Pen” that harkens back to the days when smartphone styluses were standard features, Samsung is aiming for customers who want the best of both worlds.

Despite what skeptics (including Scott Adams) think about the “phablet” concept (as in Adams’ “Dilbert” comic strip of February 23, 2012), the Galaxy Note has sold more than 1 million units in select overseas markets where the Galaxy Note was released before coming to the U.S. Samsung is going all-in with the Note concept, not only with its original 5.3-inch version but also with a forthcoming 10.1-inch version. However, as of this writing, only the 5.3-inch version is available.

The Fundamentals

Because the Note is a new and interesting addition to the Galaxy tablet family, let’s take a closer look.

You can purchase the Note at either an AT&T or Best Buy store. AT&T’s cost for the phone plus a two-year cellphone plan is $299.99. If you want to purchase the phone without any plan, then you’ll pay $649.99 at AT&T or $749.99 at Best Buy. The AT&T plan includes 4G LTE connectivity, so if you live within a network that supports those speeds, such as in a large city, then you’ll have faster Internet connections.

The Note comes in two colors: carbon blue and ceramic white. The unit is designed to fit more comfortably in your hand than a tablet does but also feel weightier than a smartphone[md]the thickness is only 0.38 inches, which is 0.01 inch thinner than the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus but 0.04 inch thicker than the Galaxy Tab 10.1. The weight of the unit, 6.28 ounces, is certainly lighter than a tablet, but it’s heavier than Samsung’s top of the line Galaxy Nexus smartphone.

If you remember the look of the Galaxy Tab 7.0 explained in my book My Samsung Galaxy Tab, then the Galaxy Note will look familiar. Below the Galaxy Note screen, you’ll see the buttons to open the menu at the bottom of the screen, return to the home screen, go back one screen, and search on both your Note as well as online.

Samsung has to employ these buttons because like the Galaxy Tab 7.0 (the original, not the 7.0 Plus), the Note uses Android version 2 as its operating system. Unlike the Tab 7.0, the Note uses Android 2.3, also known as Gingerbread. The Tab 7.0 uses Android 2.2, and if you have any familiarity with the Tab 7.0, then using Gingerbread on the Note will bring a similar experience.

The Note also has many of the same features you would expect in a tablet, including front and rear cameras, camcorder, Bluetooth capabilities, a music and video player, Wi-Fi, GPS, e-mail, and web connectivity. However, the Note comes with some features that you find in Samsung’s line of smartphones including a 1200-by-800 pixel screen based on AMOLED, or active-matrix organic light emitting diode technology. What’s more, the Note has a phone built in so you can chat by headset or by speakerphone, voicemail, text to speech, and voice recognition.

The S Pen Stylus

The one thing that sets the Galaxy Note apart from other tablets[md]at least until the 10.1-inch Note arrives[md]is the S Pen stylus. A few years ago, this stylus wouldn’t be a big deal because nearly all smartphones had a stylus that slid into a slot in the unit, so you could easily slide the stylus out and tap and write on the phone screen. These days, phones and tablets let you manipulate the screen with your finger after the release of the Apple iPhone and iPad became huge hits and changed user interfaces on phones and tablets.

Like other smartphones with a stylus, you can use the S Pen to manipulate objects on the screen. You can also use various apps to write information on the Note because it comes with handwriting-to-text conversion. The Note screen is also pressure-sensitive, so when you press down harder on the screen the thickness of the point or line increases; this is handy if you’re using a drawing app. Samsung has a list of 10 apps that use the S Pen on its website, so you can get an idea of the types of apps that use the S Pen.

InformIT Promotional Mailings & Special Offers

I would like to receive exclusive offers and hear about products from InformIT and its family of brands. I can unsubscribe at any time.

Overview


Pearson Education, Inc., 221 River Street, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030, (Pearson) presents this site to provide information about products and services that can be purchased through this site.

This privacy notice provides an overview of our commitment to privacy and describes how we collect, protect, use and share personal information collected through this site. Please note that other Pearson websites and online products and services have their own separate privacy policies.

Collection and Use of Information


To conduct business and deliver products and services, Pearson collects and uses personal information in several ways in connection with this site, including:

Questions and Inquiries

For inquiries and questions, we collect the inquiry or question, together with name, contact details (email address, phone number and mailing address) and any other additional information voluntarily submitted to us through a Contact Us form or an email. We use this information to address the inquiry and respond to the question.

Online Store

For orders and purchases placed through our online store on this site, we collect order details, name, institution name and address (if applicable), email address, phone number, shipping and billing addresses, credit/debit card information, shipping options and any instructions. We use this information to complete transactions, fulfill orders, communicate with individuals placing orders or visiting the online store, and for related purposes.

Surveys

Pearson may offer opportunities to provide feedback or participate in surveys, including surveys evaluating Pearson products, services or sites. Participation is voluntary. Pearson collects information requested in the survey questions and uses the information to evaluate, support, maintain and improve products, services or sites, develop new products and services, conduct educational research and for other purposes specified in the survey.

Contests and Drawings

Occasionally, we may sponsor a contest or drawing. Participation is optional. Pearson collects name, contact information and other information specified on the entry form for the contest or drawing to conduct the contest or drawing. Pearson may collect additional personal information from the winners of a contest or drawing in order to award the prize and for tax reporting purposes, as required by law.

Newsletters

If you have elected to receive email newsletters or promotional mailings and special offers but want to unsubscribe, simply email information@informit.com.

Service Announcements

On rare occasions it is necessary to send out a strictly service related announcement. For instance, if our service is temporarily suspended for maintenance we might send users an email. Generally, users may not opt-out of these communications, though they can deactivate their account information. However, these communications are not promotional in nature.

Customer Service

We communicate with users on a regular basis to provide requested services and in regard to issues relating to their account we reply via email or phone in accordance with the users' wishes when a user submits their information through our Contact Us form.

Other Collection and Use of Information


Application and System Logs

Pearson automatically collects log data to help ensure the delivery, availability and security of this site. Log data may include technical information about how a user or visitor connected to this site, such as browser type, type of computer/device, operating system, internet service provider and IP address. We use this information for support purposes and to monitor the health of the site, identify problems, improve service, detect unauthorized access and fraudulent activity, prevent and respond to security incidents and appropriately scale computing resources.

Web Analytics

Pearson may use third party web trend analytical services, including Google Analytics, to collect visitor information, such as IP addresses, browser types, referring pages, pages visited and time spent on a particular site. While these analytical services collect and report information on an anonymous basis, they may use cookies to gather web trend information. The information gathered may enable Pearson (but not the third party web trend services) to link information with application and system log data. Pearson uses this information for system administration and to identify problems, improve service, detect unauthorized access and fraudulent activity, prevent and respond to security incidents, appropriately scale computing resources and otherwise support and deliver this site and its services.

Cookies and Related Technologies

This site uses cookies and similar technologies to personalize content, measure traffic patterns, control security, track use and access of information on this site, and provide interest-based messages and advertising. Users can manage and block the use of cookies through their browser. Disabling or blocking certain cookies may limit the functionality of this site.

Do Not Track

This site currently does not respond to Do Not Track signals.

Security


Pearson uses appropriate physical, administrative and technical security measures to protect personal information from unauthorized access, use and disclosure.

Children


This site is not directed to children under the age of 13.

Marketing


Pearson may send or direct marketing communications to users, provided that

  • Pearson will not use personal information collected or processed as a K-12 school service provider for the purpose of directed or targeted advertising.
  • Such marketing is consistent with applicable law and Pearson's legal obligations.
  • Pearson will not knowingly direct or send marketing communications to an individual who has expressed a preference not to receive marketing.
  • Where required by applicable law, express or implied consent to marketing exists and has not been withdrawn.

Pearson may provide personal information to a third party service provider on a restricted basis to provide marketing solely on behalf of Pearson or an affiliate or customer for whom Pearson is a service provider. Marketing preferences may be changed at any time.

Correcting/Updating Personal Information


If a user's personally identifiable information changes (such as your postal address or email address), we provide a way to correct or update that user's personal data provided to us. This can be done on the Account page. If a user no longer desires our service and desires to delete his or her account, please contact us at customer-service@informit.com and we will process the deletion of a user's account.

Choice/Opt-out


Users can always make an informed choice as to whether they should proceed with certain services offered by InformIT. If you choose to remove yourself from our mailing list(s) simply visit the following page and uncheck any communication you no longer want to receive: www.informit.com/u.aspx.

Sale of Personal Information


Pearson does not rent or sell personal information in exchange for any payment of money.

While Pearson does not sell personal information, as defined in Nevada law, Nevada residents may email a request for no sale of their personal information to NevadaDesignatedRequest@pearson.com.

Supplemental Privacy Statement for California Residents


California residents should read our Supplemental privacy statement for California residents in conjunction with this Privacy Notice. The Supplemental privacy statement for California residents explains Pearson's commitment to comply with California law and applies to personal information of California residents collected in connection with this site and the Services.

Sharing and Disclosure


Pearson may disclose personal information, as follows:

  • As required by law.
  • With the consent of the individual (or their parent, if the individual is a minor)
  • In response to a subpoena, court order or legal process, to the extent permitted or required by law
  • To protect the security and safety of individuals, data, assets and systems, consistent with applicable law
  • In connection the sale, joint venture or other transfer of some or all of its company or assets, subject to the provisions of this Privacy Notice
  • To investigate or address actual or suspected fraud or other illegal activities
  • To exercise its legal rights, including enforcement of the Terms of Use for this site or another contract
  • To affiliated Pearson companies and other companies and organizations who perform work for Pearson and are obligated to protect the privacy of personal information consistent with this Privacy Notice
  • To a school, organization, company or government agency, where Pearson collects or processes the personal information in a school setting or on behalf of such organization, company or government agency.

Links


This web site contains links to other sites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each and every web site that collects Personal Information. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by this web site.

Requests and Contact


Please contact us about this Privacy Notice or if you have any requests or questions relating to the privacy of your personal information.

Changes to this Privacy Notice


We may revise this Privacy Notice through an updated posting. We will identify the effective date of the revision in the posting. Often, updates are made to provide greater clarity or to comply with changes in regulatory requirements. If the updates involve material changes to the collection, protection, use or disclosure of Personal Information, Pearson will provide notice of the change through a conspicuous notice on this site or other appropriate way. Continued use of the site after the effective date of a posted revision evidences acceptance. Please contact us if you have questions or concerns about the Privacy Notice or any objection to any revisions.

Last Update: November 17, 2020