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Samsung ships five million Galaxy Notes in just five months
Five is an important number for Samsung's Galaxy Note. It has a 5.3-inch screen and now, just five months since it debuted Samsung has announced it's shipped five million units (the one million mark was crossed right around the end of December). That's certainly long enough for you to decide if you're in love with its super-sized frame or the accompanying S-Pen stylus, but unfortunately it has not been quite enough time for the highly-anticipated Ice Cream Sandwich software update to be released. While the world waits for the Premium Suite of apps and Android 4.0, let's think back to all the good times we had, including its initial unveiling, our original review and finally its arrival in the US on AT&T. So, are you convinced yet that there's a place in the world for a device like this, or five million phablets later are you still thinking this is just a fad?Update: If you prefer to use your stylus for kanji or kana, Engadget Japan has NTT Docomo's announcement that it will release the Galaxy Note with LTE, branded the SC-05D, on its network April 6th.[Thanks, ph00ny]
Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 preview (video)
Mobile World Congress, a debutante ball of sorts for the wireless industry, is an oddity; set against a landscape more famous for its modernist accents and marathon nightlife than propensity for forward-facing gadgetry. Yet every year, despite this cultural contrast, mobile's best, brightest and even little known descend upon Barcelona to showcase the incoming tide of next-gen wares. It's a wonder, then, that for all the bombast and spectacle, Samsung, a titan in the cluttered Android field, chose to occupy a sizable swathe of the event's booth real estate with a glut of mid-range and less-than-fresh devices. Save for one notable product.Without the halo of its still secret unicorn, the Galaxy S III, to power the brand's visibility, the company turned the spotlight on its other flagship -- the Galaxy Note 10.1 -- as more of a rightful successor to its O.G. Galaxy Tab of the same size, not the recently debuted Tab 2 (10.1). Confused? That's understandable, but this broad-screened fella's outing marks a stark transition away from the Note as smartphone, established by its 5.3-inch forebear, to a concrete series of S-Pen equipped products. Its beefier dual-core 1.4GHz CPU and 1GB RAM notwithstanding, this is, for all intents and purposes, more of a gentle update than a full-on refresh, as most of the build, screen (1,280 x 800) and camera setup remains virtually unchanged.Solidifying the unit's place atop the industry's top-shelf mantel, is its inclusion of Google's latest ICS OS (4.0.3), slathered here in a TouchWiz skin, and the addition of two pre-installed S-Pen apps: Adobe PS Touch and Ideas. So, software improvements aside, why should this tablet, an admitted work-in-progress that's lacking the finishing touches of a final production model, occupy a space on your finely tuned tech radar? Why should you devote a portion of your gadget-lusting heart to the promise of a killer device currently lacking any known pricing or availability? Well, to answer those questions, Samsung let us spend some brief, albeit quality time with the Note's in-development next of kin. So follow on after the break as we explore its digitizer-optimized nooks and crannies and whet your appetites for what's to come.
Galaxy Note ICS upgrade pushed back to Q2, adds exclusive set of stylus-ready apps (video)
Unfortunately, Samsung's Galaxy Note won't join the Galaxy S II with its own upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich in Q1 as originally announced, since the company has now scheduled its arrival for Q2. It will however, arrive worldwide as part of a "Premium Suite" software upgrade packed with exclusive apps meant to highlight its S-Pen stylus. One of them is S Note, which combines notes and sketches with other apps like Shape Match and Formula Match which are also included to assist recognition of geometric shapes and hand drawn formulas. The final app packed in is My Story, designed to create personalized cards. We're not sure how much use you'll get out of those unless you're a math professor, project manager or just love sending e-cards, but there's one more treat in the form of an exclusive Angry Birds Space level and free access to 30 "Danger Zone" levels for a limited time. Press play on the video above for a peek at the apps -- and the Note's TouchWiz-styled flavor of Android 4.0 -- or check out the press release after the break.Update (4/12): Samsung has swapped out the video for a slightly longer one with "more features and detailed information". Your guess is as good as ours as to what's different, or exactly when the upgrade will arrive, but the new vid is now embedded above.
A closer look at the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (video)
The last time we showed you the Galaxy Note 10.1, we had time for a few hands-on shots, but not quite enough to get to know the tablet, to warm up to the idea of interacting with one of our favorite 10-inchers using a stylus pen. Now that we've had a chance to park ourselves at Samsung's Mobile World Congress and get acclimated to the various S Pen apps, we wanted to hit back with one more hands-on, this time focusing on what makes the Note 10.1 so special: the writing experience. Meet us past the break and we'll share some early impressions, along with a walk-through video. Only have a minute to spare? Consider those photos below your Cliff's Notes.%Gallery-148870%
Samsung updates S Pen SDK to 2.0, SCanvasView brings Note animation and narration
Following Samsung's launch of the it's-definitely-a-tablet 10.1 Note, it's become even more clear that the company's stylus S Pen is here to stay, in a very big way. Now, it's time for third-party developers to get sketchy with version 2.0 of the S Pen SDK. The biggest feature boost is the ability to animate drawings to pair with recorded voice, while other additions include SAMM Library access, improved rendering and the ability to revert after accidentally clearing all. Ready to start jotting? Hit up our source link below and get your download on.
Samsung announces Galaxy Note 10.1 at MWC (update: hands-on photos!)
Samsung's announced another 10.1-inch tablet to join its burgeoning collection of slates. The Galaxy Note 10.1 is an S-Pen toting variant of the similarly sized-and-named Galaxy Tab. It's running Touchwiz-infused ICS on a 1.4GHz dual-core CPU with 1GB of RAM, but here's the answer to the question on everyone's lips: nope, you can't use it as a phone. Sadly you'll only have access to HSPA+, WiFi and Bluetooth 3.0, dashing our hopes of using this as our primary cellphone to annoy people on the train. The 10.1-inch WXGA (1280 x 800) display is nestled opposite a 3-megapixel rear-facing camera and beside a 2-megapixel one for video conferencing. S-Pen specific features include S Note for scrawling text, Shape Match and Formula Match (to digitize images and mathematical formulae) -- but more importantly is the ability to use Adobe's new Photoshop Touch and Ideas, which will both come pre-installed.If you'd rather use the slate as one of the world's largest sat-navs, you'll be relieved to know it's packing both GPS and Glonass. For the businesspersons of you out there, there's Exchange ActiveSync, on-device encryption, Juniper Junos Pulse and Cisco VPNs. It'll come in 16, 32 and 64GB variations, with a microSD slot for you to add up to a further 32GBs into the mix. It's clear that Samsung's bisecting its tablet business: purely touch-driven devices will now be branded as a "Tab" and anything with a stylus S-Pen will be suffixed with "Note." Pricing and availability are currently unspecified, but we'll do our best to shanghai that information out of a passing company rep when we see one.Update: We've added a gallery of hands-on photos just below.%Gallery-148870%Brad Molen contributed to this report.
Signage suggests Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 en route for MWC debut
Could it be that Samsung really, truly, has another 10.1-inch slab in store for us this week? After seeing the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 make its official debut earlier, it appears more and more likely that it'll have a counterpart equipped with an S-Pen before the week is over. Apparently, someone was snooping sneaking around a hotel that the Sammy folks are staying at -- and are planning to show off its products -- and uncovered a poster teasing the wildly rumored Galaxy Note 10.1. Naturally, this doesn't guarantee we'll actually see the mystical tablet in Barcelona (after all, we'd imagine something like this would merit a press conference), but it's looking a heckuva lot more likely now, isn't it? [Thanks, Peter]
AT&T Galaxy Note review
It was once said that if a phone or tablet used a stylus its hardware designers had blown it. It was also said that if the software on that device contained a task manager that coders had similarly missed the mark. The Samsung Galaxy Note on AT&T contains what many would consider a stylus and, if you hold down the Home button, you're presented with what can only be described as a task manager.So the Galaxy Note, Samsung's massive 5.3-inch "superphone," is critically flawed then, right? No. It is, in fact, one of the best phones to hit the market since another Samsung powerhouse -- the Galaxy Nexus. It's a device with a lot to love and is the kind of phone that would make almost every Android aficionado swoon. However, with its massive 5.3-inch display and generally understated styling, it isn't for everybody. We reviewed it before in European guise, but now read on to see if AT&T's $300 LTE version of this big brute is just right for you.
Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 to debut at MWC? Definitely, maybe.
We've all heard of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the Galaxy Note... but the Galaxy Note 10.1? That's a new one to us. The pinch of salt you should take this with could rim the entire nation's margarita glasses for a year, but hints have come from more than one source now that Samsung has an up-sized styli-friendly slate in the works. The unconfirmed device was listed on the Samsung site, alongside the standard Note, Wave 3 and Wave Y as being highlighted at a developer event at MWC. We'd have ignored it and written it off as a typo if it wasn't for a listing at Backstage looking for "teen student" to use "his Galaxy Note 10.1." Intriguing, no? Even more suspicious, both the casting call and the developer day listing have been removed. Of course, it's entirely possible that both appearances of the Note 10.1 were simple typos but, we won't lie, we're really hoping a larger sized slate with an S Pen.Update: Samsung told us that it doesn't "comment on future product announcements." Looks like we'll have to wait.
Canada welcomes the Galaxy Note, available on Bell and Telus for $199 today (video)
Boom. Just as promised, the large beast that is Samsung's don't-call-it-a-tablet handset has hit available status in the Land of the Maple Leaf. Canadian carriers Bell and Telus have the Galaxy Note up for grabs now on their respective sites at the cost of $199 with a whopping three-year contract, while anything's yet to pop up on Rogers' page (we'll let you know as soon as it does). The launch comes a few days ahead of its expected release on US shores, where it'll require less of a commitment but carry a heavier price tag. Still pondering if the galactic 5.3-inch device is the right fit for you? Give our review one last glance before you decide to make the enormous jump.
Samsung dissects Galaxy Note, confirms NFC support for LTE version
Teardown fans rejoice! Samsung's chosen to dissect the Galaxy Note for all to see -- and on its official blog, no less. Strangely, the pictures show the global Galaxy Note with its physical home button but the specs match those of the Galaxy Note LTE that we played with at CES and which is supposed to launch on AT&T and Telus real soon now. There are no major surprises here -- Samsung outlines some of the over 1000 components within, including the glorious 5.3-inch 1280x800-pixel HD Super AMOLED display, the unspecified 1.5GHz dual-core processor (likely a Qualcomm Snapdragon S3), the eight megapixel camera with autofocus and LED flash plus other bits and pieces like sensors and radios. What's particularly interesting is that Samsung confirms NFC support (with the antenna inside the battery cover) and the use of a Wacom digitizer for the S Pen. Want more? Hit the source link below for the pr0n gory details.
Mobile Miscellany: week of November 28, 2011
This week was packed with news on the mobile front, so it was easy to miss a few stories here and there. Here's some of the other stuff that happened in the wide world of wireless for the week of November 28, 2011: Last week, the FCC announced that it had approved AT&T's request to purchase 700MHz spectrum from Qualcomm -- previously used to support MediaFLO service -- but it hasn't finalized the process yet. So, the company recently met with the FCC to ask if the deal can be sped up. [Phone Scoop] The Nokia Lumia 800 is rumored to finally be available at O2 beginning December 9th. [Unwired View] Nokia also announced the X2-02, a Series 40 dual-SIM handset geared towards music. It comes with an audio processing feature that brings clear sound, dedicated music keys and a feature that lets you play recordings directly from the FM radio. It also offers a 2.2-inch QVGA display, dedicated Facebook and Twitter clients, 2MP camera and 9.7 hour talk time. Sadly, the phone doesn't come with 3G included, and no markets or launch dates were announced, but it'll be priced around €60 before subsidy. [Unwired View] Cincinnati Bell added the HTC Radar 4G to its lineup this week and is available for free to new customers with a two-year commitment and after a $100 mail-in rebate; existing customers eligible for an upgrade can get it for $100 on contract and after $50 mail-in rebate. [BusinessWire] Samsung just released SDK 1.0 for the S Pen, also known as the stylus for the Galaxy Note. As to be expected, the kit will aid developers in writing apps that will take advantage of the pen. [Android Police]
Samsung draws in developers with S Pen SDK for Galaxy Note
Ever since the mighty Galaxy Note first popped up at IFA we've been curious about that S Pen and how it'll make its way into our real-life workflow. Samsung promised there'd be an SDK back at its October London launch and it's finally here, letting developers get busy adding some S Pen magic to their apps. Version 1.0 lets you add a basic canvas, a pop-up for pen settings (opacity, line color and so on) as well as erase and un/redo. Sure, ICS might natively support stylus input, but as Samsung is keen to point out -- with its capacitive tip and configurable button -- a simple stylus this is not. And remember: until the Note gets an ICS update, you'll be scribbling all over that snappy Gingerbread install anyway. Tap that source link if you want to get your hands on the goods, and let the tic-tac-toe commence.
White Galaxy Note appears, developers wanted to pen third-party apps for its stylus
We've already inspected every inch of Samsung's big bad phone-tablet hybrid, but a soupçon of extra news has trickled out from the Galaxy Note's bombastic launch event in London yesterday. Those looking for brighter color scheme to match the striking glow of its HD Super AMOLED display are in luck, as the Galaxy Note looks set to arrive in white; the ethereal ying to its companion's midnight blue yang. Sammy added that the Galaxy Note's S-Pen SDK will be available to third-party developers starting December, hopefully bringing more uses for that slide-out stick. And that's despite the latest Android OS offering native stylus support -- the Galaxy Note remains a Gingerbread affair. The current smartphone king was unable to confirm if the UK would be getting the white model on the November 3rd launch day, or ever. Similarly, we're still waiting on Samsung to put S-Pen to paper on pricing and any possible US launch details.
Samsung Galaxy Note review
Remember the display on your first mobile phone? If you've been chatting on the go for as long as we have, it was probably barely big enough to fit a complete telephone number -- let alone a contact name or text message. And your first smartphone? Even displaying scaled-down, WAP versions of web pages was asking a lot. Now, those mobile devices we couldn't live without have screens that are much, much larger. Sometimes, though, we secretly wish they were even bigger still. Samsung releases 1.5GHz Exynos processor and 16MP CMOS for mobiles, if you're nice Samsung's Galaxy S II for T-Mobile proves that unicorns do exist (hands-on video) Samsung Galaxy Note announced: 5.3-inch display, built-in-stylus, custom 'S Pen' appsSamsung's new GT-N7000 Galaxy Note is the handset those dreams are made of -- if you happen to share that dream about obnoxiously large smartphones, that is. It's as thin as a Galaxy S II, lightning fast and its 5.3-inch HD Super AMOLED display is as gorgeous as it is enormous; the 1280 x 800 pixels you once could only get with a full-size laptop (or in the Galaxy Tab 10.1) can now slide comfortably into your front pocket. Its jumbo display makes it the perfect candidate for a notepad replacement and, with the included S Pen stylus, you'll have no problem jotting notes on the fly, marking up screenshots or signing documents electronically. But, is that massive display too much of a good thing? You'll need to jump past the break to find out.%Gallery-137768% %Gallery-137793%
Samsung Galaxy Note tops benchmarks, price sheets (video)
We had a feeling the Samsung Galaxy Note would be a hit on the benchmark scene, but now its unsurprisingly speedy results are documented. Greek site TechBlog installed Quadrant Standard on one of the phone / tablet hybrid demo units at IFA 2011 and produced a benchmark score of 3,624, exactly where we'd expect a Sammy-branded 1.4GHz dual-core CPU to end up; in comparison, our review of the 1.2GHz Samsung Galaxy S II produced an outcome of 3,396. Here's the letdown: the Galaxy Note is expected to top the charts in pricing as well, as it's being reported that we should see the device show up in Scandinavia by year's end for no less than €715 ($1,000 in the US). Let's hope those benchmarks are worth the cost, because there's one thing that can't be denied -- it makes the HTC Jetstream feel like a bargain.
Samsung Galaxy Note announced: 5.3-inch display, built-in-stylus, custom 'S Pen' apps
Until a few days ago we'd heard surprisingly little about the Galaxy Note, a handset rumored to be launching alongside the Galaxy Tab 7.7 and Wave 3 at IFA. It's ironic, really, because of all the phones to have kept a low profile, this is a memorable one. Behold, a 5.3-inch handset with a stowaway pen for note-taking, drawing and grabbing screen captures. In other words, a Dell Streak-esque hunk of a device that blurs the lines between phone and tablet. You're looking at a Gingerbread-running LTE and HSPA+ handset with a 1280 x 800 Super AMOLED display, dual 8MP and 2MP cameras, a removable 2,500mAh battery and the same Samsung-made dual-core 1.4GHz processor you'll find in the just-announced Galaxy Tab 7.7. For a phone this gargantuan, it's actually quite thin at light, at 9.65mm (0.38 inches) thick and a reasonable 178 grams (6.3 ounces). We had a few minutes to handle the phone in advance of today's press conference, and found it surprisingly easy to grip, even in our small hands. As with the Infuse 4G --whose own 4.5-inch screen once seemed impossibly sprawling -- the thin shape makes it tenable, as does the lightweight, textured plastic lining the back. As you'd expect, Android 2.3 comes layered with TouchWiz on top and, in this case, seven home screens and a touch-optimized interface dubbed "S Pen" designed to take advantage of that pen. These include S Planner, a native calendar and to-do list app, from which you can drag and drop appointments, changing time slots without having to open an entry. S Memo for note-taking, meanwhile, accepts voice, photo, text and handwritten input. We also got a quick glimpse of Virtual Whiteboard, a more collaborative form of note-taking. On top of that, Samsung says it's releasing the S Pen SDK to third-party developers, and the company's banking on more apps for organizing photos and drawing, among other things. For now, this is merely a global launch: Samsung says it's still in discussions with carriers worldwide, so depending on your neck of the woods it might be awhile before you hear anything definitive about pricing or availability. Find the some fancy press shots (and a promo vid) after the break, and stay tuned for our hands-on. %Gallery-132247%
