Samsung Galaxy Note (original)

This article is about the smartphone/tablet introduced in 2011. For later devices, see Samsung Galaxy Note series.
Samsung Galaxy Note

Samsung Galaxy Note in White
Manufacturer Samsung Electronics
Series Galaxy Note
Compatible networks (GSM/GPRS/EDGE): 850, 900, 1800, and 1900 MHz
UMTS: 850, 900, 1900, and 2100 MHz
HSPA+: 21 Mbit/s;
HSUPA: 5.76 Mbit/s;
LTE
TD-SCDMA(China Mobile) & EV-DO Rev.A(China Telecom)
First released October 29, 2011
Units sold 10 million (as of 15 August 2012)[1]
Successor Samsung Galaxy Note II
Related Samsung Galaxy S II
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1
Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1[2]
Type Capacitive touchscreen smartphone / phablet
Dimensions 146.85 mm (5.781 in) H
82.95 mm (3.266 in) W
9.65 mm (0.380 in) D
Weight 178 g (6.3 oz)
Operating system Android 2.3.6 "Gingerbread"
Current: Android 4.1.2 "Jelly Bean"
System on chip Samsung Exynos 4210 (3G Vers)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8255T (T-Mobile US & LTE Vers)
CPU 1.4 GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 (3G Vers)
1.5 GHz Dual-core Qualcomm Scorpion 8255T (T-Mobile US & LTE Vers)
GPU ARM Mali-400 MP (3G Vers)
Qualcomm Adreno 220 (system on chip) 8255T (T-Mobile US & LTE Vers)
Memory 1 GB RAM
Storage 16/32 GB flash memory
Removable storage microSD [3] (up to 64 GB SDXC)
Battery 2,500 mAh
Internal rechargeable Li-ion
Data inputs
Display 5.3 in (134.62 mm) HD Super AMOLED with RGBG-Matrix (PenTile)
800x1280 px WXGA (285 ppi)[4]
Rear camera 8 Mpx Back-illuminated sensor with auto focus, 1080p 30 fps Full Full HD video recording, LED flash
Front camera 2 Mpx video recording (VGA), and stills
Connectivity
Other
SAR
  • Intl version:
    Head: 0.3 W/kg 1 g
    Body: 0.5 W/kg 1 g
    Hotspot: 0.58 W/kg 1 g[5]
  • US version:
    Head: 0.16 W/kg
    Body: 0.96 W/kg[6]

The Samsung Galaxy Note is an Android smartphone/tablet computer hybrid ("phablet" - portmanteau of (Ph)one T(ablet)), introduced in October 2011 and noted for its 5.3-inch screen size—between that of conventional smartphones, and larger tablets—and its included stylus.[7]

History

The Galaxy Note was announced by Samsung during IFA 2011 in Berlin. It was released to the public starting with Germany in late October 2011, with other countries following shortly after that.[8] By the end of November, it was available in most major markets, including East Asia, Europe and India.

In December 2011, Samsung announced that one million Galaxy Notes were shipped in less than two months, and that a North American variant would be available in February 2012.[9] In January 2012, the US version of the Galaxy Note was featured at the 2012 CES in Las Vegas, allowing press to get an early look at the new device.[10]

As of the first quarter of 2012 from January to March, 5 million have been sold.[7] As of 1 June 2012, Samsung announced that 7 million had been shipped.[11] As of 15 August 2012, Samsung announced that 10 million devices have been sold.[1]

Size and construction

A screenshot annotated on a Galaxy Note, showing a picture comparing the Galaxy Note's size with other smartphones and tablets (Order from top to bottom: Sony Ericsson Xperia Play, Samsung Galaxy S II, HTC Titan, the Samsung Galaxy Note itself, LG Optimus Pad, and Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1).

The Galaxy Note, with a 135 mm (5.3 in) screen, is sized between smartphones such as the Galaxy S II and the Galaxy Tab tablet. PC World Australia opined that Samsung Galaxy Note is too big to be a true mobile phone, citing the difficulty of using it single-handed.[12] This hybrid is being called a phablet by Forbes and Engadget. Phablet is a portmanteau of the words phone and tablet.[13] Techradar questions Samsung Galaxy Note's marketability as users cannot store it in a small pocket and that users look ungainly when holding it against their faces while conversing.[14] GigaOM hails it as a pioneer in a new market segment, despite the similar but unsuccessful Dell Streak, combining the best features of both device types.[15] Pocket-lint has remarked that Samsung Galaxy Note shows potential as a games console.[16]

Like most recent smartphones and tablets, the device is constructed in the "slate" format (see Slate phone and Slate tablet). The body is built from plastic with a metallised rim.[17] The front panel is Gorilla Glass,[18] a strengthened glass often used for high-end devices such as this.

The front panel houses one physical "home" button (for activating the device and switching to the home screen), two illuminated touch pads ("menu" and "back"), the display, the front-facing camera, and light and proximity sensors. At the back is a thin plastic snap-on panel with an indent for a fingernail to facilitate removal, for access to the 2500mAh battery, SIM card and SD card. The back panel houses the speaker and main camera and flash. The metallic rim houses several controls: at the top edge is the 4-pole 3.5mm jack socket for connecting the headset (which incorporates in-canal earphones, FM radio aerial (for non-Snapdragon based variants), microphone and volume control) and a pinhole microphone; at the bottom is the industry-standard micro-USB socket for charging and data transfer, another pinhole microphone, and the well for storing the stylus; and the sides house an on-off button and a volume control.

Hardware and software features

Hardware specifications of the device include:[6][19]

Stylus

The Galaxy Note includes a stylus which Samsung calls the "S Pen". The stylus tucks into the bottom panel of the phone and can be used in a variety of apps. It can simply replace the use of a finger in situations where precision is needed, but it is also equipped with a "shift" button, which when pressed enables other functions such as grabbing screenshots (which can then be drawn on using the stylus) or for writing sticky notes with drawing/handwriting, text input, and pictures. The stylus and screen are coordinated using a Wacom digitiser system which results in accurate pressure-sensitive input.[20]

Samsung released in late November 2011 an SDK (software development kit) for the stylus so developers can write third-party apps that use it for input.[21] Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich", the OS version released after the introduction of the Galaxy Note, also includes support for stylus input.[22]

Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) devices in the 1990s used the stylus as a primary input method. Many other touchscreen smartphones in the 2000s also included styluses, although the Galaxy Note is notable in that it has a capacitive touchscreen and a stylus, whereas traditionally styluses could only be supported on pressure-sensitive resistive touchscreens. The Galaxy Note stylus implementation has been described as high quality.[23]

Software

Between October 2012 and February 2013, starting with South Korea, Android 4.1 "Jellybean" has been made available for the Galaxy Note.[19][24] Since May 2012, it had been equipped with Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich" for non-Snapdragon based variants.[25] It originally used Android 2.3 "Gingerbread". The standard Android user interface is overlaid with Samsung's TouchWiz interface, which includes support for the device's stylus, among other features.

Several application programs are pre-loaded on the device. These include the standard Android applications such as email, web browsing, and media playback, as well as some programs aimed mainly at business users and to facilitate the use of the stylus, such as Polaris Office, personal information manager software, calendar, advanced note-taking (S-Memo, S-Note) and drawing applications, and one game, Crayon Physics Deluxe. Other applications, specifically designed for the S-Pen and the device are available at Samsung Apps and Google Play, as well as from independent sources.

Third-party operating systems

Because Android 4.4 and 5.x will likely not be officially supported, the original Samsung Galaxy Note is a popular target of third parties seeking to support older devices, some of who claim to support Android 4.4.4 on the slower SGH-I717 distributed in the US. The Note is supported by CyanogenMod,[26] and partly supported by Mer.[27]

Text input

Text can be entered using a choice of methods: a plain on-screen keyboard, with handwriting recognition using the stylus, and using the Swype keyboard input method, which replaces direct typing of a word with a single movement of the finger or stylus across the desired keys.[28]

Cameras

The device features an 8-megapixel (2,448 x 3,264 pixels) main camera with flash on the back panel, and a 2-megapixel (1,200 x 1,600 pixels) camera on the front, primarily for video phone calls. The clear lens cover of the main camera lies flush with the back panel, exposing it to the same scratches that the panel might suffer, which has been a source of criticism.[14] However, the quality of images captured with the main camera has been praised.[14] Video recording through the main camera is 1080p ("Full HD") at 30 frames per second. Photo-editing and video-editing software is supplied with the device.

Variants

Galaxy Note with some of the standard accessories

The Galaxy Note is primarily produced with a black body (dubbed "carbon blue" by Samsung), but bodies of other colours have been made available, including white[29] and pink.[30]

The following performance variants of the Galaxy Note have been made available:

Samsung have made available a collection of accessories such as a clip-on screen cover (which replaces the back panel), a docking station, and spare chargers and styluses.[8]

SGH-I717

Another variant of the Galaxy Note capable of LTE connectivity was released exclusively in the United States and Canada. The variant was first released on AT&T on 19 February 2012 in the US,[36] while being simultaneously released on Telus, Bell, and Rogers on 14 February 2012 in Canada.[37] Although commonly referred to as the Galaxy Note LTE, the official model number is SGH-I717, differentiating it from the original N7000 and the Korea-exclusive LTE variant.[38] In addition to LTE connectivity, Samsung made several modifications to the phone. Externally, the physical "home" button and the two touch-sensitive buttons on the front of the phone were replaced by four touch-sensitive buttons. Internally, the chipset was changed to the Qualcomm MSM8660 Snapdragon, which is significantly slower than the original Exynos 4 Dual 45 nm (4210) chipset.[39] The Snapdragon 3 SoC features a dual-core 1.5 GHz Scorpion CPU and an Adreno 220 GPU.[38] FM radio was removed.[39] All other phone specifications remained identical to the original N7000.

Galaxy Note product line

Following the success of the original Galaxy Note, Samsung have released a new version every year since (as of late 2014), and produced tablets of varying sizes with styluses, also bearing the Galaxy Note name.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Cheng, Roger. (2012-08-15) Samsung: 10M Galaxy Notes sold in nine months | Mobile - CNET News. News.cnet.com. Retrieved on 2013-07-10.
  2. ↑ Samsung announces Galaxy Note 10.1 at MWC
  3. ↑ 32GB
  4. ↑ Samsung Galaxy Note and Galaxy Nexus sport HD Super AMOLED - is the PenTile matrix bad for you?
  5. ↑ https://apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/eas/reports/ViewExhibitReport.cfm?mode=Exhibits&RequestTimeout=500&calledFromFrame=N&application_id=258095&fcc_id=%27A3LGTI9220%27, ID=1550585
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Samsung Galaxy Note N7000". GSM Arena. Retrieved 2013-06-07.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Samsung hits a high Note". Toronto Sun. 2012-04-05. Retrieved 2013-07-10.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Samsung announces Galaxy Nexus and Note roll-out schedules". GSMArena. 2011-10-27.
  9. ↑ Mat Smith (2011-12-29). "1 million Galaxy Notes shipped worldwide, US fans throw money at their screens". Engadget. Retrieved 2011-12-30.
  10. ↑ Myriam Joire (2012-01-09). "AT&T Galaxy Note with LTE hands-on at CES 2012 (video)". Engadget. Retrieved 2012-01-19.
  11. ↑ Over 7 Million Samsung Galaxy Note Units Already Shipped. Tech.sc (2012-06-01). Retrieved on 2013-07-10.
  12. ↑ "Samsung Galaxy Note Android phone". PC World Australia. Retrieved 2011-12-04.
  13. ↑ Kay, Roger. "5" Is the market ready for a 'phablet'?". Forbes.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Dan Grabham (2011-09-01). "Hands on: Samsung Galaxy Note review". techradar.com. Retrieved 2011-09-27.
  15. ↑ Kevin C. Tofel (2011-11-10). "Can Samsung’s 5.3" Galaxy Note bridge phone and tablet use?". GigaOM. Retrieved 2011-12-04.
  16. ↑ Rik Henderson (2011-11-03). "Samsung Galaxy Note review". pocket-lint.com. Retrieved 2011-12-04.
  17. ↑ "Samsung Galaxy Note N7000 review: Power play". GSMArena. 2011-11-16. Retrieved 2011-12-11.
  18. ↑ "Corning Gorilla Glass - Full Product List". Corning Inc. Retrieved 2012-01-20.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Samsung. "Samsung Galaxy Note: Specifications". Retrieved 2011-12-05.
  20. ↑ Crider, Michael (2011-10-27). "Samsung highlights the Galaxy Note’s Wacom digitizer". Android Community. R3 Media. Retrieved 2011-12-04.
  21. ↑ Crider, Michael (2011-11-28). "Samsung releases S-Pen SDK for the Galaxy Note". Android Community. R3 Media. Retrieved 2011-12-03.
  22. ↑ Donald Melanson (2011-10-21). "Android Ice Cream Sandwich includes native stylus support". Engadget. Retrieved 2011-11-13.
  23. ↑ Steven Norris (2011-09-11). "Samsung Galaxy Note review — bigger is better". gearburn.com. Retrieved 2011-12-04.
  24. ↑ Ionut Arghire (2012-10-09). "Android 4.1 Arrives on Galaxy Note in South Korea". Softpedia. Retrieved 2012-10-22.
  25. ↑ "Ice Cream Sandwich for the Samsung Galaxy Note starts rolling out". sammobile.com. 2012-05-10. Retrieved 2012-05-10.
  26. ↑ "Information: Samsung Galaxy Note (International) ("n7000")". CyanogenMod. Retrieved 2015-02-09.
  27. ↑ "Adaptations/libhybris". Mer project. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
  28. ↑ Sasha Muller (2011-09-05). "Samsung Galaxy Note review: first look". PC Pro. Retrieved 2011-12-06.
  29. ↑ Chris Davies (2011-10-27). "Samsung’s white Galaxy Note revealed". SlashGear. Retrieved 2011-12-11.
  30. ↑ Zach Honig (2012-03-05). "'Berry pink' Galaxy Note coming soon". engadget.com. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
  31. ↑ Michael Crider (2011-11-28). "Samsung Galaxy Note LTE gets official in Korea". androidcommunity.com. Retrieved 2011-12-03.
  32. ↑ "NTT DoCoMo SC-05D". Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  33. ↑ I9220 specifications
  34. ↑ I9228 specifications
  35. ↑ I889 specifications
  36. ↑ Chris Davies (30 January 2012). "AT&T Galaxy Note LTE hits stores Feb 19 for $300". Slash Gear. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  37. ↑ Florin Troaca (14 February 2012). "Samsung Galaxy Note launched in Canada by Rogers, Telus and Bell". Unwiredview.com. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 "Samsung Galaxy Note I717". GSMArena.com. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 "Samsung Galaxy Note I717 review: Pushing the envelope". GSMArena.com. 19 February 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2012.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Samsung Galaxy Note (original).
Preceded by
None—first model		 Samsung Galaxy Note
2011 		Succeeded by
Samsung Galaxy Note II