Ten Thousand Things

 
By Jim Paredes (The Philippine Star) Updated November 27, 2011 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - There are smartphones and there are smartphones. Almost every big and medium-sized phone maker comes out with a new model every once in awhile. Even many startups are joining the smartphone bandwagon. If it’s choice you want, there’s something out there within your price range and needs.

Aside from the excitement that a new iPhone generates, there isn’t a company I follow closely except Samsung. It seems to be the most serious contender against Apple in terms of innovation and creativity and — more and more — market share.

The new Samsung Galaxy Note (GT-N7000) is a phone to behold. There is so much to hold in fact, in terms of size alone which may or may not appeal to all. It will depend on who you talk to. When I first held it, I found it quite huge at 146.85 x 82.95 x 9.65mm, a little too much for what I was used to. But the more I tinkered with it, the more I saw how clever it was to make a phone this size for what it is ready to offer.

The phone seems to be aimed at people who wish to use their cell phones almost like a small tablet but do not want to carry around or own another device aside from their phones. It is as thin as the Galaxy S2. It has features for drawing, sketching, and illustrating together with a stylus (they call it an S-Pen), which is smartly hidden at the back and you can pull it down. And it does deliver this notepad feature very well. The screen is super clear the way Samsung Galaxy phones are, thanks to its 5.3-inch HD Super AMOLED display—perfect for drawing. The 1280 x 800 pixels is as good as what you see on laptops. This makes drawing maps, or any kind of instant sketching with details, so easy to do. You simply sketch and you can send it out via 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and through e-mail and social networking.

If you are not into drawing, the size of the Galaxy Note also is a big plus factor because the few millimeters that have been added in between keys make texting so much easier. I make fewer mistakes and feel less clumsy texting.

I also get the feeling that the Samsung Galaxy Note is a tad faster than Samsung S2. And the S2 is nothing to sneeze at when it comes to speed. The OS on the Note is a Gingerbread 2.3.5.

I have been carrying it around for almost three days now. It fits a regular pocket. Sometimes I still find it a bit big, but the size stops being an issue the moment I use it for anything — texting, checking e-mail, Facebook, Twitter and even for making calls. Watching videos is a dream and the sound quality is better than just “good.” Battery life, I felt was quite long, maybe even better than my Samsung S2. I expected the battery life not to last as long considering that it was powering a bigger screen. But I get a full day’s use per charge considering that I am on Wi-Fi or 3G mode a big portion of he day. The camera and video are excellent just like the GS2.

If I did not know that Samsung plans to release a new phone called the Nexus in about two months here in Manila, I’d say this is the phone to really get excited about. A great Christmas gift!