Samsung Announces An Android Phone/Tablet Hybrid

Samsung’s been busy this week. Everyone knew about the release of the long-awaited Galaxy S II smartphone for the US market. The big surprise of this week was something else: an Android smartphone/tablet with a stylus called the Galaxy Note.
Looking at it, the device’s big attraction for consumers is the large 5.3-inch HD display. Using Samsung’s Super AMOLED technology and having a 1280 x 800 resolution, it’s pretty impressive. But it does make the phone a bit huge – which sets it beyond the normal smartphone category.

Which is correct since Samsung is classifying the Galaxy Note as a “Smart Mobile Device” with “smartphone portability.” Looking at it in the above picture, it does fit in the hand, but it has to be a awkward having something that big by your head during a call. Other specs included a 1.4GHz dual-core CPU, 8MP back and 2MP front cameras, WiFi, Bluetooth, and both HSPA+ and LTE 4G. It runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread and uses Samsung’s custom TouchWiz interface.

One of the things that make the Galaxy Note unique is that it uses a stylus called the S Pen. Similar to what you could see on the HTC Flyer, it has a slot in the device, for easy access and containment.