Samsung Galaxy Note can’t decide whether to be a smartphone or a tablet

The other half of our Samsung IFA update is the introduction of the Galaxy Note. We’re not quite sure how to classify this device. Is it a smartphone because you can still place it over your ear to place calls without people staring at you? Or is it a tablet because of its 5.3″ display and the inclusion of its own stylus to jot down notes? I guess this is a “tweener” device but despite the identity problem it is still one helluva device.

The Samsung Galaxy Note has a 5.3″ Super AMOLED Plus display with a very high pixel density due to its 1280 x 800 resolution making things look really sharp on its screen. Knowing Samsung’s affinity for thin mobile devices, the Galaxy Note has a 9.65mm slim body, anything less than 10mm on a phone or tablet I consider thin.

It’s an upgrade from the Samsung Galaxy SII with its dual core 1.4GHz processor and runs on the latest Android Gingerbread OS. It even features some app shortcuts on the lockscreen which you can use to unlock the device. Kind of similar to the lockscreen on the HTC Sense 3.0 (HTC Sensation and HTC Flyer) and the Cherry Mobile Magnum HD.

Then it also has what Samsung calls the S Pen which is a digital pen that people who’ve used the device claim to be way better than the stylus on the HTC Flyer.  It is very accurate and produces thin lines without bleeding which can make you replace the notepad you always bring with you.

Other specs include an 8-megapixel camera, 16GB or 32GB internal storage, 1GB RAM, LTE and HSPA+ support, and a whopping 2500 mAh battery. The Samsung Galaxy SII has a 1,650 mAh for comparison but do note that bigger screen eats up more power.

Same as with the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7, local pricing and availability is yet to be determined. We’ll keep you posted once we have it don’t worry.

When all’s been said and done, I’m going to go with smartphone on this one.

Samsung Galaxy Note Specs:

• Dual-core 1.4GHz ARM Cortex-A9 proccessor, Mali-400MP GPU, Exynos chipset
• Android OS, v2.3 (Gingerbread)
• 5.3″ Super AMOLED Plus capacitive touchscreen (800 x 1280 pixels)
• S Pen stylus
• 8 MP, 3264×2448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
• Full HD 1080p video recording
• 2 MP front camera
• 16GB/32GB storage, 1 GB RAM, microSD up to 32GB
• HSDPA, 21 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, DLNA, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi hotspot
• Bluetooth 3.0
• TV-out (via MHL A/V link)
• Li-Ion 2500 mAh
• 146.9 x 83 x 9.7 mm
• 178 g