Samsung Galaxy Note To Hit Stores Mid-February

Samsung's half-phone/half-tablet is now officially all-American.

In a joint press release, AT&T and Samsung announced that Samsung's 5.3-inch phone-tablet crossover, the Galaxy Note, will be available in stores on Feb. 19 for $299 with a two-year contract.

Though the Note has been dubbed a "phablet" in the popular press, a Samsung rep said that the company is not officially endorsing the term, and that Samsung is pushing the Galaxy Note as a smartphone, rather than a smartphone-tablet Frankenstein.

As a smartphone, the Galaxy Note is just huge. It has a 5.3-inch HD Super AMOLED display screen, along with 4G LTE capability on AT&T's just-launched 4G network. Aside from the very large, very bright screen, the Galaxy Note also comes with what Samsung calls an S-Pen, a stylus that recalls those bundled with Palm Pilots. The press release notes that among the uses for the S-Pen, users can "sketch drawings, jot down notes, or write emails and texts quickly and easily in free-form handwriting."

Upon release, the Galaxy Note will be running Samsung's version of Android 2.3 "Gingerbread." Samsung has previously said that the Galaxy Note will receive the new Ice Cream Sandwich flavor of Android sometime in the first quarter of 2012.

Samsung prominently displayed its Galaxy Note at the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2012, and the don't-call-it-a-phablet is certainly audaciously large. While quite thin, its length and height make the 4.7-inch HTC Titan or 4.65-inch Samsung Galaxy Nexus seem miniature in comparison -- a prominent modern smartphone has simply never been as gigantic as the Galaxy Note. The Note's touchscreen is indeed as responsive as you'd want from a notepad, and doodling with the S-Pen is a fun diversion. The Galaxy Note will live or die, however, by whether consumers cotton to its mammoth, boundary-blurring size. While it seeks the middle ground between a smartphone and tablet, it could be that shoppers want a smartphone or a tablet, not both at once.

At $299 on contract, the Note is certainly priced to compete with premium smartphones, not premium tablets. For comparison, an entry-level, WiFi-only iPad costs $500; to add 3G, an iPad starts at $629. Budget tablets like the Kindle Fire ($199) and the NOOK Tablet ($249) do not come with options for mobile data. Samsung's Galaxy Nexus smartphone is also $299, as is the starting price of the Motorola Droid RAZR; and although those screens are large, they are not Note-large.

The Galaxy Note will arrive with a rear-facing 8 megapixel camera and a front-facing 2-megapixel camera, 32GB of storage and 1GB of RAM. Pre-orders at AT&T begin on Feb. 5 and will arrive on Feb. 17; the Galaxy Note will be available in AT&T stores on Feb. 19.

Check out the slideshow below to see other gorgeous smartphones that stole the show at CES 2012, including the Galaxy Note.

Comments

[Meh 227]

01:24 AM on 02/26/2012

Cannot wait to get this phone/tablet. Checked it out at Best Buy and the screen is absolutely beautiful and with 4G was fast. Hubby wanted to get me a tablet and just couldn't justify having a laptop, two destops, a Nook, an android, AND a tablet, but I can justify having this phone/tab. Don't that many phone calls on my phone, but do use a lot of apps/games. I can easily fit this in my purse and with the larger screen, can substitute my nook/ereader. Can't stand AT&T so hope Tmobile will get it soon. The darn thing will cost new buyers $299 though. Also love the two cameras (and hope it has a flash) and the stylus.

[MarcusBrutus]

09:31 AM on 02/01/2012

The rumor is that the same phone, just called the Galaxy Journal will be available to Verizon and Sprint around the summer of 2012.

[Channa]

07:51 AM on 02/01/2012

I think Apple should come out with something like this. It would be a good choice for some people. I wouldn't buy one for myself but it might get me off the hook for buying my kids iPads.

[HowFree]

01:01 AM on 02/01/2012

I'm the artist in this pic, the final drawing is much better. To see more of my caricatures, go to freemanartist.com

[LangstonA]

11:22 PM on 01/31/2012

There's just one problem - it runs on the AT&T network.

[Dnietz]

12:59 AM on 02/01/2012

Yep, waiting for Sprint version.

[Neitherpartieslapdog]

05:08 PM on 01/31/2012

I believe in answering this, Apple has just released its Imat. Where up to 4 people can play the available "twister" app from the app store.

[westreal]

02:41 PM on 01/31/2012

I'm not feeling this. And definitely not liking the "phablet" moniker.

[newswatcher]

10:59 AM on 01/31/2012

I can't wait for this phone! I've been watching tech news for years waiting for a tablet to get bluetooth phone capability. There are two niches that this phone will appeal to. Since the main 'complaint' in so many reviews is the size not fitting a pocket, for a lady - that's not an issue. I can just drop it into my purse. The extra large screen will make also make it easier for those of us that have been into computers since the days when the choices were green or amber screen, one floppy disk drive or splurge on TWO, this large screen is a blessing to my eyes! After killing spare time on my current smartphone with a 2.5" screen, my eyes don't want to refocus and my vision stays blurred for quite a while. It's very disconcerting when I have to drive afterward. I don't expect that to be much of a problem with the Note. If you've been trying to get folks over 50 to see the joys of a smart phone, being web connected, being able to text (and with the Note they can WRITE) with ease, this is the phone that can win them over. The Galaxy Note will be the best thing on the market until someone gets smart and puts a phone into a 7 or 8 inch tablet with bluetooth ear piece. Hooray Samsung!

[helioszephyr]

06:01 PM on 01/31/2012

lame ad, Samsung

[One Last Time]

07:54 AM on 01/31/2012

34 comments?

Even the rumor of a new iPhone rumor generates more activity than that.

And people wonder why H P likes Apple stories.

[RillyKewl]

01:16 AM on 01/31/2012

Not so sure having an external stylus is a good idea.
Unless they're cheap + you can buy them in bulk.

[One Last Time]

07:56 AM on 01/31/2012

If its a capacitive screen (e.g. the good kind), they ain't cheap. If its an older technology (like the original Palm Pilots), then they're cheap, but no one will care.

[Lordcron]

12:56 AM on 01/31/2012

They announced this phone in 2010 and it's taken this long to bring it to market. The worse thing about it is that the OS they intend to ship on this thing is old. How dare they want that much money and the thing is out of date.

I don't know about the rest of the world but, I'm spending my money on something that is truly new. From the hardware to the Operation System.

[NHBill]

04:27 AM on 01/31/2012

I'm guessing ICS isn't stylus ready.

[Dnietz]

01:01 AM on 02/01/2012

"""I'm spending my money on something that is truly new. From the hardware to the Operation System."""

and that would be what?

[Beg4Nothing]

11:38 PM on 01/30/2012

Phones are getting larger and larger. Do you remember episodes of Trigger Happy TV and the guy with the giant phone?

"Hello!!!
No! I'm on a boat in Holland.
IN HOLLAND!
No it's rubbish, just lots of cheese and stuff!
Yeah I can't talk!
YES!
OK see you!
Chow!"

[Channa]

07:54 AM on 02/01/2012

Lol! Yes I remember that show. Too funny.

[JasonMcl]

11:24 PM on 01/30/2012

This is a very thorough and detailed review of the device for those interested.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Es7orfYUc3w

Here are some of the advantages:

1280x800 resolution - More pixels than an entire iPad and equal to most Android 10'' tablets, websites are clearly visible without pinching and zooming.

An intuitive stylus - You can draw directly onto certain widgets and literally "write notes" on your home-screen. The stylus is pressure sensitive and will draw thicker lines when you press down more.

Extremely powerful processor - It has higher benchmarks than any standing Android phone, even the Galaxy Nexus.

Everything else is pretty standard for a Samsung phone.

If you want this and have the cash, get the imported unlocked version. At&t basically ruins every Android phone they subsidize and having the EU version will get you the ICS update almost a month faster.

[NHBill]

04:44 AM on 01/31/2012

I didn't watch it all that review is almost a half hour!
But if anyone is serious about this phone they should view it.

[JasonMcl]

08:45 AM on 01/31/2012

Yeah, I am pretty impressed with just how much effort she puts into it and the attention to detail she uses. I will definitely go to her channel for reviews.

[Mailman]

09:19 PM on 01/30/2012

With this phone it tell you that the next iphone better be bigger than 3.5-inches.

[KarateKid]

07:12 PM on 01/30/2012

Too plasticky, like all the Samsung, HTC and Motorola products.