Samsung Galaxy Note

As promised yesterday, Samsung just unveiled the Galaxy S III mini in Frankfurt, Germany.

The Jelly Bean-powered handset features many of the same specs as the original Galaxy S, but the most noteworthy include a 4-inch WVGA Super AMOLED display, dual core 1GHz chipset, support for Wi-Fi, NFC, and Bluetooth 4.0, and a 1,500 mAh battery. It also features a 5-megapixel VGA front-facing camera with LED flash, 720p video recording and playback, 8GB RAM, and MicroSD up to 32 GB.

The S III mini essentially packs the S III experience into a 4-inch screen at a presumably more pocket-friendly cost; however, Samsung did not announce details on pricing and availability. Check out the presser and gallery below for more information on this practical smartphone.

The press release is below.

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T-Mobile USA just announced it would soon offer the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note II this fall with an exclusive, preloaded racing game.

Without actually naming the game, T-Mobile said it would include three free levels that are MOGA Mobile Gaming System-optimized. Meanwhile, the Galaxy Note II boasts Samsung’s Exynos 1.6 GHz quad-core processor, which supports LTE networks; and it is the first Samsung smartphone to launch with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

The device notably weighs less than the original Galaxy Note, features a narrower bezel, and it ships in Marble White or Titanium Gray flavors. T-Mobile said it will be available nationwide at its retail stores, select national retailers, and online in the coming weeks. The carrier neglected to provide pricing details, however.

Additional Note II specs include:

• 2GB of internal RAM
• 16 GB of onboard file storage with additional support up to 64GB via a microSD card
• 5.5-inch HD Super AMOLED touchscreen; larger and thinner than predecessor with 16:9 aspect ratio
• 3,100 mAh battery, which is 24 percent larger than the original Galaxy Note
• Redesigned S Pen with rubberized tip and textured grip

9to5Google gave a complete hands-on last month of the Galaxy Note II’s global version, but more information on T-Mobile’s variation is in the press release below.

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AT&T made things official this morning for Samsung Galaxy Note users by announcing the availability of an Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update and Premium Suite from Samsung. While most of us know what to expect with ICS, the Premium Suite will give you access to a number of apps and new features including: the S Note app, which is a widget for quick access to S Memo features, and an app for creating customized notes and greeting cards with S Pen called “My Story”. AT&T also confirmed ICS for the Galaxy S II Skyrocket.

The update is a little hairier than most with the requirement that you connect your device to your Mac or PC and the Kies application. From there, you are hard resetting your device and will lose stuff like Bluetooth devices, Music playlists and apps folders.

The update is available now from Samsung, while a description of the new S Pen capabilities thanks to S Note is below in the full press release:

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The original Galaxy Note model.

A recent report suggests the Galaxy Note successor will début with a slightly larger display at a popular consumer electronics show in Europe next month.

According to Maeil Business Newspaper, the Galaxy Note 2 will boast a 5.5-inch display, which is .2-inches larger than the original model, and it will run Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. A quad-core Exynos processor will give the phablet a performance boost, and its rear-facing camera will see an upgrade from 8-megapixels to 12- or 13-megapixels.

“Samsung will unveil the Galaxy Note 2 during the IFA 2012, a consumer electronics show held in Berlin, Germany in late-August,” reported South Korea-based Maeil, while quoting a source “familiar with the matter.”

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=L4l8zhx6TeA]

The Verge’s Vlad Savov just completed an extensive breakdown of the Samsung Galaxy S III that unveiled in London earlier this month. The review is fully-equipped with video, imagery, and hordes of information. One such video is above, while a snippet of its wrap-up and a grading chart are below:

Links to 9to5Google’s coverage of the S III launch event are after the break.

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As part of the Samsung Galaxy Note S Pen App Challenge, the company handed out $200,000 in cash prizes to mobile developers in the United States. The awards went to apps that made particular good use of the Galaxy Note’s S Pen stylus. The best overall app and grand prize of $100,000 went to “Monkey Write * Learn Chinese” by Chiu-ki Chan (Square Island LLC).

Other winners include second place best overall app “Maze Racer” with developer SmartyPantsGaming taking home $50,000, and third place best overall app “Drawing Pad” grabbing $25,000.

Popular Choice app went to SignDoc Mobile. It received $2,000 along with the rest of the honorable mention winners below:

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Samsung’s Galaxy S III will feature a home button under the display.

South Korea newspaper Korean Digital Daily (translated) added to the rumor machine today with sources that claim the upcoming smartphone will sport Samsung’s accustomed home button, despite much speculation claiming otherwise.

The Galaxy S III will even boast a five-column icon layout showcased in the Samsung Galaxy Note. This would help the device standout from other Android handsets, and the iPhone, which has maintained a four-column icon layout since its initial 2007 launch.

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Ahead of its full quarterly report scheduled for April 27, Samsung Electronics today estimated its operating profits for the three-month period that ended in March. Estimated at 5.8 trillion won or $5.15 billion USD, that is nearly double the company’s results from the same quarter a year ago and up from the roughly 5 trillion won originally forecasted by analysts. While attributing the strong quarter to the Galaxy Note, the report from Reuters noted Samsung is “set to consolidate its market position with new products” over the next few months, including a “revamped Galaxy S” that will compete with Apple’s next iPhone:

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[youtube=http://youtu.be/QUPtHsNdoBw]

Samsung is making headlines this quarter with show-stopping commercials that critics claim vastly surpass all of Apple’s advert offerings.

Television analytics firm Ace Metrix dubbed the Galaxy Note’s “The Best of a Phone and Tablet” commercial by Samsung (above) as the “Most Effective Ad” in Q1 2012.

“Q1 is arguably the most important quarter for advertising, as the Super Bowl, Oscars, and awards season in general drives the advertising agenda,” said Ace Metrix Chief Executive Officer Peter Daboll in a press release. “[…] Samsung’s top-ranked ad was particularly brilliant because it conveyed innovation and information without a narrator.”

The Android-based device’s ad garnered a 686-point score, which gave Samsung the No. 1 spot on the Top 10 Most Effective Ads list. Samsung released nine ads in Q1, and three were heralded as the most effective technology ads for the quarter, earning between 686 and 636 points each.

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In a land where SUVs rule the landscape in the face of growing fuel costs, it is little surprise that a well-made, huge Android Phablet would sell well in the U.S. Indeed, Samsung’s Galaxy Note got a supers-shot of sales adrenaline when it reached the United States shores.

The Note passed 2 million in sales earlier this month, but add its recent U.S. launch, and the smartphone maker now claims it has sold 5 million devices. Detractors will of course claim that 5 million sold “into inventory and not necessarily sales.”  Samsung clarifies that these are sales. It is pretty clear that there are not a million devices in inventory—these are selling well either way.

Samsung passed 1 million Notes at the end of last year. My Galaxy Note review.

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Just in case you had not heard that Samsung pushed its Galaxy Note Ice Cream Sandwich update from Q1 2012 to Q2 2012, here is a reminder on Samsung’s Mobile USA Facebook page. Perhaps as a bonus, this build of ICS appears to be extremely light on TouchWiz. Is there any chance Samsung is dumping its overlay?

Thanks Allegrotechie!

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[slideshow]

It is very easy to make a snap judgment on the 5.3-inch-screened Samsung Galaxy Note. Yes, it is significantly bigger than the smartphone you use now. It even makes the Galaxy Nexus seem petite in comparison.

The dimensions of the Note put it somewhere between the biggest smartphones you ever saw and the 7-inch tablet form factor made popular by Amazon, BlackBerry, Motorola, Samsung, and pretty much everyone else except Apple.

However, the Note makes and receives phone calls, so it is a phone and it should be judged as such, right? End of story?

That is where you are mistaken. The phone functionality on the Note is a tertiary function at best. I see it as more like a reason to not carry a phone as well as the Note in your pocket. With that said, for a growing number of people, myself included, the actual “phone part” of a smartphone is very low on my list for what I want to do with the device in my pocket.

I make or receive only a few calls per day, and most of those are while I am at home/office with Google Voice and a headset or home phone. Therefore, other things rank higher on what I want to do with a device like this:

• Maps are becoming the most used and most important feature on my phone, except for secondary review websites like Yelp, TripAdvisor, etc. I get all of my travel lookups from the Maps.app. I do almost all of my turn-by-turn navigation and lookups on this device much more efficiently with its huge display and fast network connection.
• The Web Browser is the most important app outside of Maps. I would love the Note to somehow get the Chrome Browser before Samsung gets around to upgrading it to ICS. Alas, the stock browser is still unbelievably fast/crisp.
• Gmail/Calendar/Contacts. You know…work.
• AIM, GoogleTalk, GoogleVoice, and other instant messaging.
• Social: Twitter, Google Plus Facebook, etc.
• Netflix, Pandora, YouTube, and other Music and Videos.
• Various other apps, such as my bank’s check cashing app, WordPress, Kayak, and a bunch of Angry Birds-type games.

Without exception, I can do any of the above better on a 5.3-inch 720P display than on a typical smartphone display. The one caveat: (As you can see from the gallery) moving my mid-sized thumb from one side of the portrait screen to the other is a bit of a stretch when using it one-handed. This does not turn out to be a problem very often, though, perhaps only 5 percent of my time. This is not a one-handed device.

Therefore, the Note is about tradeoffs:  Amazing, huge display = better experience vs. portability. In my particular use-case, I am happy to make the trade. Here are the details:

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AT&T announced the Galaxy Note will be available on its network at CES 2012, and we learned last week it will launchFeb. 19 in-store for $299. Today, you can finally pre-order this “phablet” in both carbon blue and ceramic white colors. Better yet, if you pre-order the device today, it will be shipped to you on Feb. 17, just two days before it is available in-stores on Feb. 19.

Just as a reminder: the Galaxy Note sports a huge 5.3-inch touchscreen, dual-core 1.5 GHz Snapdragon S3 processor, 1 GB of RAM, and Samsung’s advanced S-Pen. It will also be available on AT&T’s 4G network.

The pre-order launched today to compliment Samsung’s advertisement in the fourth quarter of today’s Super Bowl. Are any of you pre-ordering?

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQro3kvKCtk]

As we reported yesterday, Samsung is plotting an aggressive advertising push to promote the 5.3-inch Galaxy Note with its first-ever Super Bowl commercial scheduled to air during the fourth quarter of the big game on Sunday, Feb. 5. Today, the company released a teaser clip of the advert, include above. The 45-second video tweaks the original line waiters’ formula a bit. Adding ambiguous music background (Tainted Love by Soft Cell), the commercial depicts exhausted people standing in line, looking terribly bored.

They are annoyed, too, as apparently a new iPhone they have been waiting for “looks the same,” lacks 4G, has “sketchy” battery and so forth. Then, the advert eludes that the Galaxy Note guy is coming to the rescue. Before we get to see him, the advert wraps up with the “The next big thing is already here… Again” tagline. To our Apple fans, it is a subtle hint at Apple’s iPhone 4 promotional video that closes: “This will change everything – all over again.”

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Samsung confirmed plans to launch its Galaxy Note phone in the United States come Feb. 5 with an aggressive marketing push. The South Korean conglomerate will spare no expense promoting the 5.3-inch device that features a stylus, as it will take advantage of the nation’s most valuable ad space during the Super Bowl XLVI finals. To our overseas readers, Super Bowl is the largest sporting event in the United States.

The 90-second Galaxy Note Super Bowl commercial will air during the fourth quarter of the big game on Sunday, Feb. 5. Pre-orders for the Note begin the same day, Samsung confirmed. As we learned yesterday, the Note will also be available at AT&T and Best Buy Stores beginning Feb. 19, with pre-orders at those outlets also starting Feb. 5.

The commercial, which will also feature HD shots made on the Note, marks Samsung’s Super Bowl debut, as the company never bought a Super Bowl ad slot in its 71-year history. The advert is directed by Bobby Farrelly of the “There’s Something About Mary,” “Dumb and Dumber” and “Kingpin” fame. The announcement also marks a continuation of Samsung’s aggressive marketing push…

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This is my next has learned that Samsung has a few interesting announcements up its sleeve ready for the IFA trade show which is scheduled to run September 2-7, 2011 in Berlin, Germany. Hints inside the code of Samsung’s Android app contain references to an unreleased 7.7-inch tablet conveniently referred to as the Galaxy Tab 7.7. The code also makes mention of Wave 3, most likely a new version of the Wave series of feature phones powered by the company’s own operating system dubbed Bada.

Finally, the publication discovered references to Galaxy Note, a mysterious device most likely to be a tablet of sorts. The fact that Samsung is telling users to updated said app September 1 indicates with a high degree of certainty plans to unveil new products on that day. In addition to this “leak”, 9to5Google informed you yesterday of the specs supposedly belonging to an array of new Samsung smartphones to be marketed under the Galaxy M, Galaxy W, Galaxy Y and Galaxy R monikers.

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