Samsung Galaxy Note: halfway between an Android Smartphone and tablet

Somewhere between the Smartphone and tablet you will find the Samsung Galaxy Note, a handset with a 5.3" display, both long and thin, running the Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system.

What is the largest screen size acceptable for a mobile phone? Not so long ago, Sony stated 4.3" was the optimal size for their portable console. Since then, Smartphones larger than 4" are often seen in top of the line models, with some even being as large as 4.5" when they combine multimedia and very high speed mobile connections.

What is the acceptable minimum screen size for a tactile tablet then? Industry insiders seem to think the 7" format is it, even though the sector is still young. Between these two sizes things become a little blurred between Smartphones and tablets, making it hard to place such products into either category.

Dell had a hard time with their Dell Streak tablet/Smartphone with a 5" display. In this hole between the two product lines, you really need specific functions to be able to bridge the gap. This is what Samsung has now announced with the Samsung Galaxy Note unveiled at the IFA 2011 show in Berlin, with a 5.3" Super AMOLED 1280 x 800 pixel display.


Stylus and notes entry
 In the present case, this is more of a Smartphone with an advanced notepad function accessible via the stylus: the S Pen, and its dedicated applications - S Planner as a calendar and S Memo for note taking, while an SDK has also been made available to integrate the use of the stylus into third party applications.

This isn’t without forgetting the possibilities of the HTC Scribe which was unveiled with the HTC Flyer tablet at the beginning of the year.

The Samsung Galaxy Note is a handset running 2.3 Gingerbread with the TouchWiz tactile layer. The device is powered by a dual core 1.4 GHz processor, is HSPA+ compatible and comes with a 2 mega pixel camera lens on the front and an 8 mega pixel lens on the back.

Engadget notes that the despite the unusual screen size, the device is still easily controlled thanks to its thin form: 9.7 mm, while only weighing 178g – making it almost the same size as a Smartphone.

Samsung is still in discussion with carriers, with there being no release date or pricing yet available.