Browser, Photographic camera, Battery Life, Conclusion

Browser

The Samsung Galaxy Note uses Samsung's custom browser that commencement appeared on the Galaxy Due south 2 smartphone. Pages load fairly quickly and the Note'south large brandish and dense resolution lets you see much of a website without having to pan or zoom. Unfortunately, the Note's tendency to lag rears its head in the browser when you are panning, zooming, or switching betwixt tabs. This lack of responsiveness is in stark contrast to the fluid browsing experience we saw on the Galaxy S II and really takes away from what could be a dandy browsing experience.

Camera

The camera on the Samsung Galaxy Note is the same viii megapixel unit with 1080p video capture as found on the Galaxy S II and that's certainly not a bad thing at all. Autofocus is rapid and in that location are plenty of controls easily attainable to tune your photos. The Notation's massive screen offers what is likely the largest viewfinder on any digital camera this side of a true tablet, but the phone'southward big size can make it hard to hold steady for sharp images in less-than-stellar lighting. I also plant that the fingers on my left manus would often block the lens or the flash when I had a solid grip on the Note to frame my shot.

Nonetheless, images captured by the Note look great and it's really hard to take a bad movie with information technology as long every bit the lighting is mildly decent. Video capture was equally impressive, though I wish the lens were a tad flake wider to capture more than of the scene. The 2 megapixel forepart camera offers sharp and bright images for video calls also. Unfortunately, the Notation's persistent lag rears its head in the gallery app, every bit pinch-zooming on captured images is quite stuttery.

Battery

Keeping in line with the Milky way Notation's theme of bigger is better, Samsung has equipped it with a generous 2,500mAh battery. The company would non requite an exact time for how long the battery is expected to last, only it is confident in maxim that it will get for a full mean solar day earlier needing to be recharged -- even when continued to AT&T's LTE network. In my experience, that seemed about right, as the Note lasted 14 to 15 hours betwixt charges with push services and moderate use throughout the day. Low-cal users will probable stretch it further, but heavy users volition want to invest in a 2nd battery or not stray likewise far from a power outlet.

Closing Thoughts

The Samsung Milky way Notation is tough device to recommend. Information technology hits a lot of high marks with its gorgeous brandish, great photographic camera, and speedy data services. But it fails to meet some necessary requirements to work as a phone for me -- namely it's impossible to use with one hand.

When I am running to grab a subway train and need to bang out a quick message on my phone, the Annotation is the concluding telephone that I desire to be in my hand. On the other cease, even with its unique S Pen input features, it doesn't actually offer that much more than than other smartphones on the market in terms of software experience, so information technology doesn't supervene upon your tablet either.

Add together in the persistent user interface lag that I experienced again and again, and I accept to say that the Galaxy Note is a laissez passer at to the lowest degree until Ice Foam Sandwich arrives to set up those nagging problems.

Pros: Gorgeous display, nifty camera, fast data.

Cons: Too large for its own good, laggy performance.