Samsung’s Galaxy Note might be suffering an identity crisis as people decide what to call it, but sales certainly aren’t hurting. Last month the company announced it had sold 5 million Galaxy Notes worldwide. AT&T offers an LTE version of the Galaxy Note in the U.S., and a review unit arrived over the weekend. I have a full review forthcoming, but for now, I wanted to quickly tour the hardware on video and address a key question about the Note. Why? Because too many are asking the wrong question about the Galaxy Note, trying to classify it as a phone, a tablet or even a “phablet.”
As I explain in this brief video, the correct question to be asking is: Are you a one-handed or a two-handed smartphone user?
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Frankly, if you use one hand for most or all of your smartphone activities, I’d suggest passing on the Galaxy Note. But not because it’s a bad device. Instead, it’s a bad device for you. On the other hand, I’ve always used two hands with my smartphones; I even type with two thumbs on the iPhone. And for that approach, the Galaxy Note is a perfect fit.
Sure, I swipe through apps and pages in my Kindle books with one hand. And I can scroll or zoom with one thumb as well. But for input, I’m a two-thumber, which is ideal for the Galaxy Note. Videos, of course, don’t require much input at all, and they’re more immersive and enjoyable on a larger, high-resolution display.
So let’s stop trying to fit the Galaxy Note into one device class or the other. The handset actually does a nice job of handling both phone and tablet duties in my limited testing so far, plus it fits in a pocket like any other phone on the market: no questions asked.
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