Samsung Galaxy Note Unboxing

Is it a phone, a tablet…Or both? The Samsung Galaxy Note is sure to evoke some looks from passersby. With a 5.3 inch HD Super AMOLED display the Galaxy Note is one of the largest smartphones available. Yet even with this enormous screen Samsung has kept the design thin and stylish.

In this video we unbox the new 16GB Samsung Galaxy Note running on Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread (Ice Cream Sandwich will officially come in 2012). Included with the Galaxy Note is a microUSB sync/charging cable, a wall charger, a white in-ear stereo headset, a capacious 2500mAh Li-ion battery, and an official Samsung Galaxy Note Flip Cover. The cover may be a promotional item as it states on the back “Not For Sale” which suggests it is bundled with the Galaxy Note. The most innovative item included with the Galaxy Note is the S-Pen, which is different from a capacitive stylus in that is will only work with the Galaxy Note and has a secondary action button. Powered by a 1.4 GHz Exynos processor along with 1GB RAM produces one of the fastest stock Android smartphones obtainable.

The Samsung Galaxy Note is available unlocked for around $800 US from Clove. The unlocked version features quad band GSM 850/900/1800/1900 and HSPA+ up to 21Mbps 850/900/1900/2100. Stay tuned for the hardware, software, and final reviews coming up next.

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Tags: Android, Galaxy Note, HD, MID, Samsung, Smartphones, Super AMOLED, Tablet PC's, Unboxing, Video

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Samsung Galaxy Note: 3 November UK release, also comes in white

5.3-inch tablet phone days away

Samsung has confirmed that it will be launching the Samsung Galaxy Note in the UK on the 3 November, two weeks earlier than expected, and be offering a white version of the miniature tablet, or should that be massive phone on launch day too.

“We’ve had a great response from our retail partners, customers and industry watchers alike following the Galaxy Note announcement at IFA in September and are excited that consumers will be able to buy the device from a wide range of retailers as of next week,” said Simon Stanford, Managing Director, Mobile, Samsung UK and Ireland at the launch party for the event in London.

Those keen to get their hands on the new device will be able to do so from all major networks, specialist phone retailers, key high street, out of town and online electrical retailers, including Carphone Warehouse from Thursday 3 November 2011. Samsung has previously said that the Note wouldn’t be available until the 17 November – that is incidentally the new release date for the Samsung Galaxy Nexus.

The company also confirmed that the Note would be coming in white from day one.

In related news, Samsung also announced that the number of dedicated apps that now use the company’s “S-Pen” has also increased. New apps demoed include Soonr, OmniSketch, Zen Brush, ComicBook!, and iAnnotate PDF.

It is unsure whether Samsung will be updating the Samsung Galaxy Note to support Google’s new operating system Ice Cream Sandwich. That OS, which will be on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, does come with native pen support so it would be possible. In the meantime Samsung has said that an SDK for the S-Pen so developers can create dedicated apps would be released in December.

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Tags: Android, Galaxy Note, MID, Samsung, Smartphones, Tablet PC's, UK

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Samsung Galaxy Note Benches Sky-High Quandrant Score

Samsung’s outrageously large smartphone, the Galaxy Note not only features a huge, larger-than-five-inch screen but it also packs a super speedy 1.4GHz dual-core Exynos processor to go with the one-gig of RAM.

While we do understand that this might not be final hardware or software, the Greek guys over at Techblog have managed to run Quadrant on the phone. We also know that Quadrant isn’t super accurate when it comes to dual-core devices but it’s the preferred benchmarking solution of many. That being said, the Samsung beast got a score as outrageous as its dimensions: 3,624. The Galaxy S II got a 3,152 which makes the Note one of the fastest Android phones out there.

The Samsung Galaxy Note is expected to hit the British market in the first quarter of 2012 and a U.S. launch is reportedly following. What we don’t know though is how soon after the European launch? Samsung Galaxy S II-soon?

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Tags: Android, Galaxy Note, MID, Samsung, Smartphones, Tablet PC's, Video

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Samsung Galaxy Note Pricing Revealed

Samsung has revealed the pricing of its new Galaxy Note 5.3″ smartphone, at least in Europe. The device is expected to cost 549 Euros without a contract and 199 Euros with a contract. This is consistent with high-end smartphone pricing, and given that the bill of material (the cost of the components) is higher, we suspect that Samsung is accepting thinner margins in order to promote a unique smartphone format to the market. In the UK, the same device will retail for 500 GBP (before taxes).Looking at the pricing schemes used in the past, this means that we may get the Samsung Galaxy Note for $549 (unlocked) and $200 (with contract) when (and if) it comes to the USA.

It has been said that Samsung has no plans to release the Galaxy Note in the American market, but in my opinion, this official remark was interpreted in a slightly dramatic way. It is standard procedure for Samsung personnel to say that the company has “no plans” until there is an official plan. The US market is simply too big to skip for any significant product. It is likely that Samsung will test the markets before heading for a massive north American launch. The U.S got the massively popular Galaxy S2 phone 3 months after Asia and Europe.

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Tags: Android, Galaxy Note, MID, Samsung, Smartphones, Tablet PC's

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ICE Smart Android device occupies no man’s land

A device that has a 5″ display is surely too large to be a comfortable smartphone to use even with the right operating system, while it won’t fare too well as a tablet either since the screen size is far too small. Where does that place it? In no man’s land, of course. The ICE Smart device that runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread falls under this category (unfortunately), so it needs the consumer market to create a niche for it to survive, otherwise I suspect we won’t see too many 5″ devices floating around in the future.

At $190 a pop, this could very well be an Android-powered portable media player, although don’t expect it to unseat the iPod touch anytime soon. What does the ICE Smart deliver? How about 1080p HD video playback support for starters, not to mention a mini HDMI port for video output, and a microSD card slot? Other than those, everything else is rather vanilla, ranging from its 800 x 480 resolution resistive touchscreen display, 8GB of internal memory, an 800 MHz ARM11 processor, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi connectivity and a built-in G-sensor.

You can use the ICE Smart as a USB host, letting you hook up a keyboard or mouse to it if you want more control over the interface. Do you think the somewhat aluminum sides make it look as though it is an iPhone 4?

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Tags: 1080p, Android, Android 2.3, Gingerbread, HD, HDMI, ICE Smart, MicroSD, MID, PMP, Smartphones

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Viliv, UMPC and MID proponent, reportedly exiting the ultramobile game

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Tags: MID, UMPC, Viliv

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PsiXpda planning Psion 5mx-style QWERTY Android MID

PsiXpda, who you may remember channeled some classic Psion nostalgia for their UMPC in late 2009, is planning a second attempt on the companion device market with a design that sticks more faithfully to the fondly-remembered Series 5mx. Founder Paul Pinnock told Reghardware that, while the PsiXpda sold out its (admittedly tentative at just 2,000 units) production run, the new model will use Android and have a more imaginative form-factor.

The original PsiXpda UMPC – which we reviewed in January 2010 – was a rebadged DigiCube MIDPhone-50, running Windows XP on a sliding, tilting 4.8-inch 800 x 480 resistive touchscreen display, with a full QWERTY keyboard, Atom Z510 1.1GHz processor and 1GB of RAM. At the time we criticized its underwhelming battery life and disappointingly small display (which struggled even to accommodate Windows XP’s default messages) and suggested that it was not the model to break UMPCs out into the mainstream.

Pinnock apparently agrees, admitting that the original PsiXpda was “not fast enough and not good enough.” Instead, he’s looking to the much-loved Psion Series 5mx (shown above) design for a follow-up. The 5mx managed – by virtue of a clever sliding-folding hinge mechanism – to fit a large physical QWERTY keyboard with decent travel into a 170 x 90 x 23 mm form-factor, big enough for many to actually touch-type on. A useful byproduct of the design meant that tapping the 5.6-inch touchscreen wouldn’t topple the 5mx backward.

Rather than attempt to squeeze a desktop OS onto the new PsiXpda, Pinnock intends to use Android, which should add up to longer battery life and more consumer appeal. Although we’ve seen Android MIDs with physical ‘boards before, they’ve always been intended for thumb-typing rather than anything more ambitious. No word on when PsiXpda intends to release the new model, but we’re tentatively curious to see if its second attempt can do a better job of living up to the Psion inspiration.

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Tags: Android, MID, Psion, PsiXpda

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Dell Streak gets Honeycomb SDK port, starting to look like a real tablet

Dell always told us the Streak was a tablet and not a phone, so it makes perfect sense to see Android’s latest version, the tablet-friendly Honeycomb, ported over to its 5-inch slate. As usual with these builds, we’re still at a very early stage, with the chap responsible for the hack noting that “no way is this close to release,” but it’s still rather exciting to see that brand new interface freshening up familiar pieces of kit. And hey, it’s not like Dell itself is going to be delivering Android 3.0 anytime soon either, right? Click the source link to keep yourself updated on how this community port progresses.

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Tags: Android, Dell, Dell Streak, Honeycomb, MID, SDK, Tablet PC's

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Dell Streak Just £319.20 On Tesco

Tesco have put the Dell Streak on their website on Pay As You Go for just £319.20 which is a good £80 less than a sim free price direct from Dell and cheaper than O2 currently charge.

The Dell Streak is not exactly the smallest device with a massive 5 inch screen so not ideal as a day to day phone device but as a tablet is has to be one of the best and now runs Android 2.2.

Looks like when it comes to Tesco and savings on a smartphone…. every little helps (sorry I could not resist)

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Tags: Android, Dell, Dell Streak, MID, Pay As You Go, Smartphones, Tablet PC's, Tesco

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Dell lowers Streak price to $400, but will make you wait until January to get it

Good news: Dell’s unlocked Streak has just plunged down the pricing charts with a neat $180 discount taking it to a palatable $400 level. Bad news: you won’t get yours shipped until the 10th of January, according to Round Rock’s web outlet. Android 2.2 won’t come preloaded, you’ll have to snag the OTA update, though you do get a wide palette of colors to choose from, including black, noir, nero, preto, and schwarz — pick wisely!

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Tags: Android, Dell, Dell Streak, MID, Tablet PC's, Unlocked

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