Dallas
– AT&T priced the Samsung Galaxy Note, a 4G Android smartphone with large
5.3-inch screen, at $299.
The device, promoted as a cross between a
tablet and smartphone, will be available in stores Feb. 19, but preorders begin
Feb. 5 for delivery by Feb. 17.
The smartphone-tablet hybrid features 4G LTE
and 4G HDPA+ technology and will be available in carbon blue and ceramic white.
The phone was unveiled earlier this month at
AT&T’s Developers Conference in Las Vegas days before CES opened.
The
carrier contends the device will replace multiple devices for many consumers,
including e-readers, because of the display’s size and use of proprietary
high-definition 1280×800-pixel Super AMOLED technology, said to make the
display to read indoors and outdoors.
The Note, which comes with a stylus to jot
down handwritten notes and drawings, sports what an AT&T spokesperson
called the largest screen on any smartphone.
“The
Galaxy Note brings a new level of efficiency to busy customers who would
normally rely on multiple devices,” said Jeff Bradley, senior VP of devices for
AT&T. “This new breed of smartphone helps consumers accomplish more with a
single device than ever before.”
With the Note’s S Pen, users can sketch
drawings, write notes, or compose handwritten emails and texts. An app called S
Memo lets users compile pictures, screen shots, voice recordings, typed text,
handwritten notes or drawings into a memo for sharing.
A planning app, designed to make use of the
large screen, integrates calendar functions with the phone’s to-do list and
schedule.
The Note’s display, said to deliver a
180-degree viewing angle, is promoted as making it possible to view PowerPoint
presentations, web pages, e-books and the like with minimal scrolling or
zooming. The screen size also enables split-screen operation in the phone’s
native apps.
Though the Note’s screen is big, the company
said it nonetheless fits in a pocket because its thickness is only 9.65mm (0.38
inches).
Other key features include 16GB of embedded
memory, MicroSD slot supporting 32GB cards, 8-megapixel rear camera,
2-megapixel front-facing camera for video chats, 1080p video capture at 24fps
and 30fps, 1080p video playback at 30fps, Bluetooth 3.0+HS, USB 2.0 Host, Wi-Fi 802.11
a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, and Juniper Networks’ Junos Pulse SSL VPN for secure
remote access to corporate networks.
A one-step screen-capture function lets users
instantly capture any screen for annotation and sharing.
Samsung plans to release the S Pen SDK to let
developers create applications that use the pen.