We Asked Our Readers Why They Love the Samsung Galaxy Note

I've a Galaxy Note that I bought the week they came out, had a Samsung Infuse before that. I came from the smaller screened phones and I had trouble with the screen being so small due to having over-sized hands. I love the Note, though I wish it could have a kick stand, but the stylus is amazing enough that I'm not too worried about it.

Anything without a physical keyboard stinks period. On-screen touch screen keyboards are too error prone for fast typists to put up with. I will keep my sidekick 4G forever since it's the only one made with texters and emailers in mind. A one thumb touch screen is simply a dumb idea-if you like that kind go back to blackberries and their portrait phones!

For me the bigger the screen the better. The bigger the screen the more content and detail that can be displayed. The it's too big argument just never flys for me. I just don't believe "it's too big for a mans pockets" when I'm traveling to new country I often find myself with two big touch phones in my pockets. I'm quite average size. As for one handed use, I find on all my phones, note or not, I'm constantly changing from one to two handed use depending on what I'm doing. For me the issue is at what size does it become so big that you look like an idiot holding a dinner plate to the side of your head. I'm excited to get my hands on the S3 and hope they come out with S3 Note soon.

I got the Note the first day it was available. What attracted me to it was the stylus and the size. I am very satisfied with it and am just waiting for the update to ICS. As for phone usage I have adopted a bluetooth device (the Motorola Sliver - which I think has a few issues). I don't carry it in a pocket, I found a puch with a belt clip and am waiting for a better holder (on it's way). don't know why people are so obsessed with one handed phone usage, there are more important things to do in life than constantly be using your smart phone.
And I have noticed that all the reviewers seem to be focused on the size as a negative. I have yet to have anyone say that the phone is ridiculous, if anything when people see it they are fascinated with it nd love it. I have had many people say they want to get one. So much for all you experts.

“Bigger screen, therefore it can display more stuff” doesn’t always mean “Therefore it actually does wind up displaying more stuff”. When designing applications for these dinner plate phones and even for many android tablets, many app developers choose to stretch the interface, keeping the text the same size and generally resulting in an app that’s terrible to use. Sadly, that’s the result of a market without standards for resolution or screen size.

I love my Note, even more than my retired Dell Streak. My gal liked it, too, so I got a 2nd Note. I'm a big-handed geek, but my gal is a petite lil thing, and I can confirm that the 'one-handed vs two-handed' use argument is stupid. Me, I'm all over it, no problem, and with it next to my pumpkin-esque noggin, it normalizes things, a bit. I use PC remote controls with ease, tether to the H+ speeds, read PDFs and eBooks with ease, and goof off with it, too. And my pretty little lady watches music videos, Netflix and Amazon movies, satellite streams of Howard Stern, plays crazy games with her nephew, and knocks out S-Notes via the stylus like a gifted scribe. This 5.3" screen has become a dominant force in both our lives, and she's so *over* the iPhone now. :) Well done, Samsung!!

I own a Galaxy Nexus and it is not big enough. I love, love, love ICS, love the Galaxy Nexus, but would have chosen the Note if my carrier offered it.
I have no trouble using it one handed. I have been using phones one and two handed since my original Droid.
Using the Note, the extra screen size is delightful. I use my phone for Kindle books, Audible books when driving, browsing, texts and emails, games and occasional Netflix. Phone calls and casual texts, emails and Apps are one handed, serious texting, browsing, gaming or any videos are two handed.
We have a couple kindles, and Ipad2, a LePan 10" pad and another 7" pad. I would never use a 7" pad for a phone, but my Nexus (4.65") and the Note (5.3") are great.
So, no to 7" and yes to 5.3"... we are getting close to the perfect phone for me, but I'm still not sure 5.3" is enough for me. Yes, I'm a geek, but I'm not the only one. I'd like to leave my tablet at home and use only a bigger phone on the go. What's the perfect size phone?

For me the perfect solution would be three fold. Stage 1 is a 10" tablet which would have 4g and cell phone connection. It would be stowed away in a bag unless I wanted to use it for browsing, reading, or watching. This would connect to one of those wristband phone interfaces you see around. This way I could make and receive calls without having to pull it out. A bluetooth headset would round it out. You would never have to dig into your pockets to make or receive a call, plus you would have the larger screen available for better viewing pleasure.

Stop wearing skinny jeans and you'll be able to fit your phone in the pocket.

The title for this article should be "Galaxy Note not for lame ass hipsters in skinny jeans"

I want one device that does everything, I don't want to pay for a phone and a tablet, and if I had a tablet it would probably never leave my living room. Why cant these "expert reviewers" understand that people want the benefits of a larger screen paired with the convenience and portability of a phone.

Let me interpret this article for you. -

"I didn't care for the Galaxy Note at all--too big, unable to be either a great phone or a great tablet. But it's been a huge success. Here's why" -

The reason why is because you were paid off by Apple like most magazines since they have a huge marketing budget. Anyone who owns a Samsung device like my Samsung Galaxy S2 knows they are better than any iPhone on the market. Samsung makes the parts that go into the iPhone!! LOL Samsungs are faster, easier to type on (with no fat finger effect), they use any plugin available to the internet, and are completely customizable to your needs. If you suck with computers, have little to no inquisitivness, low IQ, or like being a trend following sheep then by all means buy an iPhone or iPad. Anyone else knows the Samsung products are way better and we don't need something tiny like the iPhone to fit into skinny jeans cause we are majority. We wear pants! - Go Android

www.joesid.com - Where 3D meets Flash

While I won't argue that some have a need for a physical keyboard or larger size or even a stylus, I do argue that the Note is nothing more than a compromise that is too big for easy, pocket carrying or holding to the ear as a phone and too small to be an effective tablet. Then again, even the 7" tablets are too small for me, though as a reader/viewer only it's quite effective. Adding a stylus to it? Well, I did own a Sony Clie´and quickly learned to hate the stylus because it was too thin for comfort and even though I never lost it, I nearly did several times by having it fall between seat cushions and other places again because it was so thin. As an option, a stylus is useful, but I don't see it as mandatory.

No, I do prefer something that can fit easily into a shirt pocket (where it won't get crushed when you sit down) and can be used one-handed especially when your hands are filled with your shopping or your tools. I've used every alternate iPhone starting with the 3G and so far really appreciate the size and the ease of use.

I'm 5'4" and I've owned the note for over a month. It fits in every pocket I own, including my regular and dress shirt pockets. I don't know why some people insist on saying they won't own this phone because it won't fit in their pockets when they haven't even tried it. Every time someone sees me with my phone and states that they can't ever own a phone like that because they can't put it in their pocket, I hand them my phone and tell them to try it. I have yet to meet someone not able to fit it in the pockets they put their own phones in, even with the case I carry it in. The girls I know with their skinny jeans don't carry their phones in their pockets, I don't think I've ever really seen them carry anything in those pockets for that matter.

It's not a perfect phone but it is a good phone. It's a great multimedia device and a good reader. The best thing about it is that I can pull it out and use it anywhere I am, even when I'm visiting the "library." A tablet or ereader are better at what they do but do you have your tablet or ereader everywhere you go with you? If you do, I bet you're not carrying those in your pocket are you?

Coming off of an iphone 4s to my Galaxy Note. I'm a frequent phone shifter. So, giving the Galaxy Note a try wasn't necessarily a commitment. It is absolutely refreshing. The amount of time people actually spend with a smartphone actually up to their faces on phone calls is relatively low compared to the time spent looking at and interacting with their screen. The advances in OS and interfaces has balanced out what was a senseless trend towards smaller is better. Pure and simple.

Simple fact is, bigger isn't always better. Bigger 'hybrid' gadgets make you look like an old person. I will be getting an iPad 3rd gen to digitize 30 pounds of textbooks for next semester down to 2.33 pounds. I carry a phone (no iPhone, or smartphone yet :P), a laptop and my books in a large backpack. I have to have a bag with me at all times, so adding a separate gadget in order to retain my pockets for keys and other things is fine by me. I look at people with these huge awkward phones and wonder if it's really worth losing my self-image just to carry one gadget that sits between the sizes of the other two.

@ Tangsten

Apple is bribing PopSci...yeah, and the holocaust and 9/11 never happened, and the 6th dimension reptillian shape shifters who run our government are crop dusting us with mind control drugs with jet contrails.

Kudos for reevaluating your evaluation process. Your mistake was reviewing the Note from the perspective of an average user rather than the niche user (although a large niche as it turns out) for which it was designed. From that perspective, someone who desires the extra real estate and is willing to deal with what that brings, the Note is an excellent execution. It is very light weight without compromising battery life, has an HD display, and a built-in stylus. These aspects go beyond just a scaled up smartphone and make the device something special. My wife bought one last week and loves it. I have carried it in my pants pocket and it is surprisingly comfortable. I don't know if I would want a phone quite this big, but seeing and handling hers alleviated any qualms I may have had about the size of the upcoming GSIII (which, by the way, is slightly lighter than the iPhone 4S).

The answer is simple:

There are two kinds of people in this world:

The open minded, innovators usually the early adopters (rational enough to be married to technology and not a brand as a religious devotee)

and

The closed minded, joiners, adopters, followers, sheep writing off stuff before even trying it because "things are just not supposed to be that way" (phones are not supposed to be more than 3.5 inches even if you have to squint, "I will
die if I can't use it with one hand".. "though I weirdly don't for angry birds and lots of browsing also", "I will stick with this company even if it keeps ripping me off by selling me features others offered 2 years ago at half the price because..well..everyone else is buying stuff fromit!"

Alas..while we would expect tech reviewers to belong to the first group..chances are if you are making any sort of living actually writing for a tech blog or magazine "professionally" you most likely belong to the second group!

Do all of us a favor Dan and actually USE the Note as your primary device for a week..then come back and write the review :-)

I be interested if you also note the age of those who Like the larger screen phones and would not be surprised if most are about 40 and above when our ocular muscle in our eyes start betraying us in the close up vision.

As a graphic designer, I love using this phone to show off projects to clients and even my family, and with AT&Ts 4G LTE lightning fast network it makes my job a lot easier and more efficient to work with.

I'm also a graphics designer and the phone is fine, even with two hands. It's all about visuals. And, 4G LTE makes it easy to communicate with my clients and other graphics designers in the United States; we share design ideas and bounce ideas off each other. I’m on AT&T, btw, in Austin.