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Samsung Galaxy Note review: It's a phone, not a tablet

There are a lot of things that AT&T's humongous Samsung Galaxy Note smartphone is, like a digital memo pad, a medium-size reader, and a great photo companion.

Jessica Dolcourt Senior Director, Commerce & Content Operations
Jessica Dolcourt is a passionate content strategist and veteran leader of CNET coverage. As Senior Director of Commerce & Content Operations, she leads a number of teams, including Commerce, How-To and Performance Optimization. Her CNET career began in 2006, testing desktop and mobile software for Download.com and CNET, including the first iPhone and Android apps and operating systems. She continued to review, report on and write a wide range of commentary and analysis on all things phones, with an emphasis on iPhone and Samsung. Jessica was one of the first people in the world to test, review and report on foldable phones and 5G wireless speeds. Jessica began leading CNET's How-To section for tips and FAQs in 2019, guiding coverage of topics ranging from personal finance to phones and home. She holds an MA with Distinction from the University of Warwick (UK).
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Samsung Galaxy Note
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Don't let its 5.3-inch size fool you; the Samsung Galaxy Note for AT&T is no tablet.

What it is, is a very large Android 2.3 smartphone firmly rooted in the Galaxy S II family tree. Yet the Note branches off in two places: that huge screen that makes the phone awkward to hold, and the stylus--called the S-Pen--that lets you navigate, write, and doodle in all sorts of apps.

Not everyone's going to like the size; in fact, I suspect it'll be a niche group who does. And yes, some people who are casually considering a tablet might also decide that they'd be happy with a big-screen phone instead. Yet the extra screen size does make watching videos and viewing photos pretty ideal for a smartphone (and annoyingly small for a tablet).

There's also that S-Pen to think about. It surely reopens a long-forgotten world of handwriting notes and doodling images that largely disappeared half a decade ago, but brings with it some potentially problematic lagginess and less-than-faithful reproduction of your pen strokes.

At any rate, the Galaxy Note doesn't skimp on high-end screen, processor, and camera specs, and the phone is 4G LTE-ready.

Watch the video, see the photos, and read all the pros and cons in my full Samsung Galaxy Note review.