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Samsung Galaxy Note hitting AT&T February 19 for $300

Announced just ahead of CES 2012 this year, Samsung's unique tablet-smartphone hybrid, the Galaxy Note, will enter AT&T's device roster February 19th for $299.99.

Brian Bennett Former Senior writer
Brian Bennett is a former senior writer for the home and outdoor section at CNET.
Brian Bennett

Samsung just made pricing for its Galaxy Note device official, saying the interesting tablet-smartphone hybrid will land on AT&T February 19 for $299.99.

Now I'm sure many will get an immediate case sticker-shock after hearing the Galaxy Note's steep starting price. Keep in mind though that many new handsets these days sport this modern $300 entry fee, a trend that I hope doesn't continue.

Another fact to consider is while I question why plenty of phones cost close to $300 bucks, the Galaxy Note actually strives to combine two mobile products in one. Standing somewhere between a tablet and traditional Android handset, the Galaxy Note brings a massive 5.3 inch Super AMOLED screen (1280 by 800) plus 4G LTE data access to the party.

It also promises to do things even regular tablet computers can't do using an input device Samsung calls an S Pen. With the S Pen, users will be able to easily take screen shots in addition to marking up documents and Web pages with hand-written notes. Probably the slickest trick Samsung says the Galaxy Note can accomplish is being able to convert handwriting into standard text. 1GHz dual-core processing aside, I frankly don't think the Note has the power to decipher my cryptic scribbles.

I reserve judgment though until we get our hands on a review sample. Until then be sure to check out our hands on coverage of the Samsung Galaxy Note from CES 2012.

Watch this: Samsung Galaxy Note: Half tablet, half smartphone