Funny how things go: the first hand-phones were massive brick-like devices, that manufacturers have been striving to shrink as much as possible. This resulted in phones like the skinny Motorola Razr (the old one, not the new!), which I still have lying around in a cupboard somewhere. Now, in an attempt to offer more screen area, phones are growing bigger again, now spearheaded by the Samsung Galaxy Note and its 5,3″ inches screen (in the photo next to my old HTC Desire and it’s 3,7″ screen).
I hesitated a long time to go for such a large phone (or is that a small tablet?). Went back to the store twice to play with it, trying to see how ridiculous I looked trying to make a call with what is almost a tablet. But now that I took the plunge I’m pretty much in love with my Note: the screen is huge, super detailed (1280×800 pixels, as much as a laptop), contrasted and bright. It’s so good it makes using any smaller phone painful! The rest of the phone is pretty much an oversized Galaxy S II, in other words there’s not much to complain about. I can’t say much about the stylus: it’s a good device but scribbling on the screen doesn’t feel natural to me.
It’s a real joy to browse the Web, use applications, read long articles (crisp text!) or play games on this screen. Typing with the virtual keyboard also becomes easier thanks to the much larger keys. So I do not know if I look ridiculous making calls with it, but I’m definitely not caring any more!
It’s a great phone and everyone has one now. At least one doesn’t need to strain one’s eyes reading an article or surfing on this phone. It’s a cool phone to have.