Galaxy Note N7000 Hands on Review

So I finally broke down and bought the Galaxy Note, and now that I’ve had almost a full week to play with it, I decided I would make a small review about it.

To kick it off, I made a small video to cover most of the physical portion of the phone including a Side by Side view of the Galaxy S II LTE 4.5″ screen.

Please be understanding that I’m fighting a cold here, my video may not be as good as it could have been.

Physical Design:

[*Yes I’m aware the beginning of the video sounds like “From DroidinCanada” the video stuttered near the beginning lol Deal with it.*]

• Dimensions: 146.9 x 83 x 9.7 mm
• Weight: 178g

Specs and Performance.

• 1.4Ghz dual core
• 1GB ram
• 5.3″ display at 800 x 1280 ~285 PPI with Gorilla Glass
• 16GB internal memory with MicroSD Expandable slot
• HSDPA, 21 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps
• Camera 8 MP, 3264×2448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
• 2 MP Front Camera
• Pre-loaded with Gingerbread OS 2.3.6
• Chipset Exynos

With these specs in mind, I was hitting Quadrant scores of 4700 +/- (After Root, cutting out bloatware)

I have been very pleased with how smooth everything has been on my Galaxy Note. Everything I have thrown at it has ran it like a champ. I have yet to find a single thing that has turned me off from my Galaxy Note except the lack of ICS which is coming soon.

 

Sound and Media:

As I mentioned in the video. With the Galaxy Note’s larger frame, Samsung was able to work with a larger and better speaker.

The speaker on back of the phone is outstanding to say the least. It produces a very loud and full sound compared to smaller phones we’ve seen. Playing music at it’s highest volume level produces enough sound that you can feel the physical device rattle slightly in your hands, all without distorting your music.

The top front speaker for your ear also has an amazing sound quality and volume. I’ve actually had to turn the in-call volume down when talking due to the loudness being to much for me. This is a great feature for those in loud environments. I’m very impressed.

On the video side of the device. Samsung has included their traditional video software seen on all other Galaxy Devices, which provides a very wide range of supported media with outstanding controls to stretch videos to fit the screen.

After Samsung loads all their ‘Bloatware’ some of which are very useful, others… not so much. The user is left with 11GB of accessible storage, and 2GBs are set aside for apps.

 

Battery Life:

Samsung includes a 2500 mAh Standard battery with NFC capabilities, which gets the job done for most people. However, like most Android phones, you’re going to need to charge nearly every night.

Despite the very large battery included, this devices battery lasts just a little longer than any other Galaxy S device on the market.

A full work day for me with 8 Hours of non-stop bluetooth music streaming results in me having about 55-60% battery at the end of my shift, on which I nearly take it down to 20-30% before bedtime.

I consider myself a heavy user, and after a full week of tweaking my phone and learning everything about it, I still have yet to be able to kill my battery in a full days use. That being said, this should be sufficient for any style of user (Except the hardcore Gamer obviously)

 

Screen Quality: 

The Screen quality is a lot better than previous versions of Galaxy S. It offers a higher resolution of  800 x 1280 and ~285 PPI. Viewing text and pictures even when zoomed in is very eye pleasing, and is quite a welcomed change from the earlier Galaxy S II / LTE / X 4.5 inch counter parts.

The colors are very crisp and the screen is very bright and clear. Adding the support for the Galaxy Note’s stylus and some of Samsung’s stylus supported apps are really what make this screen come to life.

 

Camera Quality:

I can’t say enough good things about the Galaxy Note’s Camera. The limited amount of pictures I’ve taken have been very clear and stable, accompanied with its large 5.3″ screen make sharing those picture a real treat for you and your partner.

I have taken some sample photos which I will post below. Just note that these pictures exceeded my 2mb upload limit, so I was forced to shrink them slightly, so I’m missing a little quality in these pictures provided.

Click to enlarge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pictures speak a thousand words, and I am very pleased with this Camera.

 

[Optional Rooting]

When I first started writing on AndroidInCanada.ca I was still fairly new to the rooting scene and was skeptical about the whole thing. Now nearly finishing up my first full year ever writing for a blog, I believe rooting is a must for every phone. Of course this is depending on the users knowledge of rooting, and how much risk they are willing to take.

I rooted my Galaxy Note nearly right away when I got it. Just after rooting, I noticed instantly an increase of speed and battery life having cut out most of the Samsung stuff I didn’t like. Good thing about having an International unlocked version, is there is no carrier bloat to worry about. I cut my running processes from 14 to 4, Quadrant score went from 3500 to about 4700 just by cutting bloat and useless apps.

If you have the North American release from Telus, Bell, or Rogers, you can find an easy root method HERE

Of course, this is one of those Flash at your own risk situations.

Rooting will easily make your device more enjoyable, but also comes with some risk for the uneducated user. If you have any questions or concerns, I highly suggest checking out the XDA Link posted within the link above. XDA has a guide for nearly any situation if your willing to search for it.

 

[Other Stuff]

Normally I hate bloatware, but Samsung has actually included a lot more usable apps and functions.

• Take a screen shop by Holding the Home button, then pressing the power button
• Take a screenshot + edit with stylus by Holding the stylus button down and holding it steady on your screen for 3 seconds.
• Pressure sensitive screen + stylus interaction
• Stylus friendly apps, such as Memo, Calendar, picture editor, games, + more downloadable apps

 

[Final Thoughts]

Skeptical at first based on its size, but after spending some time with it, I really fell in love with it. Don’t let the first 5 minute impression fool you about the size, really spend some time with it and get a feel for it before you judge it. I personally fell victim to that mistake, and I have no regrets buying this phone.

The screen, Camera, Sound, Speed, Everything about this phone is just outstanding and has actually replaced my Galaxy Nexus in my pocket. Not saying my Galaxy Nexus is retired just yet, but there is a new kid on the block for sure for the time being.

Have you used this phone? Feel free to provide your thoughts or mini review in the comments below.