Samsung Galaxy Note First Impressions: Size, S-Pen and TouchWiz

Size

The phone looked very large at first, but it became comfortable quickly. The SIM was not inserted because it was a Bell unit, so calling was not tested. After going back to the Nexus, which had seemed big before, it looked small. The writer’s view was that hands and eyes adjust.

The S-Pen

Using the stylus felt different from older Palm devices, since a bit more pressure was needed to swipe or tap. Drawing, screenshots and doodling were attractive, though the writer was unsure how useful they were beyond novelty. The stylus did not work on the soft keys, which was annoying.

System and interface

• The reviewer had grown used to Ice Cream Sandwich and disliked going back to Gingerbread.
• TouchWiz felt slow and clumsy to navigate, even though the hardware was strong.
• Some buttons were in unusual places, which made switching apps harder.
• Dismissing a single notification was a hassle.
• The permanent buttons felt dated next to the soft buttons the reviewer missed.

It was unclear whether an update to Ice Cream Sandwich would fix these points.

Final thoughts

An NFC test did not work. The Nexus could not beam data to another phone, and the cause was unclear. The back design felt nice, and the bezel lip added a sense of durability. A video review was planned during a two week loan.