![]() There's also the question of how well the S Pen does at actual writing and drawing. I also appreciate the undo and eraser tools in the memo apps, as well as the setting for lefties. It works better the more neatly you write, and it won't work perfectly every time. I do like the tool for converting handwriting into text. It takes a little time to pick up certain navigation shortcuts and work your way through the various apps I found myself becoming frustrated at the beginning, and expect that I'll adapt as I grow more used to the environment. While I hardly have the world's most elegant handwriting, the S Pen made it look even more scrawled. Writing is a little strange at first, since there's some lag in seeing your strokes appear on the screen. You can write with the S Pen in almost all text fields you turn that on when you tap the pen icon on the Samsung keyboard. ![]() For example, you can add a handwritten Quick Memo note to a calendar event. Regardless, the apps offer a great alternative to the rigidity of typing, and system integration is reasonably good. You can read more about S Note and the S Memo widget here. The controls are more sophisticated, but I wish Samsung just consolidated these features into one app you can access different ways. It's takes S Memo a couple of steps further with a few more flexible features, including being able to hand write mathematical formulas and turn sketched shapes into straight-lined renditions. Then there's S Note, which is new to the U.S. There's also the distinct possibility that once it's unsheathed, it'd be easy to drop or misplace. The S Pen is reasonably comfortable in the hand, but it's so slim and light (just 0.1 ounce, rounded up) that holding it sometimes feels like grasping at air. Physically, the wand is a wisp of a thing, just 4.1 inches tall and 0.2 inch thick, with a button on the side that serves as a shortcut to perform a handful of tasks. Yet, if you never release the S Pen from its snug plastic tunnel, you won't miss out on the Note's essential smartphone features. ![]() The Galaxy Note's throwback stylus can take screenshots, jot your notes, and respond to pen pressure - all good stuff. I personally have mixed feelings about TouchWiz, and I'm ready for a change to an Android OS layer more in line with Google's vision. You can also transfer URLs, maps, and contact info from one NFC-compatible phone to another using Android Beam (turn it on in the settings.) Since many of Ice Cream Sandwich's best new features are visual overhauls, it seems like very little has changed from Android 2.3 to Android 4.0. One difference is that you can press the home button to see a list of recent apps pop up. Samsung and T-Mobile may have blessed the Galaxy Note with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, but under the layers of Samsung's customized TouchWiz interface, it looks and acts a lot more like Android 2.3 Gingerbread. The Galaxy Note packs an 8-megapixel camera with flash, and the microSD card slot beneath the back cover holds up to 32GB of your goods. If you're worried about losing it, the S Pen clicks firmly into place and stays there. ![]() You can plug your headphones into the 3.5mm jack up top. On the bottom live the Micro-USB charging port and the hollowed-out slot for the Note's S Pen stylus. The volume rocker is on the left spine, and the power button is on the right. You'll find a 2-megapixel front-facing camera above the screen below it, there are the four customary touch-sensitive navigation buttons for Menu, Home, Back, and Search. The rest of the phone looks a lot like others in the Galaxy S II family. It weighs a chunky 6.3 ounces, but that heft also lends it a greater sense of structural strength. Plastic may not seem upscale, but it does offer its own brand of durability over glass parts that can shatter or paint that can chip off metal fixtures. This doesn't make for the particularly premium experience that I feel $250 should buy, but I can't complain about the general aesthetic. As with the rest of the Galaxy series, the Note's body is made from plastic materials. This could speak volumes to my lack of skill as a virtual typist, but the keyboard width didn't prevent me from making mistakes, and I eventually switched from the Samsung keyboard in my e-mail client to the Android keyboard and Swype.Īlthough it's a big phone, the Note is pretty easy on the eyes, and the slim build keeps it looking light and lean. On the other hand, I appreciate the roomy virtual keyboard, which cuts down eye strain and gives fingers or the stylus plenty of space to hit a digital key. Operating it one-handed is a limited venture even with the special keyboard setting turned on it might be difficult to keep a hold of the phone the bus.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |