Note from another Galaxy

JAKARTA, Indonesia — “The Galaxy Note and Galaxy Nexus are signs of our commitment to leading mobile technology by   innovation,” said Gregory Lee, president and CEO Samsung Asia Limited at the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Note, recently. “Through our extensive research and analysis we learned that people want to do more while on the go.”

The new Samsung Galaxy Note runs on Gingerbread (Android 2.3) OS. But Samsung believes that the winner for this new device is its pen-like stylus dubbed the S Pen, which lets you write and draw on the 5.3-inch super AMOLED capacitive screen.

We got a chance to play with the Galaxy Note at the showroom in the Ritz Carlton Hotel Ballroom in Jakarta. Impressions?

I enjoyed the Galaxy Note’s quick, efficient, and really bright and colorful screen. That’s because the Galaxy Note is loaded with a dual-core 1.4GHz processor, and has a huge 5.3-inch display in a 1280 x 800 pixel resolution screen.

I had to be a little careful as I held the Galaxy Note because I was afraid my small hands might not be able to handle it well enough. Thank goodness there was a cord that held the device in place.

I played around with the S Pen, which Samsung believes will change the way we look at stylus devices. The S Pen is really kinda cool, and the apps that come with the Note are also great.

The experience, to echo what Samsung president Gregory Lee said, is really like writing on a notepad. And for those of us who attend events like these, a notepad is always our best friend.

 The Galaxy Note read my handwriting well. I was surprised with how quick the recognition of my handwriting was made. Must be the fact that I had just filled up my immigration form in block letters a few hours before using the Galaxy Note.

 The large screen is really good when browsing, a trademark that has become synonymous with Samsung cell phones. If you used a Samsung gadgets with the AMOLED screen, then you’ll know that clarity and crispness of pictures and videos on these screens are really something else.

I did some Wi-Fi connecting to my e-mail, which was a joy to read because of the large screen. I got to download one of the attachments on my e-mail, which was a photo. I used the S Pen to scribble a note on the photo and then I e-mailed it to myself.

Fun, fun, fun.

While it’s big in size, the phone is quite thin at 9.65mm and weighs 178g, which should make the Galaxy Note easy enough to carry around. However, I’m not too sure that answering the device in a public place would be a good idea. I guess there is a need to use a Bluetooth headset when taking those calls.

I also think that the really hip accessories that they had on display will come in handy when keeping the Galaxy Note in a bag.

Going back to the S Pen stylus, I tried scribbling a few important notes on the memo pad, much like I would do if I were taking notes at a press event. It is really quite fun, to scribble on a high-tech device. There is something about loading the Galaxy Note with what is something so last century — a handwritten note — and then being able to send it out with something that is so now, like e-mail.

Back to the Showroom

The main attraction at the showroom was the three artists who drew sketches of anyone brave enough to sit in the chairs provided. The sketches were drawn using the S Pen and the many applications for creating artistic images of the sketches.

It was quite fun and funny to see how various people react to sketches made of them. Some were a little disappointed, like Samsung Philippines head of corporate communications Odette Velarde, who was not too pleased with her sketch.

I had my sketch done, too. I waited patiently and asked the artist, Suardi to make me look funny. I did look funny, and light years younger in the sketch. Cool.

I could only think of my artist friend Igan D’Bayan, whose exhibit “Zobel-D’Bayan” runs until today at Ayala Museum. He would have loved the Note because he is such a great artist and does doodles really well. I have been witness to Igan taking a pen and then doodling and coming up with a sketch that is a work of art.

Yup, I also made use of the eight-megapixel camera. Good shots, and even cooler ways to make the shots more personal. The Galaxy Note is one cell phone that any artist or even artist at heart would love to have. Why not? After a sketch is completed the artist would be able to make that all-important phone call on the same device.

As we were ushered back to the main ballroom where a six-course dinner was waiting for us, I stayed behind a little longer and watched with mouth agape at how the artists worked. I am always amazed at anyone who can sketch at the drop of a hat.

 The event was dubbed the Galaxy Note World Tour and Samsung chose Jakarta, in Southeast Asia as the place to launch because of that market’s importance. It was also announced that the Galaxy Note will be available in the Philippines on Nov. 19.

“The Galaxy Note is a revolutionary product to open a new category in the mobile phone industry and I am very proud of this accomplishment,” added Lee. “Consumers want to browse the Net, read and write e-mail, play games and view photos and videos on a larger screen. They have the need for a notepad and a pen for writing down ideas. The Galaxy tab combines all these: the smartphone, notepad and tab into one smart device.”