Samsung Galaxy Note for AT&T: review, price, release date, and more

As promised, the Samsung Galaxy Note is now available for sale on AT&T. The giant 5.3-inch handset was just announced a few weeks ago at CES, and since then it's been flaunted with great fanfare by Samsung. Just be sure to check the subtotal before checking out — the Note carries the trendy top-tier smartphone price of $299.99 on a two-year agreement.

Note: Our original review was of the unlocked, £499.99 ($784) GSM Galaxy Note. We've updated the review to reflect our impressions and tests of the $299 (with contract) AT&T model as well. Check out the Connectivity and Software sections, in particular, to see the biggest differences between the two devices.

There once was a time, commonly referred to as the pre-iPad era, when people questioned if there really was a gap between laptops and smartphones for tablets to fill. The two established device categories seemed to have too many overlaps in functionality to permit a separate product type to exist between them. Today, that question has been answered emphatically by the wildly popular tablet market, but the challenge of trailblazing new form factors remains and has been taken up by Samsung with the 5.3-inch Galaxy Note. Too small to be considered a tablet and too large to be deemed a phone, this new Android device seeks to demonstrate the value of its unconventional size as well as its own credentials.

Speaking of "enormous," does the Galaxy Note fit in a pocket? It can — but considering that it comically dwarfs an already large 4.65-inch Galaxy Nexus sitting next to it, we'd recommend testing it with each and every pocket you'd ever carry it in before committing. Samsung hasn't given guidance on when we'll see the device on AT&T shelves, but when it comes, it'll be available both in "carbon blue" and "ceramic white."

Even before today, it was looking likely the Samsung Galaxy Note was headed for AT&T, and today PocketNow released some official-looking promo images that make it even more probable. Aside from swapping in four capacitive Android buttons for the single home button on the international version (as we saw the other day), the tablet / smartphone hybrid looks unchanged. There's very little left to do with this device but announce it, which we're fairly sure will happen next week at CES. If you've been waiting for smartphone styli to come back into fashion in the US, you shouldn't have to wait much longer.

Update: We've received a retraction from Anymode, which states that the earlier announcement "contained inaccurate information pertaining to AT&T and the release of the Samsung Galaxy Note." It goes on to say that "the information was not provided by Anymode, AT&T or Samsung, nor did Anymode, AT&T or Samsung approve it. The issuing party apologizes for the publishing of the inaccurate information and any inconvenience it may have caused." That sounds to us more or less like the PR company is falling on its sword after getting the release out early, but we'll take it at face value and try to forget that the original announcement was ever made.

Image Credit: SamMobile, SlashGear

The stylus-strapped Galaxy Note has achieved its first milestone, crossing the one million shipments mark within a couple of months of its global release. Shipments to retailers and carriers are, by definition, always greater than actual end-user sales, but Samsung will still be encouraged to see broad support for its unorthodox Android device. Measuring in at 5.3 inches, the Galaxy Note intentionally straddles the gap between tablet and smartphone form factors, aiming to be everything to everyone. We'll soon get a chance to see how an American audience will react to the Note's dimensions, as Samsung has also promised to deliver the Galaxy Note to the US in 2012.

We still don't know if it's a tiny tablet or a monster phone, but Korean Galaxy Note buyers will now have the option of picking one up with LTE. It might be available today, and Samsung announced that the LTE version will include NFC, unlike the Galaxy Note that was made available earlier this month in the UK. We don't know what Samsung's plans are outside of Korea, but it's certainly possible that Verizon or AT&T may decide to bring it to their LTE networks. If the prospect of an LTE-powered tablet-phone hybrid piques your interest, be sure to check out our hands-on impressions and see the full specs at the product page below.

The 5.3-inch Galaxy Note is large and in charge at IFA today. We've gotten to grips with one of the very first units and you can find the hands-on gallery (and now video!) right after the break.

Samsung is well known for its amazing mobile displays by now, but we're not sure we've seen anything as amazing as the Galaxy Note's display. It's not just the high pixel density or Super AMOLED's great brightness and viewing angles, but the colors are some of the truest we've ever seen from Samsung. Although, if there's ever a criticism for AMOLED displays, it's that they can be a little too colorful, straying into the realm of oversaturation. Still, our jaw is on the floor.

Ever heard of a 5.3-inch Super AMOLED screen with 1280 x 800 resolution and a pixel density of 285ppi? The answer, now that Samsung has removed the veil of mystery from its new Galaxy Note Android smartphone, is a most enthusiastic 'yes!' Codenamed GT-i9220, the Galaxy Note comes with a dual-core 1.4GHz processor (the same as in the Galaxy Tab 7.7), 1GB of RAM, 16GB or 32GB of built-in storage, an 8-megapixel rear- and 2-megapixel front-facing camera, and a dedicated stylus dubbed S Pen. In the finest tradition of old school PDAs, there's even a slot in the 9.65mm-thick case of the Note where the S Pen slides in, and Samsung promises to build out a big ecosystem of capabilities around the accessory. It's supported by most apps native to the phone, including note-taking, email, IM, video and photo viewers, and Samsung will be releasing an SDK as well shortly after the Note's release.

We're not yet told when this mighty crossover machine will be making its debut, but Samsung candidly describes it as a global hero device. The company's in discussions with carriers at the moment and, excitingly, noted that there'll be two variants with advanced wireless connectivity: one with HSPA+ and one with LTE. So yes, all that and 4G.