Pre-orders will begin on the 5th of February for the Samsung Galaxy Note on AT&T and if you order before the 15th of February, Samsung reckon that you should have your new Galaxy Note device 2 days earlier than the official release date of the 19th.

AT&T’s price for the Samsung Galaxy Note?

The new smartphone will be $300 for a 2 year contract and will bring you all the Android goodness that many have enjoyed for a long time, I for one am quite intrigued by this device, yes it looks like a freaks toy in the hands of smaller framed people, but its a nice balance with some pretty sweet features that only a screen this size can offer.

Watch AT&T’s social media channel sell the device to you in a “happy” way:

Are you glad that AT&T have finally got the date out to you all?

We have already done a comprehensive review of the Samsung Galaxy note and found that the half tab, half smartphone was a big boy indeed, and perhaps not one for certain ladies, but we liked it by and large…pun of course intended.

So it is intriguing to see that despite a no-show in the US currently, the Galaxy Note smartphone, that masquerades as a tablet when it needs to, has actually shipped a whopping 1 million units globally, which seems pretty incredible considering the amount of competition it faces in the overall smartphone market.

Samsung Galaxy Note at CES?

It is thought that the Consumer Electronics Show in January could be the perfect US showcase for the mobile device to start wooing US buyers, and for the device to then start appearing on AT&T shortly after, with an expected support for LTE to be offered.

With a 5.3 inch screen and 1280 x 800 pixel resolution display, we think it will appeal to quite a few Americans who still swear that big is most definitely best!

What do you think of the device? Are you looking forward to the new release of the Samsung Galaxy Note in the US?

Here is a half decent Samsung promo video for the Galaxy Note, when compared to the hilarious videos they released for the Samsung S2 which have now been pulled:

Please let us know your thoughts on the Galaxy Note in the comments, are you a Note owner already who likes or loathes the device? Tell all.

The new release from Samsung is an intriguing offering that is perhaps a category defining new mobile device, here is why:

Samsung Galaxy Note Review:

With Samsung emerging as an industry leading manufacturer of mobile devices, albeit with a string of law suits related to the technology that is contained within them. It has to be handed to the South Korean electronics powerhouse that they are still pushing the boundaries with devices they release competing hard in their own existing categories defined by the likes of Apple’s iPhone and iPad in the case of the Samsung S2 and Galaxy tablet or in the case of the new Samsung Galaxy Note, perhaps even defining a new category.

The new smartphone/tablet is touting itself as a mid-sized tablet with smartphone capabilities and is pitched as a pen and paper replacement. Coming with a pressure sensitive “S-Pen” attachment the device allows users to write in a more traditional manner, perhaps an improvement on their “Swype” technology which has totally replaced my method of writing texts, articles, etc on my Samsung S2. The new “S-pen” is able to write, draw and edit/annotate a multitude of applications including photos. So could this kind of device prove to be a kind of “Wacom tablet” replacement for designers if Adobe were ever to enter the app market properly and release a full blown Photoshop application and creative suite? While it may be some time that demand and technology are the right fit for software houses such as Adobe to enter fully just yet I personally expect tablets to become the go to choice for creatives in the not too distant future, fully replacing a traditional PC for functionality, portability and power. The new Samsung Galaxy Note is a device which shows what can be done with some creative ideas and a little forethought and usability.

While the stylus pen option has been done before (as a costly option) for the HTC flyer, this is the first time that a device has been given a pen as a default option.

Galaxy Note built on Android:

With the Note being built on the somewhat controversial Android O/S, it’s screen dimension is set at 5.3in, this is smaller than they Flyer, and weighs in at 178g. A larger version of this model will be arriving later, simply called the Galaxy tab 7.7, with you guessed it, a 7.7 inch screen.

The note will feature a 8mp camera on the back and a 2mp camera on the front, with LTE and HSPA+ flavours for 3G connectivity.

Head of account for Samsung Europe, Andrew Coughlin says this about the stylus pen offering:

“Any screen can be captured and annotated with detailed commentary in your own handwriting,”

Perfect tablet/smartphone for students?

Now I am not sure how large the writers market is but the student market must be pretty huge so perhaps this has its place as a paper and pen replacement for students as well as general writers and people who like to jot stuff down (myself included).

With the release of the developers SDK for third party development opportunity via the pen and stylus, it will surely only be a matter of time before various cool and hopefully useful applications enter the market to take advantage of a fairly unique method of interacting with your tablet.

Super AMOLED Screen:

The larger version of the Galaxy note we mentioned above, coming in with a 7.7 inch screen will feature the Super AMOLED screen that is present in the Samsung S2 smartphone. This allows for wide viewing angles, they will both feature a 1.4Ghz dual core processor, so will have 400Mhz more processing power than the iPad 2.

It will be pitched as a tablet and smartphone replacement by Samsung, though I am unsure as it is perhaps a bit too large for pockets and a bit too small for serious functionality, with the 7.7 inch being perfect for screen size for functionlaity but definitely too big for the pocket.

Bada O/S – Samsung’s iOS and Android O/S competitor:

With the South Korean government keen to foster a working partnership with LG and Samsung to develop a mobile device operating system independent of the likes of Google’s Android O/S which has come into serious question legally in recent months, Samsung have also released their new Wave 3 handset running their own Bada operating system. Samsung also made a point of stating that they intend the O/S to be a fully blown competitor to smartphone and mobile specific operating systems such as Apples iOS, Android and the Blackberry O/S.

Are Tablet/Smartphone hybrids the future?

So what are your thoughts on the space saving mini tablets and the function packing smartphones that a hybrid such as the Samsung Note offers, is it a little bit to betwixt and between to be really called either or does it sit in a niche that allows a range of users something functional and neat?