Tech 101: Samsung Galaxy Note

Story by Nathan Bustillos • Campus Reporter

ou have a major pa- per due for class, you can’t remember the due date and you have lost your syllabus. You frantically try to contact the professor, classmates — anybody, but no one answers their email or phone. What can you do?

The Samsung Galaxy Note can be a big help as it combines the ease and convenience of a smartphone with the functionality of a tablet PC.

The recently released Galaxy Note includes a task scheduler, which incorporates a calendar and spreadsheet program to keep track of important dates and schedules. Students can use it to take notes as well. With the included S Memo app and the stylus, it is easy to write directly into the device. Its 5.3-inch screen provides ample space to write on.

One of the benefits for many Austin Community College art students is that there is an app that is very similar to Adobe Photoshop, which allows users to edit photos and other images to create high quality design elements that can be used for print or other media.

The photoshop equivalent for the Galaxy Note 10.1 can achieve the same high quality imagery as the original Photoshop.

In terms of the Galaxy Note’s technical aspects, users can enjoy a 4G LTE network which allows Internet browsing at speeds as quick as any smartphone or laptop computer. With the 1.4-gigahertz dual core processor, websites, images and video load very quickly and smoothly, giving the user seamless interaction with all of the Galaxy Note’s features. Images, notes, and other files can be exported into a desk- top or laptop computer with USB 2.0 support.

As with any mobile device, price point can be a downside for college students.

However, the Samsung Galaxy Note is available from T-Mobile and AT&T with a two-year extension of a current mobile phone contract. In the alternative, the Galaxy Note is available on Amazon and by other online vendors ranging from $300 and $500 without a mobile phone network.

This is where the price point may come into play. Some users may not want to be tied down to a new contract with their mobile provider and would then be subject to the purchase price. Unfortunately, with a $500 price tag at most, it may be out of reach for many college students, especially if they are on a budget.

Another factor that some users may not like is the size of the device. The Galaxy Note was designed to be similar to a smartphone in terms of size and convenience, but is slightly bigger than an iPhone or some other large screen device.

The Galaxy Note faces competition for the student market from many other tablet PC equivalents with much larger screens without having the bulk and thickness of some laptop computers, but it could be a good investment for many college students.

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