While we bask in the euphoria of the new addition to the Samsung Note series, let us reflect on how much the Samsung Galaxy Note series has grown over the years.
Also of great interest is the sister series -the Galaxy S series which also has a semi newcomer Galaxy S8- that has been well received by the teeming fans of the Samsung flagship products.
What is not to love really?
The phones mostly always deliver on design and functionality but I digress.
Back in the days, Blackberry phones were the major phones for enterprise. Some of us saw the light by embracing the Iphone while many others stayed faithful to Symbian powered Nokia phones. Many of us in the emerging market were yet to experience android except for a few who had the HTC Sense.
To be honest, not many people were open minded about a phone device with a very large screen also doubling up as a phone but we already knew from using the Samsung Galaxy S that Samsung wasn’t in the market to play.
The selling feature of the Galaxy Note was definitely the marriage between a high end phone functionality with functions of a tablet. This integration led to the birth of the well-received phablet.
The Galaxy Note
The first Galaxy note was released in October 2011 to mixed feelings but did commercially well especially because of the stylus which complimented its functions. The 5.3’’ screen were definitely forgiven as Samsung secured a number of faithfuls, selling over 10 million units within the first two years of release.
The major features of the Galaxy Note are
- 5.3-inch 1280 x 800 Super AMOLED display
- an Exynos chipset
- a dual-core 1.4GHz ARM Cortex-A9 CPU
- a Mali-400 GPU
- 1GB of RAM
- 16/32GB storage options
- microSD support up to 64GB
- an 8MP rear camera
- a 2MP front camera
- 2500mAh battery
- and Android 2.3 Gingerbread.
The Commercially Successful Galaxy Note 2
Riding on the success of its predecessor, the Galaxy Note 2 was released in Sept 2012 and (with a quad-core processor and a screen which was 0.2inches larger than the original. It also featured a revised stylus and an upgraded digitizer. The hardware design was majorly inspired by the SII , a feature that made critics argue made it a bigger version of S III. More impressive is the improved SPen experience which had features like Air View (which allows previews of content to be displayed by hovering the pen above the screen).
No doubt, the Note II measured up as a great successor in every way. It sold an impressive 30million units worldwide within a year of its release.
The Game Changer: Note 3
For those that thought the original 5.3inch Galaxy Note was ambitious, the 5.7 inches 1080p Super AMOLED display Note 3 signified that Samsung didn’t share the same sentiments. The Note 3 arrived in October 2013 and the most noticeable change is the hardware. Samsung definitely took notes of the design critics by presenting a phone that had a leather back cover. The camera resolution also received an upgrade with the 13MP back camera. There was an improvement in the functions of the SPen which had added functions like the Action Memos, Handwriting recognition, Air command among other functions.
A downgraded version was introduced called the Note Neo. It featured a lesser screen resolution and a camera resolution of 8MP . The Note 3 was well received selling over 10mllion issues in its first two months but the Samsung Neo was a commercial flop.
Note 4
October 2014 ushered in a much-anticipated Galaxy Note 4. The major features were a fingerprint scanner which was also featured in the Galaxy S5 , a 16MP back camera and a 3.2 MP front facing camera. The SPen functionality also got expanded and it hhad a a 5.7-inch (145 mm) QHD display.
The Note 4 was a masterpiece and ahead of its time at the time of its release. It however didn’t perform as well as its predecessor selling about 4.5million units in its first month.
The Note Edge was unveiled alongside the Note 4, the Note Edge featured a curved display that makes it possible to access news and information tickers, application shortcuts, and other tools.Most of the other features are like the Note 4.
Super Sleek Note 5
The Note 5 was announced on 13 August 2015. Its hardware is largely inspired by the S6. It has a sleek design with metal frame and glass backing. It is also water resistant. A 5.7-inch 1440p gives a very clear picture display. The front camera resolution was increased to 5MP and it has a “Screen off memo” feature that allows the phone to be awoken directly to a note screen when the stylus is removed. The camera app allows public and private livestreaming directly to YouTube.
The Note 5 came with an inbuilt battery and unexpandable storage- A lot of Samsung faithfuls had issues with this feature and it was met with a lot of criticism. There were also issues regarding the SPen getting stuck a glitch that was later fixed by Samsung.
The Superbly Gorgeous but Heartbreaking Note 7
The Note 7 was revolutionary in every sense. Samsung skipped the ‘6’ number for the phone naming to be more in sync with the Galaxy S series.
It is curved around the sides giving users an excellent different display experience . it’s the first Samsung phone to have the USB type C connector and it can be charged up wirelessly. Samsung made using the SPen so much more fun by making it possible to magnify, translate languages and make an animated GIF.
While the Note 7 is gorgeous in every way, the reports of exploding batteries was a major glitch that led to a recall of more than 2.5 million units of the phone.
The Note FE was introduced to pacify the Samsung faithfuls that lost faith in the brand due to the battery explosion. It was introduced as the new Note 7 in some selected countries and had a smaller battery.
Samsung has definitely come a long way winning the hearts of many smartphone enthusiast with the Note flagship brand. Still recovering from the disappointment of the Note 7 battery error, we still can’t wait to get our hands on the new Note 8 that was unveiled 23rd of August and is already available for preorder.
Patiently Waiting for Note 8
So far we know it features a 6.3″ display, Snapdragon 835/Exynos 895 processor (depending on location), IP68 dust and water resistance, a new dual-lens camera setup with a telephoto lens and support for Samsung DeX.
Preorders started on the 24th of August, and the phone will be for sale as from the 15th of Sept in the US, UK, South Korea and other select countries. It’ll roll out globally through October.
Would you be getting the new Samsung Note 8?
