The massive 5.3 inch Super AMOLED screen is powered by a 1.5 Ghz dual core processor, with 16 GB of onboard memory. A huge 2500 mAh battery will ensure a full days worth of use. It also features an 8MP rear facing camera and a 2MP front facing camera. Even with these large off the chart specs, the device fits very nicely in your hand.

The Note also features a “S Pen” that allows you to jot down notes or even draw and paint. Samsung has a small army of artists at CES that are drawing caricatures of people using the Galaxy Note, that you could choose to have printed on a T-shirt if your interested. The long and short of it is, this S Pen is not the same as your Dads old stylus.

There is no price or availability dates provided, but word on the street is that it will be out really soon.

Other Samsung devices that will get the update after the Note and S II include: Galaxy S II LTE, Galaxy R, Galaxy Tab 10.1, Galaxy Tab 8.9, Galaxy Tab 7.7 and Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus. Unfortunately, there is no mention of other popular like the Galaxy Infuse, or Galaxy Plus, that are relatively new devices. Further is the disappointment in the time frame for the upgrade – worst case for the Note and S II would have just over 3 months of waiting before you get what is already available on the Galaxy Nexus. And even longer if your device is listed in the second group of smartphones and tablets.

More information will be posted by Samsung on their Twitter and Facebook pages. So stay tuned if you’re waiting for that Ice Cream Sandwich update for your device.

(Source = the::unwired)

Watch this video on YouTube.

I was pleased with quality of the video recording. Although full 1080p has a weird, almost 2X digital zoom effect to it that I did not like. If I were going to use the video recording feature regularly, I would stick to the 720p setting. The quality is almost as good and it does not have that weird zoom effect. Pinch to zoom also works fine in 720p, but is not supported in full 1080p recording.

Overall Samsung has done a good job with the camera. The average user should be very pleased with the performance.

Pros- Great battery life, super fast, very thin.

Cons- 800X480 resolution is good, but not as good as the higher resolution on some other phones.

Watch this video on YouTube.

Overall I have been very impressed with the Galaxy S II. It is the first Android device I would consider using as my daily use phone over my iPhone 4. Samsung has done a great job designing a solid phone, with great features and good battery life.

All of the specs for these phones are not yet known. However, we can tell you that the Focus Flash will have a 3.7 inch Super AMOLED screen, a 1.4 Ghz processor, 5 megapixel rear camera, and a 1.3 megapixel front facing camera. The Focus S will have a 4.3 inch Super AMOLED Plus screen, 1.4 Ghz processor, an 8 megapixel camera, and a 1.3 megapixel front facing camera. The Focus S will also be just 8.5mm at it’s thinnest point and AT&T claims it’s 4G compatible.

If you’ve been watching the Samsung Galaxy line of devices, you may notice that the Samsung Focus S looks an awful lot like the Samsung Galaxy S II smartphone. We won’t be able to say for sure until see more hardware specs or have a chance to spend some real time with this device.

Got yourself an iPhone 4s? Or maybe a Galaxy S II? Ever wonder what would happen if you dropped it on concrete? Actually, it’s not hard to predict the outcome. Samsung has outfitted the Galaxy S II line of devices with Dow Corning’s Gorilla Glass to help resist against any scratches or cracks. For the record, Gorilla Glass doesn’t prevent damage, it just reduces the chance of damage. It’s still possible to break the glass. Apple did have a scratch resistant screen prior to the 4 series, and maybe it’s still present on todays devices. However, with the glass going right to the edge of the phone, it introduces an increased chance of damage when dropped. And there’s no end to the tweets and posts about broken screens on the iPhone 4.

The above images are the before shots. You’ll have to watch the video to see the results. Take a view and share your thoughts.

Watch this video on YouTube.

The X is coming to Telus for the holiday season. We don’t have an exact date or price, but we can safely say that it will be sometime in the next two and a half months. And if the rumors are true, then you might even see before the end of this week.

Specs on the X include a 1.5 Ghz dual core processor, 4.5 inch Super AMOLED Plus screen protected by Gorilla Glass, an 8 megapixel camera with LED flash, front facing 2 megapixel camera, Android 2.3.5 running Samsung’s latest version of TouchWiz with support for resizable Widgets. It also includes NFC, Adobe Flash, video recording at full 1080p HD, 16GB internal storage, expandable with MicroSD cards up to 32GB, and a unique dual data channel. This device will actually make 2 data connections to the carriers network (of course, this has to be supported on the carrier end of things), allowing for “super fast download speeds”. Telus is advertising this as 4G download speeds – up to 42Mbps with an expected average of 7-14 Mbps.

Larger than life, just like Hercules. The Galaxy S II X has a big screen, big camera, big download speeds adding up to big potential. But how does it stack up in real world usage. Let’s find out.

Physically, this is a big device but that shouldn’t come as a surprise. After all, it does have a super nice 4.5 inch screen. Basically, the X could eat your iPhone and nobody would be the wiser – it’s that big. However, unlike its Galaxy S II brother, the X isn’t as thin. I’m not sure what is the main cause of the extra thickness for the X, perhaps it’s related to the dual data channel, or maybe it’s the integrated NFC? Regardless of the cause, it is thicker than the regular Galaxy S II, but Samsung has spent the time to make sure it doesn’t feel large in your hands. At first glance, there was concerns about too big. But after short amount of usage, it’s all good and there is no concerns about size and shape.

The back of the Galaxy S II X is super thin and snaps in place, just like the original Galaxy S II, only larger. The only difference here is the texture. Unlike the original Galaxy S II, the back of the X has a super soft and smooth feel to it. Under the backdoor is an easily accessible SIM card slot, MicroSD slot and of course, a battery too.

The battery on the Galaxy S II X is a large 1850 mAh battery. The battery is also sporting the NFC antenna, the second device from Samsung to offer NFC, the first being the Nexus S, although in that case the NFC antenna was not part of the battery. At first, I though having the NFC antenna in the battery was an odd idea. However, after a little thought, I think it’s actually a smart design for this phone. The backdoor is so thin, that adding the antenna on the door could present a risk of breaking when removing the battery door. IT would also mean that Samsung would have to add another pin connector from the device to the backdoor in order to make the connection. At the risk of the antenna breaking and costing more, the next best thing would be be to pull it back from the battery door. On the back, at the top of the phone is your SIM card and MicroSD slot. There is very little room left over for an antenna. The bottom of the phone is all battery – adding the antenna to the battery only makes sense. It already provides the pin connectors and the space isn’t  really being used anyway. Of course, the downside is that 3rd party battery replacements might not have the antenna in them.

Telus is calling this as a 4G phone with download speeds up to 42Mbps and an expected average of 7-14 Mbps and with this dual data channel connection, you would expect some super fast data speeds. In my tests, I never saw anything above 7 Mbps. Of the 9 speed tests I did in various locations around the GTA, I averaged 4,333 kbp – or roughly 4 Mbps. In all fairness to Samsung and Telus, I am testing this on a pre-production device which could mean issues with the firmware, or even that Telus hasn’t fully enabled this dual-channel data connection that Samsung was talking about. Regardless, my peak download speed was just under 7 Mbps, and the peak upload was about 3 Mbps. Both speeds are still really amazing numbers and faster than many peoples home internet connection.

UPDATE: Ok, so I’ve finished this whole review last week. Then over the weekend, I was out picking up my daughter from a birthday party and happened to receive an email with a rather large attachment. I clicked to download the attachment and it flew down to the device. So I quickly kicked off a speed test and this time it smashed the previous 7 Mbps record and hit a peak of 10 Mbps with upload speed of 4 Mbps!!

Inside the Galaxy S II X, you’ll find Android version 2.3.5 running the version 4 of Samsung’s TouchWiz interface, which so many have come to love. You will also find Samsung’s AllShare (DLNA component), Kies Air, Samsung Apps (Samsung’s own app store), Polaris Office, Social Hub, Music Hub, and the rest of the standard Google apps. As expected on most devices, the X includes the “Tethering and portable hotspot” functionality. So you can share your super fast data connection with your friends who are stuck on slower devices / networks.

I’ve included a number of screen captures showing off Samsung’s TouchWiz interface along with the features and enhancements you’ll find on this device. The first images here show the default layout of the home screens – at least how they were on my pre-production unit.

Next is the application list showing all the pre-installed applications, along with the speed test app that I downloaded to benchmark the download speeds of this device.

Good news for those of you that like docks to rest your phone in. Samsung has added an option in the settings menu that will allow you to control the source for the audio output whenever the device is docked. Also, Samsung has included the awesome Swype keyboard. Although, truth be told, I do like the default Samsung keyboard. Swype is great if you’re a one handed texter. And the motion controls – mute when device is turned upside down, tilt to zoom, etc…  All very nice additions by Samsung.

The Galaxy S II X allows you to configure your WiFi hotspot SSID name, unlike some other phones on the market that just use your device name and don’t allow you to customize it. There are no real settings for NFC, simply turn it on or off. And lastly, the AllShare (DLNA) application from Samsung. I think I’ll need to get a Samsung TV so I can really test that out.

Overall, the Galaxy S II X is an excellent phone with loads of power to handle whatever you request of it. The Super AMOLED Plus screen is fantastic to look at, and the sheer size of it makes this a great device for consuming media.

There’s no mention of which carrier this will be launching with, or at what price point. Both Bell and Telus have been very keen to offer Samsung tablets, so there’s a good chance that this will make it’s way to one of their networks. I’ve really enjoyed my 10.1 inch Tab. The 8.9, being a little smaller, does have a certain appeal for travelling. I’ll have to keep my eye’s on this one.

UPDATE: Looks like I made a mistake on the processor. Thanks to Perry for enquiring, I’ve confirmed that it’s not a 1.5 GHz as I mentioned above. It is a 1.2 GHz Dual-Core processor. Still better than the US version, right?!

UPDATE #2: Pay no attention to the previous update. Samsung HQ has confirmed my original post was correct – the Galaxy Tab 8.9 coming to a Canadian carrier this holiday season will be running a 1.5 GHz dual core processor.

The slide out keyboard is pretty smooth when it glides in and out, and the keys have a god feel to them. I like that there is actually a little space between the keys making it much easier to feel your way around the keyboard.

It would have been nice to see the screen get a bump up to the Super Amoled Plus screen that so many Samsung devices are sporting these days, Its not like the screen is horrible or anything. It still has a vibrant Amoled screen.

As per usual, no mention of price or availability dates other than “in time for the holiday season”. If you’re one of those people that like the physical keyboard, keep your eye on Rogers for this Galaxy S Glide.

The Galaxy Player we got to see has a 5 inch screen, and while its not a Super AMOLED Plus screen that we have grown to love Samsung for, it still a pretty decent screen.  It also has a 3.2 megapixel rear facing camera, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, MicroSD expansion, and a 3.5mm headset jack. The Player is a sealed unit, meaning you won’t be able to swap the battery.

The Player comes with Samsung’s DLNA software, allowing you to stream content from the device to any other DLNA compatible device. It also comes with a Col new application called second TV that slows you to watch whatever is currently playing on your Samsung SmartTV. It even has a built in remote so you can control the TV from anywhere in your house. You can also out the TV screen to sleep and just have the stream on your device. No more missing the game because you have to let the dog out, or run to the kitchen. I would imagine the next step for this second TV app would be allowing you to stream it outside of your home network , over the internet. Think SlingBox.

Samsung wouldn’t comment on price, but they did confirm that there would be 3 different screen sizes available and devices would be on sale starting the end of October.