
Samsung Galaxy Note II Phablet Sells Three Million+ In One Month+ Of Sales - redDragon
http://techcrunch.com/2012/11/02/samsung-galaxy-note-ii-phablet-sells-three-million-in-one-month-of-sales-3x-faster-sales-rate-that-original-galaxy-note/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Techcrunch+%28TechCrunch%29&utm_content=Google+Reader
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Tyrannosaurs
While I must admit the personally I'm completely cold on phablets (to me they
offer the inconvenience of the bulk of a tablet with the limitations of a
phone), I know at least a couple of people who love their Galaxy Notes and
those sales numbers suggest that they're not alone.

I think the interesting question is is this a sign of a significant new market
segment, or is it something more niche which Samsung have just nailed with the
Note but won't ever grow too much beyond it's current size (at least as a
proportion of the overall market)?

~~~
Nursie
I love mine (Note 1). It does fit in my jeans pocket just fine. It lives in
there with my keys and somehow hasn't been destroyed or scratched.

And the screen is just wonderful. I've only had it a few months and I'm
already thinking about whether I can justify getting a Note 2 for my, uh,
business needs :)

~~~
highace
Phone in the same pocket as your keys!? _shudder_

~~~
ConstantineXVI
I never use cases; the last phone I've had any kind of screen damage on was ye
olde Nokia E71, by dropping an open pocketknife directly on the face. Said
phone is still in use.

------
blrgeek
The few people who have bought it have quickly gotten over the embarrassment
that prevents the rest of us from buying it, and love the Note. And they claim
they can never go back.

I believe that given that 95%+ of what we use a smart phone for these days
benefits from a larger screen with higher resolution [not to mention increased
input choices], moving to the largest screen possible [while maintaining a
24hr battery cycle, and being able to put it in a pocket] is inevitable.

Low budget users will settle for smaller phones with same features. High
budget users will go for the largest phone they can hold.

All this changes with Google Glass, or a holographic projection system :)

~~~
Retric
I find larger form factor's are better when your using your phone as a tablet,
but I don't like using larger form factors when making calls. It's easy to
solve that problem with a Bluetooth headset, but I prefer having a small phone
and a tablet.

That said, 300+ PPI makes a huge difference for cellphones.

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monk_e_boy
My GF has a Note I, she has the sims game on it. When she whips out the Note
and fires up the sims in gorgeous 3D her girly friends all drool. It is a
fantastic bit of kit that fits in baggy trouser pockets fine, or in a handbag.
She puts that and her kindle sandwiched together in a little purse thing.
Personally I find the text a little bit small on it.

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michh
Can we please stop using the term phablet before it catches on and actually
becomes a thing? It hurts my eyes just to read it. There must be better words
for this form factor.

~~~
Samuel_Michon
Archos used to call them PMPs (Portable Media Players) when it sold them.

I think that's a good description, distinguishing them from larger more
capable devices.

~~~
Tyrannosaurs
That seems to miss that most people aren't using them for media consumption
but for note taking (really must get the "can't use tablet type devices for
creation" memo out to them, so many people not understanding that).

Phone pads?

Or how about just call them what they are - smartphones. Is the half inch
screen size difference between a Note and an S3 really cause for a new class
of device?

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mtgx
As someone who doesn't want to buy the Note, but intends to buy a 2nd
generation Galaxy Note 10" tablet next year, this makes me happy because they
will get more 3rd party support for their S-pen. However, I still wish I could
buy a Nexus 10 tablet that would work with an active Wacom pen by default, and
I don't think that's possible right now - is it?

I know Google introduced the active pen API's in Android 4.0, but I'm not sure
what that means exactly. If I buy a 3rd party active pen, will it just work?

~~~
esolyt
Android has native stylus support. However Nexus 10 doesn't have a digitizer,
so won't be able to use a real stylus on the Nexus 10.

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eze
I take this opportunity to thank linker3000 on his/her recommendation to get a
Note [1]. Even though I can only wish I were a busy IT professional, just as a
technology enthusiast I'm in awe, having received my Note II this week.

I'd like to point out that, interestingly enough, the most disappointing
aspect has been reading online text, such as HN, but not limited to it: my
modest, Gingerbread-based HTC Explorer does a wonderful job wrapping text in
its now seemingly tiny screen, and yet this Jellybean technology makes me
reach for Accessibility options, for some reason makes it really hard to
upvote [2], and Chrome's fancy font boosting technology manages to make some
of the HN comments annoyingly small.

But still, it's hard not to drool...

[1] <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4560540>

[2] Yes, I have changed my HN identity, but I've been around for long.

~~~
hollerith
>I'd like to point out that, interestingly enough, the most disappointing
aspect has been reading online text, such as HN, . . . and Chrome's fancy font
boosting technology manages to make some of the HN comments annoyingly small.

That is probably not limited to the Galaxy Note or to Samsung: HN comments on
a Nexus 7 have the same problem: text size on some comments is tiny compared
to other comments (at least if you set the text size to large or huge in
Chrome's Acessibility options).

Puzzlingly, Firefox does the same thing even though it uses a different
rendering engine than Chrome does.

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marknutter
I think this is a niche market with little growth potential left. For every
different combination of features, sizes, specs, etc. there will be some
segment of the market that will respond. There are companies who will make a
lot of money filling all these niches (Samsung, LG, etc) and companies who
focus in on the fat part of the curve (Apple, Microsoft, etc).

~~~
chmike
You seem to assume that the demand (market) is static. My impression is that
it is shifting with a growing demand for bigger screens and thus phablets.
People have now experienced the problem of browsing the web with 4" screens.

Regarding the screen size problem, my vision is that the communication
functionality (I/O) will be taken over by dedicated devices using bluetooth.
Such devices could be a watch, light and invisible ear plug, microphone and
camera.

The one big block of material doing everything as we have today is just a step
in evolution. There is so much open space left to explore and develop...The
demand is evolving, and fast.

------
rjh29
I absolutely love the Note. The screen is ideal for videos, web browsing or
using Google Maps, and it's gorgeous. The pen is great for writing down quick
notes, playing Pictionary, or recording my lifts at the gym. I've also used it
on holiday to compile a quick scrapbook of photos, maps and hand-written notes
while abroad. I didn't need to take a laptop because the screen is large
enough to comfortably use for extended periods.

I used to carry a DSLR because my phone's camera was so poor, but the Note
(and newer smartphones in general) has an amazing camera which is adequate for
99% of my needs.

I've had a lot of people strike up conversations due to its size, which I
consider a good thing. It does look a bit dumb when you use it for phone
calls, but that's not really the target audience.

~~~
joonix
Can you elaborate as to why you'd use the pen to write notes rather than
typing? I haven't used the Note II yet, but on the Note I found it cumbersome
to actually write with the pen, and the translation into text was poor. I'm
curious to hear your experiences since I'm considering the Note II.

~~~
mercurial
I have a Note II. The handwriting recognition is so-so. It would definitely
benefit from being tunable (eg, learn to recognize the way I write a lowercase
"a").

On the other hand, it's really good to draw with, and I find the pen a
superior input device compared to my finger, especially when you don't want to
zoom in just to be able to hit a link in a menu.

~~~
netseccat
agree - with the note, I found typing much better than using the stylus -
however, for quick drawing such as network diagrams, topology, etc it is
perfect.

although - I would like some nice apps to go along with it.

------
berntb
These sales figures are really to customers and not delivered to stores --
like the first sales reports of the first generation of Samsung (et al)
tablets?

~~~
Nursie
Note 1 sold 5 million by march last year according to CNet[1]. Note (lol) that
they express similar cynicism but that they published a correction that it was
units sold at retail.

That doesn't mean that these new figures are the same, but it does show you
that the 'phablet' form factor isn't a complete bust.

The AP article[2][3] that seems to be the source here doesn't give a source
for these current figures.

1\. [http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57405736-94/samsung-
boldly-...](http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57405736-94/samsung-boldly-
claims-5-million-galaxy-notes-sold/)

2\.
[http://www.sfgate.com/business/technology/article/Samsung-s-...](http://www.sfgate.com/business/technology/article/Samsung-
s-Galaxy-Note-II-hits-3-million-sales-4002310.php)

3\. [http://technology.inquirer.net/19882/samsungs-galaxy-note-
ii...](http://technology.inquirer.net/19882/samsungs-galaxy-note-ii-
hits-3-million-sales)

