The Samsung Galaxy Note is an Android smartphone/tablet computer hybrid ("phablet"), introduced in October 2011 and noted for its 5.3-inch screen size—between that of conventional smartphones, and larger tablets—and its included stylus.

The Galaxy Note was announced by Samsung during IFA 2011 in Berlin. It was released to the public starting with Germany in late October 2011, with other countries following shortly after that.^[6] By the end of November, it was available in most major markets, including East Asia, Europe and India.

In December 2011, Samsung announced that one million Galaxy Notes were shipped in less than two months, and that a North American variantwould be available in February 2012.^[7] In January 2012, the US version of the Galaxy Note was featured at the 2012 CES in Las Vegas, allowing press to get an early look at the new device.^[8]

As of the first quarter of 2012 from January to March, 5 million have been sold.^[9] As of 1 June 2012, Samsung announced that 7 million had been shipped.^[10] As of 15 August 2012, Samsung announced that 10 million devices have been sold.The Galaxy Note, with a 135 mm (5.3 in) screen, is sized between smartphones such as the Galaxy S IIand the Galaxy Tab tablet. PC World Australia opined that Samsung Galaxy Note is too big to be a true mobile phone, citing the difficulty of using it single-handed.^[12] This hybrid is being called a phablet byForbes and Engadget. Phablet is a portmanteau of the words phone and tablet.^[13] Techradar questions Samsung Galaxy Note's marketability as users cannot store it in a small pocket and that users look ungainly when holding it against their faces while conversing.^[14] GigaOM hails it as a pioneer in a new market segment, despite the similar but unsuccessful Dell Streak, combining the best features of both device types.^[15] Pocket-lint has remarked that Samsung Galaxy Note shows potential as a games console.^[16]

Like most recent smartphones and tablets, the device is constructed in the "slate" format (see Slate phoneand Slate tablet). The body is built from plastic with a metallised rim.^[17] The front panel is Gorilla Glass,^[18]a strengthened glass often used for high-end devices such as this.

The front panel houses one physical "home" button (for activating the device and switching to the home screen), two illuminated touch pads ("menu" and "back"), the display, the front-facing camera, and lightand proximity sensors. At the back is a thin plastic snap-on panel with an indent for a fingernail to facilitate removal, for access to the 2500mAh battery, SIM card and SD Card. The back panel houses the speaker and main camera and flash. The metallic rim houses several controls: at the top edge is the 4-pole 3.5mm jack socket for connecting the headset (which incorporates in-canal earphones, FM radioaerial (for non-Snapdragon based variants), microphone and volume control) and a pinhole microphone; at the bottom is the industry-standard micro-USB socket for charging and data transfer, another pinhole microphone, and the well for storing the stylus; and the sides house an on-off button and a volume control.