Samsung has been relatively prompt and punctual regarding their Android 4.0 updates, which is good news for Galaxy S II and Galaxy Note owners. The international version of the Galaxy S II received it’s update in March, and now we’ve managed to get our hands on the pre-release Android 4.0 update for the AT&T Galaxy Note.
In addition to the new features that we’ve already seen in the Galaxy S II ICS update, the Galaxy Note gets a few new exclusive features.
On-screen Cursor
Samsung has added the option to show an on-screen cursor when you bring the S-pen close to the Galaxy Note’s display. I found this to be an extremely useful feature when trying to continue a line that you had remove the pen from. It used to be that you would have to guess where to aim in order to continue the line without making it look jagged, but now you can precisely continue the line every time!
One Handed Operation
For those of you with smaller hands, or if you are a woman or child, wielding the Galaxy Note with one hand can be quite precarious–reaching for the far side of the keyboard whilst trying to type can easily lead to disaster.
This latest update gives you the option to re-size the calculator, dialer, pattern unlock screen and keyboard so that they are more compact, allowing them to be more easily accessed with one hand. In addition, by tapping the extra space you can switch the positioning of the input areas so that you can use either right or left hand.
S Note
In addition to the useful S Memo application, Samsung has added another app to the Note’s suite of premium apps: S Note.
S Note is Samsung’s take on a virtual notebook which helps you organize and manage your ideas with various productivity tools. The Formula Match feature is powered by Wolfram Alpha and when combined with Shape Match, Handwriting-to-text, Knowledge Search and the S Pen, provide a portable productivity power house that is unique to the Galaxy Note.
Samsung Voice Talk
Samsung has now included their Voice Talk application, which was first seen on the Galaxy S II. Although not quite as refined as S-Voice, Voice Talk can still understand basic commands, albeit quite slowly.
Photo Wall Live Wallpaper
Last but not least we have the new Photo Wall option in the Galaxy Note’s live wallpaper gallery.
Photo Wall creates a 3 panel live background that pans across multiple images. It can either use the default images shown above, or can be powered by photos from your phone’s image gallery.
Subscribe to our newsletter to receive helpful tips and tricks for our Samsung smart devices!
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
The update for the Note to ICS is awesome!