While I haven’t seen any official numbers from Samsung or market research
numbers, anecdotal sales information from mobile dealers as well as positive
reviews in the media have shown that the Samsung Galaxy Note has been doing
surprisingly well in the marketplace.

Why is that surprising? Well for one thing, not that many people are certain
of what it is: Is it a big phone or a small tablet?

It’s that uncertainty that’s generated a lot of buzz for the product. Even
though it was unnamed, it was clearly the locus of a Dilbert cartoon the
other week in which the Pointy-Haired Boss tasked Dilbert to either make him
a phone-sized tablet or a tablet-sized phone.

The initial success of the Note is even more notable (sorry!) when you
compare it’s trajectory to the Dell Streak which was, to put it kindly, kind
of a flop.

Talking to dealers, they themselves are surprised at how many they’ve sold.
And in talking to them, there’s no clear picture of who the customer is:
20-somethings, 40-something executives, senior citizens, and in one case
parents buying it for their 10 year-old(!).

The primary disadvantage of it is that it’s a really big phone (or really
small tablet). Nobody is going to carry it in a pouch on their belt, and it
really only fits in an inside jacket pocket or the pocket on cargo pants.

On the upside, and here’s where it seems to be winning, the bigger screen
has appeal to diverse groups: gamers, people who want to access business
documents (especially with the precision the S-pen stylus allows), people
who watch streaming video on the go, and people with poor eyesight.

Am I missing anyone? Certainly as a mobile interface for any automation
system it’s got potential there as well.

The funny thing about tech is that quite often nobody knows what’s going to
be a hit until it happens. Remember when industry pundits mocked Apple for
wanting to make a cellphone?