When Samsung launched the Galaxy Note, many thought it was too big for a phone, and too small for a tablet. So it came to be informally called a ‘phablet' - a cross between a phone and a tablet. But for many, it was the ideal size. It fitted into most pockets and business users found that they could handle documents better in the Note than in their mobiles.

It is not just the new size that made Note a success. When a product is introduced in a new form factor, a little bit extra that would make the product different from others could really push up sales. Samsung did just this with the S Pen and the S Note for the Galaxy Note.

iPhone had changed the way people used touch phones by doing away with the stylus. With big onscreen keyboards and huge icons, people were getting used to using their fingers to browse and navigate on their mobiles.

Then came Galaxy Note with the S Pen. The S Pen is a stylus - with a button. The button is used to take screenshots (press the button and long-press the stylus on the screen) and open S Note (double tap on the screen while pressing the button).The S Pen is also pressure-sensitive. If you are using a handwriting app like S Note or Papyrus, you can draw or write with thick or thin lines just by changing the pressure you apply on the pen. The best part of the S Pen is taking screenshots. Once you take a screenshot using the S Pen, you will find that the screen shot is automatically opened in an image editor. You can crop, edit, write or draw on the image and share or email it. A good use is to take a screenshot of your area's map, draw the directions and email or share it.

The S Pen can also be used to go to the Home screen by swiping down the screen, open up context-level menus by swiping up and using as a back button while browsing.

Samsung could have just added an ordinary stylus with the Note, but S Pen takes the Note experience a lot further, and has contributed significantly to the success of the Note.

dinakaran@thehindu.co.in

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