It was a bold move that required two risks - introduce a giant screen phone in an era when the average smartphone display must have been about 4" or even less, and equip it with a stylus decent enough not to stay in the silo most of the time.
The first Note proved that people were waiting on precisely such a combo, but the subsequent phones and tablets in the range really confirmed the latent demand, as they came with even larger screens in a more compact form, and a greatly improved stylus that can be put to a good use in more situations. Don't forget this year Samsung went mid-range with the franchise, releasing a budget Note 3 Neo phablet model, too.
We are rounding up some of the best Android apps that take advantage of the S Pen stylus in the family, apart from the excellent stock ones like S Note, in case you've grabbed a Note handset or tablet, and are heading for a Play Store window shopping spree.
The best S Pen apps for the Samsung Galaxy Note family
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SketchBook Mobile ($1.99)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sketchbook&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5za2V0Y2hib29rIl0.
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<iframe width="640" height="390" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/f1QR2HIrWwE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
Owners of Samsung Note tablets better take a look at Autodesk's SketchBook Pro, which is tailored for use on screens 7" and above, sporting even more options than SketchBook Mobile.
You can create large canvases (up to 6.5 MP), there is dynamic symmetry, as you can see in the video, plus a comprehensive Brush Library with over 100 presets, as well as multiple manageable layers at your disposal.
You can create large canvases (up to 6.5 MP), there is dynamic symmetry, as you can see in the video, plus a comprehensive Brush Library with over 100 presets, as well as multiple manageable layers at your disposal.
SketchBook Pro ($4.99)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sketchbook&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5za2V0Y2hib29rIl0.
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Serious Paint developers say that the app "bends over backwards to make your Android device into a proper art workstation," and this is not some puff talk, as the app is the most similar experience you will get on Android to a workstation, when it comes to natural brushes and color picking.
Serious Paint ($3.99)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.creativesciences.spaint
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<iframe width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/AXiwA6zAUi0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
If you've been searching for a dead simple app for quickly jotting down ideas, and a great alternative to S Note, Papyrus will make you stop. It recreates writing on a piece of paper, the strokes of the pen are vector graphics, and you can use pen gestures to erase things quickly or call the tool box.
There's multi-window support for the Note family, and you can send the drawings quickly via most of the usual channels, Evernote included.
There's multi-window support for the Note family, and you can send the drawings quickly via most of the usual channels, Evernote included.
Papyrus - Natural Note Taking (free)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.steadfastinnovation.android.projectpapyrus&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5zdGVhZGZhc3Rpbm5vdmF0aW9uLmFuZHJvaWQucHJvamVjdHBhcHlydXMiXQ..
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<iframe width="640" height="390" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/WwcWjuwCrKI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
Arguably the most comprehensive gallery replacement for your Android, PicsArt a one-stop shop for managing your pictures and editing them, supporting the S Pen explicitly, and taking advantage of the split screen multi-window functionality that comes with the Galaxy Note family of phones and tablets. In addition, the new PicsArt DrawCam feature allows you to combine live camera with drawing, photo editing and layers.
PicsArt - Photo Studio
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.picsart.studio
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<iframe width="640" height="390" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/RpkrcEHmcPA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
MyScript Stylus might be still in a timed beta edition, but once you try it out, you'll realize its huge potential for devices laden with the S Pen functionality. Its real-time handwriting recognition is so good, that you might find it completely replacing your stock keyaboard even
MyScript Stylus (Beta)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.visionobjects.stylusmobile.v3_2_store
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One of the simplest and most efficient photo editing apps for Android is not created with the S Pen in mind, but it supports pressure-sensitive drawing, and when adding the ability to use a stylus to its other virtues, you might skip the photo editor on your computer altogether, except for complicated tasks that require programs like Photoshop.
PicSay Pro ($3.99)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.shinycore.picsaypro&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5zaGlueWNvcmUucGljc2F5cHJvIl0.
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All fine and dandy, but what if you can't draw a shape to save your life? Then "How to Draw" comes to the rescue with easy to follow directions, starting with simple shapes, and gradually increasing the complexity, until you've mastered drawing a baby tiger... or Will Smith.
How to Draw - Art Lessons (free)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.drawart.net.free&hl=en
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<iframe width="640" height="390" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/qMPaPlgNdN4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
Another good drawing tutorial app, Sketch' Em starts it basic, and lets you work your way app to sketching mastership. The kicker is that it is exclusively optimized for the S Pen stylus on the Note line.
Sketch 'Em (free)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.oneglobalapps.draw
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<iframe width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/hv-Rjk1xuAU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
What if you don't want to edit pictures, but rather make videos out of them, sounds complicated? Not really, as FlipaClip lets you do just that, and, since it was created for a Samsung S Pen apps challenge, it is tailored for the realities of a Note stylus.
Just draw your subjects in the various stages needed for a full motion, and watch, annotate or send the video. It's just like flipping through the drawings you made on notebook pages as a kid to make tiny fellas come alive.
Just draw your subjects in the various stages needed for a full motion, and watch, annotate or send the video. It's just like flipping through the drawings you made on notebook pages as a kid to make tiny fellas come alive.
FlipaClip
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vblast.flipaclip&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS52Ymxhc3QuZmxpcGFjbGlwIl0.
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<iframe width="640" height="390" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/WwcWjuwCrKI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
Paintrala is a social painting app, where you can share paintings together with friends all over the world. It has a drawing tool that will guide you if you are a beginner artist, and lets you post and exchange masterpieces, as well as follow painters you like.
Paintrala - SNS for painting (free)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bdcompany.louver
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<iframe width="640" height="390" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/vLUKgKiOr6A" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
Made for the S Pen on the Galaxy Note portfolio, Galaxy Note II and Galaxy Note 10.1.
Infinite Painter (Galaxy Note) (free)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.brakefield.painternote
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<iframe width="640" height="390" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/PNXoohJ3WxE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
If you think FlipBoard is good, try NewsAce Pro - this interactive news reader has a great layout, hundreds of preset news sources, great widgets, and above all - you can highlight an important passages or doodle on an image and share it, all with the comfort of your S Pen.
NewsAce Pro : Multimedia News ($2.99)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tecace.newsace.pro
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Need to sign documents on the go? Use SIGNificant, which, with its S Pen optimization, makes your signature indistinguishable from the real thing, secure, and is able to produce forensically identifiable signatures.
SIGNificant Signature Capture (free)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.xyzmo.signature&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS54eXptby5zaWduYXR1cmUiXQ..
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<iframe width="640" height="390" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/e3WGO-OZQ2k" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
Once you master the S Pen gestures that GMD SPen Control lets you completely take over your phone with, the five bucks for the app will feel like one of the best investments you've made on your Galaxy Note device - just check out the video demo.
The app requires root, and it won't interfere with Air View if you are on a stock ROM.
The app requires root, and it won't interfere with Air View if you are on a stock ROM.
GMD SPen Control ($5.56)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gmd.spencontrol&hl=en
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How about teaching your Note device your own handwriting as a system font? That's exactly what the Samsung exclusive MyRealFont Lite offers, and lets you scribble the letters the way you actually write them to use as a font.
MyRealFont Lite (free)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ma.myrealfontlite
embed
<iframe width="640" height="390" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/qSESgl3gCFM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
Just write the mathematical expression on the screen, then let MyScript convert handwritten symbols and numbers into digital, delivering the equation result in real time. Experience similar to writing on paper, but with the advantages of a digital device, like scratch-outs, results in real time, and so on.
MyScript Calculator (free)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.visionobjects.calculator&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS52aXNpb25vYmplY3RzLmNhbGN1bGF0b3IiXQ..
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Makeup offers a staggering amount of lipstick, gloss, blush, mascara and other beautifying choices for a virtual makeover of yours or someone else's face from a photo.
You can mix and match to see how you are going to look like in various makeup combos before heading to the club - with the S Pen, and the app's support for freehand painting, the possibilities are endless.
You can mix and match to see how you are going to look like in various makeup combos before heading to the club - with the S Pen, and the app's support for freehand painting, the possibilities are endless.
Makeup (free)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.modiface.makeup&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5tb2RpZmFjZS5tYWtldXAiXQ..
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<iframe width="640" height="390" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Ge9o82Ttrak" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
Simply draw your directions over a live map or satellite view, and then share those directions via Facebook, email, Handcent, sms, WhatsApp and more. A great way to explain directions to a party, written exclusively for S Pen device owners.
Map Note (free)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.base2apps.mapnotes&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5iYXNlMmFwcHMubWFwbm90ZXMiXQ
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It is not easy to score S Pen-optimized games, but Scribble Racer is a great find and great fun. The goal is to keep your S Pen on the track as the going gets faster and faster, while you manage to collect fruits and stars along the way for extra bonus points - sounds simple but is in fact rather addictive.
Scribble Racer (free)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wolfgangknecht.scribbler&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS53b2xmZ2FuZ2tuZWNodC5zY3JpYmJsZXIiXQ..
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PlayCall gives you the option to quickly scheme out game strategies and placement tactics on a football (UK and US), basketball, tennis and baseball sports fields, utilizing the power of the S Pen, of course.
PlayCall (free)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sports.playcall.
The best S Pen apps for the Samsung Galaxy Note family
When a program like AutoCAD is mentioned, one ought to listen. Developed by the Autodesk crew, SketchBook Mobile is explicitly design to suit the needs of doodlers on mobile screens below 7", and has a dedicated stylus mode for devices with one.
Perhaps the most professional sketch app out there, it lets you create sophisticated drawings, annotations, charts and diagrams quickly on a small screen with 12 layers, 65 brushes, customized color swatches, synthetic pressure sensitivity and many more - all in all, a steal for two bucks, especially if you have the advantage of the S Pen on your side.
Perhaps the most professional sketch app out there, it lets you create sophisticated drawings, annotations, charts and diagrams quickly on a small screen with 12 layers, 65 brushes, customized color swatches, synthetic pressure sensitivity and many more - all in all, a steal for two bucks, especially if you have the advantage of the S Pen on your side.
The best S Pen apps for the Samsung Galaxy Note family
1. SketchBook Mobile ($1.99)
When a program like AutoCAD is mentioned, one ought to listen. Developed by the Autodesk crew, SketchBook Mobile is explicitly design to suit the needs of doodlers on mobile screens below 7", and has a dedicated stylus mode for devices with one.
Perhaps the most professional sketch app out there, it lets you create sophisticated drawings, annotations, charts and diagrams quickly on a small screen with 12 layers, 65 brushes, customized color swatches, synthetic pressure sensitivity and many more - all in all, a steal for two bucks, especially if you have the advantage of the S Pen on your side.
Perhaps the most professional sketch app out there, it lets you create sophisticated drawings, annotations, charts and diagrams quickly on a small screen with 12 layers, 65 brushes, customized color swatches, synthetic pressure sensitivity and many more - all in all, a steal for two bucks, especially if you have the advantage of the S Pen on your side.
2. SketchBook Pro ($4.99)
Owners of Samsung Note tablets better take a look at Autodesk's SketchBook Pro, which is tailored for use on screens 7" and above, sporting even more options than SketchBook Mobile.
You can create large canvases (up to 6.5 MP), there is dynamic symmetry, as you can see in the video, plus a comprehensive Brush Library with over 100 presets, as well as multiple manageable layers at your disposal.
You can create large canvases (up to 6.5 MP), there is dynamic symmetry, as you can see in the video, plus a comprehensive Brush Library with over 100 presets, as well as multiple manageable layers at your disposal.
3. Serious Paint ($3.99)
Serious Paint developers say that the app "bends over backwards to make your Android device into a proper art workstation," and this is not some puff talk, as the app is the most similar experience you will get on Android to a workstation, when it comes to natural brushes and color picking.
4. Papyrus - Natural Note Taking (free)
If you've been searching for a dead simple app for quickly jotting down ideas, and a great alternative to S Note, Papyrus will make you stop. It recreates writing on a piece of paper, the strokes of the pen are vector graphics, and you can use pen gestures to erase things quickly or call the tool box.
There's multi-window support for the Note family, and you can send the drawings quickly via most of the usual channels, Evernote included.
There's multi-window support for the Note family, and you can send the drawings quickly via most of the usual channels, Evernote included.
5. PicsArt - Photo Studio
Arguably the most comprehensive gallery replacement for your Android, PicsArt a one-stop shop for managing your pictures and editing them, supporting the S Pen explicitly, and taking advantage of the split screen multi-window functionality that comes with the Galaxy Note family of phones and tablets. In addition, the new PicsArt DrawCam feature allows you to combine live camera with drawing, photo editing and layers.
6. MyScript Stylus (Beta)
MyScript Stylus might be still in a timed beta edition, but once you try it out, you'll realize its huge potential for devices laden with the S Pen functionality. Its real-time handwriting recognition is so good, that you might find it completely replacing your stock keyaboard even
7. PicSay Pro ($3.99)
One of the simplest and most efficient photo editing apps for Android is not created with the S Pen in mind, but it supports pressure-sensitive drawing, and when adding the ability to use a stylus to its other virtues, you might skip the photo editor on your computer altogether, except for complicated tasks that require programs like Photoshop.
8. How to Draw - Art Lessons (free)
All fine and dandy, but what if you can't draw a shape to save your life? Then "How to Draw" comes to the rescue with easy to follow directions, starting with simple shapes, and gradually increasing the complexity, until you've mastered drawing a baby tiger... or Will Smith.
9. Sketch 'Em (free)
Another good drawing tutorial app, Sketch' Em starts it basic, and lets you work your way app to sketching mastership. The kicker is that it is exclusively optimized for the S Pen stylus on the Note line.
10. FlipaClip
What if you don't want to edit pictures, but rather make videos out of them, sounds complicated? Not really, as FlipaClip lets you do just that, and, since it was created for a Samsung S Pen apps challenge, it is tailored for the realities of a Note stylus.
Just draw your subjects in the various stages needed for a full motion, and watch, annotate or send the video. It's just like flipping through the drawings you made on notebook pages as a kid to make tiny fellas come alive.
Just draw your subjects in the various stages needed for a full motion, and watch, annotate or send the video. It's just like flipping through the drawings you made on notebook pages as a kid to make tiny fellas come alive.
11. Paintrala - SNS for painting (free)
Paintrala is a social painting app, where you can share paintings together with friends all over the world. It has a drawing tool that will guide you if you are a beginner artist, and lets you post and exchange masterpieces, as well as follow painters you like.
12. Infinite Painter (Galaxy Note) (free)
Made for the S Pen on the Galaxy Note portfolio, Galaxy Note II and Galaxy Note 10.1.
13. NewsAce Pro : Multimedia News ($2.99)
If you think FlipBoard is good, try NewsAce Pro - this interactive news reader has a great layout, hundreds of preset news sources, great widgets, and above all - you can highlight an important passages or doodle on an image and share it, all with the comfort of your S Pen.
14. SIGNificant Signature Capture (free)
Need to sign documents on the go? Use SIGNificant, which, with its S Pen optimization, makes your signature indistinguishable from the real thing, secure, and is able to produce forensically identifiable signatures.
15. GMD SPen Control ($5.56)
Once you master the S Pen gestures that GMD SPen Control lets you completely take over your phone with, the five bucks for the app will feel like one of the best investments you've made on your Galaxy Note device - just check out the video demo.
The app requires root, and it won't interfere with Air View if you are on a stock ROM.
The app requires root, and it won't interfere with Air View if you are on a stock ROM.
16. MyRealFont Lite (free)
How about teaching your Note device your own handwriting as a system font? That's exactly what the Samsung exclusive MyRealFont Lite offers, and lets you scribble the letters the way you actually write them to use as a font.
17. MyScript Calculator (free)
Just write the mathematical expression on the screen, then let MyScript convert handwritten symbols and numbers into digital, delivering the equation result in real time. Experience similar to writing on paper, but with the advantages of a digital device, like scratch-outs, results in real time, and so on.
18. Makeup (free)
Makeup offers a staggering amount of lipstick, gloss, blush, mascara and other beautifying choices for a virtual makeover of yours or someone else's face from a photo.
You can mix and match to see how you are going to look like in various makeup combos before heading to the club - with the S Pen, and the app's support for freehand painting, the possibilities are endless.
You can mix and match to see how you are going to look like in various makeup combos before heading to the club - with the S Pen, and the app's support for freehand painting, the possibilities are endless.
19. Map Note (free)
Simply draw your directions over a live map or satellite view, and then share those directions via Facebook, email, Handcent, sms, WhatsApp and more. A great way to explain directions to a party, written exclusively for S Pen device owners.
20. Scribble Racer (free)
It is not easy to score S Pen-optimized games, but Scribble Racer is a great find and great fun. The goal is to keep your S Pen on the track as the going gets faster and faster, while you manage to collect fruits and stars along the way for extra bonus points - sounds simple but is in fact rather addictive.
21. PlayCall (free)
PlayCall gives you the option to quickly scheme out game strategies and placement tactics on a football (UK and US), basketball, tennis and baseball sports fields, utilizing the power of the S Pen, of course.
Perhaps the most professional sketch app out there, it lets you create sophisticated drawings, annotations, charts and diagrams quickly on a small screen with 12 layers, 65 brushes, customized color swatches, synthetic pressure sensitivity and many more - all in all, a steal for two bucks, especially if you have the advantage of the S Pen on your side.