Tech business are no complete strangers to the game of follow the leader– business imitation is, after all, the sincerest sign of a successful item. In the situation of the Galaxy Note, Samsung’s phablet wonder has actually been delighting in some unexpected attraction in markets abroad and also right here in the US. However the business’s ownership of that once-niche category is about to be contested by a surge of copycats, spearheaded by the stylus-toting LG Optimus Vu ($ 866 opened). It ought to go without stating: this 5-inch not-a-smartphone, not-yet-a-tablet has a steep climb ahead if it wishes to oust or even declare equal billing with its successful challenger.

Of course, the Vu isn’t really introducing an attack on all fronts yet as, at this moment it’s a Korea-only affair running Android Gingerbread. (It redeems itself rather with an LTE radio.) Though the competition is welcome, the duel is not an even one, offered the Vu’s unusual mix of internals: a 1,024 x 768 HD-IPS LCD display, dual-core 1.5 GHz Snapdragon processor chip, 32GB of non-expandable storage space, a substantial 2,080 mAh battery and a region-specific T-DMB TV tuner. However could that be enough to dethrone the existing category king, or at the very least present a realistic choice? Join us after the break as we crack this rectangular nut and winnow out the marketing noise.

Tags: 5inch, Galaxy, note, Optimus, penenabled, Phone, Review, take