According to a recent announcement by Samsung, the company's smartphone-tablet hybrid Galaxy Note - which was launched in the US and Europe a few months back - has finally hit the Australian market.

The part-phone, part-tablet Galaxy Note will be available in Australia from this week from Optus and Vodafone with a price-tag of $899 outright. While the Optus offer for the device includes $0 on its 2-year $79 cap plan; the Vodafone offer includes $5 on its 2-year $59 cap plan.

It is also being reported that Telstra is also likely to retail the Galaxy Note - which is being touted by Samsung as a newly-created category of a device that is a cross between a smartphone and a tablet - in Australia next month onwards, though its offer has still not been fully confirmed.

The Samsung Galaxy Note is an attractive device, with some of its most attractive features being a 1.4GHz ARM Cortex A9 processor; 1GB of RAM; 16GB internal memory; a 2-megapixel front-facing camera and an 8-megapixel rear camera.

Even though the Galaxy Note currently runs the Android 2.3 `Gingerbread' version, it will likely receive the 4.0 `Ice Cream Sandwich' upgrade in the coming months.

With the hybrid device also boasting a big 5.3-inch HD screen, and a stylus `S Pen' which enables users to sketch, take notes and annotate images and files on screen, Tyler McGee - VP of communications at Samsung - said in a statement that the device "combines the freedom of a paper notebook with the connectivity of Samsung's smartphone technology and services."