Samsung Galaxy Note is expected to reach the U.S. early this year with AT&T reportedly lining up to carry a version of the smartphone.

The AT&T version of the device will have an NFC chip for secure financial transactions, according to SamMobile.

The device is promoted as a smartphone although its design is similar to that of a small tablet with its 5.3-inch display screen.

It will feature a 5.3-inch Super AMOLED display, 8 megapixel rear camera with LED flash (1080p recording) and autofocus, 2 megapixel shooter on the front.

It will also have A-GPS, Wi-Fi calling, Qik and the Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS which will be upgradeable to Android 4 Ice Cream Sandwich. In addition, the CPU will probably be a Qualcomm MSM8660 1.5GHz dual-core processor.

Meanwhile, Samsung Galaxy Note, which is considered to be part tablet and part smartphone, has seen an increase in its sales in both Asia and Europe. Also it is reported that one million units of the devices have been shipped to retailers in the two months since its release.

However, no specific sales figure was released by the South Korean electronics manufacturer. When the phone was released, many experts doubted it could be such a big hit.

Smartphone Samsung AT&T Android