The latest attempt--a joint venture with Sony--produced a sleek model with a built-in camera and the ability to combinetext, graphics, photos and audio clips, but Ericsson has lost market share.
That said, you'll be hard-pressed to find such extensive content creation apps available on other smartphones, and the ability to combinetext, imagery, drawings and written annotations is one of the most compelling features of the Galaxy Note.
The most attractive services will probably be those that combine voice and text in a clever way: users could, for example, ask for an address and get driving directions on their cell phone display.