Samsung has already shipped more than 1 million Galaxy Note tablet-phone hybrids

Samsung’s Galaxy Note hasn’t yet arrived in the U.S., but it’s seeing robust initial sales in other markets around the world.

While Samsung can’t seem to decide whether the “smart device” is a tablet, a phone or something in between, the company did confirm in a press release today that the Note has reached the 1 million milestone for units shipped globally.

Worldwide, Galaxy Note sales are rising in Europe and Asia. Samsung specifically mentioned France, Germany, Taiwan and Hong Kong as markets where the Note is turning out to be quite popular.

“The rapid global sales of Galaxy Note are notable since it is creating a new market for something between smartphone and tablet PC,” the company stated in a release.

And of course, Samsung is bracing itself for even bigger numbers when the smart-doohickey reaches the gadget-hungry shores of the United States. Unfortunately, we don’t yet have a U.S. release date more specific than “sometime in 2012.”

While the company has had to bob and weave through a volley of Apple lawsuits over the alleged copycat design of its Galaxy lineup (Apple company says the phones and tablets bear a distinct Apple-y flavor, and some courts have agreed), the Note is unquestionably unique. It’s too huge to be an entirely pocket-friendly smartphone, but its capabilities go beyond those of a tablet. Also, it’s got a stylus — a utilitarian accessory perfect for smaller screens, but one that’s never really made it into the mainstream consumer gadget market.

If you’re confused as to what the Note is, this commercial won’t clear anything up for you:

“One million global shipping of Galaxy Note means it has well positioned itself as a market creator,” said an unnamed Samsung representative in a statement released today. “Samsung will continuously strengthen its leadership in the global smartphone market as well as create new markets with innovative devices.”

Samsung sold more than 300 million smartphones in 2011 and expects that number to climb 15 percent in 2012.

While the Note ships with the Gingerbread release of Android, it will get an over-the-air update to Ice Cream Sandwich, Google’s one-size-fits-all OS for both tablets and phones, sometime during the next few weeks.