Android

Samsung unveils Galaxy Note II

gnote - for some reason we don't have an alt tag here

With the original Galaxy Note out of the way, Samsung has finally unveiled the second iteration of its largest flagship phone: the Galaxy Note II.

At first glance, the new Note looks incredibly similar to Samsung’s other flagship, the Galaxy S III. The overall body design of the Note is indeed quite similar, with both the top and bottom coming together to make the Note II look like a nearly-exact replica of the S III – just a bit bigger due to its 5.5-inch screen. In keeping with Galaxy S III tradition, Samsung has also given the device two color choices (as of right now), both of which are “inspired by nature:” Mountain White and Titanium Gray.

Let’s talk about specs now. That 5.5-inch screen is of the Super AMOLED variety, meaning that it still uses the “subpar” PenTile subpixel arrangement. Personally, I think PenTile screens look just fine, but I do know that this one will be a disappointment. Whereas the original Note had a 5.3-inch screen with a resolution of 1280 x 800, this new Note’s screen will have a slightly lower resolution of 1280 x 720 – and an extra .2-inches of screen real estate. Naturally, then, the new panel will look a little less clear than the previous one, but it shouldn’t be a dealbreaker.

Luckily, the screen seems to be the only true disappointment, aside from your personal feelings towards TouchWiz. Regardless, the software does seem to be fairly decent: Android 4.1 Jelly Bean is installed, alongside a number of Samsung-specific apps and features to help utilize the new and redesigned S Pen stylus. One of those features is called Air View, which lets you hover the S Pen above your display and let the Note II show you previews of whatever it is you’re pointing at with the stylus. Other apps include: Screen Recorder, Pop-up Play (the window overlay for playing videos), and Photo Note – so you can write fun things on the back of your photos.

The Galaxy Note II is powered by a powerful 1.6GHz quad-core Exynos processor, 2GB of RAM, and a 3100mAh battery. As for storage, Samsung will sell the device with three different storage capacities: 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB.

The Galaxy Note II – in (presumably) CDMA/GSM varieties, as well as a planned LTE version – will launch sometime in Q4 of this year. Who’s excited?

[The Verge]
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Calob Horton

Calob Horton is an associate editor at Pocketables. He loves all technology, no matter which company it comes from. This unbiased view of the tech world allows him to choose the products that best fit his personal needs and tastes: a Microsoft Surface Pro, a Samsung Galaxy Note 3, and a third-gen iPad.Google+ | Twitter | More posts by Calob | Subscribe to Calob's posts

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