Samsung Galaxy Note II Overview
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I own it | I want it | I had it |
When Samsung unveiled the original Galaxy Note a little over a year ago, it marked the revival of a stillborn concept: the “phablet,” bigger than a phone, smaller than a tablet. Early efforts in this twilight category like Dell's 5-inch Android-powered Streak failed to catch on. But progress on the software and hardware fronts, as well as a market evolving towards larger handsets, made the original Samsung Note a substantial success. Now the Note II has arrived with an even bigger screen - 5.5. inches vs 5.3 inches on the original. Of course the screen size is not the only specification that has changed. The Note II comes with a beefed-up processor (1.6GHz quad-core vs 1.4GHz dual-core), more RAM (2 vs 1GB) and a bigger battery (3,100 mAh vs 2,500 mAh). The operating system has been updated to version 4.1 of Android (Jelly Bean) too but at 8MP the sensor resolution of the camera remains unchanged.
OS | Google Android |
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OS Version | Android (4.1.2, 4.1.1) |
Front camera effective pixels | 2 megapixels |
Rear camera effective pixels | 8 megapixels |
Rear camera resolution | 1920 x 1080 |
Camera image stabilization | Unknown |
LCD size | 5.5″ |
Built in memory | 16/32/64GB User memory + 2GB (RAM) |
Weight | 183 g (6.44 oz) |
Dimensions | 81 x 151 x 9 mm (3.17 x 5.95 x 0.37″) |
The Samsung Galaxy Note II comes with an imaging feature set that is very similar to its smaller sister model, the Galaxy S3. Image quality is almost identical too, with good exposure and vibrant colors but a lack of fine detail due to noise reduction. The Note's big screen is great for composing images but at the same time can make handling a little more awkward. The S Pen is useful for note-taking and sketching but with a lack of stylus-optimized apps doesn't give you any advantage when editing your images.