GSMArena.com GSMArena.com

Tip us

1.7m
126k
RSS

EV

Merch

Log in

Login

I forgot my password
Sign up
  • Home
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Videos
  • Featured
  • Phone Finder
  • Deals
  • MerchNew
  • Coverage
  • Contact
ADVERTISEMENTS
GSMArena team, 31 August 2012

First look


Samsung Galaxy Note II preview: First look

  • Comments (103)

1. Introduction
  1. 1. Introduction
  2. 2. Hardware overview, display, S Pen
  3. 3. S Pen features, app overview
  4. 4. Text input, synthetic benchmarks
  5. 5. Still and video camera, conclusion
  6.  
  7. Review comments (103)

IFA 2012 Samsung Android Touch UI Preview

This article is outdated. We have already published a full review.

Introduction

The original Galaxy Note was a runaway success despite all the doubts that its size and stylus caused. It's understandable then, why the new Samsung Galaxy Note II was greeted with so much excitement. It brings a new and improved screen, boosts processing power significantly and makes the S Pen even better.

Samsung Galaxy Note II Preview Samsung Galaxy Note II Preview Samsung Galaxy Note II Preview Samsung Galaxy Note II Preview
Samsung Galaxy Note II official photos

The screen of the new phoneblet is quite interesting - Samsung moved it to 16:9 aspect ratio, so it matches the Galaxy S III and extended the diagonal to 5.5". But the Note II Super AMOLED display isn't just the Galaxy S III's screen upsized or even that of the original Note.

Samsung Galaxy Note II N7100 at a glance:

  • General: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz; UMTS 850/900/1900/2100 MHz, HSDPA 21 Mbps, HSUPA 5.76 Mbps; LTE 700/2100 MHz, 100Mbps down, 50Mbps up
  • Form factor: Touchscreen bar phoneblet
  • Dimensions: 151.1 x 80.5 x 9.4 mm, 180 g
  • Display: 5.5" 16M-color HD (720 x 1280 pixels) Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, Gorilla Glass 2
  • Stylus: S Pen, 1024 pressure levels, hover functionality
  • Chipset: Exynos 4212 Quad
  • CPU: Quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 1.6 GHz processor
  • GPU: Mali-400MP
  • RAM: 2GB
  • OS: Android 4.1.1 (Jelly Bean) Memory: 16/32/64GB storage, microSD card slot
  • Still camera: 8 megapixel auto-focus camera with backlit sensor, face detection and Best faces feature, touch focus and image stabilization;
  • Video camera: Full HD (1080p) video recording at 30fps, LED flash, 1.9MP front facing camera, video-calls
  • Connectivity: Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0, standard microUSB port with MHL features (TV Out, USB host), GPS receiver with A-GPS, 3.5mm audio jack, FM radio, NFC
  • Battery: 3100 mAh
  • Misc: TouchWiz 4.0 UI, Extremely rich video/audio codec support, built-in accelerometer, multi-touch input, proximity sensor, gyroscope sensor, RGB sensor, Smart stay eye-tracking, S Voice

A peek under a microscope revealed that the Samsung Galaxy Note II uses a completely new Super AMOLED matrix with three subpixels per pixel. It's an unusual matrix for sure, but it might be the sign of things to come for future Galaxy flagships.

The Galaxy Note II brings the second iteration of the S Pen. The new one is longer and thicker compared to the original, though not as big as the one in the Note 10.1. The new digitizer also offers a great deal of new features - better pressure sensitivity and hover detection of the stylus.

And there are some cool new software tricks to complement the improved stylus - the hover function triggers various previews (everything from email to video), the bigger button on the S Pen enables a variety of gestures and there's a new homescreen pane that automatically pops up when you use the stylus.

Speaking of software, the Galaxy Note II will be one of the first Samsung devices to launch with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean out of the box (along with the Galaxy Camera). The combination of the latest Android and the fast Exynos chipset with a quad-core processor clocked at 1.6GHz makes the Note II a performance beast.

Samsung Galaxy Note II Preview Samsung Galaxy Note II Preview Samsung Galaxy Note II Preview Samsung Galaxy Note II Preview
Samsung Galaxy Note II live photos

At this point it's clear, that we have one of the devices of the season on our hands here, so let's waste no more time and get down to testing.

Next Page » 2. Hardware overview, display, S Pen
1. Introduction
  1. 1. Introduction
  2. 2. Hardware overview, display, S Pen
  3. 3. S Pen features, app overview
  4. 4. Text input, synthetic benchmarks
  5. 5. Still and video camera, conclusion
  6.  
  7. Review comments (103)

Reviews Samsung Galaxy Note II preview
  • Comments (103)

Samsung Galaxy Note II preview: First look - Reader comments

Y
  • Yazdani
  • 6Q3
  • 19 Nov 2012

CONGRATULATION SAMSUNG. Note II is an awesome and fabulous product. can not wait to get it. Thanks for launching it.

  • Reply
?
  • Anonymous
  • t1$
  • 25 Oct 2012

its awesome!!!!

  • Reply
?
  • Anonymous
  • dRx
  • 05 Oct 2012

I just reciently had traing on all phone operating systems, the new features on windows look exciting, Nokia could also become popular again as not many people have them

  • Reply
  • Read all comments
  • Post your comment
Total reader comments: 103

Phone finder

  • Samsung
  • Apple
  • Huawei
  • Nokia
  • Sony
  • LG
  • HTC
  • Motorola
  • Lenovo
  • Xiaomi
  • Google
  • Honor
  • Oppo
  • Realme
  • OnePlus
  • vivo
  • Meizu
  • BlackBerry
  • Asus
  • Alcatel
  • ZTE
  • Microsoft
  • Vodafone
  • Energizer
  • Cat
  • Sharp
  • Micromax
  • Infinix
  • TCL
  • Ulefone
  • Tecno
  • Doogee
  • Blackview
  • BLU
  • Panasonic
  • Plum

All brands Rumor mill

ADVERTISEMENTS

Related articles

  • We take a look back at IFA 2012, see if you've missed something
  • Samsung Ativ S hardware hands-on at IFA
  • Samsung ATIV S is the first official Windows Phone 8 smartphone
  • Samsung Galaxy Note II is now official, sports a new S Pen
ADVERTISEMENTS

Popular reviews

Apple iOS 14 review

Apple iOS 14 review
Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review

Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review
Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G review

Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G review

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

Zeekr 001 with 140 kWh Qilin battery real life range test results Zeekr 001 with 140 kWh Qilin battery real life range test results Ford gets access to Tesla's 12,000 Superchargers in the US and CanadaLG and Hyundai to build a $4.3 billion EV battery factory in the US
ADVERTISEMENTS

Home News Reviews Compare Coverage Glossary FAQ RSS feed Youtube Facebook Twitter Instagram

© 2000-2023 GSMArena.com Mobile version Android app Tools Contact us Merch store Privacy Terms of use Change Ad Consent Do not sell my data