The Galaxy Note II is pegged as a smartphone, but it’s easy to mistake this huge 5.5in-screen handset for a tablet. A smartphone this broad and tall falls more naturally into two-handed operation. We like the user’s introduction to the handset: upon thumbing the power switch on the upper right, the lock screen shows an elegant white feather quill on a sky-blue background, evoking images of a creative writing device. And that’s the major attraction in this powerful slice of hands-held computing.
The Note II includes a Wacom-licensed pressure-sensitive stylus called the S Pen, which slots away underneath when not required. Pulling out the stylus and bringing it close to the screen (sometimes) lets the Note II know you’re about to do some sketching or scribbling. Getting this Air View function to work effectively requires practice, as do many of the Note’s other features. Its recognition of cursive English scrawl is impressive, but we were still frustrated by transcription errors. These took more time to correct than they would using a virtual Qwerty keyboard.
More complexity arrived with the Multi Window feature, which lets you view two apps side by side. This was added via an update, with no explanation of how to use it. An annoying rounded tab is left on the screen at all times; when dragged across, it reveals all compatible apps. You can, for example, play a video while browsing a web page. It’s a neat way to underline a mobile’s multitasking capability.
Internal specifications
The Note II’s innards are very similar to those of the Galaxy S III. Inside is a Samsung Exynos 4412 SoC based on a quad-core ARM, but clocked at 1.6- rather than 1.4GHz. This is the fastest-clocked ARM smartphone we’ve seen and, combined with Android’s latest 4.1 Jelly Bean OS. it bodes well for performance.
Jelly Bean promises smoother graphics, here powered by an ARM Mali-400 MP GPU. It’s relatively speedy, and faster than the nVidia Tegra 3, if well short of the fastest available mobile graphics solutions. Note II approached the capability of the iPhone 4S. It managed 17fps in the Egypt HD test, against l9fps for the previous-generation Apple phone. The iPhone 5 played the same benchmark at 38f ps.
To gauge processor speed, we use Geek bench 2. Averaged over five runs, the Note II scored 1,958 points. which is the highest score we’ve seen from this test. In the SunSpider JavaScript test, the Note managed a very good 1,022ms. By comparison, the S III scored 1,447ms in the same test, and the iPhone S 903ms (a lower score is better here).
The Note II works with EE’s 40 LTE network. This wasn’t available at the time of testing, so we measured 30 performance. The Samsung averaged of 11.1Mbps download, and 2.35Mbps upload, versus 15.4 and 2.73Mbps for the iPhone 5. Battery life good enough to last two days of sporadic use, in part thanks to a large 11.78Wh removable battery packed inside. \
Verdict
Whereas the Galaxy S II and III were Samsung’s answer to the iPhone, the Note II’s handwriting capabilities are targeted at a different type of user. It’s faster and has a bigger screen than the S III, but too big for one- handed use. (Andrew Harrison)
SPESIFICATION:
Connectivity
HSPA+42
EDGE / GPRS (850/900/1,800/1,900MHZ)
HSPA+42 (850/900/2100)
LTE (800/900/1,800/2,600)
WiFi a/b/g/n HT40
Bluetooth technology v 4.0 (Apt-X Codec support) LE
NFC available
USB 2.0 Host / Device, MHL
ChipsetQuad Core Processor 1.6GHz CPU Speed
Display
HD sAMOLED
16M
5.55" (140.9mm)
HD (1,280 x 720)
S Pen
The Note II includes a Wacom-licensed pressure-sensitive stylus called the S Pen, which slots away underneath when not required. Pulling out the stylus and bringing it close to the screen (sometimes) lets the Note II know you’re about to do some sketching or scribbling. Getting this Air View function to work effectively requires practice, as do many of the Note’s other features. Its recognition of cursive English scrawl is impressive, but we were still frustrated by transcription errors. These took more time to correct than they would using a virtual Qwerty keyboard.
More complexity arrived with the Multi Window feature, which lets you view two apps side by side. This was added via an update, with no explanation of how to use it. An annoying rounded tab is left on the screen at all times; when dragged across, it reveals all compatible apps. You can, for example, play a video while browsing a web page. It’s a neat way to underline a mobile’s multitasking capability.
Internal specifications
The Note II’s innards are very similar to those of the Galaxy S III. Inside is a Samsung Exynos 4412 SoC based on a quad-core ARM, but clocked at 1.6- rather than 1.4GHz. This is the fastest-clocked ARM smartphone we’ve seen and, combined with Android’s latest 4.1 Jelly Bean OS. it bodes well for performance.
Jelly Bean promises smoother graphics, here powered by an ARM Mali-400 MP GPU. It’s relatively speedy, and faster than the nVidia Tegra 3, if well short of the fastest available mobile graphics solutions. Note II approached the capability of the iPhone 4S. It managed 17fps in the Egypt HD test, against l9fps for the previous-generation Apple phone. The iPhone 5 played the same benchmark at 38f ps.
To gauge processor speed, we use Geek bench 2. Averaged over five runs, the Note II scored 1,958 points. which is the highest score we’ve seen from this test. In the SunSpider JavaScript test, the Note managed a very good 1,022ms. By comparison, the S III scored 1,447ms in the same test, and the iPhone S 903ms (a lower score is better here).
The Note II works with EE’s 40 LTE network. This wasn’t available at the time of testing, so we measured 30 performance. The Samsung averaged of 11.1Mbps download, and 2.35Mbps upload, versus 15.4 and 2.73Mbps for the iPhone 5. Battery life good enough to last two days of sporadic use, in part thanks to a large 11.78Wh removable battery packed inside. \
Verdict
Whereas the Galaxy S II and III were Samsung’s answer to the iPhone, the Note II’s handwriting capabilities are targeted at a different type of user. It’s faster and has a bigger screen than the S III, but too big for one- handed use. (Andrew Harrison)
Connectivity
HSPA+42
EDGE / GPRS (850/900/1,800/1,900MHZ)
HSPA+42 (850/900/2100)
LTE (800/900/1,800/2,600)
WiFi a/b/g/n HT40
Bluetooth technology v 4.0 (Apt-X Codec support) LE
NFC available
USB 2.0 Host / Device, MHL
ChipsetQuad Core Processor 1.6GHz CPU Speed
OS
Android 4.1 (JellyBean)
Android 4.1 (JellyBean)
Memory
16GB
Physical Specifications
151.1 x 80.5 x 9.4mm
182g Weight
151.1 x 80.5 x 9.4mm
182g Weight
Battery
3,100mAh Battery
USB Chargeable
up to 950 minutes (3G), up to 310 minutes (Video Call Time)
up to 490 hours (3G), up to 550 hours (LTE)
USB Chargeable
up to 950 minutes (3G), up to 310 minutes (Video Call Time)
up to 490 hours (3G), up to 550 hours (LTE)
Audio and Video
Video Format : MPEG4, H.263, H.264, VC-1, DivX, WMV7, WMV8, WMV9, VP8
Full HD (1080p) Video Recording & Playback available
Recording up to 30fps
Audio Format : MP3, OGG, WMA, AAC, ACC+, eAAC+, AMR (NB, WB), MIDI, WAV, AC-3, Flac
Video Format : MPEG4, H.263, H.264, VC-1, DivX, WMV7, WMV8, WMV9, VP8
Full HD (1080p) Video Recording & Playback available
Recording up to 30fps
Audio Format : MP3, OGG, WMA, AAC, ACC+, eAAC+, AMR (NB, WB), MIDI, WAV, AC-3, Flac
Display
HD sAMOLED
16M
5.55" (140.9mm)
HD (1,280 x 720)
S Pen
Camera
8 Megapixels Camera Resolution (Rear)
1.9 Megapixels Camera Resolution (Front)
Flash-LED
Auto Focus available
8 Megapixels Camera Resolution (Rear)
1.9 Megapixels Camera Resolution (Front)
Flash-LED
Auto Focus available
Colour
Marble White, Titan Gray
Marble White, Titan Gray
Location
Assisted GPS / GLONASS available
Assisted GPS / GLONASS available