Handsets

Samsung officially announces the Samsung Galaxy Note 2

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The tech world has converged on Berlin, Germany, and one of the first events up to bat was Samsung’s Unpacked event. Just as it was rumored, they went ahead and announced the Samsung Galaxy Note 2.

With its 5.5 Super AMOLED HD display, S Pen technology, 1.6GHz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, 8 megapixel HD camera with a 2 megapixel front camera, 16-64GB of internal storage, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and more, the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is a substantial upgrade over the original. The device is promised to last you all day with a very impressive 3,100 mAh, and that’s impressive considering it’s only 9.4mm thin.

While the Galaxy Note 2 will share a lot of the same features the Samsung Galaxy S3 has, the focus on the S Pen technology is what’s going to attract eyes. They’ve introduced a new feature called Air View.

To put it simply, Air View allows you to use the S Pen to preview content from your email, image gallery, S Planner, or video gallery so you won’t have to jump from screen to screen. Hovering the S Pen over something will bring up a preview while keeping you on that same screen.

The Popup Note feature will bring up a small note over whatever you’re using as soon as you take your S Pen out of its holster. For instance, if you’re on a call and someone tells you to write something down you can bring up a quick note pad without having to thumb through a few different apps. You can then add that note to your S Planner and write even more things right onto the calendar.

Also, Quick Command allows you to swipe your S Pen up at any time to do tasks like sending an email or setting an alarm. Writing “@Jim” could automatically begin an email to your friend Jim, for instance.

The Note 2 will also let you record video of the actions you’re performing on your phone with Screen Recorder. This will be useful to do real-time drawing videos or to do tutorials for people who need to know how to do something on their phone without you needing to be there.

More cool features include the ability to write captions on the back of the photos you take. If you want to note that the photo is of your daughter’s 5th birthday you can simply tap the right corner of the photo and write in real penmanship.

Easy Clip lets you cut out any content on the screen using the S Pen, and you can instantly share the clipping to any application that supports photos. Finally, Idea Visualizer lets you bring up illustrations simply by writing what you want to appear. For instance, writing “baby” in S Note will automatically insert an image of a baby. Sweet!

If you like what you’ve heard so far you can get this thing starting in October in Marble White or Titanium Grey, when a worldwide launch will commence to hundreds of countries. Read on for full press details.

Be Creative, Be Expressive with the GALAXY Note II

The most powerful smartphone sparks everyone’s creative inspirations

BERLIN, Germany—29 August 2012— At the Samsung Mobile Unpacked event held today at IFA, in
Berlin, Samsung introduced the GALAXY Note II, a whole new level of innovation for the GALAXY Note
category. The new Samsung GALAXY Note II enables unique experiences in personalized and expressive
content creation, making it the ultimate smartphone for on-the-go creativity.

“Last year at IFA, we launched the GALAXY Note, which opened a new category of smart mobile devices.
This year, again at IFA, I am proud to announce the GALAXY Note II, which will encourage users to
‘unleash their inner creativity.’ With a perfect viewing experience and unique and differentiated features,
users can discover information and capture their ideas faster, express thoughts freely and manage tasks
more efficiently. For anyone who wants to be creative, expressive and unique, the Samsung GALAXY Note
II will be the ideal device, allowing users to live a life extraordinary,” said JK Shin, President of IT & Mobile
Communications Division at Samsung Electronics.

Since the first introduction of the GALAXY Note category, Samsung has continued to enhance and expand
the GALAXY Note product experiences. In May 2012, Samsung introduced ‘Premium Suite,’ a software
upgrade which provided enhanced user experiences. With the Ice Cream Sandwich OS upgrade, Samsung
offered innovative new features such as Shape Match and Formula Match, providing a new way for
organizing and expressing ideas in their personal and professional life. Also in August, Samsung expanded
the category further with the GALAXY Note 10.1, which has a 10.1-inch large screen, a Multiscreen feature
for the ultimate multitasking, and enhanced features for users’ productivity, creativity and learning abilities.
With further enhancements, Samsung GALAXY Note II will help users unleash their inner creativity by letting
them discover information faster, capture ideas, and express them in a more organized and efficient manner.

Perfect viewing experience

The GALAXY Note II features a 5.5” (140.9mm) HD Super AMOLED screen, providing breathtaking visuals
and crystal clear detail. Its 16:9 screen ratio ensures an immersive and enriched cinema-like video viewing
experience, perfect for watching HD videos on-the-go. Its larger screen allows users to see content clearly
and vividly, with much enhanced readability. In addition to the stunning content consumption experiences on
a larger screen, users will also be able to accomplish more tasks efficiently and create content freely on-the-
go, as the GALAXY Note II comes with a thinner and portable body.

Easy multitasking

Air View allows users to hover with the S Pen over an email, S Planner, image gallery, or video to preview
the content without having to open it. This feature enables users to quickly search and see more information
in one view without screen transitions.

Thanks to the breadth of the GALAXY Note II’s amazing viewing experience, a feature called Popup Note
extends the concept of Popup Play, which lets users open an S Note instantly as a pop-up window anywhere
on the screen. For example, when a user pulls out the S Pen during a phone call, the S Note application
automatically pops up on the screen, allowing users to jot down a quick note.

In addition, the device’s new gesture pad feature, called Quick Command, lets users quickly activate
frequently used apps with the S Pen. The command pad appears when a user just swipes upward on the
screen with the S Pen button pressed. Users can quickly send an email, make a call, or search a location as
they draw pre-registered marks on the command pad or register a unique mark to allow for quick and easy
access.

Furthermore, users will be able to share their experiences with others quickly and easily using Screen
Recorder. It allows users to record a whole sequence of actions taken on their screen — a demonstration of
how to use an application, for example — and then share it with friends for comment, or just for fun.

Amazing expression tools – Advanced S Pen & S Note

The new S Pen is longer, thicker and ergonomically designed for the perfect grip. Therefore, it provides a
more precise, comfortable, and natural writing and drawing experience.

The S Pen’s advanced features also provide enhanced capabilities to capture ideas and inspirations
instantly, and to combine handwriting with any digital content directly on the screen. By simply pressing the
dedicated S Pen button, the S Pen magically recognizes that users want to clip or edit the selected content
on the screen. The Easy Clip feature allows users to instantly outline and crop any content on the screen in
any shape to save, share or paste. Once done cropping the image, users can freely edit the cropped content
through coloring, shading, or their own personal handwriting. It is quick and easy.

Another amazing expression feature called Idea Visualizer allows users to easily add illustrations by
handwriting keywords on the S Note. It provides illustration images that match the handwritten keywords.
It’s a fancy illustration match function that will allow users to express, organize and visualize ideas in a more
innovative and creative way. Users can even customize and add in their own illustrations library.

Powerful Performance

Powering content creation, sharing and multitasking capabilities, the GALAXY Note II comes with the latest
hardware technologies. A mighty 1.6GHz Quad-Core processor and HSPA Plus or 4G LTE connectivity
delivers easy multitasking, lightning-fast screen transitions, powerful browser performance, and minimal app
load time. The GALAXY Note II is powered by Android™ 4.1, Jelly Bean. This brings stunning graphical
capabilities and an upgraded Google Now service, including new features such as contextual search, to the
GALAXY Note II. The memory options are 16 GB, 32 GB, and 64 GB with an expandable micro SD memory
slot. Thanks to a 3,100mAh battery, users can enjoy multimedia content, always be productive on the go,
and capture ideas whenever, wherever without suffering from power limitation.

The GALAXY Note II comes with an 8 megapixel rear-facing and 1.9 megapixel front-facing camera with HD
video recording. The camera has great features like Buddy Photo Share, Burst Shot and Best Photo, which
were introduced on the GALAXY S III earlier in the year. In addition to that, the GALAXY Note II features a
unique camera function called Best Faces. Best Faces allows users to choose the most preferred face or
pose of each person from group portrait photos. Users can also personalize photos by leaving handwritten
notes on the backside of a photo using the S Pen. Handwritten Photo Notes can be shared with others in jpg
format.

Available in Marble White or Titanium Gray color options, the Samsung GALAXY Note II is set to launch in
October starting in major European, Asian, and Middle East markets.

The Samsung GALAXY Note II will be on display at the Samsung booth # 20 at IFA 2012 from Aug 31
through Sep 5. For more information on GALAXY Note II, please visit www.samsungmobilepress.com.

Full details, video content and product images are available at Samsung’s IFA 2012 microsite: http://
samsungifa2012.com or mobile site: m.samsungifa.com as well.

Quentyn Kennemer
The "Google Phone" sounded too awesome to pass up, so I bought a G1. The rest is history. And yes, I know my name isn't Wilson.

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59 Comments

  1. any word on the physical dimensions?

    1. They’re trying to make sure the iPhone already looks small when the “new bigger” version comes out.(like isheep hope it will be). Still not convinced they’re going any bigger though.

  2. Those are some sexy specs, but 5.5 inches?? Maybe a little too big for a phone imo…

    1. The bezel is super small and it essentially just grew from the top and bottom since it’s now 16:9 aspect ratio :)

      1. Hmm, I guess I need to have it in my hands to judge it…

        And no, that’s not what she said. :P

  3. Dual core? Does that mean it’s one of the new snapdragons?

    1. Probably either the S4, or their new Exynos both have LTE. Looks nice, but I’d never personally want something this big.

  4. Dual Core? Does this mean its hitting US shores sooner than later?

    1. Its the same Quad core processor on the S3, only its overclocked and it will feature LTE, so no need to swap the processor for U.S. variants. But it could generally mean a sooner launch in the U.S.

  5. dual core? or quad?

    1. quad

  6. Screen that size needs 1080p

    1. it does

    2. How do you work that one out? The Nexus 7 has a bigger screen and isn’t 1080 but the screen looks great.

      1. Because I have the Nexus 7, and it’s alright. But it would be far more impressive with closer to 1080 res.

    3. Give it another year or two.

      1. Why? Why should we wait until after Apple has gleaned the highest res screens from the manufacturers before we have them? Screw Apple, give me higher res before they get it. They’ll claim theirs superior for some other reason anyway, so give me the pixels. :)

        1. I’d like 1080p on my phone too, I just don’t see it happening this year. All the big phone announcements already happened (other than iPhone and the supposed HTC phablet). I’d think the HTC one is your best bet, but I don’t think anyone makes 1080p screens in that size yet.

  7. Its not dual core..its quad core…exynos 4412….the same as s3 along with lte support…its the same for both US ans International versions

    1. Does the 4412 support LTE? I thought it would have to be an S4…

      1. I am sorry….they haven’t mentioned anything about the actual CPU, apart from just saying it will be a quad core…s4 pro plus 2 GB would be amazing :D

      2. it was my understanding the the s4 pro simply has to use a secondary radio for lte rather than an integrated one :/

  8. time for me to start saving some money.
    looks like a nice replacement for my LG O2X

  9. my next phone as longs as three is a T-Mobile version. I’m sure this will follow the s3 and be avalible on all 4 major carriers

  10. now that is one beast of a phone

  11. Go to hell Samsung. That physical home button is a disgrace on an otherwise perfect device. I guess I will be waiting to see what HTC comes up with in the 5″+ category.

    1. Oddly enough that’s one of my favorite features of my Note.

      1. can the physical button be set as a shutter button Suzie you’re taking pictures? That’s one thing I want Sooooo bad on a high end android. a good physical camera button. :/

    2. I personally don’t care for the physical home button myself as well. I wish they would stick to the menu/home/back/search touch button configuration…. but what can you do?… it’s still a great looking phone even with the eyesore button on the bottom.

    3. I’d rather it be soft buttons too but I’ll still suck it up and probably buy one.

    4. The question is: Who cares?

  12. Can someone get the wallpapers and ringtones from the Galaxy Note 2 possibly APKs

    1. I’d like to see some of the enhancements back-ported to the existing Galaxy Note (though I doubt there is an S-pen removal sensor in the orginal). There is near zero incentive for most of us to drop the Note 1 and buy a Note 2. The Note 1 is not even halfway through a two-year contract.

      Samsung enhancing the original would give confidence to the consumer that Samsung will try to enhance their newer devices as well.

  13. Samsung just take my direct deposit now!!

  14. aahhahhaa this phone is crazy too bad I’m on metropcs and too poor and ghetto to be on contract bahahaahahaha ehhh stereotypes man

    1. There are many people just like u. Ur a commoner.

      1. thanks joe lol go vote for obama again

      2. i guess there are alot of biggots named joe

  15. Looks like 2 gigs is the new standard to meet with this and also the LG Optimus G

  16. Please, oh please, let this come to US Cellular by my birthday next month!!!!!!

  17. Patiently waiting on the next Nexus!

    1. Same here, never buying or recommending a non-Nexus Android phone again.

  18. I know, I know, this sounds impressive. Sadly, though, it’s doomed to failure. How do I know that? Because no one will want to buy it, as it bears little resemblance to an iPhone! DUH!

  19. This will be tempting for me to have one imported if I can find it for cheap sans contract. Anyone know if an international version will work with AT&T’s hdspa or hspa+ or whatever it is they have behind their LTE network?

  20. @Gamercore:disqus Just as i predicted, this new Note took design cues from the GS3, but at the same time, it still has it’s own unique aura. I like it.

  21. Imagine if this hardware ended up being one of the 5 rumored Nexus phones coming for the holidays. I would lose my freaking mind.

  22. release date?

  23. Any word on gorilla glass? That was a deal breaker on original note.

  24. Very tempted, as I was with the first Note, but the whole S Pen thing puts me off for some reason…

  25. “Airview”

    Samsung must really like going to court. SMH.

  26. What a dissapointment, no A-15 based processor, no +800p screen, no 13mp camera and no software buttons, it’s just a jumbo sized SGS3 … LG just Samsunged Samsung …

  27. On the Galaxy S3 hold down menu button for search button.

  28. Cool, only about 1.5″ bigger than a phone should be.

  29. Any chance this will be offered in CDMA and made available on Verizon? I want/need to stick with Verizon. The original Galaxy Note was only available on AT&T I believe.

    1. Agreed. A phone/tablet like this needs a real unlimited data plan. I’d love to have it but it would need to be CDMA on Sprint.

  30. Would love this phone, except I’m tired of Samsung’s crappy plastic like feel. I want to hold out for the next flagship HTC phone only for the extra gig of ram but, there is no HTC date/event in sight.

  31. So Samsung with these 4.8″ and 5.5″ devices, think you could make a normal size device that a normal size person who doesn’t want a phablet could use? 4.0-4.3″ would be perfect. Thanks. Better yet, make that size in a Nexus. I don’t want Touchwiz and I want updates.

    (Troll comment: or does Apple have the patent on building phones that are the size of a phone too?)

  32. How much does it cost? The specs look great but we need an 12 mp camera!

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