You know the Samsung Galaxy Note was one of our top picks last year, right? Well, the Samsung Galaxy Note II, a 5.5" smartphone or phablet is even better. It has a bigger display, a much faster CPU than our US first gen Note, a better camera and more S Pen features. The Note II is available on all major US carriers, with a $299 price tag with contract ($369 on T-Mobile). The question is: though the Note II is certainly much improved, does it have what it takes to compete with other large Android smartphones that have stepped up their game since the original Note shipped?
Specs at a Glance
The Sprint, AT&T and Verizon versions have LTE 4G along with 3G, while the T-Mobile model has 3G HSPA+ (which T-Mo calls 4G and is decently fast). A very fast Samsung Exynos 1.6GHz quad core processor powers the phone with 2 gigs of RAM. Other goodies include NFC, dual band WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, a front 1.9MP camera and rear 8MP camera with BSI sensor and fast lens (same as the excellent Galaxy S III camera). The phone has 16 gigs of internal storage and there's a microSD card slot as well. And yes, the whopping 3100 mAh Lithium Ion Polymer battery is removable: go Samsung!
The Samsung Galaxy Note II and the Samsung Galaxy S III.
Design and Ergonomics
In this review, we look at the Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon versions, though all Note II variants have identical hardware (other than cellular radios and logos) and carrier-added apps. The Note II is available in white or titanium, and in either case it's finished in Samsung's beloved amazingly glossy plastics. The phone is a little bit taller and ever so slightly narrower than the first gen Note, so it's no more difficult to hold in one hand. That said, this is a very large phone, though not as ungainly as the 4:3 aspect ratio LG Intuition on Verizon. It makes the Samsung Galaxy S III look dainty and the iPhone 5 seems like a mini-phone.
This is a slippery phone, and regardless of color you get the same ultra-glossy plastic that wants to slip through your fingers or slide off uneven surfaces. It's a bit maddening, and adding a case to improve grip makes the phone even bigger and heavier. We love the phone, but we'll keep harping on Samsung's glossy finishes that scream plastic until they improve.
The iPhone 5, Samsung Galaxy S III, Galaxy Note II and LG Intuition.
The phone has two capacitive buttons for Menu and Back, and a hardware button for Home (the Verizon version has a most unfortunate Verizon Logo plastered on the Home button). The micro USB port is on the bottom, and as per usual for Samsung the power button is on the upper right side while the volume rocker is on the left. The microSD card slot is under the back cover (no need to remove the battery to swap a card) and the micro SIM card is under there as well.
