Samsung Galaxy Note 2 Review – Overview
I heavily criticized the original Galaxy Note and I was wrong. At the time of the launch of our site – August 2012, Whatphone started with the first Note in the top 7. And it stayed there. Relentlessly. For ever. It was still there until we replaced it with the Galaxy Note 2 when it launched publicly ( we borrowed one pre-release. )
I’ve used the Note as my primary device for 4 days now and I can tell you – you get used to the size. Sure it felt like I was holding a slice from a Farmhouse loaf to my head. But let’s get real. People spend 3 times as long looking at their phone as they do talking on it.
There is a set of earphones which comes in the box which allows you to talk on it. There are a bunch of accessories ( like Bluetooth headsets ) which will help you avoid walking around in public embarrassing yourself. And the benefit of the size is that humungous screen.
Samsung Galaxy Note 2 Review – Weight, Screen & Stylus
The extra weight ( 183 grams ) of the device gives it a solid feel . I think this is an improvement on some of the earlier Galaxy range products which felt cheaper.
The Note does what nothing else does. It provides a genuinely different form factor. We always credit Apple with inventing categories on Whatphone. When I came back to the Note 2, I realized 2 things. First, I’d grown to love the size. Second, as a device, it’s in a class of it’s own.
It doesn’t make sense to talk about any aspect of the Note 2 until we talk about the screen. It’s the feature that defined the device. It’s just huge. Samsung have increased the size from 5.3 inches on the last Note to 5.5 inches on this one.
The Note 2 is rounder than the original. The chassis reminds me of the Galaxy S3. It’s slightly bigger on account of that screen. These days, it comes in 2 new, modern colors and it looks great.
The stylus has changed from an original and it’s changed for the better. ( I found the stylus on the original Galaxy Note to be plastic and to give off a low quality feel. )
- It now has a rubber end and
- The screen can ‘sense’ it when it’s nearby – offering useful information on a ‘hovver’.
- Pulling it out triggers a suite of special apps – just the sort of thing that
- The harder you press on the screen, the heavier the imprint you’ll leave
Samsung Galaxy Note 2 Review : Battery
I was using the Note 2 heavily all the time and I found battery performance to be about the same as the Galaxy S3 : Disappointing. ( That’s despite the 3100 mAh battery ) – it must be the screen which draws it and the LTE. I don’t want this to put you off. I am a very high user. I’m always checking emails, using apps. It’s my job and I have the job because I love this stuff. With a spare charger in the office, I did OK and if you’re not a super heavy user, you might get more out of your battery than I did.
Samsung Galaxy Note 2 Review : Operating System & other features
The Galaxy Note 2 runs Jellybean ( Android 4.1. ) They’ve worked hard to make it super, super, super fast.
Google have sneaked Google Now, an upgrade to their voice recognition software in and it’s great. Lightning quick and accurate responses – at least for things in the USA ! It’ll be a while before they get the Australian responses right – but this is sure to be the future of how we navigate our smartphones.
NFC. Good future proofing but until people like Coles, Woolworths, Petrol stations and, for me, Dick Smith get on board, you won’t be using it. Ironically, if Apple had put NFC in the iPhone 5, those brands would probably have NFC enabled tills by now.
Samsung Galaxy Note 2 Review : Stamp of approval
I’m endorsing it. As if I need to. People buy a large quantity of this sort of device every week. The only problems with it are the size and an ‘adequate’ battery life. And you know what you’re getting when you buy one. LTE and an enormous screen are always going to be a drain on battery – so, are they really an issue ?
Dec ’12