The Samsung Galaxy Note 2
The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is going to be successful. The Samsung Galaxy Note proved beyond doubt that there is a market for the largest or larger screen smartphones. The original Galaxy Note was good enough to stay in the Whatphone Top 7 since we launched our site at the start of August 2012.
This is the Samsung Galaxy Note 2
Marketing people love to call it a <shudder> phablet. Unfortunately, and for once, they’re not just talking balderdash. For those prepared to entertain it, the Note ( and now the Note 2 ) opens up a new type of device form factor.
Now is a time of incredible change in the market for mobile phones and tablets. Whatphone comments Samsung’s desire to experiment with new form factors. We’ve all heard the rumors that Apple are thinking of releasing a new tablet product, larger than an iPhone and smaller than an iPad. A totally new form factor. ( Update : The iPad Mini was released in October 2012. )
Samsung beat them to it.
Samsung Galaxy Note 2 – Global announcement
The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 – the N7100 – was originally announced by Samsung in Berlin, August 2012. Samsung revealed the new Note would have, as it’s defining feature, a 5.5 inch AMOLED screen with 1280 x 720 resolution. That’s even bigger than the 5.3 inch screen of the original Note.
Samsung Galaxy Note 2 – That beautiful screen
AMOLED displays are favored by Samsung. They’ve even invented their own ( not in use on the Galaxy Note 2 ) called Super AMOLED. An AMOLED screen works well for the Galaxy Note 2.
Imagine a base matrix of dots connected together and that each dot can be electrically charged or not. Over that, they put organic material which goes bright when it’s charged. On AMOLED and Super AMOLED screens, no charge leaves the cell black. That improves battery life vs the LCD screens favored by HTC and, when the screen is 5.5 inches, that makes all the difference !
Samsung Galaxy Note 2 – The Great Thing About The Samsung Galaxy Note 2
The great thing about the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is that it’s small enough to fit in a pocket with a screen large enough to completely absorb the user’s attention. And what a screen ! It’s bright, colors are vivid. The AMOLED screen used on both the original Note and the new Galaxy Note 2 are less capable in direct sunlight than the alternative LCD ( which is used on the HTC One X. )
But when you’re indoors – the result is little short of a wow !
It’s a new type of experience in interacting with a mobile phone. People who have used it – properly used it, not just picked it up, frowned at it and written it off – love it. And I include myself in that list.
Samsung Galaxy Note 2 – Get Some Accessories To Get The Most Out Of It
Get a case for your Galaxy Note 2 : Put together with a case ( which Whatphone recommends so you can support it at an angle to watch video – which the screen NAILS – and to protect it should you accidentally drop it .) The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is a far more usable and portable ‘Tablet’ computer.
Use the Stylus for your Galaxy Note 2 : For the team at Whatphone, the SPen, the stylus which comes with the note was a bit of an ussable novelty in the original but the Galaxy Note 2 has extended its capabilities. A higher quality, rubber tip, seems to work better. The SPen enables a more creative, artistic side of the user to surface. It facilitates handwriting ( with the Samsung software recognizing it. )
In addition to that, the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is a phone. It’s fair to say that you have to be immune to peer pressure to be able to hold it to your ear in public. At 5.5 inches, you look like you’re holding a bit of burnt toast to your ear.
Get a Bluetooth headset for your Galaxy Note 2 : That’s why we’d recommend at the very least that you make use of the headset which ships with the Galaxy Note 2 and that you at least consider hitting up eBay in order to find yourself a Bluetooth headset.
Samsung Galaxy Note 2 – Australian Release
It was announced in September 2012 that the Galaxy Note 2 would be made available to a number of US telcos ( telcos just mean telecommunications companies – in Australia, our equivalent would be Optus, Telstra, Virgin Mobile or Vodafone Australia. ) The commercial release with those telcos will be November this year. It’s looking like Mid / Late November for the release.
Update : In Australia, the Note 2 was released at the start of December 2012.
Samsung Galaxy Note 2 – How it looks
The new Note has done what the old note did – it’s copied the way it looks from the current Samsung Galaxy S model. The original Note looked like the Samsung Galaxy S2. The Note 2 looks better for it, like the Samsung Galaxy S3 with curved edges, flat screen and pub table wowing colors. It’ll be offered in 2 colors – Titanium Grey and Marble White. Samsung say it’ll be ‘thin’ – but at 9.4mm, Whatphone doesn’t agree with that explanation !
Samsung Galaxy Note 2 – Hardware Specifications
If you’re not a tech head then perhaps you don’t care about this one but, for those, like me, who won’t buy a new mobile phone without knowing how it compares to others, here’s the run down of the key features and specifications of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2.
- Jelleybean ! Brilliantly, the Note 2 will be running Jellybean Android 4.1. It’s quicker, it has better, more intelligent speech response through ‘Google Now’, re sizable widgets, offline voice transcription and easier photo management – as well as a bunch of other stuff we’ve covered, here, in a separate article.
- LTE ( really fast network access from your telco. ) Looks like this is going to be standard from now on at least in higher end handsets. There are already Samsung Galaxy S3 variants which have it installed and, of course, the iPhone 5 has it in spades !
- To the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, LTE means an even better browsing experience ! Internet wandering was a pleasure on the original Note. With even faster download speeds, ( LTE delivers speeds of 2 to 20 Mbps – which is probably faster than you’re used to on your home broadband connection ) enabled by LTE, you can expect a couple of things.
- First, that using the internet from your Note 2 will be a pleasure. You tube videos will be even more accessible. You won’t be off Facebook !
- You’re going to be using a lot more data ! Make sure you check your usage online with your telco network provider so you don’t blow your cap and get hit with ( in the opinion of Whatphone ) data charging which will make you grind your teeth.
- Quad Core 1.6 GHz Exynos Processors for speed, reliability ( quad core means it’s less likely that applications you’re running will crash ) and to save you battery.
- In fact, talking of battery, the rumors say that, based on the poor feedback about the quality of the battery on the Samsung Galaxy S3, the Galaxy Note 2 will ship with a variety of battery expending adaptations as well as the 20% bigger 3100 mAh battery. At Whatphone, we were reasonably pleased with the battery on the original Note. Of course, the fact that the new Galaxy Note 2 is LTE means that it’ll drain battery more than it’s 3G predecessor, so the flexibility of having these battery management options will only improve things.
- 16GB of on board memory. The Galaxy Note 2’s memory will be micro SD expandable to 64 GB. Whatphone loves the choice, flexibility and usercontrol that expandable memory delivers !
- Obviously, expandable memory also gives you the opportunity to carry a memory card from one machine to another to save you the biggest problem – which is messing around transferring files all the time.
- 8 MP camera which will benefit from the Jellybean photo management enhancements ( see below. )
- The next generation of Gorilla Glass – Gorilla Glass 2. Gorilla Glass 2 is exactly what you think it is – the next era of damage resistant glass used on mobile phones.
- Gorilla glass 2 is only 80% the thickness of it’s predecessors but has all the strength. It means that the Galaxy Note 2 can be thinner, sleeker and improves how well the touch screen registers touch.
- 1280 x 720 screen ( the same as the Galaxy S3 ) screen, shown in a 16 : 9 format. ( as opposed to the 16:10 format screen that the original Note had.
- Improved and adapted S Pen – although, at Whatphone, we found the original SPen a bit of a gimmick.
Samsung Galaxy Note 2 –Australia’s Best Price Plan Deals
Remember, Whatphone exists to help you make the right decision as to what phone is right for you. We want to simplify the decision making process as much as possible. As a result, we only show price plans for the top 4 Australian telcos.
They’re the brands you know and love / hate in equal measure. Telstra, Optus, Vodafone Australia and Virgin Mobile. The ACMA ( The Australian Communications and Media Authority ) says that more than 96% of people but their phone and price plan from those companies.
On top of that, we select what we think the best deals are for each phone to further simplify the process of picking the device / price plan combination you’re interested in. Right now, the pricing for the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 hasn’t yet been released.
But Whatphone has been doing this for a while. Here is the Whatphone estimate of the pricing you’re likely to see for the Samsung Galaxy Note 2.
Samsung Galaxy Note 2 –Telstra Best Price Plan Deals
The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is a lot of hardware ! If experience with the Galaxy Note 1 is anything to go by, it’s going to be at the higher end of price plans to get with your contract ! At Whatphone, our estimate is that the Note will be $0 on a $60 plan and may, additionally, include up to a $10 payment for the device hardware.
To a degree, this is the Telstra sweet spot for pricing which puts them at an advantage. Telstra don’t offer any of the Whatphone Top 7 selling devices in Australia at price points less than $60 per month over 24 months.
As a result they start to get in to an advantageous position for the higher end ( more expensive products. )
Since the Whatphone estimate is that other telcos have to charge $60 for their device, customers end up comparing similar pricing over different networks – and guess whose is best ?! Telstras !
Given that the Galaxy Note 2 will be an LTE ( see above – that just means it’ll have really fast data download speeds ) and Telstra have the best network coverage for LTE, in the opinion of Whatphone, they’re going to be hard to beat for the Note 2.
Samsung Galaxy Note 2 – Virgin Mobile and Optus – best price plan deals.
Remember, as you read this, at Virgin Mobile use the Optus network. Optus have released their LTE network in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Newcastle ( where they trialed it. ) The LTE capability isn’t everywhere although you will ‘fall over’ to 3G speeds when you’re outside the LTE tower’srange.
The only hope for Optus is to realize how they’ll fare next to a better network from Telstra and drop the price. At least that would leave you some comparing to do ! This won’t be easy for Optus as the Galaxy Note 2 will be expensive to buy for Optus / Virgin Mobile and they will have to recover the cost through the price plan they put it on.
Samsung Galaxy Note 2 – Vodafone Australia price plans
Unfortunately, Vodafone Australia have not yet launched their 4G network. They won’t have LTE network coverage until the middle of 2013 which, obviously puts them at a disadvantage not just with the Galaxy Note 2 but with all the other, more modern mobile phones which will be released.
Samsung Galaxy Note 2 – Summary
The Samsung Galaxy Note was a great product which many people under rated. However, many people didn’t and got stuck in. Those that did benefited from a totally new experience in how they related to their mobile phone. They loved it. Now, we have the Galaxy Note 2. It’s bound to be a big seller and to succeed the original Note as one of the Whtaphone top 7 devices.
Rest assured that Whatphone will keep you fully informed about the wonders of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note, whether you want to be a Vodafone, Optus, Telstra or Virgin Mobile customer. The Samsung Galaxy Note will not be everyone’s cup of tea but for those who have really used the original Note, it presents a genuinely different device which adds range to the Galaxy suite.
Samsung Galaxy Note 2 – Any other questions from Whatphone visitors ?
At Whatphone, we’re here to help you decide what phone is right for you. If you have any questions about the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 then why not drop us a line and we’ll help you out in finding an answer. You can get in tough with us by navigating to the ‘Get In Touch’ page, using the buttons in the top right of the page. We’d love to hear from you.
Watch the Whatphone homepage if you’re interested in the product. The Whatphone Product Pages have detailed expert reviews from Whatphone journalists, customer reviews ( when they’ve had time to submit them for a new device – we often impose on family and friends who have the device to get us going. )
It should have the answer to any and all of your questions.
Good luck finding Whatphone is right for you.
Sept ’12
Written by:
Kurt Hands