The Galaxy Note II has been awaited anxiously since it was first announced on September 19. The handset finally arrived on October 24 on the T-Mobile HSPA+ network in the United States, and retails for around $300 on contract at select retailers. The handset is the first Samsung smartphone to deliver the widely anticipated Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system out-of-the-box, and also delivers the largest touch screen of any smartphone. 2.0 GB of RAM system memory join a quad core processor in the impressive hardware package on board the device.
Available in either titanium gray or marble white, you can now jot down messages and directions in your own handwriting, even if you’re in the middle of a voice call. You can send e-mails, surf the web and text while watching videos and movies, and the same handwriting recognition technology and smart stylus S Pen has returned from the original Galaxy Note 4G smartphone. When you remove the S Pen from the Galaxy Note II, the most used S Pen applications immediately launch in a menu.
The Samsung TouchWiz UI Android interface also allows for typical multitouch, capacitive gestures as well as the integrated S Pen, and the handset is slim at 0.37 inches (9.0 mm). The 5.55 inch Super AMOLED screen offers scratch resistance with a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass 2, and has a 16 to 9 aspect ratio for true HD video viewing. Resolution runs 720 x 1,280 pixels, and more than 16 million colors are used for visual displays. Talk time runs approximately twice the 4G average, at 15.0 hours from a single battery charge.
A Samsung Exynos 4 (4412) suite of microchips is on board the hardware package on the Samsung Galaxy Note II 4G LTE, and at its base is a quad core 1.6 GHz CPU. An ARM Mali-400 MP4 (Quad-Core) graphics processor is also on board, as is 16 GB of built-in storage. The handset also provides for storage expansion, supporting microSD, microSDHC and microSDXC cards up to 64 GB in size. A rear facing 8.0 megapixel camcorder provides video capture at 1,080P HD resolution, with autofocus, burst mode, smile detection, image stabilization and a special effects package.
The multimedia package on board the device includes a Stereo FM radio with RDS, built-in music player which supports all major audio file formats, and proprietary YouTube video player. Facebook, Picasa and Twitter applications have also been pre-installed, and Wi-Fi mobile hotspot support for multiple wireless devices is offered. The handset delivers video out via DLNA connectivity, and Near Field Communications (NFC) support is also present.
You can buy the Samsung Galaxy Note II for T-Mobile for a reduced price tag now starting at 299.99.
