The original Galaxy Note smartphone/tablet sold more than 10 million units globally, and its predecessor is close to achieving that sales figure as well. The Samsung Galaxy Note II phablet is closing in on the 10 million units sold mark, even though the handset, tablet hybrid has only been on sale in the United States since late October of 2012. The handset’s large, high-resolution screen is one of the biggest in the entire smartphone marketplace, and the Galaxy Note II offers a unique split screen feature that improves multitasking and productivity. In advance of upcoming smartphone releases, Amazon recently discounted the Sprint Wireless Galaxy Note II to $99 on contract.
That multi-window application allows you to divide the large 5.55 inch screen of the Galaxy Note II into two equal parts. This feature works in either landscape or portrait orientation, basically giving you two displays to work with. The functionality allows you to simultaneously harness the power of the quad core processor and 2.0 GB of RAM memory, carrying on separate applications or operations on each half of the split screen display. Also, you can transfer data and info back and forth between the two screens.
For instance, you can compose an e-mail on one half of the split screen while surfing the web on the second. When you find a link, website or data that you want to include in your e-mail, simply drag and drop from one split screen to the other. The Galaxy Note II also offers the ability to interact with it by touching, hovering, using the smart stylus S Pen which recognizes your handwriting, or simply by speaking. The S Pen debuted with the original Galaxy Note, and has been made thicker and longer to offer a more natural pen-like feel.
The Galaxy Note II is the first handset made by Samsung that is powered by the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system out-of-the-box. The screen is aligned in a 16 to 9 aspect ratio to provide the best possible viewing experience for the 720 x 1,280 pixel resolution. That True HD display is capable of rendering visuals in more than 16 million individual colors, and is protected against everyday wear and tear with a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass 2.
Proximity and light sensors built into the screen help accentuate battery power, delivering a full 15.0 hours of talk time and 12.0 hours of standby power from a single charge. The powerful system chip is a Samsung Exynos 4 (4412) selection, built around a quad core 1.6 GHz Exynos CPU. The GPU is also a quad core chip, and 2.0 GB of RAM is on board. A microSD slot accentuates the 16 GB of internal storage, and the rear facing 8.0 megapixel camcorder on the Galaxy Note II is capable of recording video at a rate of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels (1,080p HD resolution).
