Samsung Galaxy Note 2 specs and features

Samsung’s Unpacked event in Berlin, Germany is underway, and, as you already know by now, we’re covering live the press event whose main star is the Samsung Galaxy Note 2.

The second-generation phablet is upon us, and we already have a variety of details for you regarding the device – and this time around they’re all very much official.

The Galaxy Note 2 can be considered somewhat of a small upgrade compared to its predecessor, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a force to be reckoned with if you love gianormous handsets in your pocket.

As expected, the rumors we’ve seen before today’s event turned out to be pretty much right on the money and even some of the recent Galaxy Note 2 mockups that we’ve seen were not that far off from the real thing. Without further ado, here’s what you can expect from the new Galaxy Note version:

• • 5.5-inch Super AMOLED HD touchscreen display with 1280 x 720 resolution and 16:9 aspect ratio
  • Size: 80 x 151.1 x 9.4mm thin – thinner than its predecessor
  • Weight: 180 grams
  • 1.6GHz quad-core Exynos processor
  • 2GB of RAM
  • 16/32/64GB on-board memory
  • microSDHC support of up to 64GB of additional storage
  • 8-megapixel rear-camera with Auto Focus, LED flash and HD video recording
  • 2-megapixel front-facing camera
  • HSPA+ support
  • 4G LTE connectivity (in selected markets)
  • Bluetooth 4.0

• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n
• Wi-Fi Direct
• USB 2.0 support
• A-GPS and Glonass support
• 3,100mAh removable battery with faster charging – bigger capacity than its predecessor
• Android 4.1 Jelly Bean on board out of the box with TouchWiz UI on top
• Redesigned S-Pen: wider and longer to offer better grip. The stylus now has a rubber tip to offer an experience more similar to pen and paper
• Colors: Marble White and Titanium Grey

In addition to hardware specs – and since Samsung can’t really modify core features of Jelly Bean – the company also updated one of the main characteristics of such devices, the stylus-related software features.

The Galaxy Note 2 will offer all sorts of S Pen related tricks such as a warning the users that they are about to leave and forget the stylus behind. Other features such as hand writing support have been improved, and the S Pen now lets users access their favorite actions directly from the stylus via Quick Command. Hovering over folders – Air View – with the stylus will let users preview the contents of the folder, and they’ll be able to record the actions on the screen, alongside voice, which will surely help them create various tutorials right on the device. Features like Best Faces and Photo Note will help Galaxy Note 2 buyers take better pictures and save notes with their favorite ones.

Interested developers will be able to play with the S Pen SDK version 2.2 and create more stylus-based apps in the future – in case you’re one of them, let us know what you’re working on.

In case you’re interested in some of the sharing features available on the Galaxy S3, the older, but smaller brother of the Galaxy Note 2, you’ll have to know that the new phablet will offer you fast access to AllShare Play, AllShare Cast, S Beam, S Cloud and Family Story.

Are you interested in the Galaxy Note 2? Stick around, as we have more details about the device for you!

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Be Creative, Be Expressive with the GALAXY Note II

The most powerful smartphone sparks everyone’s creative inspirations

BERLIN, Germany—29 August 2012— At the Samsung Mobile Unpacked event held today at IFA, in Berlin, Samsung introduced the GALAXY Note II, a whole new level of innovation for the GALAXY Note category. The new Samsung GALAXY Note II enables unique experiences in personalized and expressive content creation, making it the ultimate smartphone for on-the-go creativity.

“Last year at IFA, we launched the GALAXY Note, which opened a new category of smart mobile devices. This year, again at IFA, I am proud to announce the GALAXY Note II, which will encourage users to ‘unleash their inner creativity.’ With a perfect viewing experience and unique and differentiated features, users can discover information and capture their ideas faster, express thoughts freely and manage tasks more efficiently. For anyone who wants to be creative, expressive and unique, the Samsung GALAXY Note II will be the ideal device, allowing users to live a life extraordinary,” said JK Shin, President of IT & Mobile Communications Division at Samsung Electronics.

Since the first introduction of the GALAXY Note category, Samsung has continued to enhance and expand the GALAXY Note product experiences. In May 2012, Samsung introduced ‘Premium Suite,’ a software upgrade which provided enhanced user experiences. With the Ice Cream Sandwich OS upgrade, Samsung offered innovative new features such as Shape Match and Formula Match, providing a new way for organizing and expressing ideas in their personal and professional life. Also in August, Samsung expanded the category further with the GALAXY Note 10.1, which has a 10.1-inch large screen, a Multiscreen feature for the ultimate multitasking, and enhanced features for users’ productivity, creativity and learning abilities. With further enhancements, Samsung GALAXY Note II will help users unleash their inner creativity by letting them discover information faster, capture ideas, and express them in a more organized and efficient manner.

Perfect viewing experience

The GALAXY Note II features a 5.5” (140.9mm) HD Super AMOLED screen, providing breathtaking visuals and crystal clear detail. Its 16:9 screen ratio ensures an immersive and enriched cinema-like video viewing experience, perfect for watching HD videos on-the-go. Its larger screen allows users to see content clearly and vividly, with much enhanced readability. In addition to the stunning content consumption experiences on a larger screen, users will also be able to accomplish more tasks efficiently and create content freely on-the-go, as the GALAXY Note II comes with a thinner and portable body.

Easy multitasking

Air View allows users to hover with the S Pen over an email, S Planner, image gallery, or video to preview the content without having to open it. This feature enables users to quickly search and see more information in one view without screen transitions.

Thanks to the breadth of the GALAXY Note II’s amazing viewing experience, a feature called Popup Note extends the concept of Popup Play, which lets users open an S Note instantly as a pop-up window anywhere on the screen. For example, when a user pulls out the S Pen during a phone call, the S Note application automatically pops up on the screen, allowing users to jot down a quick note.

In addition, the device’s new gesture pad feature, called Quick Command, lets users quickly activate frequently used apps with the S Pen. The command pad appears when a user just swipes upward on the screen with the S Pen button pressed. Users can quickly send an email, make a call, or search a location as they draw pre-registered marks on the command pad or register a unique mark to allow for quick and easy access.

Furthermore, users will be able to share their experiences with others quickly and easily using Screen Recorder. It allows users to record a whole sequence of actions taken on their screen — a demonstration of how to use an application, for example — and then share it with friends for comment, or just for fun.

Amazing expression tools – Advanced S Pen & S Note

The new S Pen is longer, thicker and ergonomically designed for the perfect grip. Therefore, it provides a more precise, comfortable, and natural writing and drawing experience.

The S Pen’s advanced features also provide enhanced capabilities to capture ideas and inspirations instantly, and to combine handwriting with any digital content directly on the screen. By simply pressing the dedicated S Pen button, the S Pen magically recognizes that users want to clip or edit the selected content on the screen. The Easy Clip feature allows users to instantly outline and crop any content on the screen in any shape to save, share or paste. Once done cropping the image, users can freely edit the cropped content through coloring, shading, or their own personal handwriting. It is quick and easy.

Another amazing expression feature called Idea Visualizer allows users to easily add illustrations by handwriting keywords on the S Note. It provides illustration images that match the handwritten keywords. It’s a fancy illustration match function that will allow users to express, organize and visualize ideas in a more innovative and creative way. Users can even customize and add in their own illustrations library.

Powerful Performance

Powering content creation, sharing and multitasking capabilities, the GALAXY Note II comes with the latest hardware technologies. A mighty 1.6GHz Quad-Core processor and HSPA Plus or 4G LTE connectivity delivers easy multitasking, lightning-fast screen transitions, powerful browser performance, and minimal app load time. The GALAXY Note II is powered by Android™ 4.1, Jelly Bean. This brings stunning graphical capabilities and an upgraded Google Now service, including new features such as contextual search, to the GALAXY Note II. The memory options are 16 GB, 32 GB, and 64 GB with an expandable micro SD memory slot. Thanks to a 3,100mAh battery, users can enjoy multimedia content, always be productive on the go, and capture ideas whenever, wherever without suffering from power limitation.

The GALAXY Note II comes with an 8 megapixel rear-facing and 1.9 megapixel front-facing camera with HD video recording. The camera has great features like Buddy Photo Share, Burst Shot and Best Photo, which were introduced on the GALAXY S III earlier in the year. In addition to that, the GALAXY Note II features a unique camera function called Best Faces. Best Faces allows users to choose the most preferred face or pose of each person from group portrait photos. Users can also personalize photos by leaving handwritten notes on the backside of a photo using the S Pen. Handwritten Photo Notes can be shared with others in jpg format.

Available in Marble White or Titanium Gray color options, the Samsung GALAXY Note II is set to launch in October starting in major European, Asian, and Middle East markets.

The Samsung GALAXY Note II will be on display at the Samsung booth # 20 at IFA 2012 from Aug 31 through Sep 5. For more information on GALAXY Note II, please visit www.samsungmobilepress.com.

Full details, video content and product images are available at Samsung’s IFA 2012 microsite: http://www.samsungifa2012.com or mobile site: m.samsungifa2012.com as well.

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