Samsung's Galaxy Note 2 continues to define and develop the class of "phablet" that first blurred the line between phone and tablet and made for a completely new user experience. Yes, it was big (too big for some), but it brought new functionality to the cell phone world. A few weeks ago in Berlin, Samsung unveiled the successor device, the Galaxy Note 2 (officially, Galaxy Note II.) Larger and more powerful, the Note 2 is a stunner in many ways, but it still involves a big adjustment for users.
Our first hands-on time with the Galaxy Note 2 was brief, and the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean software wasn't final. Since then, CNET has gone back for seconds, thirds, and even fourths. There's a lot to like, a little to dislike, and a bit that's extremely familiar if you know Samsung's Galaxy S3 and the Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet.
Design
If you've seen the Samsung Galaxy S3, then you've essentially seen the Samsung Galaxy Note 2. Start with the Galaxy S3's round corners, glossy surfaces, scant bezels, and bubbled-out screen, then blow it up a size and add a stylus.
Side by side, the Note 2 isn't actually a whole lot larger than the original Samsung Galaxy Note. The Note 2's 5.55-inch HD Super AMOLED screen (1,280x720 pixels) is diagonally wider than the Galaxy Note's 5.3-inch display. That translates into a wide-screen 16:9 aspect ratio rather than the 16:10 aspect ratio of the first Note. That will help it fit right in with more standard wide-screen graphics and playback.
The Note 2's vast AMOLED screen is as lovely as ever, with deep blacks and vibrant colors viewable from very wide angles. However, the resolution won't be as tight as on the Samsung Galaxy S3, which has a comparatively smaller screen, yet the same resolution. We'll have to spend more time with the device to see if we can detect a difference while watching long movies and reading text, but for most naked eyes, the differences among similar screen resolutions is small.
We won't blame anyone for anxiety over the Note 2's in-hand feel. As with all phones, your ultimate judgment depends on your hands. It felt different in Brian's larger digits than it did in Jessica's smaller mitts. The phone's curved sides help with grip, but the wider body won't fit as snugly into any but the most expansive of palms. Because of its size, this is the kind of device that will make you invest in a Bluetooth headset for answering calls, if you don't have one already. Though stylish, it looks comically large at the ear.
It's probably a smart move to treat this device as a mini tablet or a fancy electronic notepad with cellular capabilities rather than as an ordinary phone. With that in mind, slipping the Note 2 into an attractive flip-open case makes a lot of sense both for the better grip a case affords and to redefine how you interact with the product.
There are two colors for the Note 2, marble white and titanium gray, similar to Samsung's Galaxy S3's (GS3) marble white and pebble blue. As with the GS3, the Note 2 navigates primarily through a large physical home button below the screen, and two capacitive buttons for the menu and for going back.
A better S Pen
Just like the Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet, the Galaxy Note 2 serves up a new S Pen stylus and a host of new S Pen tricks. The stylus itself is very similar to the S Pen on the Note 10.1: thicker, with flatter sides, a grooved button, and a (slightly) more rubbery tip. For example, LG's competing Intuition comes with a pen device that has a much larger rubber tip and provides greater friction to better emulate the feel of paper. The Note 2's S Pen is shorter than the Note 10.1's, but is otherwise a spitting image.
In terms of the software, you can see S Pen capabilities as a continuum from the first Note to the Note 10.1 tablet to this phone. For instance, the Note 2's S Pen is capable of up to 1,024 levels of pressure sensitivity, just like the Note tablet's. You'll also recognize the same virtual pointer/cursor on the Galaxy Note 2's screen, which can be used to open drop-down menus and enlarge certain thumbnail images in the galleries, without touching pen point to screen. Samsung calls it Air View.
In addition, there's side-by-side multitasking with certain apps, just like on the Note 10.1, and the capability to open up a memo and take screenshots using a few taps and button presses.
However, Samsung's software jockeys threw in a slew of new tricks, too. Slide out the S Pen and the phone detects the change; it'll show you a special screen with shortcuts it thinks you may want. You can now select text by pressing the button and dragging the S Pen. We'll need to spend more time with the Quick Command gesture pad, which you can summon with a quick gesture of your own, but it sure seems interesting. The same applies to the Web Everywhere feature, which lets you call up any Web link in a movable window.
We also liked being able to virtually flip over photos to their equally virtual back sides. From there, you can scribble handwritten notes with the S Pen as personal reminders. In addition, Samsung has extended its keyboard support for the S Pen, which means you'll be able to handwrite in more apps, like the calendar. We'll have to experiment to see if we can write in third-party apps like Gmail, too, since we use that one for e-mail almost exclusively, and hardly ever use Samsung's own e-mail app.
Even more software
In addition to the S Pen's many, many tricks, Samsung has also updated a few features first introduced in the Galaxy S3. Pop-Up Play is one; this is the feature that lets you "pop" a video from the Gallery into its own window. Owners of the Note 2 will be able to resize it with pinch and zoom (but not with the stylus), and pause, resume, and close the video (this time, with the stylus.)
One of our favorite all-time Samsung additions, S Beam, gets a tiny extra on the Note 2: the capability to transfer other Galaxy Note 2 documents to other Galaxy Note 2 phones. We tried it on two Note 2s, and it worked as advertised.
A new camera feature joins the numerous other Samsung additions. Called Best Group Photo, the software swaps out an individual's best look of a bunch of shots to create an amalgam of them that attempts to get everyone looking their best. It's a little like cheating reality, but you'll be happier to get everyone with their eyes open than debate the fidelity of the moment.
If there's one "feature" we weren't pleased to see, it's S Voice, Samsung's stumbling answer to Apple's Siri voice assistant. We'd much prefer that Samsung take the hint from the Galaxy S3's worst-implemented feature and swap in Google's much better Voice Actions and new interface in favor of S Voice.
We're also looking forward to trying out Google Now's implementation on the Galaxy Note 2.
Camera
So far, the Galaxy Note 2 looks like it will carry on Samsung's legacy for high-performing 8-megapixel cameras. We had an opportunity to take a few test shots, and were impressed that the photos look just as crisp and colorful on the Galaxy Note 2 as they were on the GS3. Not all pictures will turn out ready for a frame, but that's true with any camera.
Our hopes are high that the Note 2's shooter will match Samsung's best camera yet, and fall in the higher end of the range compared with rival smartphones like the iPhone and the HTC One X/HTC Evo 4G LTE. (There's also the excellent, but impractical, Nokia 808 PureView with its 41-megapixel sensor.)
By the way, Samsung has also included its now-customary 1.9-megapixel front-facing camera on the Note 2, but we haven't yet tested it.
Hardware specs
If your eyes aren't crossed yet trying to visualize S Pen tricks and camera features, you'll be happy to know that the Galaxy Note 2 comes with a 1.6 GHz quad-core Exynos 4 processor. Most importantly, one that's LTE-optimized.
Now, before you start jumping up and down on your seat, keep in mind that this is the global, unlocked version of the device and that Samsung hasn't made any announcements about quad-core-plus-LTE for the U.S. However, and this is speculation alone, since there's already an LTE radio in the Exynos 4 processor, there's a fighting chance that Samsung's Note 2 could give the U.S. its first quad-core LTE phone.
As with the Galaxy S3, the Galaxy Note 2 will also come in 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB storage variants with up to 64GB of external storage. Ditto the 2GB RAM from the GS3. We're not in the least surprised, since the two handsets are already so similar.
Samsung is particularly proud of the Note 2's 3,100mAh battery (up from 2,500mAh on the original Note), which Samsung hopes will chug along for 10 to 12 hours of life. Not to throw cold water all over your hopes and dreams in this department, but the Note 2 also has many more battery-sucking features than did the first Note, including S Voice, S Beam, and the slightly larger screen.
While we clearly haven't tested battery life on the Note 2, we can assume, based on the GS3, that Samsung has added some aggressive power-management safeguards on its new handset, some that truly do save you juice, and some that can get in the way. (Read more about advances and problems in smartphone battery life here.)
Outlook
With the Galaxy Note 2, Samsung raises several questions, all vying to be answered: is the Galaxy Note 2 a good phone that can compete against the greats; are the S Pen tools mature enough to use in a satisfying way; and will the phone be a financial success?
Here's what we predict. Yes, the Note 2 will sell, and it'll sell differently in different markets. For instance, in countries where having one device is more popular than having two, its technical specifications and size will make it a bridge device even among those who aren't especially interested in the S Pen extras. The Note 2 is undoubtedly a more polished and powerful smartphone than the original Note, so artists and professionals who are stylus-inclined will also get a leaps-and-bounds upgrade.
Those who are open to a standalone tablet will stick with smaller smartphones, like the very similar Galaxy S3, or perhaps seek out the Galaxy 10.1 tablet instead of this "phablet" crossover.
The other questions are harder to answer. The Galaxy Note 2 certainly has the chops; we appreciated them in the GS3, and we appreciate them here. However, there is the question of how smooth those S Pen apps operate in real life, not just in tightly controlled demo rooms.
We have our complaints for a bunch of the same features in the Galaxy Note 10.1 and in the GS3. There are a lot of those features, but do they work seamlessly, and do they fundamentally improve the smartphone experience, or do their rough edges detract from the whole? Samsung is certainly developing this tablet/smartphone category, and even without the experimentation and the kinks to work out, the Note 2 is a type of device that polarizes. Perhaps this new Note can convince us, but we won't know for sure until we get to know the Note 2, and its new tricks, intimately.
