There was a moment after I received the Samsung Note II for review that I looked at my husband and said “can I make a call on it?”
Larger than my Samsung Galaxy S3, the Note II isn’t a tablet, but it’s not a small phone either. It’s like a crossover SUV. It offers a little bit more room without jumping to a full-size gas hog.
I’m a HUGE fan of the stylus and I have no idea why. Maybe it’s because I got my start with PDAs on the old Palms and Treo devices. Maybe it’s because it cuts down on the fingerprints on my screen. With the stylus, I was able to make smaller annotations, actually write in my own handwriting and tap with something skinnier than my finger.
The battery life was really good with the device. I anticipated it would be quick to run out of juice, but it held it’s own, even with the larger screen and intense apps, like photo editing.
With the 4G LTE on the Verizon Wireless network, the phone had a great signal wherever I went. It allowed me to use Flipboard in the doctor’s office to read the blogs I keep up with. I could make calls, Skype, and keep tabs on all my social media sites and my e-mail.
The Note was something I was considering when I bought my S3. It doesn’t disappoint. Samsung continues to roll out products that are impressive and game-changing.
And for those who need the specs:
Platform
Android™ 4.1, Jelly Bean
CPU / Processor
Processor Speed, Type Exynos™ 1.6GHz Quad-core
Display
Main Display Resolution 1280 x 720
Main Display Size 5.5″
Main Display Technology HD Super AMOLED™
User Interface
Features Widgets; TouchWiz; Smart Unlock; Accelerometer
Features
GPS Navigation
Business/Enterprise
Premium Camera
NFC
Enabled for 4G LTE
Camera
Camera Resolution 8.0 Megapixel
Front-facing Camera Resolution 1.9 Megapixel
Digital Optical Zoom 4x Digital
Features Auto Focus; Shot Modes, Best Face, Best Photo, Beauty, Buddy Photo Share, Burst Shot, Face Detection, HDR, Low Light, Panorama, Share Shot, Single Shot, Smile Shot; Geo-tagging; Editing Modes; Camcorder; DivX®; HD Recording; HD Playback; Video Share; TV-Out; Online Image Uploading
Audio
Features Music Player; Compatible Music Files, 3GP, AAC, AAC+, M4A, MIDI, MMF, MP3, PMD, QCP, WAV, WMA; Audio, Streaming; Ringtones, Polyphonic 72-note; MP3/Music Tones
Video
Features Video Player; Compatible Video Files, H.263, H.264, MPEG4, VC-1, VP8, Dvx; Video, Streaming
Fun and Entertainment
Features Downloadable Content; Wallpapers, Animated; Samsung Widget Gallery; Samsung Media Hub
Business & Office
Features Microsoft® Office-compatible; Polaris® Office; Voice Memo
Messaging Options
Features Email; Corporate Email; Picture Messaging; Text Messaging; Instant Messaging; Threaded / Chat-style Messages; Video Messaging; Swype™ / T9 Trace; Predictive Text (T9®/XT9®)
Connectivity
Features Bluetooth® Profiles, (Apt-X Codec support) LE; Wi-Fi®; Wi-Fi® Hotspot; HTML Browser; Java™; GPS
Memory
Internal Memory 16GB
External Memory/microSD™ Capacity
Up to 64GB
Calling Functions
Features Speakerphone; Voice Recognition;Voicemail; Visual Voicemail; Speech-to-text; Text-to-speech; Etiquette/Gesture Mode; Picture Caller ID; Multitasking; Call Restrictions; Hearing Aid Compatible (HAC); TTY; Airline Mode
Disclaimer: I was provided a Samsung Galaxy Note II for review purposes only. I was not compensated for my review. The thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own.
