The Samsung Galaxy Note II -- half smartphone, half tablet, it's been dubbed a "phablet." And it's coming soon to a carrier near you. (Samsung)
Hoping to overshadow -- literally and figuratively -- the iPhone 5 launch and the first wave of very positive reviews, Samsung has revealed that its ginormous 5.5-inch Galaxy Note II Android phone will be coming soon to AT&T, Sprint, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile.
The company hasn’t released pricing yet, but promises that the pen-wielding "phablet" will be available by mid-November. The device is headed to U.S. Cellular, too.
To recap, the Galaxy Note II sports a fast quad-core Exynos processor from Samsung and a redesigned S Pen that boasts the same 1,024 levels of sensitivity as the Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet. With this stylus you can do a lot more than just take notes and draw.
For instance, with the Air View feature you can hover the S Pen over emails or videos to preview content. Meanwhile, the Quick Command function leverages the pen to activate apps, send emails and more. You can also jot down notes during a phone call with Popup Note.
[MORE: 5 Reasons Why the Galaxy Note II is Too Big To Fail]
Other specs include 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage and support for LTE networks (HSPA+ if you’re on T-Mobile). And unlike, the Galaxy S III, the Note II runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean out of the box. A very large 3,100 mAH battery should give you close to all-day battery life.
The Note II builds on the vast array of innovations stuffed inside the Galaxy S III. Popup Play now lets you resize the video window when you want to watch a clip while using another app. And the 8-MP camera now has a Best Group Pose feature that enables shutterbugs to pick out the best faces from a group photo after the fact.
Is the Galaxy Note II big enough of a deal to slow down the iPhone 5? Stay tuned for a full review.
Get a daily look at what’s developing in science and technology throughout the world.