Samsung Galaxy Note II review and hands on: Being noteworthy just got better

The original Samsung Galaxy Note shocked the world with success when most thought it was just a flashing star. It was the first phone to sport a display bigger than 5-inches, 5.3 to be exact. Was it too big, was it a tablet, or was it a phablet? Nobody knew what to think about it, but it didn’t stop consumers from gobbling it up. Was it the S Pen or the large display that caught everyone’s attention? I lean towards the latter, but there’s no argument that the Galaxy Note was a hit for Samsung, and it’s now time for the next chapter. We already saw a tablet version called the Galaxy Note 10.1, but this is the second chapter for the phone. Called the Galaxy Note II, it sports an even bigger display along with a more powerful processor and a larger battery all in a body that is no bigger than it’s predecessor. Does the Galaxy Note II live up to the hype? Hit the break to find out

Design

The Note II resembles the Galaxy S III in design. It has the same plasticy love or hate feel along with the “inspired by nature” theme. Other than the size, you wouldn’t know the difference between the Note II and the Galaxy S III. The big question is how does it feel in the hand? It feels good, but you can forget one handed operation unless you have extra large hands.

The S Pen has a new design, which is similar to the Note 10.1′s version. It’s more comfortable in the hand, and the button isn’t as easy to hit by mistake. Just like the original Note, the S Pen slides perfectly into the holder. It fits so good that I guarantee that if you didn’t know it came with the phone, you might not notice it for a while.

As I mentioned in my opening, the display is larger than it’s predecessor (5.5-inches vs 5.3-inches), but the body didn’t get any bigger. Well it did get a little longer, but since it’s thinner and not as wide, it doesn’t feel larger. Last year’s model was 5.78-inches high x 3.27-inches wide x 9.65mm thick. The Note II is 5.95-inches high x 3.17-inches wide x 9.40mm. This year’s model is a little heavier, 183 grams vs. 178 grams, and is most likely because of the larger battery.

Since it’s the same design as the Galaxy S III, the buttons and ports are identical. Along the right side towards the top, you will find the power button. On the left side also towards the top you will find the volume rocker. The top sports the microphone jack to the left, and the bottom has the microUSB port. Just like the Galaxy S III, Samsung decided to ignore Google’s guidelines for onscreen buttons and opted for the large menu button at the bottom center along with capacitive buttons to the right and left for back and menu.

For colors, the choices are Marble White or Titanium Grey

All in all, I am not a fan of Samsung’s build, but it’s definitely an upgrade over the original Note because it’s thinner and sleeker.