With the release of it’s successor many still contemplate either getting the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 or the latest Note 3. But while officially replaced as the flagship of the Note line of smartphones the Note 2 is by no means a second player and packs premium features that would make any phone enthusiast drool profusely.
So if you have been weathering the storm and waiting for a chance to grab this behemoth of a smartphone at the most attractive price after the hype, the wait is long over and the Note 2 can now be snagged at quite the price that would make the most thrifty of us blush.
What you get out of the Box?
The Samsung Galaxy Note II Model we will be using for today’s review is the SGH-I317 Marble White edition and is comparable in most cases to the other versions in the Note 2 line including the international Galaxy Note 2 GT-N7100. The Note 2 comes with 16 Gigs of internal memory, 8 Mega pixel rear camera with LED flash that takes beautiful shots and displays this on it’s beautiful 5.5 inch 1280 x 720 HD Super AMOLED screen. The front shooter features a simple 1.9 MP camera suited for basic video calling than taking self shots.
The Note 2 holds a 3100 mph battery beneath its covers for prolonged battery life and every modern conceivable piece of communication technology which includes: WiFi,4G wireless LTE, GPS and Bluetooth. The onboard operating system is Android Jelly Bean which has been skinned with Samsung’s TouchWiz UI which is very familiar and intuitive if you have ever used a Samsung based device.
Never fear running out of storage space again as beside the built in 16 Gigs of storage the note 2 supports Micro SD cards to a maximum size of 64 gigs. When coupled with the internal storage you will not be running out of storage for your multimedia needs anytime soon.
Enough boring you with the specifications in case you are not into that kind of stuff, lets move on to what these specs mean for you in the real world.
Samsung Galaxy Note 2 SGH-I317 Marble white
Performance of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2
While the Note 2 is not a looker like the Galaxy S3 or S4 line of smartphones that is both slender,portable and elegantly designed, the Note 2 does make up for this with very smooth performance with it’s 1.6 Ghz Quad (4) core Exynos processor that makes quick work of all your modern apps. With the extra screen reel estate for your photo and games that 5.5 inch Super AMOLED screen with add new dimensions of beauty to your already stunning photos. No more squinting your eyes to see your multimedia content with all the screen space you could ever want.
Seeing this device is a virtual Notepad the S Pen makes the Note 2 a perfect combination of a smartphone and a tablet as note taking and making personalized doodles in your own handwriting is made very easy, as easy as if you were doing it yourself using a traditional pen and notepad.
Ever had an idea and wish your fingers could type or make a simple doodle as you could by regular means? The note 2 adds this dimensions to your realm quite easily with the S Pen and with it’s own personal holder the Note 2’s S Pen is never in the way but ready to be retrieved for your use at a moments notice. For added protection of the Note 2 we recommend that you grab a solid case such as the Greatshield Shift that we reviewed recently here.
The S Pen of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2
The S Pen of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is branded with the Samsung logo cast in a white plastic like material that seems quite durable by all appearances. The tip which allows for gripping is painted with a silver finish with the Samsung name etched into it. At the other end there is a elongated pressure sensitive tip that ends in a fine rounded blunt end that allows for detailed scribbling as you would with a regular pen. This works beautifully with the HD Super AMOLED Screen which readily accepts input from what seemed at first a gimmicky stylus, but it does grow on you over time.
The 8 Mega pixel camera With LED Flash
The rear facing cam is much like that of the Galaxy S3 and features an adjustable LED flash for taking pictures in the dark or low light conditions.The camera has a modest 4 x digital zoom which affords for average zooming capability, so do not think of going too far from the target of your lens,however for close up personal shots you will not miss a detail.
With more features packed into the camera technology such as face detection, best face,and auto focus you will take no less than a pristine shot. Simply point wait and shoot allowing the Samsung software to do the rest.The note 2 might bring out the inner photographer in you yet.
The Display of Samsung Galaxy Note 2
One of the most outstanding features of the Galaxy Note 2 is the beauty and size of its 720p HD super AMOLED screen. If you have not had the pleasure of peering into Samsung’s AMOLED screens and witness the colors of your videos and photos simply pop out at you from the screen with some of the most impressive color visuals that will make viewing anything on your device almost better than looking at it in real life you should give your eyes a visual treat with a Note 2.
Samsung Galaxy Note 2 Gallery
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- Samsung Galaxy Note 2 SGH-I317 Marble white.
The Pros and Cons of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2
Pros
The Samsung Note 2 strengths lies in:
1. Superb all around performance in Games,Apps and regular phone tasks.
2. Stunning HD Super AMOLED Display.
3. Great Smartphone based Camera with LED Flash.
4. More features than you could ever think of using.
5. Intuitive touchWiz interface on Android.
Cons
This would not be a proper review if we did not point out some of the inherent flaws of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 and while its a capable device it does have a few flaws that you should be aware of and may be a deal breaker for some.
1. The large size: while this maybe nothing for some users you may want to take notice of the Note 2 colossal footprint, so if size isn’t an issue you should be OK, but if it is, this is one big girl in a manner of speaking.
Conclusion
If you are seeking a high performance device that can bridge the gap between a tablet and a smartphone all while giving you the best of both worlds. The convenience of performing all regular Android tasks and providing new features such as taking personalized hand written notes easily and effortlessly as you would with a notepad then the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is your device of choice and is currently too attractively priced to pass up on.
