Samsung Galaxy Note II

Display

The Galaxy Note II's display size has been increased to 5.5 inches from the Note's 5.3 inches. Surprisingly, the resolution of the Note II has been decreased to 1280*720 compared to Note's 1280*800. Nevertheless, the HD super AMOLED screen shines on, offering a brilliant level of brightness at any time of day. Pictures and videos look crisp in high definition, and contrast of colors is pleasing on the eye as well. The bluish tint that can be seen on the original Note is completely gone in the Note II.

Design

The Note II has a more “ergonomic” shape, is slightly lengthier and less wide than the Note. This makes it easier to hold in hands and make calls. It's amazing how slim they have kept the Note II (9.4mm), and it feels light relative to its huge size for a smartphone. The S Pen is sleekly tucked away out of sight, and is thicker and longer than its predecessor. It's also a nice perk that the Note II detects the detaching of the S Pen to immediately bring up S Note for quick note-taking. Overall, the metallic finish of the Note II feels sturdier than the textured coating on the original Note.

Operating System

The Note II operates on Samsung's modified version of Android 4.1 (Jellybean). However, features from the native Jellybean such as Google Now and improved notifications are much welcome. The S-Pen apps also set the device apart from its competitors, with S-Note proving a useful tool. There is a wide offering of drawing tools which can produce anything from miniscule sketch lines to beautiful brushes of paint. Even a bad artist like me was able to draw recognizable animals, so that's saying a lot! However, one of the things that disappointed us was the keypad. While the prediction engine works well and has the ability to “learn” from Facebook or Gmail, there is no option to tap space to auto-complete a word! This means everytime you misspell a word, you have to press 'correct prediction' to correct. This slowed down our typing speed a great deal.

Performance

Note II's quad-core 1.6 GHz processor truly shines in this device, as it whizzes by regardless of the number of tasks it is running. However, after the upgrade to Android 4.0, the original Note lags a great deal. We ran the “PassMark” performance test where the Note II scored 2542, while the original Note had a measly average score of 1843. Also armed with 2GB of RAM, this powerhouse of a smartphone gives performance levels that top the rest of the competition. The Note II has a battery of 3,100 mAH, which provides enough juice to last more than a day under standard usage.

Bottomline: There is no doubt that the Note II is miles ahead of its predecessor, serving as a great productivity tool and media consumption device. Priced at Rs 36,999 (last seen on Flipkart), this device is perfect for people who are constantly jotting down appointments and reminders, or those with a creative mind, wishing to record their ideas and imagination.