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Samsung Galaxy Note II first impressions

Published Sep 11th, 2012 12:00PM EDT
BGR

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While I still think the Samsung Galaxy Note as a product is stupid, a lot of people seem to gravitate towards a bigger screen regardless of the fact that it’s impossible to use with one hand, and, well, you look crazy talking into a book. But, the Samsung (005930) Galaxy Note II is a nice upgrade to the original, completely putting aside my opinions on the product in general. It features an even larger display, yet the phone isn’t as wide thanks to a new 16:9 aspect ratio where the screen is taller and narrower, and the new design identity closely mirrors the Galaxy S III.

There are also a few new features that I thought were good improvements like updated screen technology that affords new stylus features — it now feels more like a pen when you write. Samsung also added something called Air View, which lets you see a mouse-like cursor on the screen while the S Pen stylus is hovering within 10 millimeters. All in all, if you liked the original Galaxy Note, you’ll love the Galaxy Note II.

Samsung wouldn’t confirm U.S. availability or pricing, but we’d wager you’ll see it appear at AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and even T-Mobile at some point over the next couple months.

Jonathan S. Geller
Jonathan Geller Founder, President & Editor-in-chief

Jonathan S. Geller founded Boy Genius Report, now known as BGR, in 2006. It became the biggest mobile news destination in the world by the end of 2009, and BGR was acquired by leading digital media company PMC in April 2010.

Jonathan is President of BGR Media, LLC., and Editor-in-chief of the BGR website.

What started as a side project at the age of 16, quickly transpired into 24-hour days and nights of sharing exclusive and breaking news about the mobile communications industry. BGR now reaches up to 100 million readers a month through the website, syndication partners, and additional channels.