Samsung’s initial NOTE smartphone had introduced in the market a new range of cellular species, what is interestingly known as a PHABLET. PHABLET may not be as massive as a tablet, but it is, for sure, larger than a smartphone within its price range in the market. The NOTE II is a fantastic addition to this series as, when compared to its predecessor, it has better hardware and a sleek finish of metal that Samsung users are quite aware of. It is sleek, slim and for those who like to be a little ostensible regarding their phones, it also has a bigger screen.
Since the NOTE II aims at providing the comforts of a smartphone with the look of a tablet, some anomalies are bound to creep in. Though being a smartphone, the NOTE II might just prove a little clumsy when making or receiving a phone call, given it’s larger than normal screen size. Now before you jump to any conclusions regarding the ease of usability which the NOTE II offers, let us first have an idea of the basics of the NOTE II.
The NOTE II offers you basically 1.A 5.5 inch AMOLED touchscreen(RESOLUTION : 1280 X 720)
2. 1.6 GHz quad-core processor
3. 16 GB internal memory and a micro SD card expandable up to 64 GB.
4. 2 GB RAM.
5. The back camera offers a 8 MP resolution with auto focus, LED flash and a 1080 p HD video recording.
6. Front camera (video calling purpose) is of 1 MP resolution and 720 p video.
7. 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v 4.0 connectivity.
8. 3100 mAH battery. Lasts 22 hrs of average usage.
9. Android 4.1.1 Jellybean OS with Touch wiz UI.
Thus, it feels that the NOTE II is at par with the current trends as far as smart phones are concerned. The large TABLETesque display on the other hand provides a better visual experience. Touch-screen response is pretty good and the screen is capable of displaying a variety of colors The inbuilt hardware is skilled enough to handle the HD feature of the videos or multitasking. The sound quality of NOTE is amazing as the songs play clear and the voice call quality is superb. Thus,the sound and hardware departments of NOTE II satisfy us more than enough.
Yet, television advertisements and promotional have projected the S pen as the product’s primary attraction. The electronic stylus, definitely lives up to the hype regarding the comfort it provides when you take down brief and urgent notes, sketch a portrait or edit images. It seldom feels artificial, which is the major problem with electronic styli. The natural feel is communicated well enough.
Talking of camera, the night-time snaps or low light snaps disappoint a bit as the pictures seem grainy. Day time pics though, are as clear as they should be. The video is not at par with the still picture quality but tries hard to compensate in its brightness and clearness.
The split-window is a good effort at easing user experience but unfortunately is supported only by Gmail, YouTube and the in-built web browser. As the NOTE II offers myriad high-speed connectivity options as WLAN, EDGE,NFC,USB, connectivity dependent applications as GPS work excellently and are streaming in real-time data within seconds. Heavy usage of the NOTE II will allow utmost 14-15 hours of battery usage while average usage expands battery life to 22 hours.
Samsung has been quite confident of the stylus feature of NOTE II and a pricing of 39,900 rupees covers significantly the usage comfort the S-PEN allows. It’s worth it after all. Yet,as the name PHABLET goes, you will find NOTE II an attractive only when your preferences are as portmanteau as word PHABLET. You find smartphones restraining and the tablets too imposing and large, then you will find a companion in the NOTE II. Else you might look out for better and cheaper/expensive options. The stylus, easy portability, big screen and a good battery make the NOTE II as the yardstick for any future PHABLETS. Go for it,if you are a PHABLET freak.